I absolutely adored Away With The Penguins and I was so excited to get the opportunity to read the sequel. Unfortunately Call of the Penguins just wasn’t as enjoyable as its predecessor. I probably had too high of expectations but I found the plot weak overall.

I enjoyed this book and didn't realise until I.read other reviews that it was a sequel. I would have given this 5 stars but I didn't like the preachy way the environmental issue of plastics was addressed towards the end of the book.

A good sequel to Away with the penguins. I enjoyed it and loved seeing how Veronica navigated herself through the next chapter of her life.

I wasn't aware this was the sequel to Away with the Penguins, which I've not read yet. Not having that knowledge did dampen my enjoyment a little.

I did appreciate the messages about the importance of environmental protection, and it didn't feel too preachy.

I felt this was a little off-paced, and could have been a bit quicker than it was.

Another great book with more of Veronica’s adventures where she goes on more travels to see different penguins and finds out even more about family and love. A cracking read with plenty of penguins

I was so excited to read this as I loved "Away with the Penguins" but sadly the sequel does not match up to the original.

In 'Call of the Penguins' Veronica is asked by the BBC to present a TV series on penguins in the Falklands - to which she agrees. Once in the Falklands, there is a lot of drama as she invites Terry and Patrick to come along, and Daisy conveniently is filming a programme for the I wish charity, which coincides with Veronica's trip, so she is there as well with her mother Beth.

This book was so far fetched as to be ridiculous, and sadly the poor storyline highlighted the poor writing which was perhaps masked in the first book as the story was so heartwarming. Terry's pregnancy, Daisy, recovering from Chemo living with a stranger (V is the long lost grandma of an employee of the father) in Scotland with her parents' consent (they live in Bolton), free reign to run around the penguin colony, 'customised' tags for the penguins with glitter and add ons - the list of unbelievable stuff goes on.

This book has longer sections of penguin research as well as environmentalist messages, which are like sledgehammers and don't sit well with the story.

I read Away with the Penguins in a couple of days, but this was a bit of a slog as I couldn't engage with the characters.

3.5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me access to this ebook in exchange for an honest review!

⚠️ TW/CW: Animal Death, Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Car Accident

Thoughts: This book was a lovely follow-up to the first Veronica McCreedy book and really build on the relationships that were built in that first book. I loved the relationship between Veronica and Daisy as well as with her grandson. I think the discussions within this series are great and I’d definitely recommend to people who love unlikely friendships, polar settings and of course penguins! The main thing that brought down the rating for me was just that this felt a little stretch out for what it was. I’d have liked a little more plot and more adventure just like the first one.

Recommend? ✅
Reread? ❌

Veronica McCreedy is back! And so are the Penguins! This is the second book about dear Veronica and her escapades. If you haven’t read the first book Away With The Penguins then I suggest you read it first! It will not disappoint!
This time our Veronica is going to the Falkland Islands to do a documentary with Sir Richard. Veronica will be handling the penguins of course. We also have Patrick’s and Terry’s narrative through out like in the first book, and we get to see how everyone is doing. I like reading from their point of view as well as Veronica’s, the way Hazel Prior writes makes these characters just outbid the page. You get a real sense of who they are. I just how how it is written!
This is such a wonderful, heartwarming, poignant and moving read, you will Finish this book with a heavy sigh and a smile on your face.
5 stars indeed!

Having not read Call of the Penguins , the first book, I felt slightly like I missed the first few episodes of a show and was now on catch up trying to fill in the story gaps. But this was still a quite nice book.

This is the second book featuring rich Veronica McCreedy, now 87 and her love of penguins. She has young Daisy aged 9, staying with her at Ballahays in Ayr to help her [Daisy] recover from the impact of chemotherapy. Their mantra is ‘Remember the Penguins’. Meanwhile, Veronica’s grandson Patrick is at the research station at Locket Island, in Antarctica which is paid for by the generosity of Veronica. We follow the ups and downs of his relationship with the only female researcher there - Terry -as well as his quest to find out more about his father and Veronica’s son Enzo which takes him to Canada.

Veronica is then invited by Sir Robert Saddlebow- whom she thinks is wonderful - to co-present documentaries from Australia and the Falkland Isles on the different penguins. Daisy and her Mother are invited along also.

Veronica and Daisy are at opposite ends of the age spectrum but both have a love of penguins and Daisy befriends one whom she calls Petra in a moving storyline. There is an environmental angle to the story about the impact of plastic and what we are doing to the planet.

This is a nice book which if you like penguins you’ll love even more. Might be worth reading the first book first as it feels a little disjointed reading this first. Or perhaps a recap of book one could have been at the front of the book.

