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Young at Heart #1

New Beginnings in Rosemary Beach

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When Vanessa Young finds herself aged out of her job as a Hollywood stylist and facing the loss of her father, she acts on a bold impulse and reconnects with the daughter she gave up for adoption thirty years ago. To her surprise, Emily is also at a crossroads in her life, equally eager for change and a fresh start.

Together they travel to Vanessa’s home town of Rosemary Beach, Florida, to embark on a journey of self-discovery and second chances. The charming and idyllic seaside community has undergone drastic changes since Vanessa left three decades ago, but one thing hasn’t changed—her sister Gloria who owns the local diner and offers her unconditional love and support.

Emily is enchanted, longing to sink her toes into the white sands of Florida’s Panhandle and create lasting bonds with an all new family. But when the past threatens to put an end to all their dreams, this mother-daughter duo learns to lean on loved ones for strength, laughter, and a chance to have a whole new beginning…and a very happy ending.

The Young at Heart Series

In a heartwarming saga of family, friendship, and forgiveness, Vanessa Young and her long-lost daughter, Emily, reunite after thirty years. Together, they embark on a fresh start against the backdrop of white sand beaches and the colorful, small-town charm of Rosemary Beach, Florida. As they navigate a sea of new challenges and old wounds, the women find themselves surrounded by the loving embrace of close family and dear friends. The extensive cast of characters faces all of life’s ups and downs with laughter, joy, and unwavering love.

267 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 7, 2024

1743 people are currently reading
215 people want to read

About the author

Cecelia Scott

84 books140 followers

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5 stars
1,327 (65%)
4 stars
551 (27%)
3 stars
125 (6%)
2 stars
14 (<1%)
1 star
5 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for Julie Booklover.
2,114 reviews104 followers
June 7, 2024
Ms. Scott is quickly becoming a one click author, her families are embracing, their tales are not perfect, but with time and grace on the mend. This first in a new series is a fantastic summer escape read to the lovely town of Rosemary Beach.

This book centers on reconnecting with the past, a mother and daughter, sisters, and coming to terms with loss. I always expect strong women, a great story, and a little mystery with any of Ms. Scotts books. This one did not disappoint.

Thank you to the Author for the advanced copy; this is my voluntary review.
41 reviews2 followers
May 25, 2024
This book has my attention already, and I can’t wait for the next one! The life of Vanessa and Emily along with Glo and Cricket…you will love these strong and loving women. They’ve been through adversity but have found each other and reconnected, and I’m not sure there’s anything they can’t handle together. The suspense of several situations has me on edge, and I can’t wait for the next in the series!
Profile Image for Kristen.
1,186 reviews
May 25, 2024
New Beginnings in Rosemary Beach us a roller coaster of emotions - renewed relationships, forging new paths, overcoming adversity, forgiveness, heartbreak, misunderstandings and a bit of mystery. But most important of all, the love of family that binds them together. New Beginnings is a great start to this new series and I will anxiously await the next book!
817 reviews2 followers
July 13, 2024
Thank U, Cecilia Scott!

Very complicated story, lots of different issues with all the characters. It's good to build family, and help people to find their own happiness. Hard to like Vanessa, but maybe the the other books will do that better.
2,009 reviews
June 19, 2024
This was a delightful story of the strength of family. I recommend this to those who want to read a good book!

Amazon synopsis:
When Vanessa Young finds herself aged out of her job as a Hollywood stylist and facing the loss of her father, she acts on a bold impulse and reconnects with the daughter she gave up for adoption thirty years ago. To her surprise, Emily is also at a crossroads in her life, equally eager for change and a fresh start.

Together they travel to Vanessa’s home town of Rosemary Beach, Florida, to embark on a journey of self-discovery and second chances. The charming and idyllic seaside community has undergone drastic changes since Vanessa left three decades ago, but one thing hasn’t changed—her sister Gloria who owns the local diner and offers her unconditional love and support.

Emily is enchanted, longing to sink her toes into the white sands of Florida’s Panhandle and create lasting bonds with an all new family. But when the past threatens to put an end to all their dreams, this mother-daughter duo learns to lean on loved ones for strength, laughter, and a chance to have a whole new beginning…and a very happy ending.
1,291 reviews10 followers
June 8, 2024
Filled with heart and emotions

OMG! This one ends in a cliffhanger! Vanessa and Emily (from the 7th book in the Sweeney House series) arrive in Vanessa's hometown, Rosemary Beach, to find that her father just passed away. Her sister Gloria is trying to hold everything together while watching her daughter Daisy plan to marry the richest boy in town mostly from the outside of the planning. Then there is Emily who has just met her biological mom and is trying to divorce her abusive husband and meets her grandmother. All of these women have so much going on, but support each other. There are a ton of twists and turns that leave us hanging, anxiously waiting for the next book.

The pace is engrossing and the tone is uncertain yet hopeful with a character centered storyline. The characters are vivid and engaging. This is not a romance. It is chick lit at its finest with tons of messy emotions and the problems that life throws at you. I can't wait to see what book 2 brings to the series!
382 reviews
June 4, 2024
What a great start to another series. 30 years after giving her baby up for adoption, Emily contacts her birth mother Vanessa after Emily's adopted grandmother passes and she gives Emily her birth mother's name. They travel back to Vanessa's hometown because her father is sick, and Vanessa wants to try to mend fences with him since they haven't talked in years. Unfortunately, he has already passed by the time they arrive in town. Vanessa reunites with her sister Gloria and start trying to make decisions on how to handle everything.

