Memories of Wild Rose Bay by Susanne O’Leary is the fifth book in the contemporary romance Sandy Cove series. As with a lot of romance series each book in the Sandy Cove series changes the main characters so each can be read and understood as a standalone if choosing to do so. However, for those following from the beginning there are glimpses of previous characters in each new book of the series.

Kate O’Rourke is new to Sandy Cove moving there to be where her father had came from to try to find herself again after the lose of her father. Kate has taken the job of Sandy Cove’s doctor as a temporary position to see how she feels about her new home.

Kate quickly begins to feel at home as she walks along Wild Rose Bay and meets all the towns folk. One man in particular stands out to Kate in the small town and that is Cormac O’Shea. Cormac was the town healer until Kate came along and the two have very different ways of approaching medicine and their patients.

I have been following the Sandy Cove series since it began and have fallen in love with the quaint little town on the Irish coast. The characters/residents of Sandy Cove are always likable as you get to know each of their stories and this time was no different with Kate and Cormac. I enjoy the sweet way the story unfolds with each book in the series and will be happy to return to Sandy Cove again in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I love Susan O’Leary books. Shady Cove is a fantastic escape from wherever you have to be right now. Love, love, loved it.

When Kate O'Rourke returns to rose bay and takes up the role of temporary Doctor, she finds herself being swept away with the familiarity of her family roots.
And then we meet Cormac, who is a local and is well liked by the villagers. Although their opinions often differ, sparks begin to fly between the pair straight away.
This is a lovely, light hearted storyline that I fell in love with myself. I thought the writing style was brilliant, the characters were realistic and loveable, and the entire story just flowed beautifully from beginning to end.
This is certainly a book I will be recommending to others!.

Kate O'Rourke is returning to her family roots by accepting a temporary Doctor position in Rose Bay. Her Father's family were proud of their Irish roots and she hopes to learn more. Cormac O'Shea is a local who the villagers love for his herbs and healing hands. He is the 7th son of a 7th son. Kate and Cormac differ greatly on treatment for some villagers but sparks seem to fly. A nice love story with catch up's from previous books. This is book 5 in the Sandy Cove series and can be read as a stand alone. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was a really fun book to read. I enjoyed the Irish touch and descriptions of the countryside. The characters of the book were well rounded and fun. It’s the story of an Irish country doctor. Very old fashioned thinking, but explained very well.

I haven’t read the other books in this series, so I can’t comment on how the series itself is and if you really need to read them in order. This book was complete and didn’t bounce around referencing other books, so I assume it’s a stand alone.

Enjoy!

EXCERPT: As they walked to the front door, she looked up at the old house, the ivy covered walls and the lights in the windows. It was such a welcoming house, and each time she stepped inside, she felt as if the house put its arms around her. 'Home is where the heart is,' she thought, 'even if it has been broken.' But this house was only a temporary home for her. Would she ever find one of her own?

ABOUT THIS BOOK: 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…

MY THOUGHTS: Memories of Wild Rose Bay by Susanne O'Leary is a pleasant romance set on the west coast of Ireland, Sandy Cove in County Kerry.

Although this is a series, each book can be read as a stand-alone as it features different people.

The author's descriptions of the scenery are enticing and if I could visit this location, I would. It sounds rugged but beautiful.

There is not a lot of depth to the characters, but probably enough for the author's purpose. Kate can be quite dogmatic in her opinions, and can also be a little fiery when crossed. Two men cross her path when she takes up her position as assistant GP with the elderly and wanting to retire Dr Pat. The first is famous actor, Mick O'Dwyer, son of Dr Pat who is home for an extended period while he works on writing a play. The two have an easy relationship and enjoy tramping together. The second is Cormac O'Shea, a gentle quiet man who works as a healer and herbalist at the local wellness centre. He and Kate clash as they each regard the other as a threat to their professions, and yet there is an unsettling attraction between them.

I loved the characters of Dr Pat and his nurse/general factotum, Bridget, but while Dr Pat's wife Helen was an interesting character, she wasn't at all likeable.

There are lots of descriptions of lovely food, so don't start reading this book when you are hungry!

Memories of Wild Rose Bay is a quick, easy and pleasant read, if not totally predictable. It is a little too lightweight for my personal taste, but I enjoyed it more than not.

