Can moving on meaning moving back?

Synopsis

Dreams can come true, you just have to believe…

All new from Irish bestselling author Sian O’Gorman

After 10 years in London, working in a stressful City firm, Liv O’Neill returns home to Sandycove, a picturesque seaside village, just outside Dublin to care for her mother after a fall.

Whilst Liv reconnects with friends and family, she is amazed by Sandycove’s thriving community spirit with its artisan shops, delis and cafes – it’s not quite the place she left behind.

As village life begins to creep under her skin, Liv is forced to confront the things that drove her away.

Can Liv balance her past, present and future and find her own happy place?

And will a handsome young doctor help her make a decision about the life she really wants?

Suddenly her old life in London begins to seem extremely unappealing and Liv is forced to use her family’s past in order to forge a brand new future.

My review

When her mother takes a fall, Liv O’Neill makes the temporary move from hectic and stressful London back to Sandycove, nearby Dublin.
For Liv it’s the perfect opportunity to reconnect with her friends and family. But being back in Sandycove is also seeing all the changes that took place in her 10 years of absence yet stayed the same.
Liv finally has the chance to find answers to her questions of the past, and being back in Sandycove makes her wonder where her future is.
And will her future involve a young handsome doctor with a dog?

This is an author I have recently discovered, and I absolutely adored reading one of her other books. And even if I had high expectations, there was also this little fear that this book didn’t fulfil them…

But me of little faith! I found this just a wonderful, beautiful, emotional and enthralling story!

Liv is a very conscious woman. She is kind of driven mad by her boss, but when her mother needs her, even when not said with that many words, she is happy when karma pulled some cards and made it possible for Liv to spend four weeks in Sandycove.

I can only imagine what it would feel like returning home after so long, to a place with many happy memories, but also memories about times you failed and where a few life mattering secrets have been kept.
I found it beautiful to see how Liv discovered everything that has changed while being away, but also seeing how many things remained the same.

I understood the dilemma Liv was facing, because Sandycove looks like a wonderful place to be living in. But what about her current life in London? Is her job really that satisfying? And what about her friend Roberto who knows just everything about her and is her shoulder to cry on in London? But Sandycove is also the place that reminds her of her past failure… And what would she do as a job there? There are so many things to take in account…

This was a story that showed all the beauty of a community, but also a few things that aren’t so beautiful… Jessica’s story broke my heart, however I was comforted how everyone stood by her side and helped her however they could.
There were so many characters to fall in love with, because of their kindness and warmth. Bronagh is the kind of friend that will stand by your side year after year, Roberto is the crazy, funny friend that just everyone should have in their lives, just for the hilarity.
Will is the kind of doctor I would want to have myself! And even Pablo The Dog made my heart melt!

There is some romance in it, but this book is just so much more… it’s about finding yourself again, about secrets of the past that had an influence on you.
The strength of the book is the strength of all the characters. There is so much courage mentioned in it, because there are several characters making life – changing yet difficult decisions.
I found this a lovely, inspirational book! When can I pack my stuff and move to Sandycove???