This is so good, and I can't wait for the next book to find out what happens next.
291 reviews9 followers
May 25, 2024
New Beginnings in Rosemary Beach is the first installment in a new series, The Young at Heart, by Cecelia Scott. It is heartwarming with all the ups and downs of rekindling the love between two sisters separated for decades, learning to be a mother to an adult daughter given up as a baby, and coming to terms with the death of their father. I love the strength of the women in this book. I enjoy Ms. Scott’s books and recommend this new series. I look forward to the next book!
36 reviews
June 7, 2024
This Young at Heart series is an exciting new series by a talented author. Vanessa , Emily, Glo and Cricket are such interesting women whose lives have intersected in beautiful Rosemary Beach, FL. So many emotions flowing through the lives of these women- forgiveness, heartbreak, renewed relationships, resiliency and most of all love. Can’t wait for the next book in this series! Cecilia Scott has brought us another great series!
Profile Image for Lynne Spreen.
Author 24 books224 followers
June 26, 2024
This new series picks up where the Cocoa Beach Sweeney series leaves off. Vanessa is finally safe from her abusive soon-to-be-ex-husband, because he's in prison. And she has a happy new development in her life: the daughter she gave up for adoption as a teenaged mother is now a grown woman, has found her, and is eager to start her life over in Rosemary Beach with Vanessa. Of course there are bumps in the road, but it's another feel-good story from Cecelia Scott.
100 reviews
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November 28, 2024
New Beginning s

Excellent small town story initially about two sisters, who have not seen each other for years, coming together to grieve there father's death.Vanessa had pretty much been disowned by the father because she became pregnant as a teenager. Vanessa left town and her sister Gloria stayed and took care of her dad as he grew older. This story has a lot of depth and good characters that make you look forward to book two and others in this series.
224 reviews
July 25, 2024
New Beginnings In Rosemary Beach

This was a great story about mothers daughter and close friend. I enjoyed it so very much but she left me hanging . Have to read the next story to get some answers!
Profile Image for Leslie Blair.
7 reviews1 follower
January 4, 2025
A great book with very likable characters. It was a bit predictable, but that didn’t take away from the storyline. I look forward to reading all the books in the series while discovering where the storylines take the characters!
Profile Image for Cheryl Wieser.
237 reviews2 followers
March 27, 2025
Interesting

I love that they continued these characters into a story of their own. Getting to know all the characters that came into play in this series is fun. Onto book 2 of this series
5 reviews
April 10, 2025
Thrilling!

Every chapter has you thinking you’re figuring things out but then you read the next chapter and then you’re wondering Who? What? Where? When? and How?
I’m on to Book 2. I can’t wait to get some answers!!
10 reviews
August 9, 2025
Another Beach Read!

It is really nice to be dropped into another fictional beach town full of twists and turns with various stories within a story! MS Scott writes with such detailed story lines you can't help by crave the next book🤗
494 reviews1 follower
November 20, 2025
Fun read

A fun read about second chances, new beginnings and forgiveness. Vanessa had a baby when she was 16, a d gave the baby up for adoption. Year later her daughter finds her just as she needs a new career.
5 reviews
July 6, 2024
Fantastic, the ending makes you anxiously awaiting to find out what happens in the next book in the series that doesn’t come out for a month still🤦‍♀️
5 reviews
November 11, 2024
Boring. Not great story. Could not get interested in book
721 reviews4 followers
January 4, 2025
Secrets of the heart

Five stars most beautiful storyline about love how it changed the characters lives how they reconnect after years of hardship
9 reviews
February 3, 2025
Truth prevailed

Enjoyed the beginning of yet another of Cecelia Scott series. Love the faith and trust these women found in each other.
8 reviews
July 24, 2025
Amazing

Have enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more in this saga!
Cecelia Scott has a way to make you feel like you’re in the story!
108 reviews1 follower
September 18, 2025
New Beginnings

A heartwarming book about love, loss, and fears that may haunt the family in Rosemary Beach. Great characters. Looking forward to the next book in this series.
Profile Image for Connie Hatch.
53 reviews2 followers
December 25, 2025
Very nice story with realistic family dynamics and real world problems. I enjoyed this book.
Profile Image for Nancy.
309 reviews1 follower
June 7, 2024
A perfect beach read about strong women who live in a tight knit beach community looking for a fresh start. There’s also a touch of mystery. The thing I like most about this book is that I feel like I am a part of Rosemary Beach and these women are all my friends. It’s an awesome start to a new series where sisters reconnect over their father’s death after thirty years apart; where a mother and daughter reconnect after the daughter was given up for adoption as a baby; where a mother and daughter struggle with a new reality over the daughter’s marriage into a beyond wealthy family; and, my favorite, where a meddling mother tries to reconnect her son with love and loss. These women are strong and resilient as they rebuild their lives in their beach community. I loved it and did not want it to end. Highly recommended. Cannot wait for book 2! Thank you for the ARC copy.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews

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