Another great read from Della Galton. Lovely getting to know characters old and new. I love the setting around Bluebell and Pebble Bay. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to more by Della. I love the way it has a homely feel to it and you want to cosy up and enjoy reading it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

It is lovely to see real life places used well for these settings, The characters really come to life making the whole novel a pleasure to read and enjoy. Although this is a Christmas romance it is not just based on one couple which makes this more interesting. Emotions are high as well as low but read it for yourself to find out what happens. 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this e ARC

A sweet book that had me interested from page one. Easy read, and a focus on the characters, the business (which I like!) the journeys they go on... and romance, of course!

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book really drew me in at the start, which was great, as I really love it when the start of a book sparks my interest and keeps me reading on. Olivia, who is a baker and an actress, is a lovely person and I really liked her and enjoyed reading her story. She splits with her long term boyfriend and goes out with someone new, but will they last? I liked Olivia's relationship with her aunt and they worked good together as a team. I really enjoyed the whole story and the characters and I was left feeling fulfilled and happy.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It was lovely to revisit some of the characters from the Bluebell Cliff Hotel. Chesil Beach, known as Pebble Bay sounds stunning and you get a real feel for life on the coast. Olivia is at a difficult time in her life, approaching her forties and is desperate to be a mother. You get to see how this works out for her with some surprising twists along the way. She loves her family and can see clearly the effect her parents attitude towards her and her sister had on them as they were growing up. Her relationship with her aunt is so close and there are some moments to make you smile there.

You can see different models of parenthood in several of the characters in the story. Phil and Olivia's relationship is close and affectionate but there are some secrets there which threaten their future as a couple. Set against Olivia's anguish are some lovely light moments. I loved all the cake making and Phil's on-going 'feud' with Mr B does raise a smile. Gorgeous scenery and some vivid characters- what's not to like?

In short: romance with an edge
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the book

Olivia Lambert is a really talented and busy woman. Trying hard to land a part as an actress, she runs a bakery where she turns out cakes that are masterpieces!

Having ended her relationship with her childhood sweetheart and fiancé, Tom Boyd, because of his hesitancy to commit to starting a family, Olivia is very careful in her new relationship with Phil Grimshaw. Phil is an actor too but works as a maître d’hôtel. He doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to settle down either, but Olivia is too busy and quite raw from her break-up to want more.

When Phil decides to make an appearance again, things get complicated. Olivia has to choose between a person who has broken her heart before and steady, supportive Phil.

Olivia is longing to be a mother, but with her reaching her 40th birthday, she sees no hope of that. I could really empathize with her trying to make a successful career, but also wondering whether this dream of hers will come to pass.

How Olivia and her more successful sister re-discover each other and heal their past and move forward is another aspect of the story I enjoyed.

I love the character of Olivia and Phil, but also Olivia’s aunt – her confidant and supporter.

This a lovely wholesome read. Friendship. Family. Romance. And a deeper message about letting go and letting life lead you.

4.5 Stars

Losing yourself in a Della Galton novel is always an absolute joy and she has once again penned a terrific novel you will not want to put down: Sunrise Over Pebble Bay.

Olivia Lambert feels as if she’s running out of time. With her fortieth birthday fast approaching, Olivia is scared that her long-cherished dreams of becoming a mum and a famous actress will never come to fruition. She has yet to land a role that will propel her into the limelight and she is single after ending things with her former boyfriend Tom who backtracked on becoming a dad. Olivia made the mistake of trusting the wrong man once before and she is adamant that she will not do it again. Olivia is happy in her relationship with hotelier Phil Grimshaw, who seems absolutely perfect for her, even if he is in no rush to settle down.

Olivia refuses to give up on her dreams even if time is not on her side. But when shocking revelations from her sister and Tom come to light, Olivia feels as if the rug has been well and truly pulled out from under her feet. Rocked by the devastating confessions that have been unearthed, Olivia finds herself questioning everything she values and loves. The time has come for her to make some tough choices and life-changing decisions. Will happiness ever be within reach? Will Olivia ever be a mum with a fulfilling future? Or is she destined for a lifetime of regret and disappointment?

Della Galton has the storyteller’s gift and from the moment you open one of her books, you find yourself completely immersed and involved in her story. Sunrise Over Pebble Bay is a heartfelt, emotional, feel-good and uplifting tale about going after your dreams, life’s twists and turns, hope and renewal that lifts the mood and touches the spirit.