⭐⭐⭐.1

#MemoriesOfWildRoseBay #NetGalley

'Your path is determined by the choices you make, and those choices depend on your thoughts and feelings and the personality you're born with.'
'It's written in the stars, you mean?'
He laughed. 'No, it's all in your own demeanour. And the people you meet and the circumstances you get thrown into. It's like a giant jigsaw puzzle, but it's up to you to put the pieces in the right places.'

THE AUTHOR: Susanne O'Leary is the bestselling author of 22 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 (including MacGillycuddy's Reeks, featured in Full Irish), or keeping fit in the local gym, she keeps writing, producing a book every six months.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Memories of Wild Rose Bay by Susanne O'Leary for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

An entertaining and well written romance. Great plot and character development. Beautiful Ireland setting. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

Kate O'Rourke is the new doctor arrived in Sandy Cove. She comes from Dublin but once tbere, she finds out that her family's ancestors had lived here for a very long time. Between visiting patients with the old doctor, Pat, she finds the time to get to know Cormac. He's a very particular character and sooner rather than later, Kate feels pulled toward him and his particularities.
This is a very sweet story. The setting is beautiful and the author does a great job with the descriptions. The characters are well developed and the pace is good.
It's a nice book for the fans of Irish romance and all the goodies that come with it.
If you're a fan of Irish tales, go for it! You'll not going to be disappointed.
Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read the other books in the series, but this book can easily be read as a standalone.

This is a sweet, easy read about Kate, a young doctor from Dublin, who moves into Sandy Cove. Sandy Cove happens to be the place where her ancestors come from and she feels a pull that she can't explain. She struggles with exchanging her high flying life in the big city with her new life as a rural GP, but she does a pretty good job. She meets a couple of very nice fellas - which one is going to sweep her off her feet? There were lots of great characters in the story, who really added to the atmosphere.

I think my only criticism was that I wanted the story to keep on going and the epilogue didn't cover all the things I wanted to know, lol.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

Rating 4.5/5*

What a lovely story this proved to be, with a great setting in a beautiful small, coastal community and plenty of fantastic characters.

Kate O’Rourke is moving to Sandy Cove as part of her training to become a GP. She’s following in her father’s footsteps as he was a GP and this village is where his family originally lived before moving to Dublin. Here, a local healer, Cormac O’Shea, has very different ideas about treatments for patients and the two soon have sparks flying with their different philosophies but there’s also mutual attraction there. Can they learn from each other? Will they dare trust each other? Will their love ever have a chance or will Kate move back to Dublin after her six month placement ends?

This is a heartwarming story and I have to say that Mick and Bridget are both brilliant secondary characters. The local beliefs regarding the seventh son of the seventh son, the way that sometimes old remedies work best, the revealing of family histories and life in this close knit Irish community are all key elements in this gorgeous read. This is the fifth book in this series and I can honestly say it works well as a standalone as I seem to have missed out on the earlier books, something I hope to remedy in future. I’ll definitely be looking out for more by this author and in this series in future.

I requested and was gifted a copy of this book and this is my honest review after thoroughly enjoying reading it.

I love the Sandy Cove series. Such an amazing setting in Ireland. What a charming read! Delightful beach reading.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Kate is coming as the new doctor in Sandy Bay, not having really coming to terms with the death of her doctor father and with her twin sister Tara in New York she felt she had to get out of Dublin and Sandy Bay is where her father originally came from. She soon settles in but when she meets the holistic healer Cormac the sparks really start to fly... can they overcome their professional differences or will that always be in the way?

Another lovely story in this series, great to be back with some of the previous characters but I also loved Kate's story and the great little family they made at the doctors house. Perfect light summer read

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary advance reader copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

This was book five in the Sandy Cove series. It reads well as a stand-alone book so you would not have to have read the rest of the books to enjoy this one. This is a cute, feel-good series and I have enjoyed getting to know the characters in these books. I enjoyed this book but felt that it was a bit short, more of a short story, there was so much more that I wanted to happen. I was hoping this book would delve more into the past of the O’Rourkes. It was lovely read, a great summer beach read.

Cannot wait for the next book in this series, they always leave me smiling.

