A charming story about Phoebe and her dad Al who move to a new village and become friends with the people who run an otter sanctuary.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin books for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly let me start this review by saying that this book is absolutely brilliant.
Whilst this is a lovely story about otters, the otter sanctuary and the local community, it is also a story about chronic pain which our main character, Phoebe, experiences.
As someone who has spent half of my life living with chronic pain, I can empathize with Phoebe and everything she experiences. I almost feel as if the author has given a voice to chronic pain sufferers... its so hard to put into words how you feel yet somehow this author has done it perfectly.
Of course, as I said before, the book isn't all about chronic pain, you also meet some adorable otters and learn plenty about them.
I think fans of Jessica Redland's Hedgehog Hollow series will love this book!

A brilliant 4 th book by Hazel Prior. Phoebe and her father had been through so much. I loved how the Otter Sanctuary saved them and I loved learning all about the Otters. The twists were great . Learning about Phoebe and her illness was quite mind blowing at times. Her siblings were interesting. I just loved it. The parcel delivery part was fun. Learning the village secrets. I loved the use of the wedding dish. Lots of great characters.. A must must read

It was a delightful surprise to see that a new Hazel Prior book was coming up. At first glance, I thought it would simply be about otters but it covers SO much more than that! The book tackles issues that really resonate with me, such as dealing with chronic pain, and I very much appreciated that this was showcased in a thoughtful and sensitive way.

The novel portrays life in a village in Devon from the perspective of a delivery driver and there are some comical and eye-opening moments, together with lovely insights into otters, an otter sanctuary and the power of the natural world. I learnt a lot about otters without even trying and it makes you fall in love with them and want to visit them straight away!

The book has a great pace and i would wholeheartedly recommend it! Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for a free advance copy of Life and Otter Miracles in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Transworld Publishers (Penguin Books UK) for a digital review copy to read and review. I've read and enjoyed Hazel's previous books featuring a pheasant and many penguins, so I was eager to read this book too.

I'm pleased to say that this was the perfect book to escape into. I had tried starting a couple of different books first, but couldn't get into the stories. However I was quickly drawn into life with Phoebe, Al and their new friend, Coco.

Although otters are at the heart of the book, and rightly so, this is also a book at the humans who are trying to help the otters to live safely. Phoebe and her dad are starting a new life in Devon, but as the story unfolds we discover why Phoebe is struggling to enjoy life at the moment.

We also have a mystery to solve in this book, as Phoebe tries to work out who is trying to sabotage the work of the otter sanctuary. It was lovely to meet Dan and Ellie again (from Ellie and the Harp Maker).

This is a lovely uplifting book about new beginnings and putting nature first. Happy to recommend.

I truly enjoyed this story about a grieving father (Al), his young adult daughter (Phoebe), and some otters. The setting is a quaint village with an assortment of interesting characters. Phoebe becomes involved with the local otter rescue and gets drawn into a mystery. She has her own difficult situation to deal with in addition to that. Even though there is a mystery to be solved I wouldn’t classify this title as a mystery novel. It’s contemporary fiction with a little mystery and a lot of heart.

A bonus for those of have read Ellie and the Harpmaker is a reappearance of a couple chapters in supporting roles.

I felt the first half of the book took a while to get going. The second half really captured my interest.

This was a beautiful and uplifting read with some lovely characters including courier Al and his daughter Phoebe who are adapting to their new lives in a quiet village in Devon. Phoebe leads a very small life due to reasons that become apparent as the story progresses however it’s easy to appreciate what a caring and thoughtful young woman she is, not to mention brave, and she has a brilliantly deductive mind too. There’s some great dynamics within the village and some delightful characters in the otter sanctuary. With a gentle storyline but very thoughtful too this was a very joyous read with a lot of heart. 9/10