Another delightful book by Hazel Prior. I hugely enjoyed all her previous books and this one did not disappoint either. Such a sweet and moving story; I loved all the characters and the way their story interwove. And the otters were of course the well deserved stars of the book! Just so lovely.

Warm and insightful animal/invisible condition story.

I got this purely on the adorable Penguins books by the same author, and have to say I do enjoy the author's style, themes and characters.

You know you're in for a story that'll carry you along with it and tug a few times at the old heartstrings.

Here instead of penguins we get to fall a little in love with otters. Phoebe's an adult daughter struggling to cope with some unseen challenges, having moved with her father to a new rural home and finding little to motivate her, when she discovers an abandoned baby otter near the water.

With an otter sanctuary nearby, Phoebe and her father do what they think is the right thing and take the baby there, setting the scene for new people, new opportunities, and a world of cuddly critters that seem to be loved by most but possibly with one enemy that the wily Phoebe begins to suspect she could figure out.

A community story of different individuals with mini-plots, though this is mostly about Phoebe and her dad, their closeness, and the other people in their lives. Phoebe herself reveals her own last few years and struggles, giving the reader insight into a hidden world of rather scary health conditions.

It's the sort of book you race through quite quickly, like Prior's others it's both comforting and engaging.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

First of all I want to say thank you to Netgalley and the publishers as I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review.

Hazel Prior is an author I automatically will buy as her books are the best, and this was yet again another cracking story this time with otters at the heart of the story.

The story follows Phoebe and her widowed dad who move to Devon for a quieter life but end up on a bit of an otter saving mission. The story does also deal with some difficult topics that are so gently woven in that you can still sit back and enjoy this uplifting read.

This is a charming book in which Phoebe and her Dad, Al, start life afresh in an Exmoor village.
Phoebe has an undiagnosed condition which means she lives with chronic pain. This necessitates a lot of rest , although Phoebe tries to smile through the pain. Her Dad is acting as a delivery man which excites Phoebe's inner Sherlock Holmes .
Different people react to her illness differently eg her sister Jules fails to understand her condition and minimises Phoebe's experience. Al is desperately trying to care for her without curbing her independence.

All of which sounds like a depressing read , but enter the otters ! Phoebe finds an abandoned otter and takes it to the local sanctuary where she gets involved in caring for Coco and the other otters. Like Phoebe it's a case of caring without constraining . Freedom is a central theme to the book.

The Otter Sanctuary's future is threatened and Phoebe must work to save it from various threats. has she got enough strength ?

I particularly loved the comic set piece of Al at a student party.

With its wonderful cast of otters and village (an area) locals (including some characters from Hazel's previous books, this is an uplifting read about healing. with dustings of "cosy crime" and romance.

The author has some interesting clips on her social media of the otters enjoying the book !

As with away with the penguins, this is a lovely heartwarming read.

A very sweet read. The book made me fall in love with otters.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House and Transworld Publishers for this advanced review copy of “Life and Otter Miracles” by Hazel Prior.

This is such a lovely and gentle read. Hazel Prior books just always make me smile and fill me with the joys of life.

Beautifully written and lovingly researched this book was a pleasure to read. It isn’t fast paced. But the pace is gentle and that is right for the story that it is being told.

I loved the haphazard band of villagers. All with their own very distinct characters and foibles. This extended to the otters too. Who were as important to the book as any of the other characters.

Without doubt my favourite character was Phoebe. And Hazel Prior’s depiction of living with chronic pain was raw and truthful. I cried many a time for Phoebe. Phoebe’s list of what chronic pain can strip you off was heartbreaking.

A lovely, life-affirming novel that doesn’t shy away from some of the crueler parts of life.

I have read Hazel Prior’s penguin books and loved them, so I couldn’t resist her latest novel, Life and Otter Miracles. The cover is bright and features a cute otter, what more could you want!

Phoebe and her dad Al have moved to a village in Exmoor after growing fed up of city life in Birmingham. Al is working as a delivery driver and gets to know the locals. Phoebe is a very bright girl but suffers from chronic pain and misses out on a lot as a result. Phoebe and her dad find an orphaned otter cub and take it to the local sanctuary. This sets off a chain of events which transforms their lives and Phoebe calls it ‘the otter effect’.

The characters in the book are great and I especially liked Al and warmed to him a lot. The setting of the book and the playful otters are so well described, you can almost picture yourself there.

The story is easy to read and although there is a plot and a sense of “whodunnit” it is very character driven too. I got into the story pretty quickly and enjoyed the antics of the otters.

