I really really struggled to get into this book. I picked it up several times but just couldn’t connect with the characters.

I’m sorry to say that my first impression of this book being a very twee and predictable read was not wrong.
Still a good read, but the first 30% was really slow going and I found it very start stop,

A really proficient feel good read. I had hoped that it would be more in depth about a society that truly respects and cares for each other but it didn’t, a passing reference to humanism but not too much more. So although I enjoyed it I felt that it was not as meaningful as I had hoped.
However, as an easy to read, escapism novel it’s perfectly formed and of course leads you to want to read the next one!
Thank you Netgalley, publisher and author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

'Zoologist Charlotte Walker has taken up a fellowship on the tiny, remote island of Tuga de Oro to study the endangered gold coin tortoises in the jungle interior. She can claim the best of reasons for this year in paradise – what better motivation than to save a species? – but the reality is more complex. For Charlotte has a secret that connects her to the island and has finally determined to solve the mystery...'

Rather like Charlotte arriving on Tuga, it took me a while to warm to this novel, but once I did I was completely enraptured. The islanders are delightful and I loved getting to know them, and while on the surface it's a cheerful and heart-warming book, again, rather like Tuga itself, there were hidden depths and complexities that I enjoyed discovering.

In both themes and tone, it reminded me of The Readers Of Broken Wheel Recommend (which I also loved). My only slight niggles were a couple of plot points that I felt could have been explained better (Joan knew about Charlotte, right?! This is hinted at but then not returned to), and what felt like a convenient choice to have the island be unpopulated when 'discovered', thus avoiding any need to grapple with the complexities of colonialism

“Welcome to Glorius Tuga” follows Charlotte as she’s moving to the remote island of Tuga de Oro to study turtles, but also find out the truth about herself. It’s a journey of self discovery and trying to find your place in the world.

I enjoyed this book, however I also found it quite messy. There were too many POV and it jumbled up the plot. Also we saw almost nothing of Charlotte’s research and I wished we focused more on that, than on the love triangle. There was a specific trope that I personally hate in this book, which definitely made me lower my rating, but considering it might be a spoiler I won’t get into it.

Overall I enjoyed the drama, but I wished we got more of Charlotte’s story rather than the mess that she caused and everyone’s opinion on it.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House UK for giving me the opportunity to read a review this arc.

My first impression was that this book was A very twee and predictable read.
Still a good read, but the first 30% was really slow going and I found it very start stop, I colluded easily put this down and not come back to it for a few days, once I got past the first half though I finished the rest of the book in one sitting.

The premise of this book is that the ‘glorious’ island of Tuga is a British protectorate, located somewhere where the boats can only call in at the right season and where life is lived at a slow pace. It is meant to be kind of idyllic and, at the start of the novel, Dan Zekri is returning to the island to take over it’s only medical practice from his ageing uncle when he meets up with his fellow passenger, Charlotte Walker, who has got a grant to investigate the small colony of giant tortoises on the island – but who also may have some other connections to the place.

Sparks fly but it turns out later that Dan has a fiancé, Katie Salmon, who is coming out on the next boat. There are other complications involving different islanders and their complicated relationships while Charlotte becomes accepted as the local vet and then starts to have a thing for Levi Mendoza, the barman and her landlord.

It’s difficult to keep tracks on these odd islanders who turn up at various times and once the love interest has cooled there’s a lot of them with funny relationships and then, at the end, the book sort of fizzles away.

I found it hard to get involved with this fantasy island, the people or the tortoises but I suppose it is a kind of escapism for some readers. However, it didn’t really work its magic on me.

Lovely cheerful book about Charlotte, a vet, who goes to the remote island Tuga to study turtles and find herself. On the voyage to the island, she meets Dan, the returning home to Tuga to become the chief medical officer when his uncle retires. The book tells the story of both Charlotte and Dan learning how to adapt to island life. There are lots of great characters on Tuga, each with their own secrets and dreams. I especially liked Elsie, Marianne, Levi, Annie and Alex. Recommended

I'm definitely in the minority with this read. I wanted to love it but I really struggled to get through it. I didn't really like any of the characters and didn't find the love stories particularly believable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

Tuga is indeed glorious, from its cast of eccentric, caring and culturally committed locals to the FFA's and their experiences in finding their feet again.
With a little bit of gentle intrigue, a little bit of not too dramatic drama and a lot of love that leaps off the pages it is easy to imagine yourself disembarking from the boat for Island Open!
It is a clever author who can envelop you in their setting to the point you can feel the sand and taste the coconut water.

