Having read Susanne O’Leary’s ‘Daughters of Wild Rose Bay‘ I was interested in reading more about the characters from this beautiful Irish locale.
Memories of Wild Rose Bay
A feel-good love story about taking chances and finding yourself, set under the endless, twinkling stars of the Wild Atlantic Way.
When Kate O’Rourke takes up a temporary position as a doctor in Sandy Cove, she hopes spending time in the place where her father was from will help her find herself again. Ever since his passing she has felt lost, but she imagines the calming sound of the sea on the Irish coast will allow her to heal.
Kate immediately feels at home in the old surgery, and as she takes walks beside the camellia bushes along Wild Rose Bay and meets every resident in the tiny village, she feels like this is where she’s meant to be. And when she’s told about local healer Cormac O’Shea, she’s excited to learn even more about the history of the area, and meet the man who every woman in town says is so charming.
But Kate quickly realises that she and Cormac have different ideas about how their patients should be treated. Kate is efficient and well-organised, whilst Cormac is wild and spontaneous, passionate about his ancestors’ reliance on Irish healing. And their differences cause more sparks than Kate is prepared to admit.
Just as Kate and Cormac begin to understand one another, Kate’s old life threatens to call her away from Sandy Cove forever. And she is finally forced to decide what life she wants to lead, and what kind of person she wants to be…
A beautiful story about finding love in Ireland, Memories of Wild Rose Bay is a gorgeously uplifting read. Fans of Debbie Macomber, Sheila O’Flanagan and Mary Alice Monroe won’t stop turning the pages.
My review
Set in the beautiful green hills and beaches of Sandy Cove and complete with characters that are so typical of Ireland it was an easy and enjoyable read!
Kate O’Rourke has decided to opt out of the stressful city hospital life and hopes that her stint as a country doctor will be a laid back one. What she didn’t quite bargain for was the old-fashioned Sandy Cove’s resistance to it’s first female doctor. But Kate manages to overcome these challenges, showing great strength of character.
What she didn’t bargain for was the ‘complication’ of meeting Cormac, the somewhat mysterious alternative healer who has gathered quite a following in Sandy Cove. The medical professional’s and the herbalist’s approach to healing are very different and there’s the inevitable skepticism, but they are strongly drawn to each other.
There is the intriguing Irish ‘myth’ of Cormac being the 7th son of the 7th son and therefore having healing powers. The history of the O’Rourke castle, which is part of Kate’s family history, add that special bit of magic and superstition to the story.
Once again, Susanne O’Leary has managed to create loveable characters. Besides the two main characters, Dr Pat, Bridget, Mick and many of the patients are endearing.
These coupled with the love story of Kate and Cormac make Memories of Wild Rose Bay a delightful read!
Memories of Wild Rose Bay is the fifth book in the Sandy Cove series by Susanne O’Leary but can read as a standalone.
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Author Bio:
Susanne O’Leary is the bestselling author of more than twenty novels, mainly in the romantic fiction genre. She has also written three crime novels and two in the historical fiction genre. She has been the wife of a diplomat (still is), a fitness teacher and a translator. She now writes full-time from either of two locations, a ramshackle house in County Tipperary, Ireland or a little cottage overlooking the Atlantic in Dingle, County Kerry. When she is not scaling the mountains of said counties, or keeping fit in the local gym, she keeps writing, producing a book every six months.
Visit Susanne at her website, or her blog. Find her on Facebook and on Twitter.
I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, Bookouture in exchange for an honest review.