Kate O'Rourke moves from Dublin to Sandy Cove to take over the role of doctor. The small country practice is a world away from her busy city experience to date. But she is keen to enjoy the local area as her recently deceased father's family originated from the area and it makes her feel close to him.
Love is in the air when Kate meets local healer Cormac O'Shea but they antagonise each other as she relies on science while he is more holistic. Will hearts win out over heads?
This is my third visit to Sandy Cove and Wild Rose Bay, and the 5th book in Susanne O'Leary's beautiful series set in Ireland. Once again I was pulled in to the setting and could easily imagine the power of the landscape and the lilting Irish tones. We do see occasional glimpses of characters form the preceding books but this would work perfectly as a stand alone novel.
Kate is a strong lead character and needs to navigate the tricky path of a small rural community adapting to a young female doctor. She is grief stricken following the death of her father, the doctor who inspired her. She is unhappy with the clinical sterility of being a city doctor and wants to have the time and opportunity to provide a more personal medical service to her patients.
Yet, her scientific side comes to the fore in her dealings with Cormac who is the seventh son of a seventh son and is believed to have magical healing powers. There is a spark between the couple but their polar opposite opinions get in the way (opposites attract?)
Memories of Willow House is a light hearted feel good novel but also a strangely powerful story of staying true to yourself and accepting the differences in others.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy of Memories of Wild Rose Bay in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is an absolute brilliant addition to the Sandy Cove series. It can be read as a stand alone but it’s even better if read in order so as better to understand the family relationships. The stories weave beautifully from the O’Rourke andMcKenna families.

Kate O’Rourke has left her job at in the A & E department at St. Vincent’s - Dublin’s largest hospital - to continue to train as an Assistant GP in Sandy Cove for 6 months. County Kerry is the home of the O’Rourke clan so she’s excited to go, especially since the passing of her da and she hopes to feel close to him there.

Rounding out the immediate group are Dr. Pat O’Dwyer who will be semi-retiring while training Kate. His son Mick is a stage actor. His nurse/receptionist Bridget and her husband John. Cormac O’Shea is the 7th son of a 7th son, so legend says that he possesses special powers. He’s a herbalist, a natural healer and his ways clash with Kate’s. Patients in the small town are cancelling appointments because Kate is young, female, from Dublin, so she can’t possibly be qualified to treat them. They prefer to put their faith in “old” remedies, which fuels her clashes with Cormac.

Kate quickly fits in and soon realizes that she might not want to leave after her 6 months are up.

A wonderful read that I hated to see end. I can’t wait for the next book in the series. Worth so much more than 5 stars!

This was such a lovely refreshing read! This review, I don’t need to talk about the story line because the author has covered it perfectly with the blurb however I have so much I want to talk about!

The setting of this book is just absolutely stunning! The beautiful scenery found in Ireland is just described exquisitely! This really helped to create the magic, and a warming atmosphere! I could picture so many of the sceneries so perfectly which really made the book for me!

I really did enjoy the folk law and ancient history that you find throughout this book! The superstitions all the way through to the herbal remedies and how the families are all known for something individual! I loved the little bit of magic in this, from the Stone, up to O’Roukes Castle, to the healing earth and the healing hands! It’s was nothing like I’ve read before and it was simply magical!

I wasn’t sure how I was going to get on with it to be honest as to start with it was very medical based, but actually once I’d carried on I enjoyed the medical side, it was a solid story line, with a clear way in which it was going to go! I found it so very interesting to see the two complete opposite sides to health care, the scientific, doctor side and the herbalist, natural remedies side! I really enjoyed watching the 2 characters battle it out and discuss the differences of the 2 types of treatment!

Obviously this story clearly is a romance, and I enjoyed waiting to find out who the romance was going to be with. To start with I only wanted it to go one way, but when it went a different way I actually found the 2 fitted perfectly together! It was a beautiful slow building romance that grew and blossomed over time, definitely one made to last!

