When Maggie's daughter Bronte passes away, Maggie decides to take time out and help herself heal by following Bronte's plans for a gap year. Following her travel journal, Maggie is led on a journey of discovery - of the world, of her daughter and of herself.

Extremely emotional storytelling - I laughed and I cried (a lot!), I simply couldn't put it down and read it in a day. Beautiful descriptions, wonderful characters and fabulous writing. I look forward to Cathy Bramley's next novel.

Love Cathy Bramley books. When Maggie was 24 she went to Bali and met Jackson. She fell in love but then had to go home with no way of knowing how to get in touch with him when she found out she was pregnant. Her Bronte wanted to go on a gap year but died before she could. Maggie decided to do it for her

This is an amazing book by Cathy. An emotional and thought provoking read. A story of travel without leaving you chair and of second chances. Highly recommend.

Transport yourself to the other side of the world with Cathy Bramley’s new novel. Maggie is a single parent to daughter Brontë who has just secured her dream job, but when she informs her mother she wishes to defer the placement to go travelling for a year, they argue and before they can reconcile, Brontë is tragically killed. Overcome with grief Maggie is unsure how she will cope, and following an incident at work, she is forced to take a sabbatical. Maggie decides to use this time to travel and by using her daughter’s travel book to guide her. From a backpackers dream in Nepal, to the Blue Mountains and vineyards of Australia and on to the island paradise of Bali, Maggie goes on a journey of self discovery, trying to overcome her grief but also to find herself again. This book is beautifully written with some amazing characters and I can highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley, Orion Publishing Group and the author for the chance to review.

Ah this book was so good! Emotional (I had tears at various points), heartfelt, you felt like you were travelling with Maggie on her journey, sensing the smells and sights she was experiencing.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I love reading Cathy Bramley’s books, but with this one, I found it hard to get into at the beginning. As I continued reading I enjoyed it.

The story is about Maggie and her daughter Bronte. Both have a special bond, but when Brontë dies, Maggie is bereft and grieving her loss. Bronte wanted to take a year out before starting work, she had planned where she was going and how she’d experience different things.

Maggie makes a decision to do what her daughter never got to, and go on the gap her for Bronte.

I loved how the places were described that Maggie visited.

Oh my goodness what a beautiful book. Emotional, heartbreaking, uplifting and inspirational all at the same time. PS Tissues required.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Another wonderful read from Cathy Bramley delivering a read that was very emotional and uplifting at the same time. A storyline that I became fully immersed in from start to finish and unable to put down. A great book to lose yourself in.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

this was an amazing book, it’s a story of love, loss and adventure.
this is a new author for me and i will definitely be looking out for other books by her.
I did not want this story to end as you get to know the characters so well, a great read

I've read and loved every one of Cathy's books and I have to say she just gets better and better. This book was outstandingly beautiful, sad, poignant and awe inspiring. It touched on every single emotion. The grief felt by a mother on losing her beloved 23 year old daughter, Bronte, in a car accident was so moving but also remarkably hopeful as she bravely takes on the challenge of fulfilling her daughter's planned gap year adventures in Nepal, Australia and Bali. Encouraged and motivated by Bronte's journal setting out her planned itinerary day by day, Mum, Maggie, sets out to go to the places that her daughter never got to see. The places were beautifully described and I felt I was there on that journey and I learned quite a lot about the countries that Maggie visited. The themes of deep love, especially that of a mother and daughter relationship, grief, regret and hope all feature here with a lesson to do those special things and go to those special places with our loved ones while we can as regret when it is too late to do so is a very painful emotion.. I absolutely loved this beautiful book that will stay with me for a long time. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, once again Cathy Bramley triumphs with a wonderful book. I have enjoyed many of her previous titles and this was a slightly different tale for her, but it was once again very enjoyable. When Maggie loses her only daughter, she is struggling with life, then she remembers Bronte’s gap year journal and sets off on an adventure of her own. A heart breaking, emotional, yet uplifting tale, I loved it.

Thanks to @netgalley and @cathybramley for this read!

WOW! An endearing story of the worst kind of grief and the best kind of love.

This book had me smiling hard and reaching for the tissues in equal measures.

I felt nothing but excitement at the beginning of this story until the twist of death and my heart broke for Maggie. Grief really does affect people in different ways but this story encourages you to embrace it rather than bury it.

With her daughter as her tour guide and the kindness of others, Maggie discovers who she is and what she wants from life. As she embarks on her daughter's journey little does she know that the final piece needed to help her come to terms with her next chapter, can be found where it all began.

