Rae-Valentine finds her life's work; her marriage and the family business she troubleshoots is not what she believes, at her Silver Wedding Anniversary party. Feeling worthless and rudderless she refuses to go on her expensive anniversary holiday until her husband suggests she goes without him, but with her best friend Dolly, his sister.

The trip allows Rae to examine her life choices, but were they her decisions or just her only option? Experiences on the holiday, people she meets and deep heart-to-hearts with her best friend reveal some uncomfortable home truths. The ultimate question, is it too late to change things and live her own life?

Rae-Valentine and all the book's characters are authentic and relatable, as are the situations they find themselves in. This is a story of realisation and self-belief that resonates with the reader and makes an everyday situation, a readable, page-turning story.

I received a copy of this book from Lake Union Publishing/Amazon Publishing via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

The Girl in the Corner was beautifully written! I enjoyed the way that Rae was depicted, along with her friendship with Dolly and her relationships with her family. Rae and Dolly have been friends since they were sixteen. Rae married Dolly’s brother, Howard. Now, with grown children, the women are finding their way with their current relationship and the demands of everyone in their families. Rae finds out that Howard has betrayed her. The characters Rae and Dolly are depicted in an honest way. Author Amanda Prowse brings us Rae’s real life and real emotions as the storyline progresses. I really enjoyed the way that Rae’s life was depicted so thoroughly, and not just simply glossed over as her life changes in so many ways. This was a wonderful novel about women, marriage, family, and friendships!

Wow!!! I was not expecting that ending.
If you want a book about friendship, love, loss and betrayal, look no further than The Girl In The Corner. Another great book by Amanda Prowse.

A captivating story which pushes the boundaries of friendship and loyalty. Rae Valentine, the leading lady in the story, will strike a chord with so many women. Putting everyone and everything before herself she doubts her own strengths and anxiously tries to please everyone and smooth the waters.
With colourful characters and a plot that so many women go through I found myself thinking, “go on , find the strength!” and I was delighted when the plot turned the way I hoped.
Excellent story which I loved reading, thank you Amanda!

Our heroine Rae-Valentine met Dolly her BFF at typing college where Dolly declared that she wanted to marry her brother's best friend, Vinnie. Dolly does indeed do this but not before setting up Rae with her brother Howard. who Rae marries at the tender age of 18. Howard and Dollys family, the Latimer's own several restaraunts so Rae from a humble background starts living a life of more luxury. However, she has always felt she was "the girl int he corner", not pretty, not put first, not powerful and of whom no one takes notices of her needs. This stems from Rae's relationship with her older sister, Debbie Jo as aspiring singer cum actress cum dancer who always hogged the limelight at home and taunted Rae as the "girl in the corner".

After a "surprise" silver wedding anniversary party where Howard gives Rae a diamond necklace and tickets for a trip just for the two of them to Antigua. Howard confesses that he has recently been unfaithful (with a waitress, for a 2 week period). Heartbroken, Rae goes to Antigua with Dolly to decide where her marriage is headed. However, tensions rise to the surface as Dolly seems to be in taking her brother's side. So, Rae goes off alone and flirts and receives nuggets of wisdom from a young bar man and takes a good long look at how she came to be a pushover for everyone in her life.

When Howard comes looking for reconciliation, Rae has a choice to make: keep the peace, as she always has, or put herself first for once and find out who she really is.

This book really wasn't for me. I hated the twee names of the female characters, it was really one dimensional and dragged a flimsy premise out for what seemed like ever. A book by numbers.As soon as it was mentioned that Howard ran the family restaraunts it was obvious that temptation would be to hand, but not to Rae. It reminded me of a really bad Kay Mellor style female drama. Flimsy and not worth the time spent on it.

Really good read. Took a bit of time to get in to it but it was really interesting with full character depth. Makes you think about life and how you would handle some situations and a great end. Thank you for the ARC

I absolutely loved the first book that I read by Amanda Prowse (Perfect Daughter) so I was really excited when I got an advanced copy of her latest book. It was a good read and one that kept me entertained throughout but I was always looking for something to happen. There were lots of pages of text that just didn't hook me and it felt more like Prowse was trying to describe a movie scene than one in a book.