The issues dealt with in the book are done so sensitively, and I think it raises awareness of chronic pain and what people can go through without others realising. Despite this, the book isn’t doom and gloom and overall it’s heartwarming.

The book did take me much longer than expected to read, but this was down to me and not the book. I definitely recommend it and the other books by this author.

Phoebe along with her father, Al has moved to a village in Dartmoor. Her older brother and sister are forging their own lives away from them. Their mother sadly has passed away. Al is grieving but he is also caring. Phoebe spends a lot of time indoors, a lot of time in bed, a lot of time in pain. From the outset we are unsure what is wrong with Phoebe, she lives her life through her father’s job and creates back stories about all the people he meets through his delivery job.

It all seems rather bleak and tragic for Phoebe and Al. That is until they find an abandoned baby otter on the riverbank and suddenly find themselves thrust into the local community and the otter sanctuary.

As Phoebe’s focus on her own life moves onto the otters, she thinks there is something wrong at the sanctuary and she will need to put all her observational skills to the test to see if she is correct. The outcome has a ripple effect on a number of minor characters within the book as well as Phoebe herself.

Have these little otters become the answer to all Phoebe’s issues?

Hazel Prior has managed to take otters and given them that special power and interest as she did with penguins in her previous novel. There are some perhaps dark aspects to the novel and she deals with the affects of chronic pain, depression, grief with such warmth and care that you are really invested in finding a solution for Phoebe, as much as for yourself as well as her. The otters are there as a focus for everyone else in the novel dealing with their own issues. Sometimes it is easier to connect to another animal to deal with the reality of what is happening.

This novel, as with her pervious ones are perhaps quirky and unique but they have a real depth to them all and make you smile even when the days are sometimes the toughest.

A book filled with compassion and overall joy. For any reader who needs it in abundance.

This book has Interesting characters and a beautiful location, this story is about a father and daughter. Phoebe seems depressed and her health isn’t very good she’s often in pain. Finding an otter lights a spark and makes her feel better mentally. It’s an intriguing story with two mysteries.
Phoebe is a Sherlock Holmes fan and is very inquisitive being stuck at home all the time with her illness and I hadn’t expected her to try and solve these mysteries
There is so much to love about this book.
The location is beautiful and calming you can really imagine being there.
The characters are amazing I’d love to revisit them again. A lovely book with ups and downs. I can’t get enough of books by this author each one is a riveting delight.

Rating - 4.5 stars rounded off to 5

🦦Otterly Butterly Otterlicious!🦦

Hazel Prior excels in writing uplifting, life-affirming books usually involving adorable creatures like penguins and now otters. Well, get ready to feel your heart melt and go mushy as you swoon over these cute little otters.

Thanks NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Penguin for the ARC!

Synopsis –

19 year old Phoebe and her widowed father Al, have just moved to the quaint little village of Darleycombe in Devon. Phoebe has built a wall around herself and is struggling physically and mentally, but she has an everlasting smile on her face.

Al and Phoebe are dealing with their own personal challenges. Phoebe is self-withdrawn, living in her own cocoon, desperately trying to be normal, albeit that being extremely hard for her. Oh! She is also obsessed with Sherlock Homes! Al is feeling the burden of managing a new life, work, home and taking care of Phoebe, while missing his wife Ruth.

The father and daughter are set to embark on a life-changing encounter when they find an otter abandoned on the Darle riverbank.

Review –

Oh! Where do I begin? The setting firstly – Prior has chosen the perfect, serene & picturesque location for this book. The village of Darleycombe with its pristine river, moors, vast greens and hills, proved to be the just the right balm to soothe the troubled souls of Al and Phoebe as they try to escape the noisy, bustling Birmingham.

What a beautiful father-daughter relationship Al and Phoebe share! I especially loved their snarky, witty “how are you” exchanges as they try to stay optimistic amidst their troubles, soaking in the beauty of their new surroundings.

The otter ‘coco’ that they happen to meet was the perfect antidote to the mundanities of their everyday lives. As Phoebe begins to volunteer at the otter sanctuary, caring and feeding these otters - she develops an intimate bonding with these endearing creatures. How I wished I could meet these cute little otters and cuddle them too!

I loved the mystery solving thread when Phoebe dons her detective hat, suspecting some events of foul play at the sanctuary. I really admired her mental acuity, brain power, accurate instincts, ability to read people and process facts - despite her physical limitations. I cheered for her going above and beyond everything as she tries to protect these animals.

