For as long as I can remember, I have always enjoyed books written by the incredibly talented author that is Amanda Prowse and was very excited to begin reading her latest story Anna. Being slightly different from her other novels, Anna is the first of the One Love, Two Stories series which will soon be followed up in April by Theo. Anna was a story that more than lived up to the very high expectations I had of it and I absolutely adored reading it from beginning to end.
When we first meet Anna Cole she’s very young and living in a South London flat with her mum who she loves with all her heart and her big brother Joe who she adores despite his troubles. Meanwhile, all she knows about her father who she’s never met is that he drives a black cab and whilst her life isn’t perfect she’s happy enough. Fast forward to when Anna turns 18 and it’s safe to say that she’s suffered a lifetime of unhappiness, having lost her mother at a young age, her brother to drugs and having lived in care. Things don’t become any easier as she struggles to make a successful life for herself in London but several years later she meets Theo, who despite having a very different past to Anna seems to be absolutely perfect for her. This is Anna’s version of what is a truly unforgettable love story.
As I have come to expect from a book written by Amanda Prowse, within Anna is a character who has experienced an incredible amount of adversity but is a strong, caring and inspirational young woman. Throughout the novel, Amanda successfully manages to capture every emotion that Anna is feeling and she was a character who I both admired and empathised with from a very eary stage. As I read Anna’s story and discovered her hopes and dreams, I couldn’t help but hope that they would become a reality and that everything she wished for would one day come true.
Throughout the entirety of Anna, Amanda Prowse’s signature writing style that I have always adored really does shine through. With an incredible talent for creating powerful, emotional and engaging stories that will stay with you for a lifetime, Amanda always writes about real life issues with sensitivity and tact which was certainly the case within Anna. Amanda’s writing within Anna was also incredibly poignant and heartfelt, with plenty of important messages, moments that made me laugh and moments that made me cry.
Sometimes you come across a book that needs to be rated more than the standard five stars available on the likes of Goodreads and Amazon - for me Anna is one of those books. This was an exceptional story that I truly loved and I cannot wait to read Theo’s side of the story when it’s published next month. Believe me when I say that you will not be disappointed by this book!