There's family drama, there's secrets, romance, emotions flying around...but it still fell flat, until one particular moment where it felt like Prowse poured her heart into making the scene come alive. Empathy and understanding is in abundance throughout this book that's for sure - and Prowse crafts her characters carefully to bring them to life. It just wasn't my favourite book of hers but definitely won't stop me reading more..!

I'm shocked, I'm completely blown away by this book. Some of Amanda's work is heavy going or a subject that is sensitive or taboo and she handles them so well. This is such an amazing breath or fresh air from the tragedy and drama, or is it?
There are so many times in my life that I have felt like the Girl in the Corner and it really does resonate with me. It's funny and witty and a little sarcastic in all the right places. It's also got a great amount of trauma and once again Amanda has managed to perfect the right level of real-life accuracy. I completely fell in love with all the characters, but Rae-Valentine, such a powerful and resilient woman just had me captivated from the very beginning. I found myself willing her on, wanting her to step out from the corner and simultaneously trying to put myself in her shoes and wondering what I would do if it was me.
There's a situation around page 100 that had me simultaneously cringing and crying with laughter. I managed not to cry until the last few chapters, but alas Amanda got me again with such an emotive and powerful ending.
I have to say that I also absolutely loved the cover, it's stunning and the picture doesn't really do it justice. For an author who said she was only going to write 20 books, thank heavens she didn't stop, book 21 is wonderful and I can't wait to read book 22!

I really enjoyed this book, which certainly has you thinking about what you would do in a similar situation. Rae has the perfect marriage, or so she thought, which comes tumbling down with her husbands infidelity. The characters are very real, with real issues and Rae transforms from the girl in the corner to someone who realises she has her own life to lead and an awful lot to give, The ending came as a real surprise to me. Most enjoyable.

Believeable characters and plot line. I identified with the characters and cared what happened to them, Just the thing for reading by the side of the pool or just wanting to escape the winter weather.

This is the emotive story of Rae finding herself after always living her life pleasing others. She finds out her husband, Howard has committed an indiscretion which rocks her world and makes her question her life. Her best friend, Dolly is also Howard's sister and she tells Rae to 'just move on'. Rae discovers she is not just the girl in the corner but has lots to give and her own life to lead. I loved this book and I really connected with the main character. Amanda Prowse at her best. Would recommend. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

I am a great fan of Amanda Prowse having found one of her books, Poppy Day, here on Netgalley. Rae seems to have it all. A lovely husband and a nice family. It was a real roller coaster ride. Her trip to Antigua with her bestie Dolly, who was a real scream, sounded idyllic. When her husband of 25 years appeared I was torn between her forgiving him and just getting out of her marriage while she could. However, these decisions are difficult to make and over time all seemed well until the final twist which came as a shock . Another amazing read from Amanda Prowse.

Rae-Valentine has what seems to be the perfect marriage. In an almost rags to riches tale she marries her best friend’s brother – and is thrown into the kind of luxurious, glamorous, whirlwind life she always felt was beyond her. Decades later, things start to go horribly wrong for Rae. Amanda Prowse has this incredible gift of taking everyday lives and making them leap off the page at you. Her characters are all so wonderfully real. In other hands, her stories could be mundane. But Prowse lays her characters bare, shows us their inner thinking and with the lightest - but most genuine - touch proceeds to dissect their lives. She gives us glimpses into their very being. And just as I thought I knew exactly where The Girl in the Corner was going, she threw a total spanner in the works. The ending surprised and delighted me! The book is all about relationships - with our best friends, sisters, husbands and children. How do these relationships fare when really tested? And do we even recognise when they have become destructive rather than good for us?

Absolutely superb! Every woman who has ever felt taken for granted (and who hasn't?) will identify with this book.

