Following her success with the ever gorgeous penguins Prior has again created a wonderful story with heart warming characters and her fantastic writing shines off the page.

Otters are the primary focus this time and they provide a lovely backdrop to the story of Phoebe and her Dad Al who are trying to move forward after a bereavement. Phoebe is also trying to deal with a chronic pain condition that has never been diagnosed. The otters provide Phoebe with a different focus and its truly touching the way her relationships develop throughout the book thanks to the otter sanctuary. A few little twists in the storyline kept me guessing as to the final outcome.

This is perfect feel good reading and it most definitely hit the spot.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 from me.

Phoebe Featherstone and her dad Al have moved to a little village in Devon, after the death of Phoebe's mum. Al has given up his job as a teacher and is now a delivery driver, and Phoebe is struggling with a mystery illness and chronic pain. Al and Phoebe are out for a wander one day and come across an orphaned baby otter, who they take to the local otter rescue centre. This soon becomes the centre of Phoebe's world, as she tries to solve the mystery of some odd goings on at the centre.

This was such a wholesome book. I cannot express just how much I LOVED it. Not only the vast otter knowledge I gained here but I also felt Phoebe's chronic illness and the severity of it was sensitively and delicately handled and explained. How getting into nature and animals can help to focus your mind elsewhere, really resonated with me. Also really enjoyed Phoebe and Al's relationship, he would have done anything for her and to see how he didn't understand her illness until he found what she'd written was so touching.
I devoured this in one evening, and really didn't want to stop reading. As much as I think it ended in a great place, I'd definitely want to read more about these characters, maybe to see how Phoebe copes with her diagnosis. Veronica from Away With the Penguins was a great character but also annoying at the same time, whereas Al and Phoebe are lovely, and who doesn't want to to read about otters!

Also, special shout out for the cover, it's adorable. I can't wait to see it on the shelves!

An enjoyable read. Phoebe is a lovely character and this is a pleasant, easy to read story. I found the pace a little slower but the book flowed well and allowed you to really get to know the character.

Such a lovely book.

Another lovely life affirming read from Hazel Prior. I really enjoyed this, both Phoebe's story and that of the otters.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

This was a charming, easy read but at times it felt a little slow and bland for me personally, compared to her other books!

Phoebe, a teenager racked with chronic pain, finds a new interest in life when she and father Al rescue infant otter Coco and discover a local otter sanctuary. Phoebe saved Coco - now can she save the otter sanctuary from sabotage? And can Coco save her from a life of pain? This was a delightful and charming read, funny, wise and throught-provoking, too. Phoebe is a very real flesh and blood girl, and her father Al is a delightful man. The other characters in the story are by turn warm and whimsical - people like sanctuary owner Carol, artist Christina and local nob Rupert al have their part to play in the story, along with the quirky customers on Al's parcel delivery round. There's so much going on in this story that every page is a delight. It's a worthy successor to Hazel Prior's penguin books, with the otters every bit as charming and central to the plot. A five-star read.

Phoebe Featherstone and her widowed dad move from Birmingham to Devon for a fresh start in life. A lovely country cottage in a village. A cottage with the river running along the bottom of the back garden.
Phoebe suffers chronic pain, has a lot of time to think, and she thinks it’s about time her father met a new woman, and she has just the person in mind.

Nineteen year old Phoebe is a very likeable character, as is her dad Al. When they find an orphaned baby otter cub, and take it to the local otter sanctuary, Phoebe finds an interest in life again.
I absolutely loved reading about the otters, and the different characters that came alive to me reading this book.
The book was sad in places, really funny too, it had me laughing out loud.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this new book from Hazel Prior based around a father and daughter's move to the Devon countryside and the challenges they face. Prior writes with ease, has done her research on the 'otter effect' and manages to work this in without it being it being too saccharine. A great holiday read.

