‘You’re so bossy, Jess!’ Jake yelled. ‘Poor Matt!’
‘I am not bossy, I’m assertive.’ She smiled at her husband’s best friend.
‘Thank you, my assertive darling.’ Matthew kissed her forehead and she nodded gratefully in response.
‘We all knew Jess wouldn’t be able to resist getting involved during the speeches, right? Apparently the trick for me is going to be how to get her to shut up, not just today but throughout our married life. For the days when that proves impossible, Roger has very kindly given me these for use in extreme emergencies.’
Matthew bent down to reach below the table, then straightened up to reveal a pair of orange ear defenders in his hand. Everybody laughed and clapped, her parents included. Jessica thumped her groom on the bottom as he continued. ‘Wow! In all seriousness, how to follow that?’ He looked at Roger. ‘And I must say, a good summing-up from my father-in-law. Ever thought of leaving the sales game and taking up law, Roger? We could do with your sort in the courtroom!’
‘Hear! Hear!’ his colleagues concurred.
Jessica was happy beyond words that her dad and husband were friends. It would mean that all the Christmases, birthdays and holidays at the seaside that she pictured in her head, where they and her parents laughed as they played cards or ate fish and chips on a pebble beach, would come to fruition. Her stomach knotted in anticipation.
‘I am quite possibly the happiest man on the planet today…’ Matthew began.
Jessica smiled up at her husband on this, the happiest day of her life.
Buy it now!
About Perfect Daughter
Wife. Mother. Daughter. What happens when it all becomes too much?
Jackie loves her family. Sure, her teenage children can be stroppy. Her husband a little lazy. And providing round-the-clock care for her Alzheimer’s-ridden mother is exhausting. She’s sacrificed a lot to provide this safe and loving home, in their cramped but cosy semi with a view of the sea.
All Jackie wants is for her children to have a brighter future than she did. So long as Martha, the eldest, gets into university and follows her dreams, all her sacrifice will be worth something... won’t it?
Reviews
‘A cracking page-turner’
The Bookseller
‘This story of a woman’s fight to rebuild her shattered life is captivating, heartbreaking and superbly written.’
Closer
‘An absolutely gripping read… the characterisation is done superbly.’
Iain Dale, LBC Radio
‘Great novel – let’s get it to number 1!’
Gok Wan
‘Poppy Day is a brilliant book, I couldn’t put it down.’
Carol Vorderman
‘A rattling good book to curl up on the sofa with, I thoroughly recommend Poppy Day by army wife Amanda Prowse. She has turned her own fear and anxiety into a page-turning novel of loss and courage.’
Lorraine Kelly, The Sun
‘A modern day love story.’
Daily Mail
‘A deeply emotional story of a woman who will stop at nothing to save the man she loves… A fast, unputdownable read, Amanda Prowse adeptly fuses a tale of love and courage with the stark realities of war, both on the field and at home.’
Red
‘This romantic story of courage and determination is simply captivating.’
Closer
‘Army wife turns fear into fiction.’
Sunday Mirror
‘Set to become a bestseller.’
RAF News
‘Heartbreaking, but uplifting.’
Carol Vorderman
About Amanda Prowse
AMANDA PROWSE has always loved crafting short stories and scribbling notes for potential books. Her ambition is to create stories that stop people turning off the bedside light, with characters that stay with you long after the last page is turned.
Amanda’s first novel, Poppy Day, was self-published in October 2011 and achieved a #1 spot in the eBook charts. She was then signed up by publishers Head of Zeus and her second novel, What Have I Done?, became a #1 bestseller in 2013, and gained rave reviews from readers.
Amanda lives in the West Country with her husband Simeon, a soldier, and their two sons Ben and Josh. She has now published five novels and four short stories, which share a common theme of ordinary women doing extraordinary things for love. After many years, she finally has her dream job – a full-time writer.
You can follow Amanda on Twitter @MrsAmandaProwse, become friends with her on Facebook, or visit her website www.amandaprowse.org
About the No Greater Love Sequence
Amanda Prowse’s No Greater Love sequence is a series of contemporary stories with love at their core. They feature characters whose histories interweave through the generations: ordinary men and women who do extraordinary things for love. They are stories to keep you from switching off the bedside lamp at night, stories to remember long after the final page is turned...
Poppy Day
Ever since hairdresser Poppy Day married her childhood sweetheart, Mart, she’s been deliriously happy. Now Mart is fighting in Afghanistan, and Poppy is counting the days until he returns.
It takes one knock at the door to rip Poppy’s world apart. Mart has been taken hostage, and it’s too dangerous for the army to rescue him.
Poppy is determined to bring him home herself. But her journey will lead her to a heartbreaking dilemma. What price will she pay to save the man she loves?
Poppy Day is available here.
What Have I Done?
Kathryn Brooker is the very picture of a fulfilled wife and mother. Anyone who peered through the downstairs sash window at the four figures sat easily around their scrubbed-pine kitchen table would see a happy family without a care in the world. They would envy Kathryn her perfect life.
But they would be wrong. Kathryn is trapped in a nightmare. And she is about to do something to change it. Something only a truly desperate woman would do...
What Have I Done? is available here.
Clover’s Child
When eighteen-year-old Dot meets Sol, she feels that love has arrived at last. But this is 1961. East End girls don’t date West Indian boys, let alone fall in love with them and leave the country. They stay at home and live the life their parents planned for them. Even if it leaves them lonelier than they ever thought possible. Even if it rips their heart in two...
