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Table of Contents
About The Book
Thirty-two-year-old Cece Downing is sacked from her job as an actuary and dumped by her fiancé. With no plan and mounting debts, she spends the summer in New London, Connecticut and takes the only work going: a deckhand on an oyster boat.
To her surprise, Cece loves it – the hard graft, sea air and the craft of oyster farming. Ignoring her mother’s calls for a ‘proper’ job, she falls for her neighbour Morgan, a shipyard worker. When plans for an oyster farm divide the town, Cece must decide what she’s prepared to risk for the life she wants.
‘Fun, thoughtful, romantic!’ Ann Napolitano, Hello Beautiful and Dear Edward
‘This novel has everything I love about a New England summer: it’s warm, fun, the people are witty, and there’s a hot guy who works in the boatyard’ Annie Hartnett, Rabbit Cake and The Road to Tender Hearts
‘An intimate coastal portrait of reinvention, tracing a woman who trades certainty for saltwater’ Weike Wang, Rental House
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (June 16, 2026)
- Length: 400 pages
- ISBN13: 9781398501799
Raves and Reviews
'A perfect beach read - fun, thoughtful, romantic!' Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Hello Beautiful and Dear Edward
'This novel has everything I love about a New England summer: it’s warm, fun, the people are witty, and there’s a hot guy who works in the boatyard. I fell in love with our heroine Cece Downing as she searched for love and meaning amidst the oysters. Soon Wiley has gifted us wonderful characters and a totally satisfying story' Annie Hartnett, national bestselling author of Rabbit Cake and The Road to Tender Hearts
'An intimate coastal portrait of reinvention, tracing a woman who trades certainty for saltwater. Wiley's prose is precise and restrained, with an observational grace that carries the novel forth like a steady, well-kept tide' Weike Wang, author of Rental House
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
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Book Cover Image (jpg): Cece Downing Starts Over
eBook 9781398501799
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Author Photo (jpg): Soon Wiley (c) Rachel EH Photography(0.1 MB)
Any use of an author photo must include its respective photo credit