It was so wonderful to see Al and Phoebe navigate the highs and lows of life, while they assimilate into the community, making friends, finding love, solving ‘otter’ puzzles and emerging on the better side.

Prior deals with some heavy subject matters of chronic pain, depression and loneliness while balancing it all with ‘otter’ cuteness overload, exploring human-animal bonding, humour and some great story-telling. The ending is sure make you revel with joy with a full, swelling heart.

An enthralling book that celebrates life and its miracles, with a side of otters!

A must read for fans of uplit fiction!

Having fallen in love with penguins in her previous books, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to get to know otters in Prior's new book. And what another joyful read it proved to be - I love the way in which the author combines humans and nature to create a heartwarming story full of likeable characters, loveable animals and a delightful sense of place.

Nineteen year old Phoebe and her father Al have moved to rural Devon to start a new life following a heartbreaking loss. Phoebe is not only grieving the death of her mother but battling chronic pain and as a result leads quite an isolated life - until the discovery of an abandoned baby otter leads her to get involved in the local otter sanctuary. With her father’s new job as a local delivery driver enabling her to get to know the village and the people who live there through their parcel deliveries, she takes it upon herself to hunt for clues when it looks like someone might be trying to sabotage the sanctuary.

Phoebe’s challenges living with chronic pain were sensitively handled but felt very real. I loved her relationship with her father Al, trying to be the best father he could be whilst still mourning the loss of his wife, as well as some all too relatable complicated family dynamics with her very different sister and brother. With a vivid cast of supporting characters all dealing with their own challenges - and of course some gorgeous otters - it all makes for an utterly charming story of friendship and community - and the power of nature.

This was a wonderfully written story, full of unique and interesting characters, the author has a clear skill for creating characters so relatable and almost three dimensional. I thought the plot was so interesting, clever and intriguing. I particularly enjoyed the focus of friendship and community being important. A wonderful read I highly recommend anyone to read

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the story of widowed Al but and his teenage daughter Phoebe who have moved from Birmingham to Exmoor. Having lived in the area these books have all had an extra relevance to me. Phoebe, who prefers Jaffa Cakes to most people - relatable - is often stuck at home due to a long term illness, so relies on her dad to report back on the village goings on from his perspective as their local delivery driver. When some unusual things start happening, stay at home Phoebe with her love of detective show - especially Sherlock Holmes - turns detective to solve the mysteries, many of which centre around the local otter rehab centre.
I have to be honest and say that is my least favourite Hazel Prior book to date. But penguins and harps take some beating I guess!

This delightful novel introduces us to 19 year old Phoebe Featherstone has recently moved with her father, Al, from Birmingham to the village of Darleycombe in Devon, The have moved into a cottage by a river. Phoebe suffers from a medical condition for which no one has found either a cause of cure. This condition means that she is very isolated as she has extremely limited energy and often needs to rest. She tries hard not to load her father with the depths of her suffering. Her father is a widower and an ex teacher who has moved to Devon for a quieter life now that Pheobe's brother and sister are at university. He now delivers parcels to the local area.

Things change when Phoebe and Al find a baby otter abandoned by the river. The otter cub is taken to a nearby otter sanctuary run by Carol.. Despite her health battles, Phoebe is determined to help care for the baby otter she calls Coco (after Chanel).

Phoebe is something of an armchair detective. She delights in trying to determine the individuals who are the recipients of her fathers deliveries. She is remarkably astute and uses this to find the missing cat of the local yoga teacher. Follow Phoebe as her once narrow world opens up with the otters and the local community.

This is the first of Hazel Priors novels that I have read. This is a delightful story with interesting and relatable. characters

⭐️ 4 ⭐️

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Hazel Prior became an auto-buy author for me after I read and loved Away With the Penguins; reading one of her books always gives me a sense of calm, and Life and Otter Miracles had exactly the same effect.
 
Beautifully written (as always), with a fabulous motley crew of characters, some more likeable than others. Prior has a gift for creating characters so fleshed out that you almost believe they could be real.
 
I thought the character-driven plot was intriguing, and I particularly enjoyed seeing Ellie and Dan from Ellie and the Harp Maker (which I also loved) making an appearance.

I’m a huge wildlife lover, so the otters completely stole the show for me. Beautifully described in detail, Prior obviously has a vast knowledge of the lives of otters.

Life and Otter Miracles is an otterly brilliant, heartwarming, and uplifting read.

Away With the Penguins, and its sequel Call of the Penguins, by Hazel Prior were such a delight that I leapt at the chance to read Life and Otter Miracles. While the former novels featured penguins, this charming novel features otters.

