Sturcombe Bay #1
Vicky has always been sensible when it comes to love.
What if this time she wasn’t?
Vicky Marston inherits beautiful Bramble Cottage in a South Devon seaside village. Her fiancé in London keeps pushing her to sell it on as quickly as possible: it’s the sensible thing after all.
But Vicky’s plans are disrupted by her new neighbour, Tom Cullen.
Tom owns the local farm and makes no bones about his distrust of city types.
Vicky wants nothing to do with the irritatingly grumpy farmer who is determined to misjudge her. Even if he is the most gorgeous man she’s ever met.
But life in Devon is quickly showing Vicky just what she’s been missing. And when she catches her fiancé cheating, she realises being sensible isn’t always the sensible thing to do.
Bramble Cottage just might offer the fresh start she’s looking for.
But the one thing she is sure of is that if she ever falls in love again, it’ll be with anyone but Tom Cullen.
A Fresh Start at Bramble Cottage by Susanne McCarthy is published 30 April 2024 by Joffe Books.
About Susanne McCarthy
Susanne McCarthy was born in London and still proudly considers herself a Londoner at heart. Growing up in the city during the 1960s left her with lasting memories of the music, fashion and vibrant atmosphere of the era. Before becoming an author, Susanne worked a variety of jobs — from measuring fabric in a department store and cleaning chalets at Butlins to a brief spell in the Civil Service — before eventually training as a teacher in Liverpool. Although teaching children was not quite the right fit, she later found her place working in adult education. Life later took her to Shropshire, where she and her husband shared their home with an ever-changing collection of rescued animals, including Afghan Hounds, terriers, cats, birds, fish and even an iguana named Spike. Now living in South Devon, just a short walk from the sea, Susanne has found the perfect setting for writing the warm, escapist stories her readers love.
My Review
There are some books that arrive at exactly the right moment, and A Fresh Start at Bramble Cottage was absolutely one of those reads for me. From the very first pages, I wanted to escape into Sturcombe Bay and never leave.
Susanne McCarthy creates the kind of seaside setting that feels instantly comforting — salty sea air, cosy cottages, friendly faces and that slower pace of life that makes you breathe a little deeper just reading about it. Bramble Cottage itself felt like a character in its own right, and honestly, I could picture myself curled up there with a coffee listening to the waves outside.
I really connected with Vicky’s story too. Her life in London may have looked sensible and secure on the surface, but watching her slowly realise she wanted something more felt both emotional and uplifting. There’s something incredibly satisfying about seeing a character stop living the life everyone else expects of them and finally start listening to themselves instead. And then there’s Tom Cullen… grumpy, stubborn, frustrating and completely impossible not to fall for. The chemistry between him and Vicky builds so naturally throughout the story, and I loved that their romance took its time. Beneath all the sharp edges, there’s a warmth to Tom that slowly sneaks up on both Vicky and the reader.
This is exactly the kind of book I turn to when I want pure comfort reading — hopeful, romantic and full of heart. Yes, life is messier in reality, but sometimes you just want a story that wraps around you like a warm hug and leaves you smiling long after the final page. By the end, I genuinely didn’t want to leave Sturcombe Bay behind, and I couldn’t wait to return for the next book in the series.
📸 Behind the Scenes:
Reading A Fresh Start at Bramble Cottage reminded me of the time I got my car well and truly stuck in a snowy farm track ditch. A proper winter disaster! Sadly, the farmer who came to my rescue was nothing like grumpy-but-gorgeous Tom Cullen… but hey, maybe next time I’ll get lucky! 😅 Here’s to small villages, fresh starts, and fictional farmers who make us swoon. 💕🐄
#AFreshStartAtBrambleCottage #SusanneMcCarthy
#JoffeBooks
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