Cathy Bramley. you are amazing. and i am lucky to have had her books in my life for my book reading years. i cannot get over the talent of this author! it breaks me and makes me and just makes me almost emotional with how much i adore her work. with every book i am stolen, i am in, my time is to the book. and i couldn't love that feeling more. this is a knighthood kind of talent. do we give knighthoods to writers? we should do, or create one. because Cathy Bramley is off the scale brilliant. and yes, im cringing at my own sappy gushing. but books, and book by authors this book are so much more than words on pages. so much more.
im unsure how she did it but this book hit me even harder than her others. i was in bits. i cannot imagine losing your daughter. losing a child must feel like a painful wounds, always open from then on, just letting you bleed your life out. i cant fathom it. such bravery comes to those parents for ever finding a way to keep going.carry on. walk.breath again. and this book captured part of that beautifully. and took us all with this incredible mother. we get to see her journey through something her daughter planned to do and it feels like we are lucky to do so.
when Maggie's finds her daughters travel journal she knows just what to do. she will honour her daughter by taking this trip for her, with her, missing her. this gap year was what her daughter wanted so her mum is going to make it come true. Bronte her daughter will still get her dream. its going to be a way for Maggie to still feel close to her daughter too, as Bronte will be her tour guide of sorts.
it felt like we as readers were there too. every step, every new country Cathy brought it to life.
you wont want to put this book down. you might have to for a few moments to dry your tears but then like me you'll begin again. i adored this book. it follows all Cathy's books to going in my to be forever kept and cherished read. top notch from a epic writer.

I absolutely adore this authors books and I couldn’t wait to start this. I have had to wait a while before writing a review as I had a book hangover after finishing reading due to just how beautiful it was. It was a heartbreaking and emotional read of grief and finding yourself again after tragedy and of second chances and also the bond between mother and
Daughter. It is hard to review without giving the story away. I was in tears of alternating happy and sadness throughout.

This was an inspiring journey of love and loss courage and hope and makes you grateful for the little things that will stay with me for a long time.

Uplifting, cosy, and full of heart 💫🏡. Somewhere Only We Know is a charming, feel-good escape to a picturesque village with lovable characters, gentle romance, and themes of belonging. Cathy Bramley delivers comfort, warmth, and emotional depth in a story about finding your place and embracing new beginnings. Perfect for fans of small-town fiction with lots of heart.

Single mother Maggie is shocked when her daughter Brontë wants to defer a brilliant job offer in exchange for doing a gap year. She brings her a diary with a full itinerary to show her but Maggie thinks it’s a bad idea and asks her to think again without looking at Brontë’s plans.
Then the unthinkable happens and Brontë is killed in an accident sending a heartbroken Maggie into deep grief.
After taking far too little time off after the funeral she throws herself back into work when finally her boss makes her take a few months off to recover and take a proper break. She decides to take a look at Brontë’s gap year diary and follow the journey herself, maybe to bring a bit of her daughter back to her and maybe to find herself too.

This is a stunningly beautiful book. Fully worthy of my 5 stars. Funny, sad, thought provoking, heartwarming and joyous. Cathy Bramley has written her best so far here. If I was brave enough maybe I’d have a #mumsgapyear too.

With thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my days! This book has me in tears from early on. Cathy Bramley is one of my ‘go to’ authors and I admit I didn’t read the blurb properly as I knew that I would like it. I knew that it was about a journey taken from a travel diary from a daughter, I guess I just didn’t realise how soon after the daughters death it took place, or indeed the suddenness of the death. The writing and emotions were so powerful and raw, I think I felt everything Maggie did, it was as if I was living inside her throughout this book, such amazing writing.

When Maggie decides to take Brontes gap year trip, it was beautiful how Bronte was with her the whole way, with the notes in the journal, Maggie shared it all with her. Being a women of a similar age to Maggie I could totally identify the issues she encountered and it was really touching how when working at the school camp with all the youngster doing volunteering that they included her fully and accepted her for who she was and didn’t see her as simply an age. And yes, a private room, comfortable bed, decent shower are all must haves for women of a certain age!

The whole storyline of looking for Jackson, Brontes dad in Bali was moving, all those years he was there waiting for her to come back, if only she’d be braver sooner and taken her daughter. Their rekindling was really sweet, a lifetime between them but as soon as they see each other it’s like no time passed at all.

I really enjoyed the whole Instagram hashtag and social media thing, boy did that take off quick. Maggie meeting up with Jake, Brontes boyfriend in Australia, following the plan set out by Bronte was really nice. They both healed a lot from that and managed to create their own friendship bond beyond Bronte.

From start to finish I loved this, it will definitely be one I come back to again and again.

Can’t praise this book enough. I feel Cathy’s writing style has changed and I’m loving her more recent books more than ever.
I loved every single line in this beautiful and emotional book. From the first page I fell in love with the characters. Such a sad story I would absolutely love there to be a sequel
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I loved this book.! I particularly enjoyed the travel element, exploring alongside Maggie as she completed her mum gap year. The premise was sad but the book did have a happy ending, although to be honest it wasn’t in my opinion very realistic. However, who needs realism? I loved the way things worked out and it’s a story not real life so I think it’s allowed and it wasn’t very satisfying.

A beautiful, heartbreaking, life affirming story with wonderful descriptions of places the majority of readers will probably never be lucky enough to visit. Who can ask for anything more from a book? Cathy Bramley gets the mood just right in her latest book. She writes about loss -of an adult child; of a hard won job; of first love. But she also write about finding oneself when everything is lost. A beautifully written book that was a pleasure to read and is my pleasure to recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.