Somewhere Only We Know by Cathy Bramley #Review

 

I am thrilled to be invited to be part of the celebrations for this uplifting novel by Cathy Bramley.  Somewhere Only We Know was published on July 31st 2025 by Orion. 

She thought their love story was over.
The world had other plans...

When Magnolia Jones finds her daughter's travel journal, she can think of no better way to honour her life than setting off on the gap year trip that twenty-three-year-old Brontë had dreamed of taking.

It was meant to be Brontë's adventure, but perhaps following her daughter's footsteps around the world is exactly what Magnolia needs to piece her broken heart back together and begin to heal.

As her travels take her further away from home, memories of a long-ago summer come flooding back. Magnolia barely recognises that girl she used to be - the dreams she had, the freedom ahead, the midnight kisses on the beach with curly-haired, brown eyed Jackson.

Maybe, just maybe, in this magical place that is somewhere only they know, Magnolia is about to discover that her journey isn't over - it's just about to begin... 

 My Thoughts

This uplifting story by Cathy Bramley starts in a sad place for Magnolia but as she embarks on the itinerary laid down by her sadly deceased daughter, she learns a lot about herself, her family and how she plans to carry on. It is far from a subdued story but takes you to some far flung places. Magnolia is pushed right out of her comfort zone and  as she looks back at the young girl she used to be, she learns a lot about herself. 

    I enjoyed the places Magnolia saw, each so different, and the people she met along the way, who all had such an effect on her. At the beginning, she has buried herself in her work and all her adult life tried to tightly control her surroundings. Liberated on her Mum's Gap Year, she sees other possibilities and we also come to realise why she has wanted to be so in control. Her relationship with her mother has been difficult but she has nurtured her daughter and sister. You are never in doubt about her strong family feeling for the people she has put first, at the expense of her own desires. 

In short: warm, uplifting reading 

 

About the Author

 

Cathy Bramley is the Sunday Times Top Ten best-selling author of THE LEMON TREE CAFE. Her other romantic comedies include Ivy Lane, Appleby Farm, Wickham Hall, Conditional Love, The Plumberry School of Comfort Food and White Lies and Wishes. She lives in a Nottinghamshire village with her family and a dog.

 

Cathy turned to writing after spending eighteen years running her own marketing agency. She has been always an avid reader, never without a book on the go and now thinks she may have found her dream job!

You can follow Cathy here:  Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter

Book link: Amazon UK 

Thanks to Cathy Bramley, Orion and Compulsive Readers for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

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