Clover’s Child is available here.
A Little Love
Pru Plum is the celebrated owner of famous Mayfair bakery, Plum’s Patisserie. She wears Chanel and her hair is expensively cut. Few would believe that this elegant woman turned sixty-six last year.
But Pru is not the confident, successful businesswoman she appears. She has done shameful things to get to where she is today. And she will do anything to protect the secrets of her past - especially when, for the first time in her life, she has finally fallen in love…
A Little Love is available here.
Will You Remember Me?
Poppy Day is an ordinary woman. She’s 32 years old, an ex-hairdresser, now a stay-at-home mum for her two gorgeous children while her husband Mart tours with the army. Nowadays, her simplest pleasure is having her family together in a clean and happy home.
But Poppy is too busy caring for others to notice the fatigue in her body and the menacing lump growing on her breast. If there’s anyone strong and deserving enough to defeat cancer it’s Poppy. After all, she’s fought harder battles than this. But does life really work like that?
Will You Remember Me? is available here.
Christmas for One
As a child, Meg always dreamed of the perfect Christmas…
This year, she can make it come true for her own little boy. There will be turkey and all the trimmings, a glittering tree, and a stocking hung up by a roaring fire. Who cares if there’s no devoted husband in the picture? She and Lucas will be just fine on their own.
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But then a chance meeting with a stranger in New York unravels everything she’s planned. Will Meg finally get everything she wished for? Or will she be alone this Christmas after all?
Christmas for One is available here.
A Mother’s Story
Jessica’s wedding was like a fairytale. She looked radiant in a dress strewn with crystals. Her Dad conquered his nerves and made a tearful speech. And her gorgeous husband Matthew declared himself the luckiest man alive. Together, Jessica and Matthew feel like they can take on the world.
But when their beautiful baby girl is born, Jessica is gripped with panic and fear. She can’t tell anyone how she feels. Even when her life starts to spiral out of control…
This is her story. A mother’s story.
A Mother’s Story is available here.
Jump to a free preview here.
Perfect Daughter
Wife. Mother. Daughter. What happens when it all becomes too much?
Jackie loves her family. Sure, her teenage children can be stroppy. Her husband a little lazy. And providing round-the-clock care for her Alzheimer’s-ridden mother is exhausting. She’s sacrificed a lot to provide this safe and loving home, in their cramped but cosy semi with a view of the sea.
All Jackie wants is for her children to have a brighter future than she did. So long as Martha, the eldest, gets into university and follows her dreams, all her sacrifice will be worth something... won’t it?
SHORT STORIES
The Game
It’s every mother’s worst nightmare…
Gemma Peters has everything a sixteen year old could want. Two loving parents, a good school, and close friends. Maybe sometimes her parents are a little overbearing, a little too adoring. But that’s the same for all teenagers, right?
Then, on the night of the school play, happy-go-lucky Gemma disappears without a trace. Where has she gone? Why has she been lying to her family? And, most importantly, will she ever come home?
The Game is available here.
Something Quite Beautiful
Can you ever escape your fate?
Somewhere in the wilds of Scotland, three boys await their fate. They have been sentenced to twenty years in Glenculloch, a remote prison for the most hopeless of criminals. The rumours say that it is run by a woman who thinks she’s God. A woman who decides what is ugly, and what is beautiful. A woman who decides who lives, and who dies...
Something Quite Beautiful is available here.
The Ten-pound Ticket
Australia, 1962: Susie has just arrived on the boat from England. She is clutching a newborn baby, but she has no wedding ring on her left hand.
The land is dusty and hot, and the work is hard and tiring. All Susie wants is to go home. But with no money, and no hope, how can she turn her life around?
The Ten-pound Ticket is available here.
A Christmas Wish
A special Christmas short story from Amanda Prowse: a wonderful, warm festive treat from a bestselling author.
Poppy is trying to make sure her children have the perfect Christmas. The fields are sparkling with snow, the turkey is roasting, and the tree is groaning with presents. But Poppy’s beloved husband is fighting in Afghanistan, and the kids are missing their Dad.
Can all their wishes come true without him? Or will they have the perfect Christmas after all?
A Christmas Wish is available here.
A Letter from the Publisher
We hope you enjoyed this book. We are an independent publisher dedicated to discovering brilliant books, new authors and great storytelling. Please join us at www.headofzeus.com and become part of our community of book-lovers.
We will keep you up to date with our latest books, author blogs, special previews, tempting offers, chances to win signed editions and much more.
If you have any questions, feedback or just want to say hi, please drop us a line on [email protected]
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HeadofZeusBooks
The story starts here.
First published in the UK in 2015 by Head of Zeus Ltd.
Copyright © Amanda Prowse, 2015
The moral right of Amanda Prowse to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
9 7 5 3 1 2 4 6 8
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (HB) 9781784970338
ISBN (XTPB) 9781784970345
ISBN (E) 9781784970321
Head of Zeus Ltd
Clerkenwell House
45-47 Clerkenwell Green
London EC1R 0HT
www.headofzeus.com
Contents
Cover
Welcome Page
Epigraph
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Epilogue
Preview
About Perfect Daughter
Reviews
About Amanda Prowse
About the No Greater Love Sequence
An Invitation from the Publisher
Copyright
Perfect Daughter Page 31
