"Welcome to Glorious Tuga" is the perfect escapism read for any time of the year as vet Catherine Walker journeys to this incredibly remote island, with the intention of studying the local gold tortoise, in its natural habitat. But Catherine also has an alternative motive for visiting the island and will need to build relationships with the locals in order to discover the truth about her family.
The story is a particularly easy and enjoyable read, as we learn about daily life on the island through the lives of the various locals that Catherine meets (she is considered as a FFA - person From Far Away) and the challenges living on an island can bring. Through Catherine's work, we are also reminded of the constant danger of climate change and how those in less developed regions can be the first to suffer.
The characters are heart warming and by the end, I wanted to know more about them and felt as know I would miss their company. Admittedly, it did take some time to become familiar with all of the characters as there are a great number of people introduced once Catherine arrives in Tuga. But the flashbacks are an effective method of providing useful background.

A warm and immersive read, set on the small island of Tuga which is isolated for several months of the year due to sea storms. The story is essentially about island life, living in a very small community ( where you bump into everyone at least twice a day - even if you’re trying to avoid them!) , friendships, budding romance, limited medical resources and nature. Beautifully written although, due to reading it on kindle, I was unable to turn back to the cast list at the front and so got very confused for the first few chapters trying to remember who people were and their relationships to each other………
Tuga is the perfect place to escape and I highly recommend it!

Welcome to Glorious Tuga is the story of the people who live on this remote island that can only be accessed from the sea and takes months to get to, it is completely isolated and closed off during the hurricane season.
London vet Charlotte travels there intending to study and research the islands tortoises and their habitat. The contrast to London is off the scale but slowly she gets used to the climate and people that have lived there for generations. Suddenly they all start calling on her to treat and help with their livestock despite her trying to tell them this is not her area of expertise.
This is an easy going read, extremely descriptive with lots of different characters all of which have their own unique personalities. For me though there were too many, so any depth of the character was lost, their stories and background wasn’t fully explored, particularly the main characters and I was left with many questions which remained unanswered and incomplete when I finished the book.
That said it was enjoyable and I would love a follow up to find out much more and complete the story.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

This book will appeal to lovers of Alexander McCall Smiths No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series or those who loved Adriana Trigianis Big Stone Gap. It starts off slowly until before you know it you are fully invested in the characters and their back stories.
The author really shows compassion for them, they are human, full of faults, but loveable.
It is a life a million miles away from what most of us will ever experience yet the author manages to take you on the boat with them, put you up in the quaintest accommodation and furnish you with plenty of ice cold drinks and cake whilst the tale unfolds.
Cannot wait for the next one .....

Charlotte Walker is trading in her life as a vet in London to go to the tiny but beautiful island of Tuga, ostensibly to study the endangered gold coin tortoise species. But Charlotte's real motives are more complex, and are rooted in her desire to address certain mysterious aspects of her life that she needs to get answers for.

Be that as it may, the inhabitants of Tuga have plans for her other than her stated scientific objective. For one thing, they want a vet who will look after their own animals! And for another, Charlotte soon finds herself distractingly drawn to the island doctor, who is himself returning home after over a decade studying abroad...

This book provides some impressive world building in terms of life on this magical island. And in addition to the scientific research that Charlotte is supposed to carry out, there is important subtext about climate change and the urgent need to preserve our environment.

Finally, the story also does a wonderful job of demystifying not only the protagonist's secrets, but also the map of the human soul. It reminds us what really matters when it comes to ensuring our happiness - and why. A delightful read.

Charlotte Oscar newly qualified vet and moves to the fictional Island of Tuga in the South Atlantic. She is studying turtles and uses this as an excuse to leave home. A lovely story about living in island that is closed off from everywhere else for a big part of the year.
Some lovely characters, a nice steady read. Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy
3.5 stars

A lot of people dream of just packing up and going to a live and work on a remote island for a year. This book will make your dream come true. It follows vet Charlotte as she does just that. Meeting some great people along the way. It was funny, moving and well written. I didn’t want to finish it. This book deserves to be in everyone’s suitcase this summer . Will be recommended it to everyone.

You can’t help but love this book!!! It’s set on the fictional island of Tuga de Oro in the South Atlantic Ocean. It sounds like the perfect place to live.
The story revolves around Charlotte, a newly qualified London vet who accepts a one year post there to study the endangered gold coin tortoises.
On the boat there she meets the new island doctor, Dan Zekr who is returning home after studying and training abroad for fifteen years; who nursed her back to health as she suffered terrible sickness all the way there…. Obviously there’s a spark 😊
I loved all the characters and the descriptions of the island, the founding families …. I literally loved everything and I’m thrilled to see that it’s the start of a trilogy.

I was really stunned by this novel. It sneaks up on you, quiet and gentle and lovely. The writing is so elegant, and it felt like a brilliant, gossipy Victorian novel - full of the internal lives of complicated people in a small community. The spirit of it is so joyful, so indulgent that I never wanted it to end - was bereft to finish and be dragged away from Tuga. It absolutely should be a long-running and beloved tv series - it reminded me at times of the chaotic pleasure of the Durrells at its best. Funny, compelling, escapist - as I read it, I found myself thinking that I wanted to press it into the hands of so many people in my life because they will love it too. A sincere pleasure.

This was a real unexpected joy. I had read the authors nonfiction “Mothership” so this was my reason for reading, having heard nothing about it from my usual channels.
A young vet, Charlotte, takes the chance to spend a year in a small island community far from home, inaccessible for most of the year, in order to study tortoises. On her travel there by ship she meets a doctor who having studied and trained in England, is returning to Tuga where he was born and raised, to become the new island Doctor.
As they both get to grips with the changes in their lives, we meet a vibrant cast of island inhabitants, all with their individual stories, lives and loves.
A great adventure in small island life, so vividly brought to life in this book. It’s charming, it’s a joy, and I am so thrilled I came across it.

I enjoyed the combination of themes in this novel, romance, mystery and animals. Great read overall.

What a novel! I loved the imagined Tuga - I wish it were a real place that I could visit. The details Segal has come up with in imagining this society... this was a warm, brilliant read by one of my favorite authors.

This was phenomenal. It’s so so hard to describe what it’s about because it’s about everything! So many strands, peoples lives and histories woven together around a fascinating island in the middle of nowhere. You start the book thinking the main characters are Charlotte Walker, and Dan, but actually they’re not- every person living on Tuga is a main character and this book is BEAUTIFULLY written; such a talented author and I enjoyed every minute of escapism while reading this story.