I very much enjoyed this novel...in fact I enjoyed it more than I had anticipated when I first selected it as an earc from Net Galley.
The remote island of Tuga can only be reached for 6 months of the year, and only by boat.
Charlotte Walker arrives on the island, by said boat, to study gold coins...no this is not a novel about piracy...the gold coins in question are tortoises only to be found on Tuga.
Having suffered dreadfully from seasickness on the way over, Charlotte forms a real attachme t to the young, returning Dr Dan who looked after her on the boat.
However, the story of true love which then unfolds is not at all what she, Dan, and indeed the reader, would expect.
This is no soft focus romance novel. Real problems of isolated island life have a light shone on them, and the cast of characters have both depth and complexity enough to make this a thoroughly satisfying read.
There is humour, pathos, hypocrisy and nobility in individual characters and, like others, I really hope to follow up the story lines in the next book as I understand from other reviews that it may be a trilogy.

Charlotte Walker, a research vet, is travelling to Tuga, an isolated island, by boat. On board she meets Dan, an island native who has spent years training to be a doctor. Dan is going back home to become the island doctor, taking over from his uncle Saul who is well beyond retirement ago. Charlotte is going to study gold coin tortoises but she has an alternative motive as she believes her father, who she has never met, is from the island.
The island can only be reached from June to December which can make life difficult. Dan doesn’t tell Charlotte that he has a fiancée who is coming to the island on another boat.
Once the locals realise that Charlotte is a qualified vet as well as a researcher they make sure she uses her skills to look after their animals as they have not had the luxury of having one on the island before.
The book is the first in a trilogy so I look forward to reading the next one in the series to see what happens to the characters. It was a little slow in places but I ended up liking the main characters.

I enjoyed this book it depicts life on a remote island very well. A gentle read with a few ups and downs along the way - drama between the characters, those who came to the island, Charlotte and Katie and those who were born there, left and came back. It's a story of relationships and loyalty to a way of life.
Thanks to the author, NetGalley and publisher for this ARC.

Such a different book - refreshing, gentle and moving. The story starts with Charlotte leaving England to travel to the island of Tuga, in the middle of nowhere to research the special tortoises that live there. We get to know the people who live there, the ones who stay, the ones who leave to get an education or a job in England, and the ones who come back. With a background of a beautiful island, we share their stories and learn about their history. Beautifully written characters to whom we get attached and want to know their futures. It was sad to finish the book and I hope there’s a second one!

A wonderful story of a remote island cut off from the rest of the world for part of the year due to the weather. Beautifully colourful characters and delightfully described island ways.
I loved how the characters developed and interacted. An easy but interesting read.

Really enjoyed this book and all the drama it brought along the way along with the emotions that were up and down from start to finish.

Francesca Segal’s latest novel follows scientist, Charlotte, as she moves to the remote island of Tuga for a year to study the tortoise population. Along the way she finds herself needing to adapt to fit into the tight-knit community as well as hoping to find the identity of her father.

I completely loved this novel. After reading Segal’s previous novels, I’d describe Welcome to Glorious Tuga as one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 and I was not disappointed. The cast of characters and their island life is so charming and a wonderful escape, exactly what you want from a book.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6223035165

An unexpected gem and definitely one to read for those wanting a bit of feelgood escapism. All the characters had enough depth to make me care about them more than I would in your average romance. The setting, the fictional island of Tuga, is just glorious. I really did feel transported to sea, sand and sunshine from the rainy UK!

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Having read a couple of more complicated books I was looking forward to an easier read, with a great big dose of sunshine.

From the start of the book (although best avoided if you get seasick) you are dragged into the life and culture of life on Tuga.

You then meet all the key people in island life and start to share in their troubles, joys and sadness.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and would recommend,

Just one thing I would change - there were a number of loose ends that didn't get resolved, but I have just made them up in my imagination :)

Charlotte feels that her life has been built on a lie; she is socially inept and scared of her own shadow so when she has the opportunity to study tortoises on the island of Tuga, she can't wait to get there. As well as finding out more about the creatures she loves, she believes it will give her an opportunity to find out more about her father who doesn't know she exists..
This is a fantastic coming of age novel, full of romance, intrigue and friendships which left me basking in the warm glow of the tropical sunshine and of the islanders, who spring to life on the page, long after I had turned the last page.