Phoebe lives in a world of pain. For the past four years she has succumbed to a mysterious condition that manifested itself and leaves her crippled up and unable to get out of bed.
When her and her father on one of her very rare trips to the end of their garden to the river, find a baby otter, it sets in motion a string of events that will change her life forever..
This is a fun book that teaches some life lessons to the reader. and the descriptions of the Otters are a delight.

I greatly enjoyed Hazel Prior’s penguin novels so was looking forward to this. It certainly didn’t disappoint with beautiful descriptions of the Devon countryside and the otters balanced by more serious issues of grief and loss and chronic, invisible illness. The main characters of Phoebe and her father Al were well drawn and the supporting characters of the village and otter sanctuary varied and interesting. A gentle and uplifting story which I recommend.

I read and loved Ellie and the Harp Maker last year and when I read fellow blogger Yvonne’s review I simply had to read Life and Otter Miracles myself.

The Otter Effect, well it’s real and I felt it! Al Featherstone moves with his youngest child Phoebe to Exmoore, Darleycombe village. For a reason that wasn’t very clear at first Phoebe can’t go out much and stays in bed most of the time, waiting to hear salient details about the people on her father’s route of delivering packages. Before long she hears about a neighboring feud between the Bovis and Dobson household, unearths the secret of an ex-police officer and knows the ins and outs at the vicar’s and her husband by hearing about the deliveries. Phoebe is an arm-chair sleuth and I was more than once surprised with her deductive capabilities. Of course when it comes to deciding who is trying to harm the otters at the Otter Sanctuary she has a whole list of suspects and comes up short of an answer.

The otters (Coco, Paddy, Rowan and Quercus are the cutest ones) at the Otter Sanctuary play quite a big role in the novel and with all the descriptions of their activities and how Phoebe experiences nursing and feeding this baby otter she and her father found on the banks of the River Darle, it’s impossible not to fall in love more and more with those little creatures.

Speaking of love, Phoebe has set her heart on a romance between her father and her friend Christina. He’s widowed and 53 and she’s a single cat lady (cat mom to Miaow) so anything is possible but it’s just not happening and it seems quite final too. If only a(n) (otter) miracle could happen right, but it seems that they are already spreading their magic on Phoebe herself. Her life is difficult and painful due to a chronic illness but the otters bring such joy to her life and for them she pushes her limits to the max.

I was also delighted to find out that Ellie and Dan Hollis (the harp maker is making more than harps here) from the previous novel were also present in this novel and they were linked to the sanctuary and of course I knew already that Ellie was Christina’s best friend too.

Life and Otter Miracles is a brilliant feel good novel full of otterly cuteness. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel with so much animal presence but the balance sat just fine and the writing was delightful. There was an intriguing and clever mystery and drama but also lots of joy between the pages and I can’t wait to see which animal she’ll pick for her next novel (I’m in for bunnies, squirrels or hedgehogs, just saying).

Apart from reading, one of my other passions is nature and wildlife. This is why I love curling up with a Hazel Prior book. I adored her two books featuring Veronica and the penguins, so was really looking forward to meeting the otters.

Al and Phoebe, father and daughter, have moved to Devon, to have a hopefully better quality of life. Al’s wife sadly passed away, and Phoebe is fighting a debilitating, yet undiagnosed condition.
We are introduced to a wonderful, rich in depth and character cast gradually, so as not to confuse the reader. Darleycombe is such a beautiful little rural community, the sort of place you dream of holidaying, let alone living in.

I share in Al’s delight of a home grown potato, and the Muppet’s Swedish chef. It’s little touches like this, that really bring a character to life, in all their quirky glory. Miaow’s name is perfect, I have a suspicion this might be inspired by the wonderfully named Purrsy. Coco and Paddy are naturally my favourite characters, who could resist falling in love with them?

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the medical profession have started to ‘prescribe’ time outside, gardening and mindfulness, as a therapy. Nature, and it’s inhabitants, has such a strong positive effect on us, if we allow it space to wash over us. If like Phoebe, you struggle to get outside, absorbing it’s beauty and calming properties through the pages of this book, will help to put a smile on your face at the very least.

