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.

This book is both heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measure. I started off thinking it would be a lovely story about Bronté, but everything shifts in a brief moment—and suddenly I’m just as wrapped up in Maggie’s story too. Their journeys are so cleverly intertwined, and I felt completely absorbed, as if I were right there with them. I didn’t want this book to end! A beautifully written, emotionally rich read.

I have to say this is one of the most emotional and inspiring books I've ever read. Without giving spoilers, this is a story of love, loss, hope and despair in equal measures. It follows the story of Maggie and spam between her summer of travelling as a young woman in 2000 up to the present day. As I said, I don't want to give anything away, but there is such emotion in this book, both happy and sad, coupled with bravery and doing things outside of your comfort zone. There is also lots of travel, and the descriptions of the places visited, make me want to visit. It is a lovely read from start to finish.

This was such a lovely story. I learnt so many things about countries across the world and I definitely want to visit some of them in the future! Mum’s gap year should be an actual thing!

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. This book was utterly exquisite. Maggie was an engaging narrator, and Bramley delivered a beautiful, moving, heartwarming, and heartbreaking exploration of grief and love. Ultimately hopeful, Maggie's travels were charted vividly, completely immersing the reader in her world and investing them in her story. Bramley's books are great, and I can't wait to read the next.

I always feel privileged to be able to read a book written by Cathy Bramley prior to publication, it feels special to be allowed a sneaky peek at another wonderful story, well written, thought provoking, and emotional, which this was. I have read all of her books from the start of her writing career and you can see how over time her stories have expanded with different emotions and something I look forward to reading each year.
This time we are taken on a journey that no mother wishes to take, but we see how Maggie's grief is funnelled into good memories and adventures and how stepping into her daughter Brontes shoes and her gap year book, she can see there world through her eyes and the adventure she wanted to have before settling down to work.
A beautiful story.

I enjoyed this book and enjoyed all the characters unfortunately I did not like the ending of this book as I guessed what would happene halfway through the book, I wish the author all the best with the book and thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book

The premise of this book in itself is a tearjerker but actually there's much more that is life-affirming and hopeful about this story that I encourage anyone, ESPECIALLY those who have experienced loss and grief, to read it.
There's a familiar tug between work and "life" experienced by the main character that I feel many people, particularly women in their 40s, can relate to and though we may all not have the resources to travel, we certainly would like to, and this book opens up this escapism to do so. The wonderful and hilarious moments of experience that travelling brings is captured perfectly and I think reading about Nepal, Australia and Bali alone was captivating.
The "journey" the main character goes on through grief as well as deep-rooted family and career tangles is a second branch of this story that is equally as important and interesting. Discovering what really matters and what options we have ties into the stages of life we all experience and the forks in the road that bring change and uncertainty but also gifts.
Another wonderful and beautiful book by Cathy Bramley who is one of my "must-buy" authors every time.

This was such an emotional read — heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once. After the sudden loss of her daughter Bronte, Maggie’s journey to retrace her daughter's gap year was incredibly moving. Reading about the places she visited and the people she met along the way made the story feel so real and powerful.

I loved how the journal guided Maggie through her grief and helped her reconnect not only with Bronte’s world, but with herself and her past. The way she created the memories Bronte never got to have was written beautifully. And the rekindled love story with Jono? So touching.

I read the last few chapters while sitting in the airport, and I’m not kidding—there were actual tears. I had to hold it together or risk looking like the emotional stranger crying at the gate!

A beautiful, bittersweet story. Thank you NetGalley for the download

This was a beautiful read. So well written and Maggie as the main character was fantastic. I’d recommend reading this to anyone.

Cathy Bramley is a go to author for me and this latest book is a beautiful, heartbreaking but uplifting and powerful story of grief and loss. Maggie’s Mums Road Trip in honour of her late daughter Brontë helps her make new friends and reconnect with her past whilst dealing with her loss and learning to live and love again. Beautiful, moving and emotional, a really special book.

A beautiful story of how a mother copes with her grief following her daughter's death. She follows her planned gap ear, giving the reader a travelogue of Nepal, Australia and Bali. Wonderful reading, I couldn't put it down.

If you’re a fan of Race Across the World this book will tickle your fancy. Be prepared for tears though because this is a story loss, grief and new beginnings. Maggie suffers the indescribable death of her daughter who was just about to go in gap year travels. She copes by driving herself to work harder. Forced to take a break before breaks Maggie takes her daughter’s journal and vows to fulfill Bronte’s dream of travel.
At times funny and also unbearably sad this novel shows a way forward through grief, a way to make a fitting memorial for the life lost. It’s not a task to undertake lightly.