Nineteen year old Phoebe and her father, Al, have recently moved to rural Devon. Phoebe, who struggles with debilitating, chronic pain, rarely leaves the cottage, but on a short walk in the countryside, she and her dad stumble across a tiny baby otter who seems to be all alone. Concerned for the creature’s welfare, they take it to a nearby otter sanctuary, leading Phoebe to volunteer to help care for the cub, whom she names Coco.

This is such a lovely novel. Otters are captivating animals, cute and lively their playful natures elicit joy in their observers. In Life and Otter Miracles, Prior coins it “The Otter Effect”. Though it does nothing to lessen her pain, caring for Coco and working at the sanctuary gives Phoebe a sense of purpose, and encourages her to step out of her comfort zone.

Phoebe’s illness is a major element of the novel and Prior’s representation is thoughtful and realistic. She accurately describes the psychological toll the physical limitations extract, the way in which sufferers often try to minimise their pain for the comfort of others, and the impatience with which they are often treated, even by medical professionals. Luckily Phoebe has the unconditional support of her father, and their relationship is touching.

The benefits of friendship and community are two strong themes in the book. Phoebe’s role at the sanctuary introduces her to several locals, though it’s Christina, a local yoga instructor and artist about her father’s age, that she bonds most closely with. Fans of Prior’s novel Ellie and the Harp Maker may recognise Christina as Ellie’s best friend, and she and Dan also appear in this story.

Phoebe also distracts herself from her pain by gathering information about the people her father interacts with on his parcel delivery route. A fan of mysteries in particular Phoebe uses her deductive skills to find a missing cat, resolve a complaint about a damaged package, and learn a secret or two, but her biggest challenge comes when she suspects the otter sanctuary is being targeted by a saboteur.

Written with warmth and compassion Life and Otter Miracles is a cosy, pleasantly satisfying read.

What a lovely book by Hazel and nice to have a book about a different subject. Phoebe is a delightful character who tugs on your heartstrings.

Life and Otter Miracles tells the tale of Phoebe and her Dad Al who have started a new life in Devon. Al swapping teaching for delivering parcels and Phoebe dealing with a mysterious chronic illness, both in mourning.

When they save a lonely otter it sets about a series of events which may just save them.

For anyone who has fallen in love with Veronica and her penguins or Dan, his harps and his pheasant will not be disappointed to meet Phoebe and her otter. It is another charming tale of animals enhancing people’s lives (and what book is not made better by a faithful animal) and a host of colourful characters and the interesting goings on of rural life.

Life and Otter Miracles also gives us a mystery to be solved and we are kept guessing up to the end together with a ‘will they won’t they’ love story to complete the perfection.

Life And Otter Miracles by Hazel Prior
I give this book 4.75 stars

Phoebe is unable to get out much, but she has a talent for uncovering her neighbours' secrets by examining the parcels delivered by her courier father, Al.
When they discover an abandoned baby otter on the riverbank, Phoebe must step out of her comfort zone.
She soon realizes that something is amiss at the local otter sanctuary. She will need to overcome her own close­ly guarded issues and put all her sleuthing skills to good use if she wants to save the otters . . . and in the process, change her life for ever.

Set in the same village as Ellie and the harp maker (which I need to read) This is the perfect book to escape from reality and lift your spirits. I’m a fan of this author’s lyrical style of writing and Exmoor is a beautiful setting.Hazel has the ability to portray her main characters and the supporting cast in a way that has you caring for them and caught up in the good and bad of village life.Easy to read,endearing and delightful, I loved learning about the otters just as much as the penguins.
Thanks to Netgalley,Hazel Prior and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Penguin for my chance to read and review this book.

Absolutely adored this book. Phoebe suffers with chronic pain, something her sister never takes seriously but her dad knows the effects all too well. The illness she has is described so well, you really get a feel of how it is to suffer in silence and not be taken seriously as people can’t see that you are ill.

During a walk on the riverbank at the end of their garden, they find an abandoned baby otter and take it to the local sanctuary. So begins the Otter Effect. Phoebe also has a love of all things detective, Sherlock her favourite, and soon realises after spending time at the sanctuary caring for Coco that something isn’t right. She start piecing together the clues and enlisting help from fellow villagers.

This story is told so well and written beautifully, everything is described so well that you can navigate the village in your mind, and see the frolicking otters too! I have yet to read Hazel’s other books, but being a lover of penguins (and otters) I’m definitely bumping them up my to read pile!