Della Galton creates wonderful characters readers fall in love with and Olivia is a great heroine you cannot help but cheer for, relate to and keep your fingers crossed for.

A first class tale from a gifted writer, Della Galton has done it again with her sensational new novel, Sunrise Over Pebble Bay.

I have been a fan of Della’s work for a while now. I haven’t quite caught up with everything that she has written to date but I am getting there. I read the synopsis for ‘Sunrise Over Pebble Beach’ and it certainly sounded like the light hearted and fun kind of read that I have come to associate with Della. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Sunrise Over Pebble Beach’ but more about that in a bit.
I have to be honest and say that it took me a little while to get into this book, which has more to do with the fact that I was tired and finding it hard to concentrate for any length of time when I began to read the book rather than anything else. Once I got into the story then that was it and I was away. I found it difficult to put the book to one side for any length of time. I had taken to the character of Olivia so well that I had to find out whether or not she got her ‘big break’. At times I couldn’t turn the pages of the book quickly enough as I worked my way through the story. I found ‘Sunrise Over Pebble Beach’ to be a gripping and fun read, which at times made me well up and at other times made me chuckle.
‘Sunrise Over Pebble Beach’ is extremely well written but that’s true of all of Della’s books that I have had the pleasure of reading and reviewing. Della has one of those writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. In fact reading one of her books feels more like a chat between friends than reading an actual book. I hope that makes sense. I love the way in which she creates such realistic, lovable and relatable characters, who are impossible to dislike and who end up feeling more like friends than characters in a book. I felt as though I was part of the story and that’s thanks to Della’s very vivid and realistic storytelling.
In short and overall I did enjoy reading ‘Sunrise Over Pebble Beach’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Della’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

5☆ A Feel-good, Cosy Romance.


Olivia runs a cake decorating company, With a lil help occasionally from her Aunt Dawn. She loves nothing more than to get lost in her decorating and fulfilling the weird and wonderful orders and making people happy.
But her true passion is Acting, that's what she wants to do more than anything.
However it's not easy out there to get a lucky Break. As her boyfriend Phil knows only too well as he is an Actor too.
Oh and she also is desperate to start a family, she just needs to let Phil know!

There's so much I loved about this book, I adore baking too so I could really relate to Annie. Especially when things go wrong and how much time it takes to get things right.
I felt for Annie and her knockbacks whether it was job wise or her shock revelations.
Oh and the location and the ambiance Galton created was perfect.
But for me my favourite character was Aunt Dawn, she stole my heart. What an eccentric and Loveable character.

Sunrise Over Pebble Bay is a Feel-good, Heartwarming and Humorous Read that had a good sprinkle of Romance, delicious Cakes, loveable characters and a beautiful location. So snuggle up with a slice of cake and a steaming hot drink and grab a copy of Sunrise Over Pebble Bay!

'Sunrise over Pebble Bay' by Della Galton is a contemporary romance that is set in a place I have spent many a sumer holiday in. Dorset with Chesil Beach and Durdle Door not far away from where we stayed every year just took me right back to my teenage years! I adored this book which is a standalone but does feature characters from other books by Della Galton.
We meet Olivia, a woman who is holding two jobs down. One as a cake maker and the other being her attempting to make her name as an actress. All the time just wishing she could be a mum. Her previous ten year relationship broke down when her ex, Tom, decided he didn't want children. She is in a pretty new relationship now, with Phil, the Maitre'D of the Bluebell Hotel. The one thing she doesn't want is to repeat her last relationship, but does he want the same?
As soon as I realised where this book was set I felt like I was in my happy place reading this. Della Galton's descriptive writing had me from the first chapter. Her description of the smell of a cake almost had me dribbling! I haven't read any of the other books that are connected to this one but, now I know where they are set and after reading this, I would love to read the others...if only to revisit one of my favourite places in the U.K and see what Phil got up to before Olivia came along!
Such a warm, feel good story with characters that I really found relatable. Even Olivia's need for a child, to me, was normal for her age too. They are all very well drawn and feel real. The sense of place is excellent, and I could recall Chesil Beach from memory with Della's description making it crystal clear for me. I did find that I enjoyed the fact that the serious issues were very well balanced with the humour and lighthearted parts of the story. We see Olivia having to deal with her sister dropping her own bombshell that she has to try to get a handle on for her own sanity, but we do see their relationship develop throughout the story too.
A story of family drama, relationships and even romance with Dorset as the setting creates a book I revelled in. I was so eager to discover how Olivia and Phil got through with Olivia's uncertainty of Phil's viewpoint on children. I didn't want to stop reading until I had to do something else..it was a glorious escapist read for me.
Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and Boldwood Books for the copy of the book.