I always look forward to reading the acknowledgements at the end of a book. I think it can give quite an insight to the author themselves. In this instance, I loved the thanks that the author gives to readers and book bloggers. When reading and reviewing, I am so embedded in the story, the characters are real to me in that moment. I am always grateful to authors for their imagination and talent, their thought and care when writing. It is lovely to see Hazel reciprocating that feeling.

A Hazel Prior book is guaranteed to warm the cockles of your heart. It makes me wish for a lottery win all the more, so I can move to Devon, live by the river, and watch the otters play. I want to experience the otter effect myself. This is such a lovely, heart warming read, with some of the harsher realities of life thrown in too. The rural idyll, and it’s residents are vibrant, a perfect escape for readers. 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’m off to work out tonight’s lottery numbers now.

A heartwarming read where the descriptions of human relationships, and human-animal interactions, made me smile. This was combined with a mystery which I didn't manage to work out! Life and Otter Miracles was the first book I've ready by Hazel Prior and I'll be reading her other books soon!

Thank you to Hazel Prior, NetGalley and the publishers for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publish date: 14th September 2023 (but available on kindle now)

Hazel Prior has done it again. She has delivered a book that has a story, some mystery, beautiful characters, frustrating characters, loveable Otters (and realistic, Otters!) and facts. Lots of facts. Without it being dry. It’s a story delivered with love, warmth, humour, and lots of fish.

Representation in books is so important, and quite often, chronic illness is forgotten. Or, if not forgotten, full of cliches. Bravery. Inspiration. Courage. Quite often, the bit about just giving in and going to bed, is left out. It’s brave and inspiring to be alive with or without a chronic illness - those bits don’t need to be fed into the chapters of a book. And I absolutely love that Hazel Prior normalised needing help, needing a rest, needing to give in to pain, and the desperation and utter despair often felt too. She did all of this, but with a soft gentle glow around it - the Otter Effect.

Hazel Prior has long been a favourite of mine. She is the perfect author for switching life out of the fast lane, for gentle writing which embraces human and animal life in all its light and shade and for uplifting reads. I was delighted to be able to read and review a copy of this.

Phoebe Featherstone and her Dad, Al, have moved to Devon for a quieter life. Al is a widow, Phoebe suffers from chronic and debilitating pain. Discovering a solitary otter by the riverbank they rush it to the local otter sanctuary where they are admonished for removing the otter who may well not be orphaned - it turns out she was. Phoebe’s life suddenly finds purpose in volunteering to help care for Coco and preparing the conditions which will be right to help support her return to the river bank and a wild and free life. Meanwhile Al is employed delivering parcels - a job which introduces him to a fascinating world of parcels and the extraordinary folk of the village who he is delivering to. Village life isn’t always babbling brooks and pretty country lanes - beneath the bright sunshine there’s an unsettling undercurrent. The sanctuary is being targeted by animal rights activists who mistakenly think the otters are being caged and worse, someone is leaving poison for them.. Phoebe’s pain is getting progressively worse and she isn’t getting any closer to finding love for her Dad.

The author is highly skilled at dealing with difficult topics in a gentle way and recognising the nuances in life. Within this story there are several opposing views/sides - the warring neighbours; Phoebe and her sister who doesn’t understand her illness; the animal rights activists and the sanctuary. These aren’t painted in black and white but with intuition and subtlety. I loved following Al round on his deliveries - he was almost an adult version of Postman Pat for me. This village was one I would happily move into and I loved the descriptions of the Devonshire countryside. Alongside the author’s Penguin titles, I particularly loved the relationship between Al and Phoebe. Life and Otter Miracles adds another gorgeous insight into the wonderful world of animals - the narrative is punctuated with lots of fascinating information about otters and clearly a huge amount of research has gone on behind the scenes.