Thanks for my earc of this book!
I think as far as sequels go it was done well and was enjoyable but I don’t feel like there was a burning desire to carry this story on. I think it was a good book and written well though!

This is a great read, and another great installment from Hazel Prior. While it didn't top Away with the Penguins (I didn't really expect it to as Away with the Penguins was truly a one of a kind read), it came in a very close second place. I loved Granny and Daisy, I loved the relationship Daisy built with the penguins and the interactions with others on the ship. I loved her grandson, however poor his choices may have been, and loved the references to the Antarctic and the penguins. It really was such an enjoyable, uplifting read, another one that I certainly won't forget in a hurry.

3.5 Stars

Following Mrs McCreedy on some more penguin adventures! I really enjoyed Away with the Penguins but unfortunately this sequel fell a little flat for me.

I love the authors way of including facts about the environment, feeling like I’m learning while reading.

A perfect follow up to the escapades of Away with the Penguins. Call of the Penguins picks up on all our favourite protagonists and their lives. Patrick and Terry continue in their relationship and work with the Adelie Penguins on Locket Island Antarctica, but all is not smooth when insecurities take hold. Patrick finds himself heading to Vancouver to unearth the mystery of his father; Veronica's son and Terry finds herself negotiating a different future than she had previously envisioned. Meanwhile Veronica and her new friend Daisy, a 9 year old recovering from cancer, find themselves off on another penguin adventure with none other than the TV presenter Sir Robert Saddlebow. An array of Penguin friends smatter the pages holding our attention and the hearts of the protagonists. While our protagonists struggle with their own issues , it it the Penguins that draw that all together. The central characters soon find themselves all gathered on the Falkland Islands where they work through their own problems, as well as face the problems of plastic waste that threaten the Penguins. A wonderful story that will capture your heart #callofthepenguins #hazelprior #netgalley

Another episode on visits to the penguins. I didn’t like this book as much as the first one as there was a lot of similarities, but would stand up on its own too. Good descriptions of the places and people visited.

I loved being back with Veronica again and the penguins of the Antarctic.
This is a feel-good read which in this one is also balanced with some hard facts about the environment and climate which I thought was really thought provoking and an important message to keep bringing attention to.
I was laughing again through this book and Veronica is such a likeable character, she really does engage you in her journeys.
Thanks to the author and publisher for this ARC in return for an honest review

I read ‘Away with the Penguins’ and ‘Call of the Penguins’ consecutively and was utterly charmed by the experience - in fact now that it’s over I’m really missing the cast of characters, especially the glamorous and indomitable heroine, 80-something Mrs Veronica McCreedy - a woman after my own heart. All the characters are very engaging and relatable and as Veronica said herself, “I will confess I am amazed - our trip taught me as much about humans as about penguins. At the age of eighty-seven you would have thought I’d learned all I was going to learn.”

I won’t go into the plot in this review - this is a bestselling series of novels and no doubt that’s been done to death in many other reviews - but I will say this, abandon your preconceptions about ‘cosy fiction’ and immerse yourself in this utter literary gorgeousness - you will feel all the better for the experience, but be ready to spend half the time googling photos of cute penguins as you do so!

I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone, but it is so much better if you have done the groundwork and read Away with the Penguins first.

Many thanks to all concerned for letting me read and review Call of the Penguins.

This was an excellent follow on from Hazel's first book: Away with the penguins. Veronica continued in her stubborn and quirky ways, finding that life, once again, is not always the controlled process she hoped. Reconnected with the family once again, a lovely read for a winter month.

Thank you Netgalley for letting read Call of the Penguins. Yet another outstanding Veronica McCreedy adventure.
Veronica is back to do what she can for penguins and this time for Daisy as well. A sweet little girl who is having a wish granted. We still get updates from Antartica, but Veronica is travelling somewhere else this time. A few bumps along the way, but what else can we expect from our intrepid 87 year old explorer.
All the characters are back and we find out more about her grandson Patrick as he tries to track down his father. He too has to deal with a few bumps along the way, but will love conquer all for him?
A fabulous sequel.

This was beautifully written and was such a joy to read.

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

I did like this book to begin with and found it super enjoyable but shortly after my fascination with it began, I felt myself beginning to drift and lose interest, which is a total shame because I'm a big penguin lover.

The book itself is a heart warming story and gives a strong message of us humans needing to look after our environment to help us help the little critters, the characters were quite good though so, I did enjoy it.

This is the first book I've read by this author but I would read more despite this book not tickling my pickle!

With thanks to Netgalley and Publishers for this free ARC in return for my review.