Sunrise Over Pebble Bay
by: Della Galton
Boldwood Books

With a stunning setting of Pebble Bay, author Della Galton's new novel is as brilliant as the shades of a morning sunrise over the English county of Dorset. As disappointments, aspirations, dreams, and promises emerge, Olivia and Pete navigate the direction of both their careers and personal relationship.
Both smart, driven, young professionals, Olivia and Pete are dating but haven't quite mastered the art of communication about their future. Olivia, a runner, is cake maker with hopes of progressing in her acting career. Pete works at the Bluebell Hotel and also does work as an audiobook narrator. Romantic love, as well as relationships with co-workers, family, and friends are key in Galton's story, with unforgettable side characters such as Olivia's eccentric Aunt Dawn and sister Ruby.
Galton excels at meaningful dialogue, engaging plot, and creating a warm, beautiful community atmosphere. Whether she's describing Olivia and her Aunt Dawn's cake creations, or the atmosphere of the shops and cafes in the seaside town of Weymouth, she vividly paints the pictures with her words. Readers are left satisfied and uplifted, and wanting to visit Chesil Beach in Dorset, a place of Galton's inspiration for the book.
Thank you to Net Galley and Boldwood Books for the advance reader's copy and opportunity to provide my honest review.
 #SunriseOverPebbleBay #NetGalley

Olivia is working two jobs in Weymouth a cake baker and an actress. Phil her now boyfriend s lovely and easy going however will she have the same disappointment she had from Tom?
Great characters, great writing, a lovely area to write about. All in all a great read. Having been to Weymouth on numerous occasions it was easy to visualise the area.

I make no secret of how enthralled I’ve been by the Bluebell Cliff series, I have loved each one, but this was a league apart. I have always enjoyed the strong comedy elements of this series and was surprised that this instalment was more serious. The comedy was still there, I had a few laughs, but it was a change to handle more grownup themes. That said, it worked beautifully.
Olivia is a wonderful lead, and I soon found myself rooting for her as she dealt with life’s twists and turns. From dropping a top tier from a cake, to revisiting the high jinks of pranksters Phil and Mr B, her life is filled with fun and thrills. Her greatest challenge is her ever ticking body clock, and her desire to settle down and start a family. Her relationship with Maître D’, Phil, is new and broaching the subject of children seems a long way off, but she doesn’t believe that she has time to waste.
Of course, nothing runs smoothly and she’s soon reacting to the curve ball scenarios of a remorseful ex and a chance to audition for a career launching TV role. She doesn’t see how she can be both a mother and a successful actor, and neither does her ex.
Whilst dealing with her personal challenges, she continues her gentle relationship with the lovely Phil Grimshaw. He understands her and shares her desire for acting success. They have a great deal in common, but it’s hard to gauge how committed they are. That’s before a terrifying incident causes her to reconsider all her options.
This gorgeous book was completed in one night. I literally inhaled this story, loving all the twists and turns as Olivia navigated her way through the options in front of her. I was on ‘Team Phil’ from the start, as he’s long been a favourite character in this series, but Della left me guessing what would happen and even drew on her own life experience to add an additional Olivia’s to her conundrum.
As an aside, I’ve since visited this area and even stayed in the hotel which inspired the Bluebell, and that trip made it even more enjoyable. I am grateful to Della and Boldwood Books for the prize.
This book can be read as a standalone story, but the rest of the series is truly lovely and well worth checking out.

As I sit down to read this book, I feel a wave of comfort coming over me. Not only a book by one of my favourite authors, but a book set in beautiful Dorset where I grew up. It never fails to make me happy, reading about places that sound so familiar.

From the very start of the book, I loved the author’s descriptive language. An example was in the very first chapter, when she was describing the smell of a cake. I swear that having read that, I felt as though I could smell cake and it was quite literally making my mouth water! Alas there was no cakeage to hand!

