Reading this is like joining old friends. We rejoin everyone during Island Close, they have had a distress call and there is someone with heart issues that needs to come to land. Walter and the crew brave the stormy waters. When they arrive back at the harbour, to her disgust Charlotte sees her mother and there is nothing wrong with her. That is other than to treat the islanders as though they are her minions.
This is an interesting and entertaining follow on from Welcome to Tuga and I look forward to the next installment.

It was nice to be back on Tuga and reuniting with some of the islanders and learning more about them! The visit of Charlotte's mother added some good depth to the story. But I hated her and she had no redeeming features which made her a little 2D. I also found scene quite upsetting and it felt a little skimmed over. but still interesting! Again a lot of storylines to keep up with but I feel I'm getting to know the characters better!

A very enjoyable read, with an irresistible storyline about family and kindness. A delightful escape . I found the book uplifting and warm.

How wonderful to return to glorious Tuga again and if you loved the first of this trilogy, this will be just the ticket!

Francesca writes in such a wonderful way that appeals to all the senses but it’s the visuals that get me each time. The description of the operation to save the life of an illicit lizard is both fantastically detailed, hilariously funny and a little bit nerve-wracking.

Just as in real-life communities, so it is here in this fictional one with some people you care about more than others and some people you don’t really notice until something happens and you do have to notice them.

I find this form of armchair travel, to a location I would never visit, utterly soothing and am looking forward to finding out what happens when Alex and Annie are reunited in the next book.

Charlotte, whom readers met in the first of the trilogy, Welcome to Glorious Tuga, is having the time of her life on the island. Until her mum arrives, all too ready to drag her daughter – whom she believes to be having an identity crisis – back to England where she belongs. But they’re not the only mother and daughter on Tuga who are finding relations difficult, and that’s putting it mildly.

This second installment in the Tuga Trilogy picks up where the first book left off, continuing the story of Charlotte Walker, a vet and academic herpetologist living on the fictional, remote island of Tuga de Oro. If you haven’t read book one, I’d highly recommend starting there as this is not a standalone. Even having read the first, I still found parts confusing due to the sheer number of characters and island-specific quirks.

Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It’s a fine story but just dpesnt feel anything special.

The story felt scattered and lacked a clear narrative arc. While Charlotte is still the focus, other characters such Dr. Dan Zekri, Katie the physiotherapist, and Charlotte’s mother Lucinda, float in and out of the story in ways that felt disjointed. Lucinda in particular was difficult to sympathize with, and her presence added more frustration than tension. Honestly she was so rude and condescending to the islanders it was uncomfortable.

The romance between Charlotte and Levi was almost nonexistent, which was disappointing given the setup from book one. The writing style aims for literary depth but came across as meandering and a bit heavy-handed at times. Add to that an abrupt ending, likely because it’s the middle book of a trilogy, and I was left feeling unsatisfied.

That said, the island is portrayed with vivid detail, and the book does capture the peculiarities of life in an isolated, under-resourced community. It is a cosy story but more slice of life novel than a romance.

The second instalment of this series carries on like the first with a mix of mundane and surprising secrets.

Charlotte Walker’s mother flies in to disrupt her entire life but leaves a changed person even if she won’t admit it to herself.

We see how some of the storylines focused on the first book progress and the loves and lives of the islanders as well as the small dramas magnified in this remarkable novel.

Since reading the first book last year, I found myself randomly saying, “Paz” a lot and returning to this island get like catching up with old friends.

I’m really looking forward to the final instalment.

I simply loved the first book (Welcome to Glorious Tuga) in this trilogy so was expecting great things from book 2. I'm not sure how, but this is even better! The warmth and affection for this fictional island and its inhabitants shines as brightly from its pages as the tropical sunshine, and the development of Charlotte's story is intriguing and beautifully told, as is her relationships with the Tugans and her mother. I'm so invested in the lives of all these fabulous characters that I read this volume in a day, staying up well past first bat, and can't wait until book 3 and it's Island Open again!

The second book about life on Tuga de Oro. Charlotte has been working there for over a year and suddenly her mother arrives on the Island insisting she returns to her life in London. Much of this book is about relationships between mothers and daughters; couples; friends. There is also the work that Charlotte is engaged in and then her veterinary work on the island. Life is so different on an island which is unreachable many months of the year. Quirky characters and a different pace of life.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Francesca Segal/Vintage for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

A charming sequel to 'Welcome to Glorious Tuga'. Charlotte is a vet studying rare tortoises on an island at the far reaches of the earth. She is happy, settled, with some issues and surprises in her life. Then, during a storm, her mother arrives. To write more would spoil readers' enjoyment. All I'm left to say is - read it. Both of these books are delightful, well written, and perfect for a summer read.

With thanks to NetGalley and Vintage Digital for an ARC.

