It’s an absolute pleasure today to be joining the blog tour for Love Blossoms at Puddleduck Farm by Della Galton, the third book in her latest series, and sharing my review: published on 26th August by Boldwood Books, it’s now available for kindle (free via Kindle Unlimited), in paperback and as an audiobook. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the tour invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy (provided via netgalley).
I so enjoy Della’s writing – she’s such a wonderful story teller, always achieving that perfect balance between warmth and lightness and sometimes heavier themes, with such very real characters. I so loved her Bluebell Cliff series – if you pop her name into my search bar, you’ll find reviews of every single one – but I’m now every bit as invested in Phoebe’s life at Puddleduck Farm. The first book, Coming Home to Puddleduck Farm, was very much the first in a new series (you’ll find my review here) – a new cast of characters (both two and four-legged) to get to know, the less familiar New Forest location – but beautifully done. And I was more than happy to return for more – and with Rainbows Over Puddleduck Farm, I began to feel much more at home, enjoying the humour, the focus on friends and family, every romantic development, day-to-day life at the vet practice, and the moments of drama along the way (you can read my full review again here). And I was really rather looking forward to my latest visit…
How can life be too busy for love?
Phoebe Dashwood is living the dream. She’s running her own successful vet practice, Puddleduck Vets, alongside her grandmother’s animal sanctuary.
She’s also dating the gorgeous, yet slightly broken Rufus Holt, the most eligible bachelor in the New Forest.
So why isn’t she blissfully happy?
Both Phoebe and Rufus are consumed 24/7 by their own commitments. Their relationship is always last on the list.
Phoebe juggles quirky, yet demanding clients and their pets whilst widowed Rufus is consumed by his anxieties, responsibilities of fatherhood and the unenviable tasks of being a Lord in waiting with a huge estate to manage.
Phoebe knows that when you’re a vet, there isn’t always a happy ending. But will there be a happy ending for Phoebe, Rufus and everyone else at Puddleduck Farm?
Is it ever really possible to have it all?
As I was there on its opening day, it was so lovely to return to Puddleduck Farm and see how things were going at Phoebe’s veterinary clinic – business is good, but she really does need to stop discounting her rates every time she feels sorry for the animals’ owners. There are a few small niggles between the staff working there too – and, this time, a health issue at the nearby alpaca farm that she’s really struggling to resolve. Her private life isn’t going entirely smoothly either, unlike that of her loved-up grandmother Maggie – although committed to her new relationship with lord-of-the-manor Rufus, and especially enjoying the company of his entrepreneurial young son Archie, it’s so difficult for them to find time to spend together that it’s more of a friendship than a romance.
While I’m always a fan of the author’s writing, this really was a book that got everything absolutely right. There’s the perfect balance between the well-researched and realistic day-to-day business of the surgery and the human stories – as well as the progress of Phoebe and Rufus’ relationship, there’s a focus on Maggie and her new beau, life changes for best friend Tori, and the lovely Sam’s attempts to move on. And there are certainly quite a few emotional moments – all beautifully handled – but plenty to laugh about too, with a far larger cast of guinea pigs than you might be expecting, and the attempts to find an animal behaviourist who might finally manage to tame (not a chance!) feral cat Saddam and stop him terrorising every small dog who comes within spitting distance.
Every single character, however minor, is beautifully drawn – you could easily read this book as a standalone, but might find you’re more invested in the individuals’ lives if you read it as part of the series. One boo-hiss character from the past does make an unwelcome appearance, although it turns out to be particularly well-timed – and there’s a far more welcome (and enjoyable) cameo from a favourite character from the Bluebell Cliff series, with more than a few laughs along the way. And the twists and turns of the individual stories really were entirely unexpected, and none more so than Phoebe’s – but I was delighted to discover how entirely satisfying I found the outcome to be.
With the usual warmth to the author’s writing, the wonderful storytelling, and a number of intriguing threads, this was a book I very much enjoyed. One to leave you with a smile on your face, and very much recommended.
About the author
Della Galton is the bestselling author of several romantic comedies set around the Dorset beaches and the beautiful New Forest. Her stories feature strong female friendship, quirky characters and very often the animals she loves.
When she is not writing she enjoys walking her dogs around the beautiful Dorset countryside.
To find out more, you’ll find her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Bookbub, and you can sign up for her newsletter here.
Anne, thank you so much for being part of my blog tour again. As you know I follow your blog and it’s always so exciting to see one of my books beneath your careful scrutiny. Thank you so much. Warmest wishes. Della
A lovely and well deserved review for Della Galton’s new book, Love Blossoms at Puddleduck Farm. Della is a lovely story teller, novelist and short story writer. Smashing blog post.