What an utter treat to twig that Olivia’s significant other, Phil, is THE Phil from Della Galton’s ’Shooting Stars Over Bluebell Cliff’. What a treat! I do so love coming across ’old friends’ from previous books and Della Galton has an amazing gift for seamlessly including them and their backstories. It’s a bit like wearing an old pair of boots for the first time in ages, and just knowing, from having worn them so often before, that your feet are going to be on clouds all day long. (Apologies to Della, for comparing your character to a pair of old boots, but it’s meant in the most positive way).

I feel comforted, knowing that Olivia is in Phil’s safe hands – or is she? I’d certainly like to think this is the case, but I was somehow getting the impression that he was hiding something from Olivia, for example he still hadn’t shown her his bedroom. I sincerely hope to be proven wrong, having become quite attached to Phil and Olivia, both as individuals, as well as as a couple. Could it possibly be something to do with his passion for acting? That he was actually being the man that he thought Olivia wanted him to be, as opposed to the man he actually was?

I loved the commonality threading through this series of books – of the feud/strange friendship between Mr B, the chef, and Phil. I know it’s childish, but each little prank raised a chuckle from this camp and it felt to me like a really nice, clever touch, to tie the books loosely together.

I did feel a little concerned though at the toy blue/pink elephant in the nursery throughout this book. I really liked Phil and Olivia as a couple and I so wanted them to have aligned future plans. Things didn’t seem to auger that well, in that Olivia didn’t want to bring the subject up with Phil, whilst Phil was seemingly oblivious of anything going on, even with the talk of Ruby, Olivia’s sister’s imminent baby.

I felt that the author dealt with the subjects of pregnancy and infertility in an intelligent, empathetic manner. it was clever, the way that the lives of Ruby and Olivia were seen to mirror the lives and experiences of their Mother and Aunt Dawn. Both Rub and the girls’ Mother had seemed to have no trouble conceiving, whereas Olivia worried that she was getting too old and it might never happen, and Dawn had been due to go and see a fertility expert when her Husband had died unexpectedly. This backstory mitred perfectly with the current story and I felt it would give Olivia the confidence to actually have a proper conversation with Phil about it. After all, she was just surmising that having a baby could potentially be an issue. As to the empathy of the writing – I thought that those in the same kind of situations might garner comfort from the written word. Ruby was feeling that she would get a huge amount of family support, whilst the Olivias out there would surely be comforted by the offer to play a huge part in a niece/nephew’s upbringing, in the way that Aunt Dawn had with Olivia and Ruby. Stuff the acting parts and auditions – it seemed to me that life is one big play and Olivia was being offered the part of her life (a part that I myself have coveted) – that of hands-on Aunt.

One big question remains though – could a blast from the past change everything? The said blast, alongside a current day confession, certainly presented Olivia with one heck of a moral and romantic dilemma. What exactly was he up to? Was he actually stalking Olivia? Would he set off a potentially lethal chain of events? An additional dilemma – facing the choice of an audition for a mainstream TV series, or supporting her Sister for the birth of her baby, what would Olivia choose? I am not going to spoil things for you though and you will have to read the book for yourself to find out what ultimately happens.

This was a throughly enjoyable book, simultaneously heartwarming yet heart-wrenching. Della Galton certainly has a gift for taking normal characters, like you and me, with normal families and the issues that go with them and every day problems, like parenthood and relationships; she then works her magic on their very being, to bring something truly magical to the reader. A novel that keeps you, the reader satisfied from beginning to end; a novel where you end up caring unconditionally about the characters and what happens to them; a story that feels so real, you almost sense that you have been absorbed into the story. A book that brings joy from the start, down to the very last word on the final page, such that whilst you do not want to put the book down, you equally do not want it to end. One can only hope that there are more chapters in the pipeline. My serious side has not had enough of the beautiful Dorset countryside, whilst my silly half simply can never get enough of schoolboy kitchen pranks. Whilst I can’t imagine such a feud being allowed to continue in an establishment such as the Bluebird Cliff Hotel, on paper they never fail to amuse me! I was clearly a schoolboy in another life!

For my copy of this book, here's my honest review:

What a delightful, contemporary romance!
If you enjoy this genre, give this book a chance.
Visit Dorset, with it's beautiful beaches
And learn some lessons that life teaches.