Rae-Valentine is a shy sixteen year old who pales in comparison to her shining light sister. When she makes friends with Dolly, a much louder extrovert and is introduced to her vibrant family, Rae continues to be the quieter person - the one who everyone can depend on. But for how long?

This is a truly amazing read; one which will make every woman feel as if Amanda Prowse has been sifting through their life and put her finger on the moments when they wish they had been more assertive. A beautifully written story, parts of which I could easily identify with (and which made me glad my first marriage ended sooner rather than later)! The characters are plentiful, realistic and a good cross section of society. There is more than enough detail to keep the reader glued to the pages and the ending is just sublime. A gorgeous book and one which will stay with me. Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended. This author never disappoints!

My thanks to Lake Union Publishing for my copy via NetGalley. My opinions are completely my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as it was down to earth and realistic. Rae - Valentine is a quiet unassuming young girl when she meets Dolly at college. Dolly is her exact opposite, the loud and outgoing party type and she and Rae become firm friends with Dolly pushing her towards her brother, Howard, which soon results in wedding bells. Rae remains the steady, reliable wife and mother until her world is turned upside down on the day of her 25th wedding anniversary by a confession from Howard that will change her life forever, forcing her to examine herself and what she has become. Fabulously written in such a believable way, touching on subjects everyone can relate to. A definite yes from me!

Another incredibly thoughtful book by Amanda Prowse, one of my favourite authors.

Rae-Valentine is a woman who got married early, to be a part of the Latimer family, who were loud, wild and miles away from her own dull, stuck-in-their-ways family. Her sister-in-law is Dolly, whom she met when she was 16, and Dolly is her best friend as well as her relative. Rae's life is SO enmeshed with those of the Latimers, she has tended to be slightly outside the orbit of her own family. She is the "go-to" lady, the one who is always there for others and who always fixes everything for everyone. But what about HER hopes and dreams? Is she destined to always be the girl in the corner?

There were so many things that resonated with me, with this book. I have always been the girl in the corner too, the boring one, the one that was easy to dismiss. But, just like Rae, I started to find my feet in middle-age and it has been hard but good ever since.

I loved the character of Rae: she was real, she was such a nice woman and I was cheering her on, all the way. The story developed in a way that was unexpected, but I loved it!

I would highly recommend this book to anyone, especially women who were "the girl in the corner" in their younger days :)

5 well-deserved stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing.

I absolutely loved this book. The characters are very relatable and I found that this plot could happen to anyone. I look forward to reading more by this author. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love Amanda Prowse and have thoroughly enjoyed lots of her previous titles so was looking forward to this one. I am very pleased to say that this is bound to be another best seller and is in the true Amanda Prowse style.

A shy, quiet, sixteen year old Rae-Valentine meets Dolly, a loud, bubbly character and they instantly become the best of friends. Rae also ends up marrying Howard, Dolly’s older brother. Fast forward twenty five years and Dolly and Rae are still best friends, as well as sister-in-laws. Rae has the perfect life but then Howard drops a bombshell. He has had a two week fling with a waitress from his work. Rae’s life is turned upside down and she really doesn’t know what to do. Can she stay with Howard ?

The story tells the story of how Rae deals with the aftermath of her Husband’s confession. There are highs and lows, and expect some tear shedding !! This is a fantastic insight into marriage, family, betrayals and so much more. The characters are absolutely fabulous and you will find yourself becoming so engrossed in all of their lives.

If you love Amanda Prowse, you will thoroughly enjoy this book. If you haven’t read any of Amanda’s previous titles, then what are you waiting for !?

Thank you to Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

Great book, Easy read with suprise ending. Great novel about family life in London. Great characters. I would definitely recommend this book to family & friends.

I read this in one sitting - it was my alone time on the train, I really enjoyed the book it was really absorbing & a great read.
The characters were a little cliched, Dolly being over the top, Howard such the chiselled hunk - and Rae, put upon and a jolly good sort. But, as the story developed I did warm to Rae and Dolly, and it felt more real - and I was really happy with the way things worked out in the end.