This author’s books have the ability to simultaneously make you unable to stop reading while wishing you could bury the book somewhere deep underground where it can't be found. Compelling and didn’t want it to end!

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley.

I found this utterly delightful. It was such a charming and lovely read. This book is set on a fictional island (I was sad it’s fictional, I looked it up as it sounded so nice!) it’s very remote and there are seasons where ships can’t reach it due to hurricanes.

We follow Charlotte, she is a reptile specialise and trained vet who is on a year long research trip to document the endangered gold coin tortoises that live on the island. She has some friction with people who don’t really want her there initially but soon starts to make connections by helping out with the health of the islanders’ animals.

I loved the nature and the setting of this book. The tortoises were such a fun part of the story! The description of the island was lush and gorgeous.

This is quite a low stakes book, it’s about relationships and finding a home but there’s not huge drama. It was quite sweet and cosy, though the main character does learn some revelations about her family and there is some loss of life and grieving.

This was a really enjoyable and pleasant read. Very comforting with a wonderful setting.

This is such a heartwarming book. The author paints such a descriptive picture of Tuga that makes the reader want to be transported there instantly. Yes, the glorious island of Tuga is not perfect and neither are the characters but both the setting and the characters are mesmerising. Charlotte Walker evokes a special place in my heart - so full of promise, potential, hope and vulnerability. When she decides to leave her home suddenly and without telling her family and go looking for something, she finds more than she thought possible but is that a good thing? Can an old thinking island embrace new blood from the city and thrive?
I only wish Tuga was a real island - it sounds like the perfect place to be!
What a joy to read. I highly recommend.

Welcome to Glorious Tuga is the perfect escapist read. Comforting, funny and feel-good. I loved the characters and the backdrop, and it would be a perfect holiday read, or one to lift your spirits.

The cover made me smile, the plot kept me hooked. A page turner that I loved as there humour, lovely places, humour and a lot of heart-warming moment.
Well done, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I loved the fictional island of Tuga, the descriptions of the wet season were spot on. I just couldn’t get to grips with the characters. I struggled to know which guy the female lead was into (at times it seemed both.). And by the end I just didn’t care. Having said all that I do believe I will be in the minority disliking this novel. It has lots of feel good vibes and cosy island togetherness. Just not for me…sorry.

Thank you Netgalley,for the opportunity to read this book; but I won’t share this review to my socials

Charlotte is a vet who is on her way to Tuga for a year to study the Gold Coin Tortoise, on the ship over she meets Dan. Tuga is a small British colony in the South Atlantic.
Dan who was born and brought up in Tuga is returning after 15 years away, first at Med school and then as a hospital doctor. He is returning to take over from his uncle as Chief Medical Officer/only Doctor on the island.
Will they settle on the island? Will Charlotte find what she is looking for?
An engaging story which I thoroughly enjoyed.

This is a very calming tale of islanders in their isolated world. I enjoyed reading the gorgeous descriptions and the peoples love and respect for each other, where it was,deserved. Their fellowship is truly awesome. This is a compelling escapist story.

Welcome to Glorious Tuga is a glorious book, perfect for the armchair traveller who prefers a cosy reading nook for her international travels over a stomach churning sea passage so gruelling, it is possible only a few times a year.

This is how you get to Tuga and its distant, proudly isolated stance as a British colony far far away. Populated with characters you love or hate, not all of them human, this is the wonderful story of vet Charlotte who is ostensibly travelling to Tuga to study tortoises but is really trying to find the father she met only ever met once, when she was five.

Why does she think her father is Tugan? Well, this is the mystery that runs through this book and packs quite a few twisty turns into its ending.

Am thrilled to see this is a trilogy, can’t wait for Books 2 and 3.

This book took me to a truly lovely island. The characters grew on me & although the ending was a little untold, I was left feeling they'd found their way.
I would recommend this book although it was not a challenging read, it kept me wanting more till the end.
Thank you to NetGallery for sharing it.

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