Thanks to NetGalley and Choc Lit for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.
I loved this book! I've never read this author before but now I'll have to check out her backlist. What a wonderful story of love, friendship, found family, and overcoming fears. It was funny and heartwarming without being sickly sweet. I loved all of the side characters (except Tasha and AJ). Fran was a fantastic main character; you root for her right from chapter one. And Wyn? He's not perfect but pretty damn close. I'll be recommending this one for sure.

Fran is a survivor and a woman cast adrift by a heart attack which cut short her police career. She is finding the adjustment to life outside of the force difficult and unsettling. She really doesn’t know who she is at the beginning of the novel. An opportunity to house sit by the sea in Wales offers her the chance to explore options for her future and rediscover her spirit.

Wyn is also wounded by life after an accident changed him forever both mentally and physically. He agrees to teach Fran to swim and they get ever closer, but he is hiding secrets of his own and has a needy ex-wife.

I can swim but have never achieved the easy confidence of some of my friends and would be too scared to swim in the sea or the deep end of a swimming pool. Fran sounds very similar to me at the beginning of the novel and so I instantly related to her.

Enjoyed the references to the Art Hotel encountered in other Sue McDonagh books and the comradery of the sea sisters. I loved some of the secondary characters too – Elin, Gavin, Caitlin. And the novel made me want to enjoy coffee and cake by the sea, even if I don’t venture into the waves beyond paddling, but who knows I may get braver like Fran after being shown a glimpse of possibilities by this book.

A feel good, inspiring read which made me want to read more of Sue McDonagh’s novels.

Fran is fifty and has just retired from the police force after an unexpected heart attack when dancing the night away with her work colleagues.

When the opportunity comes to house sit in Llanbryn, an idyllic seaside village in Wales she decides that's better than feeling sorry for herself and watching Homes Under the Hammer all day.

Being rudely awaken early in the morning she questions if the relocation was such a good idea...

Soon she's becoming more and more involved in village life and she is taken under the wing of the Sea Sisters, a group of inspirational women of all ages and sizes who swim in the ocean. They challenge her to move on from the past and face her life-long fear of the sea.

As Fran has never learnt to swim, her feisty elderly neighbour Elin sets her up with the good looking trouble maker Wyn as the swimming teacher. As they work together on a daily basis in a private (and heated!) pool, to get Fran ready for a swim in the sea, they both have to face their own demons.

The Sea Swimmers sounds like an amazing 'tribe' to be part of, although I am not at all sure about the sea swimming bit. The heated pool where Fran learnt to swim is more my cup of tea!

Thoroughly feel-good, showing that life after fifty and retirement at that doesn't have to be then end, but rather an opportunity to start afresh.

This was a moving read for especially with the issues of scars., I got where both main characters were coming from.. Fran was amazing character . Always a police officer. How she coped with the massive changes in her life was a great read. I love the swimming group and the love element and the secrets Wyn had . Learning to swim as an adult is hard. You wanted to live in the village. The relationship with Fran and her parents is intriguing and I love how we find out why it was . A great ending.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

If you had asked me earlier If I would read a book this year about a 40ish year old female police Sargent having a heart attack, and deciding to move to a sea side welsh village to recuperate and face her fear of swimming. All while falling in love with a giant teddy bear of a man. I wouldn’t have believed you, but I did, and I really enjoyed it.

It took me a minute to really get into the swing of the book, but once she got to Llanbryn and met the locals I really started to enjoy it. The sea sisters are funny and inspiring, her elderly neighbor Elin was a spitfire and such a lovely woman, and don’t get me started on Wyn, the love interest. He’s tall, buff, and handsome, what more can a woman want?

But in all honesty I really did love this book, seeing Fran face her fear of swimming with Wyn was amazing, and moving to a town where she’s never been before a few weeks after a heart attack? I could never do it. This book was inspiring and such a great summer read.

Was it perfect? No, the beginning was a little slow and the end felt a little rushed, but I enjoyed it and it’s exactly what I needed to get out of my reading slump. I laughed, I’m pretty sure I shed a few tears, and near the end I wasn’t ready to let go of Fran and Wyn just yet

Sue McDonagh has a rare talent, not only for writing warm and witty romances with wonderful characters and gorgeous Welsh settings, but also for making things I heartily dislike sound almost tempting. First it was motorbikes, in this book it’s sea swimming. Not something I’ve ever enjoyed, but I loved following Fran’s journey as she learned to overcome her phobia of swimming whilst recovering from a heart attack. Fran’s resilience and bravery were admirable, but she was still a very human and likeable character with flaws and fears as well as many inner strengths. I rooted for her and for gentle giant Wyn all the way.
With a cast of adorable secondary characters, there was so much to keep my interest throughout. And I find myself thinking of adding a DryRobe to my Christmas list…
I’ll definitely be recommending this wonderful, uplifting book to all my friends. Thank you to NetGalley, Choc Lit/Joffe Books and the author for my free ARC.
I’m not sure if it will be useful to you as this was an uncorrected proof copy, but I noticed a few little typos - AJ’s name was spelled Alix as well as Alex, and Fran was Francis instead of the feminine Frances. There was one occasion where practise was used instead of practice, too. Apologies for not noting the location. I was too immersed in the story!