If you are ready for a gently uplifting read then I recommend this. Put your brakes on and be prepared to spend time with this book getting to know all the villagers and their quirks and get ready to open your heart for otters!

With huge thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for my copy

Hazel Prior is going to do for Otters what she did with Penguins. A lovely book about Al and Phoebe , father and daughter who are trying to start a new life, When they come across a baby otter they take it to the local otter sanctuary where Phoebe finds a purpose which she hasn’t had for a long time dealing with chronic pain has been her life for many years but the otters make her look through the pain. When odd things start to happen at the sanctuary Phoebe is determined to get to the bottom of things . having watched a lot of detective programmes she is on the case of who is trying to sabotage the sanctuary and no one is above suspicion. A lovely book which turns on spotlight on how debilitating life can be when you live with pain. Highly recommended

Thank you NetGalley.
I really enjoyed this book perfect read for a summers day. Who doesn’t love life with otters nearby!

This was truly an emotional, up-lifting, feel-good story. It warmed my heart. And the otters???? Cuteness overload.

19-year-old Phoebe and her father Al have recently moved to a small cottage in Devon.
Struggling with health issues issues, Phoebe doesn't go out much and spends her time playing detective - trying to deduce from her father's parcel deliveries, what kinds of lives her neighbours lead.
When Phoebe finds an abandoned baby otter by the river, it's just the push she needs to finally step into her new community. Taking the otter to the local sanctuary, she feels a joy that she has not felt in a very long time. But she soon starts to suspect that something is amiss at the sanctuary, and has to put her detective skills to good use to save the otters….

LAOM is a really enjoyable ‘Up-lit’ story with some very meaty themes including grief and loss; living with chronic, undiagnosed pain; and the healing power of nature and creativity.

Loneliness and making friends after you have moved into a new place is also a theme of the book as it looks at life in a tiny village with all the attendant community dynamics – from feuds and fallouts between neighbours to a cross-dressing retired policeman.

Hazel Prior presents us with a varied cast of beautifully written, relatable and sympathetically drawn characters, a small handful of which we have already met in Ellie and The Harp Maker (although this is a stand-alone novel and can be read completely independently.)

The dynamics of family life are also well portrayed including the bossy older sister and the protective older brother, and the father-daughter relationship which Phoebe and Al enjoy is beautifully realised.

As well as the likeable characters that you come to know and care for, I enjoyed the engaging storylines that really draw you in, and the vivid sense of place that Hazel Prior conjures with her beautiful descriptions of the wildlife and the countryside. And if all this wasn’t enough, it also has lots of otters!

There is so much to enjoy in this emotional, uplifting, heart-warming, feel-good story. It’s an absolute gem and I loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK/Transworld for an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Life and Otter Miracles
Hazel Prior takes us back to the village that saw the events of Ellie and the harp Maker. There are new residents as Phoebe and her father have moved into a cottage. They make a good pair and are determined to love their lives to the full. But Phoebe doesn’t go out much and confines her curiosity to determining who the resident of the village are and trying to find a rmomantic partner for her father. She does this by perusing the lists drawn up by her Dad who is now a parcel courier. He’s given up teaching to give Phoebe a different kind of life.
When Phoebe finds a young otter they take it to the nearby otter sanctuary ad life takes on a new meaning for Phoebe. The joy of the otters works its magic and life becomes less enclosing until dramatic events mean her long held secrets to come out into the open.
Hazel has chosen an interesting subject here with Phoebe a carefully drawn character and an examination of what holds her back indicates good research. I’m hesitating to give too much detail as most people prefer to find out details through reading the book. There is a good supporting cast and a quirky plot of which a minor part, seemed a little over the top in retrospect but is necessary to reach the conclusion. Thankfully it has replaced my horrified memories of the ending of Ring of Bright Water with much kinder and joyful ones about otters and that is no bad thing.