What an absolutely delightful book! A great cast of characters who are really well written and lots of otters! A real feel good read. Highly recommended.

Utterly charming!
The main character is 19 year old Phoebe, who suffers badly from mystery health issues. She has no social life and feel guilty as she is dependant on her widowed father to help her. One day they encounter an orphaned otter who changes her outlook and gives her hope for the future.

I loved the two Granny McCreedy Penguin books so was really excited to see this one on the horizon.
Similar to her Penguin books, Life and Otter Miracles is a heartfelt and beautiful story which makes you learn about and fall in love (just a little bit more) with otters… the human characters were likeable too but for me it was all about the otters. A cute, easy read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Penguin got early access to this emotional read.

"In this moment, Phoebe felt it for the first time: a curious concentration of joy that had nothing to do with her own state, that was activated by focusing wholly on the baby otter. It was like an inner sun blasting through clouds. It was a new and glorious phenomenon. It should have a name. Perhaps she would call it 'the Otter Effect'. Like the Butterfly Effect, only much better."

Recently moved to rural Devon, Phoebe and her widowed Dad, Al are adjusting to their new life when they find an orphaned baby otter and soon find it, and the nearby Otter sanctuary, gives them both hope and purpose.

Having read the author's penguin books about Veronica McCreedy, I was keen to request this. It's another uplifting read, but it feel slower and didn't engage me as much as her previous novels, or perhaps I wasn't in the mood for it. Protagonist Phoebe, suffers with chronic pain and how that impacts her, which I don't have experience of, but assume it could impact different people differently. Her dad Al was likeable too, but the standout is Coco and the other otters. There's plenty of information about the local wildlife and felt like less depth was provided to the characters than in her previous novel. Entertaining and charming escapism nonetheless.

Such a lovely book to escape into. The characters are brilliant with a wonderful storyline which kept me hooked from start to finish.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This is a heartfelt and beautiful story, one that I am sure will resonate with anyone that suffers from an invisible illness, and it sure did resonate with me. Together with the inclusion of my favourite animal in the world, I couldn't not love this book with all my heart.

A charming, easy, read with cute otters and a quaint little village complete with quirky but warm hearted residents 🦦

I was quite excited to read a book where the main character (Phoebe) lives with chronic pain... but disappointed that the author felt that there couldn't be a "happy ending" for somebody who continued to live with pain. I also had a few niggles with the portrayal of Phoebe's illness as a whole. However, I am aware that the story follows the author's own lived experience, so I will try to put that aside - but a word of caution to other readers perhaps. I'll be really interested to see how this aspect is received more widely when the book is published.

For me, the star of the show was absolutely the otters. I have a special fondness for those squeaky little bundles of joy, and I think if it had been... a lost puppy, perhaps... I'd have lost momentum completely.

This is a slow mover, and I found myself skipping through pages just reading the dialogue and ignoring the "stuff" in between (particularly where the "stuff" was spoon feeding and repeating / summarising facts we already knew about the potential suspects at the heart of the mystery). But I didn't have a bad time at all, and I would say this is a nice palette cleanser if you need a little light hearted silly pick me up. It'd definitely work as YA, I probably would have loved this when I was 9-11 years old.

Thanks to @penguinrandomhouse
@transworldbooks
for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book will publish on 14 September 2023

This book!
I knew Hazel Prior's penguin books had had good reviews, but they didn't appeal really. But I love otters (just come back from an otter-spotting trip to Mull!) and thought I'd give this one a go.
Suffice it to say, I've now bought the penguin books! I think that says it all really doesn't it? I just loved this book. I loved the characters. The gentle pace. The descriptions. The mystery. It was brilliant!
I really, really enjoyed it - devoured it in less than 24 hours.
Will probably be buying several copies as Christmas gifts!

I think I am probably the only person who didn't read Hazel's previous book, Away With the Penguins. I can't say why. It wasn't an intentional avoidance, it just sort of passed me by. But I jumped at the chance to read her new one. I mean, who doesn't adore otters?!

What I will say, is if anyone is looking to re-home an otter baby, I'll have it. They're just so cute and Hazel has managed to describe them perfectly.

I found it far more emotional than I thought I would. I found myself crying at several parts, with sadness and happiness. It's a real rollercoaster of emotions, and I can't believe I haven't read Penguins..., as if it's anything like this, then I definitely missed out.

It is much more than just a happy, heartwarming, cosy family story - although it is that too. It has a darkness: there's loss, grief, loneliness, anxiety, trust issues - it's very real. And I think that's what makes the happy times sing, because you need them to get through the bad times.

Phoebe's dad Al was my favourite character. You can tell he really wants to do right by everyone. He's a good dad, he's grieving, he's struggling, but he's trying. I know this is Phoebe's story, but for me, he stole all the scenes he was in. There are a lot of other character but I'll just mention a few. You have Phoebe, of course, who I really liked, she is fighting her own battles but she really stands out. Her sister Jules was not nice in my opinion. She was a self-absorbed woman with no sympathy, and so i struggled to find sympathy towards her. Christine, Phoebe's new friend, is eccentric, unique and utterly fabulous, she's almost like a mother figure. Carol, the Otter sanctuary owner, is a bit surly and quiet to begin with, but it's clear that she cares for her otters and her friends. But, of course, the stars of the show are the otters themselves.

As someone who lives with a chronic illness and is in pain for quite a lot of the time, I think Hazel has managed to depict it perfectly. I won't go into too much detail for fear of spoilers, but there is a character who we find out has chronic pain. It was great to see this documented in a fiction book, and for a main protagonist to have it. Hazel has shown how normal it can be and how people learn to hide it, but shows that we are capable of living our own lives.