Firstly, the cover design stood out to me. Set on a remote island, this story is about love, friendship and community living. It centres around Charlotte (MC), a vet fleeing from London to take up on conservation work in the endangered tortoises. On her way to the island she meets the new Chief Medical Officer, who is returning home after several years away.
A descriptive writer which fills the book with humour and warmth but there is shifting loyalties, love and betrayal. I felt lost at the beginning and had to fill the gaps as I found it difficult to follow. The conclusion was confusing to say the least as I felt it had so many unanswered questions.

This is a truly lovely book, an innocent and thoughtful story, not thrilling or a book I found difficult to put down. In fact it’s taken me ages to finish. I did consider giving up half way through however I’m so glad a finished it and now realise it’s a book I won’t forget in a hurry.

The island of Tuga sounds magical and in a dank and miserable February in uk it’s given me the thought of sunshine and heat and tropical days I long for. A sweet story with endearing characters.

Thank you to Netgalley the author and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review

This is great - I came to it with no particular expectations, I didn't know the author but have just ordered a couple of her other books.

Welcome to Glorious Tuga is well written and extremely readable, both predictable and also really more than just a romance book. I can see this doing super well when it comes out and it will be a no brainer to gift this book to friends!

Turtles and other animals
Cute animals that need saving
Blue sea
Small island
paradise
Start of a trilogy
Sign me up!

I enjoyed this book, it’s very different from what’s out there and definitely fees like another world sometimes with the very different island slang.

You may come for the turtles but you’ll be entranced in the island drama of shifting loyalties and love, betrayal and surprises.

I did feel like it lost its way a bit at the end and the conclusion was confusing but being with the island folk was definitely a respite from real life at times.

Would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this book to read in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book. The text conjured up all the atmosphere of this small island. The use of island talk and words
even if made up added to story. The only complaint I have is that the person who gave the nut with turtle in it is not explained. We can all assume who it was who gave the gift but the reason behind it is not explored

I think maybe this is just not my type of book. I requested an ARC because of the praise on the front cover given by authors whose opinions I respect. However, it turned out to be what I felt was a fairly standard romance/love triangle, unique only because it wa set in an unusual and picturesque location. Even the humour fell flat for me; I didn’t feel that Charlotte earned the right to feel entitled to the doctor after a few days of her being a wet hen on a boat, nor the right to be rude to the two first people she met on the island and yet somehow still claim ‘loveable heroine’ status. I found her hugely irritating.
I gave two stars, because the island was interesting .

I absolutely loved Welcome to Glorious Tuga by Francesca Segal. Every time I had to stop reading, I could hardly wait to get back to it. Set on what I think is a fictionalised Tristan da Cunha, the brilliantly evocative descriptions had me rushing to find a cruise that calls there!

The characters are wholly believable too, especially Charlotte, the London vet researcher who is the recipient of a fellowship allowing her to study the tortoises of the island for a year. As her history gradually emerges, the reader is able to make sense of her character - and then watch as she flourishes in her new setting. Flourish she does, but not immediately or unbrokenly. The islanders are a wonderfully eclectic and diverse group of people about whom I hope we will discover more in the rest of the trilogy. I hope too that one mystery from Charlotte's early childhood will be cleared up too.

If I were to have one complaint, it is that the ending is too rushed; too much happens in the last few chapters, leaving me with the impression that Frances Segal had been given a word count that was insufficient for her story.

The island of Tuga is a place I could escape to, (even though it is a fictional place!) The reason being that Francesca Segal's worldbuilding creates a place of companionship, community, warmth and homecoming.

Charlotte is a vet who is more accustomed to the big city than island life, but when she gets an opportunity for a felllowship studying turtles on the island of Tuga de Oro, she snaps it up (excuse the turtle pun)

Charlotte doees have an ulterior motive to her visit, but this takes a backseat to the slow burn romance and islanders trying to convince her to stay.

The narrative left me with such a wonderful feeling of wellbeing and warmth. and as such, I will definitely be seeking out more from this wonderful author

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House UK, Vintage and the author Francesca Segal for this heartwarming ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

What a lovely, warm and colourful book. I’ve just read that it’s the start of a trip and I can’t wait to see how the characters and storyline develop. The descriptive writing made me long to be there and be part of the community. Loved the people and the stories of their way of life.