Olivia ditched her decade long romance
When Tom no longer wanted to give family life a chance.
Now her new love is Phil Grimshaw who
Seems just right but is he too good to be true?

This is a heartwarming, moving read
With actors working hard to succeed.
But there are family drama and secrets, too
That could cause troubles for quite a few.

There's an unexpected pregnancy and new chance
For more than one person to find romance
But life-threatening events will help to show
What is important and with whom to go.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book
And hope you'll give it more than just a look!

This is a fantastic read I loved the writing style of the book. A nice easy fluffy read. Characters you love and easy to connect with. Brilliant chemistry between characters loved this story.

Della Galton is back with the latest in her heartwarming, Dorset-based series, Sunrise Over Pebble Bay.

I’ve really taken to this series where, although characters from other books do pop up, you can safely read them in any order without losing any relevant information – I think I’ve read them all bar the first book at the moment, something I’ll put right over the coming weeks.

As a Dorset local myself, it’s great to see such detail in the descriptions of the locations and some fantastic historical details included too – Visit Dorset could use some of them in their advertising – but all of this builds seemlessly into the story.

The main character, Olivia, is really easy to like as she deals with heartache, her family, and the fact that her life and career dreams may not be coming true, but always stays positive and hopes for the best.

Fun and escapism are the fundamental words here, but this book – more so than some of the others – has real peril in it, which I thought was very well done.

This whole series is highly recommended – a great location (but I’m biased) and always the romantic pay off we’re looking for. A masterclass in romantic fiction.

Dorset escapism hurray!!
So lovely to read about areas near to where I live, so much easier to imagine.
Olivia is juggling two jobs in Weymouth Dorset, fabulous cake baker and an actress. Her current boyfriend Phil is lovely and easy going but will she have the same disappointment she suffered from her ex Tom?
Great characters, great writing, a refreshingly different read.
A joy to read, warm and feel good.
Big thanks to Boldwood books and NetGalley for the read

Sunrise over Pebble Bay by Della Galton
Published by: Boldwood Books
Published date: 5th October 2021

What happens?
Olivia is getting over her heart-breaking split with her ex-Tom and enjoying a relationship with fellow thespian Phil. She is 39 and would like to have a child, but she isn’t sure how he feels. Will her revelation make or break the couple? There’s also plenty of surprises from her family and a big opportunity in the offing…

My thoughts
I have previously enjoyed reading this author’s short stories, but this was the first novel I have read of hers. It did not disappoint. From the very beginning I was captured by Olivia’s journey and all the things going on in her life kept me turning the pages. There were also plenty of sub-plots to keep me intrigued. Olivia was a character I would have loved to sit down with over coffee. I had such admiration for her. She came across as a strong, confident woman who knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to go after it. She was also loyal, warm-hearted and kind. In fact, everything I want from a romance protagonist. I really felt for her for the heartbreak she had been through in her previous relationship and the difficulties she faced in her current relationship. I loved the portrayal of a relationship between a more mature couple in their late 30’s/early 40’s. I could easily imagine everything they went through happening to a real-life couple.

I cared about all the secondary characters and enjoyed hearing about their lives. I could clearly picture them all in my head. A read that for me went over very quickly. A sign of a fab book. Easy, afternoon reading with heart-warming drama. 5 stars from me. With thanks to Boldwood Books, Rachel’s Random Resources and Netgalley for this ARC, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

This is book four in this series set in Dorset, and it feels like the last one?

It focuses on Olivia, an actress on the brink of her best role, and Phil the maitre d' at the Bluebell Cliff hotel. Phil is a recurring character, so it's good to see him get his story too. Olivia pays the bills by making celebration cakes and excels at this, despite a few humorous mishaps on the way.

Olivia's is not close to her family in the traditional sense, but there is a lot of love, especially between Olivia and her aunt Dawn. Olivia's relationship with her sister develops positively. Olivia wants children, and this overriding need is explored insightfully in this story.

It's a medley of family drama, relationships and romance against a Dorset backdrop which adds vivacity. There is humour to balance the poignant moments, which makes this an uplifting read.

The epilogue suggests this may be the last one as it draws the series together well.

I received a copy of this book from Boldwood Books via NetGalley in return for an honest review.