Now the characters. Kate is the main character, she’s one of a twin, her sister Tara is living it large in New York as a photographer, and the two of them couldn’t be more different! Kate was always in to medicine wanting to take after her father! She worked in A&E but really wanted to see what it was like for her father! I really felt for the both losing their father so suddenly and they dealt with it so so differently! Tara kept herself busy as far away as possible and Kate wanted to go back to her families roots to where it all began and feel close to her father again! Kate’s character is so lovely! She’s so caring just wanting to take care of people, her reasons for moving to General Practition are just so lovely! I wish ALL doctors were like her and Dr Pat! She doesn’t get it easy from the locals to start with but she perseveres and finds that connection to her dad in so many ways! I do feel she took on too much but that was her caring nature! I was rooting for her romance the whole way through and for her happy ever after!

Cormac is a local herbalist that works at the wellness centre! The locals (especially the older generation) love him as they believe because he is the 7th son of a 7th son, that he has healing powers! He is so passionate about his natural remedies that he will argue it for as long as he can! I found him a bit rude at times, but he did grow on me, he was just so passionate about what he believed in that I totally can relate to that!

Mick is a theatre actor, one that both sisters LOVE! He is the son of Dr Pat and is just such a fab character! He is just so genuine and lovely, and hard working and passionate and I just instantly liked him!

Now Dr Pat my absolute FAVE character! A kind and caring man, one we can all relate to when GP Practices only had 1 doctor! I grew up only having 1 doctor and it was so much nicer than what we have these days! It’s so impersonal now and that’s EXACTLY what Dr Pat doesn’t let happen! Even at his ripe old age he is so dedicated to his work, it’s like it’s his life’s mission, busy clinics all day, and then travels round in the evenings and on weekends to check on the elderly or more vunerable patients! He struggles to retire due to health reasons as he wants to keep busy and can’t imagine not working! He is just such a Sweet and endearing character and I would love him as my doctor!

Over all this was a beautifully written, gradually built up romance, that takes you on a journey with Kate through her memories, and connecting with her late father through the beautiful and natural Irish nature, expanding her knowledge as a doctor and accepting a new life and most importantly falling in love, not just with a man but the quieter places in Ireland!

I’d love to give this book 4 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️!

Memories of Wild Rose Bay by Susanne O'Leary takes place in rural Ireland, County Kerry and is the story, mostly, of a county doctor. It is billed as, "an utterly uplifting and gripping Irish romance," and that describes it in full. Kate has come to Sandy Cove to complete her training as a general practitioner. She already has years of experience as an Accident and Emergency room doctor but she yearns to connect with her patients, to treat them as people, not just injuries/illnesses passing through. The plan is four months under the guidance of the doctor and then two months on her own. The surgery reminds her of her father, another small town g.p. and she is immediately enthralled. The house is a huge old Victorian, the assistant is a motherly Irish woman named Bridget, who cooks for the doctor as well. They even make house calls, although the doctor explains how that is part of a community effort to make sure not a day passes without human contact for these people, and between the mailman, himself, and the priest, that is what happens. It's all perfect. There are blips along the way, of course.

Sandy Cove is a place anyone would want to love. O'Leary has drawn it so perfectly that the reader can see it as the story traverses the landscape. The characters are just that, characters. They are real people with all their quirks and oddities, but alive with personality and emotion. The story is subtle. It is not an in-your-face romance, but rather the slow growth of real feelings, at the same time as other things are happening in the village. When the romance comes, it slips in quietly and simply makes the reader smile. It is a lovely book and I recommend it.

I was invited to read a free ARC of Memories of Wild Rose Bay by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #memoriesofwildrosebay

Memories of Wild Rose Bay by Susanne O'Leary is the 5th book in the Sandy Cove series and another beautiful addition. Kate O'Rourke takes the position of temporary doctor in Sandy Cove. Every since Kate's father died, she feel lost, so she moved to where her father grew up. As soon as Kate arrives in Sandy Cove, she finally feels at home. This book is utterly delightful in every sense of the word. Be prepared to be swept up in this story and these characters. I am ready to go to Sandy Cove, Ireland for a visit myself. I highly recommend this book/series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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.

A
A sweet escape was this story with mysticism and romance
A prose which was calm and caring
A dash of love and a whole lot of passion
Characters contrary but with a deepening connection
A story of reality with a dreamy overtone
Trust Susanne O Leary to give me a book which was JUST PERFECT on a lazy rainy afternoon. Took me two hours to read. What a bliss to escape into the delightful locales of Sandy Cove