I'd say it has a similar feel as Jessica Redland's 'Hedgehog Hollow' series - which I loved. So if you are a fan of her work, or Cathy Bramley or Kiley Dunbar, you will love Hazel Prior.

It's a happy, uplifting read, with some romance and comedy, some thrills, and some mystery, it's got it all. Such an easy and pleasant read for a long evening.

I had high expectations after Hazel Priors previous books, at first I was unsure but as I read on the book drew in me, I loved the relationships between coco and Phoebe and the rest of phoebes family and all of the back stories. It was beautiful written. Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to get lost within a lovely story

Fabulously entertaining read. I defy your heart not to melt just a little when reading about the gorgeous Otters. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It’s amazing how the various strands all weave together to create such an amazing story. This book doesn’t disappoint.

Thank you Netgalley

'Feel good' fiction is a tricky genre to get right. It sounds easy enough - write a book that is positive, where the characters end up in a better place than where they started, and that generally makes readers feel happier about the world. But I've read enough examples where it's gone very wrong to know it's not easy at all. Go too far and the result is implausible and nauseating. But don't go far enough and the whole 'feel good' vibe that is the essence of the genre is lost. So a successful 'feel good' novel has to strike a balance between these extremes.

'Life and Otter Miracles' is an example of where the author has succeeded in this careful balancing act. The story is set in a small Devon village, where newcomers Al and his nineteen year old daughter Phoebe find an abandoned baby otter. They take it to a sanctuary, and through that get to know people in their new community - but the sanctuary has had a run of 'bad luck' that Phoebe suspects may in fact be sabotage. But Phoebe has problems of her own - her young life has been destroyed by chronic pain.

Both Al and Phoebe are very likeable characters and there are a host of decent supporting characters too. The plot is utterly predictable - this is not a novel in which there are twists or surprises. But I felt a strong emotional investment in Phoebe and her health and wanting to know if she would ever recover kept the story compelling. There was also a certain satisfaction in being right about how everything would turn out. It's easy to read and flows nicely, even though some of the events are eye-rollingly cliched. Despite the obviousness of the plot devices, it avoids being maudlin and over-sugary in its handling of the emotional elements.

The descriptions of living with chronic pain are so well done and moving. It's not a condition I've read about often and it was refreshing to see a character with this problem rather than the mental health conditions that are more commonly written about. Not only do suffers have to live with the horrible nature of their condition, but they also have the frustration of their symptoms being minimised or even disbelieved by others. And without a diagnosis or obvious cause there isn't even hope of a cure. It's a really horrible thing to suffer from and this book gets that across very well.

If you enjoy this genre I would most definitely recommend the book. Fans of Matt Haig and Frederick Backman for example would be very likely to enjoy it. If you dip only the occasional toe into the area, this is one of the better examples and worth reading if you don't mind a bit of a transparent plot. It would also be a good book to read if you know someone affected by chronic pain or just want to understand the condition better as I think it does an excellent job of getting across how it must feel to live with the condition day after day.

Another fabulous book by Hazel Prior, it did not disappoint!

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Al Featherstone and his daughter Phoebe have moved to Devon from Birmingham in search of a quieter life. Al has taken a job as a local delivery driver (I'm imagining Evri or similar) which gives him a special insight into the lives and politics of the locals.

Phoebe - who has issues of her own - is a big fan of Sherlock Holmes and crime dramas, and soon finds herself drawn into the mysteries of the villagers.

All this is set against the backdrop of the local Otter Sanctuary, the inspiration for which is only a few miles away from where I live. Phoebe in particular is drawn to the otters who light her up like nothing else, so much so that she gives it a name... the otter effect.

It was a pleasant read, and living in Devon I could picture the settings well. Who doesn't love an otter?!?

Phoebe's determination to get her Dad together with her friend, Christina, despite neither being romantically interested in the other got on my nerves.

I was interested to learn that Ellie and Dan - who have a small part in this book - have a story of their own. I will definitely be adding that one to my TBR.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What an absolutely glorious story! Coco and Phoebe's relationship was so kind and tender and helped Phoebe so much with the 'otter effect ' I must admit I would love to experience that too

The book begins with an otter rescue.
Al and his daughter Phoebe have recently moved to Devon and they find themselves helping at the local sanctuary.
But Phoebe has something terribly wrong with her and the otters are helping her heal. This book is about her using her observational skills to help them
Great story, lovely relationships and some great baddies this is the story of a community.
Brilliant

This has to be the cutest and most emotional book I have ever read.

Baby otters being rescued!

a young girl finding herself and her place in the world when caring for animals

First the penguins, now the otters.

Emotional

This book didn't grab me as much as one of Prior's previous books, "Away with the Penguins", but it is a good read all the same. I loved learning so much about otters. Phoebe and Al are great characters, and you find yourself rooting for both of them. All the secondary characters were well written. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Otterly Charming.
Hazel Prior has become one of my favourite authors. Beautifully written book with different characters with back stories. Drama and charms with otters at the centre of yhe story. Great relaxing read.

I have now read three of Hazel Priors books. Each different but with a wonderful story that you pulls you in. We join Phoebe and her dad Al on their move to Devon and their meeting with the otters that change their lives.
Phoebe is ill and hides the scale of pain she is in, she finds the otters help her, then things start happening at the sanctuary and Phoebe makes it her mission to be the one who solves it..
All the characters are written with warmth and beautiful words, you really feel the heartbeat of the otters and the people that they touch, I loved this book.
Thank you for allowing me to read it.