Francesca Segal has managed to keep up the fantasy from the first book (Welcome to Glorious Tuga).
I also loved that in the end comments she states (and here I paraphrase it) that when the world becomes too harsh she escapes to Tuga.
I agree totally, while reading this book, I forgot about the world for a while.
It was my pleasure to give the first book 5 stars, this book almost deserves 5 stars, but as it did not quite reach (for me) the level of the first I have given it four and a half stars (OK I can't give it a half star, but it deserves it).
I was pleased to see that this is part of a trilogy, and I will look forward to the third part when it is published. In my review of Welcome to Glorious Tuga I was wishing for a follow up book, and here it is.
The fact that this is part of a trilogy, is also part of the reason that I have only given it four (and a half) stars. Although it is possible to read this book on its own, it is only excellent in conjunction with the first volume.
I really enjoyed reading this book, and often went back and read some of my favourite parts (while reading the book, and I never normally do that).
My thanks to the author for the hours of enjoyment that the book has brought me, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Once again, I was absolutely riveted by another episode in the the tale of this unusual little island, and its wonderful cast of characters, animals included.
I really can't quite understand how this clever author manages to do it - this is not my favourite genre, it lacks all the elements that make books absorbing for me, yet every time I read a Tuga book I find myself absolutely enthralled!
I could add more words to enthralled - gripping, spellbinding, absorbing ... extremely hard to put down, and somewhat devastated when it is all over.
Is it that it is so cleverly written? Such believable characters? So unusual?
I really don't know.
But I can't wait for the next book!

As we are welcomed back to the island, we find the island vet, Charlotte, very happy and settled in her new life, despite her father avoiding her at every turn. Then the boat arrives and who should disembark but... her mother!, who immediately turns Charlotte's life upside down.T his is the sequel to 'Welcome to Glorious Tuga'. This is another heart-warming read from Frances Segal, perfect for a summers day!

I adored Welcome to Glorious Tuga – and in some ways liked this book even more. I love the mix of characters as well as the emotion, humour, and everything else they bring to the party. I'm more interested in tortoises now than I ever imagined. My only complaint is that I'm not sure I can wait for book three in the trilogy.

Island Calling, the second book in Francesca Segal’s Tuga Trilogy, returns to the remote and vividly imagined island of Tuga de Oro. Picking up where Welcome to Glorious Tuga left off, this sequel focuses on Charlotte's deepening ties to island life, and the unexpected chaos stirred by her mother, Lucinda. A good read for fans of the first book and perfect summer escapism.

A beautiful, feel good read on the island of Tuga again. Charlotte's mother is a force of nature and all the characters make me want to go there.

Thank you to NetGalley and Vintage for this ARC.

This is the second book in the Tuga Trilogy and in my opinion you need to have read the first book or you won't understand a word.

In the first book, Charlotte Walker, 29, a vet and academic herpetologist from London, had been given the chance to study the endangered gold coin tortoises on the fictional island of Tuga de Oro, a tiny British overseas territory in the South Atlantic, and the world’s most remote inhabited island, for a year. She also uncovered that her father is the island's pastor, Garrick Williams.

This book has again way too many island characters but the main players are vet Charlotte Walker, Dr Dan Zekri, physiotherapist Katie Salmon and Lucinda Compton-Neville, Charlotte's snooty mother who's come to take her daughter home without realising how difficult it is to travel to and from the island.

Unfortunately I didn't get on with this at all. I found it to be a jumble of a book with no clear story, the romance is barely there and Lucinda is horrible. Also, this might be a lovely tropical island but it hasn't even got a dentist and some other medical specialists that are dearly needed. It didn't endear island life to me at all as well as how remote and difficult to reach it is.

Peculiar island life is portrayed vividly but it's not the light-hearted community story plus romance I had expected. In fact the writing style tries very hard to be literary and deep, and for me that didn't work, as did the mother-daughter conflict. The meandering story ends rather abruptly but that is because it's only book two in the trilogy.

2.5 stars

I really enjoyed Welcome to Glorious Tuga, and was looking forward to a relaxing read, but Island Calling started off with the unexpected arrival of Charlotte's mother Lucinda, and chaos ensued! Gradually the island worked its magic again, and the wonderful, loving and supportive community was restored to its equilibrium. This series is so good, it is full of moral and ethical dilemmas with limited resources, but there is ingenuity in abundance. The animals on the island are as much a part of the story as the human characters, and I was moved to tears in places. I look forward very much to the next book in the trilogy.
Highly recommended.

Having read the first book in this series, I really hoped I could pick it back up with time having passed. I did after a while but it slowly built in a recap and this book kept me captivated all the way through ready to another good ending.

Island Calling by Francesca Segal is a charming second instalment in the trilogy, wrapped in the light-heartedness of a romcom but with a deeper focus on motherhood in its many forms. Set on the remote Tuga de Oro, the story centres on Charlotte Walker, a vet who has found peace and purpose far from her London life. Her contentment is disrupted when her mother, Lucinda Compton-Neville, arrives with the determined aim of bringing her back to the mainland and back to a life Charlotte is reluctant to resume.

At the heart of the book is the complex and fraught relationship between Charlotte and Lucinda. Lucinda’s behaviour, at times harsh and even bordering on cruel, felt difficult to reconcile within the otherwise breezy tone of the story. This tension made their gradual understanding somewhat less believable. Additionally, some transitions felt abrupt — notably a secondary character’s serious medical crisis is resolved with surprisingly little detail or emotional weight.

What truly shines are the vivid depictions of Charlotte’s veterinary work and her connection with the island’s wildlife, especially the turtles she cares for so tenderly. These moments offer a refreshing and immersive glimpse into island life. Overall, Island Calling is an enjoyable and thoughtful escape, balancing family drama with natural beauty.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.