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The Unorthodox Arrival of Pumpkin Allan
An uplifting and moving story of Lois and Tom’s relocation from London to a surprisingly quirky, rural hamlet. Tom falls off his mountain bike just days before they take ownership of Honeysuckle Cottage; leaving a pregnant Lois and her close friend to collect the keys to their new home. Finding her dream house fraught with unexpected problems, Lois becomes sick with worry that she should never have persuaded Tom to leave the city. But, as they settle, glitches with the cottage are resolved, and a wonderfully eclectic mix of friends, enemies, crooks, and eccentrics is revealed within this extraordinary community. Lois and Tom’s rapid series of major life events culminates in great excitement, with their wedding and the birth of the baby in very quick succession and a melodramatic twist, as uninvited guests arrive at the home delivery.
246 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 15, 2014
58 people are currently reading
282 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
July 17, 2015
Fun read.
Fun, easy story. Interesting twists of events and deciphering English interpretations. A positive story of love, friendship and diverse relationships.
Fun, easy story. Interesting twists of events and deciphering English interpretations. A positive story of love, friendship and diverse relationships.
August 9, 2014
Absolutely Charming
Absolutely Charming
I really enjoyed this book as a light fun Saturday read. The characters are fabulous and you quickly get attached to them and all their quirks. The ending is fabulous and funny and a fitting topper to Lois and Tom's summer journey through new homeownership, pregnancy and becoming part of a neighborhood. Delightful.
Absolutely Charming
I really enjoyed this book as a light fun Saturday read. The characters are fabulous and you quickly get attached to them and all their quirks. The ending is fabulous and funny and a fitting topper to Lois and Tom's summer journey through new homeownership, pregnancy and becoming part of a neighborhood. Delightful.
Read
August 8, 2015I stopped at 7% when I read:
'The alcohol Irene had consumed over the years seemed to have taken its toll on her sensitivity, as well as making her 'quirky' as Tom called it, in a variety of ways.'
Alcoholism, and its appalling effects on the alcoholic as well as family and friends, is not something that should be taken lightly.
Not rating.
'The alcohol Irene had consumed over the years seemed to have taken its toll on her sensitivity, as well as making her 'quirky' as Tom called it, in a variety of ways.'
Alcoholism, and its appalling effects on the alcoholic as well as family and friends, is not something that should be taken lightly.
Not rating.
June 10, 2014
a fun, quick read
June 16, 2014
Quirky story
This was a fun read about a wonderful group of odd people living in the British countryside. it was a delightful book from start to finish.
This was a fun read about a wonderful group of odd people living in the British countryside. it was a delightful book from start to finish.
November 20, 2017
The Unorthodox Arrival of Pumpkin Allan was a delightful book! Lois and Tom have a lot to do in a very short amount of time: renovate the cottage they just bought, get married, and prepare for the arrival of their baby. Fortunately, they have a rag tag bunch of new neighbors who are ready and willing to help them. I loved getting to know Lois, Tom, and all of their friends and new neighbors. The Unorthodox Arrival of Pumpkin Allan is pure fun. It was a perfect book to read on a lazy Sunday.
June 25, 2020
Suzie Twine delivers a humorous and heartwarming story.
My granddaughter and her guy could be Lois and Tom! I can't wait to share this book with the two of them and her mom. The characters are so authentic, while the
situations are true to life and yet unpredictable enough to keep you guessing. I highly recommend this to anyone needing a laugh and a little sunshine in their day!
My granddaughter and her guy could be Lois and Tom! I can't wait to share this book with the two of them and her mom. The characters are so authentic, while the
situations are true to life and yet unpredictable enough to keep you guessing. I highly recommend this to anyone needing a laugh and a little sunshine in their day!
January 25, 2021
This just wasn't my cuppa tea. Nothing specific that struck me, but it was a slow journey basically (to me) going nowhere in particular. A young couple decide to buy a cottage in the country & move from their flat in London. She's expecting, they get engaged, renovate the cottage, and meet some unusual neighbors. But overall, a flat read for me.
March 23, 2018
What fun uplifting read full of quirky characters.
Some much fun. Filled with quirky but believable characters. Quick read. Brush up on your British though. Looking forward to more stories from this writer.
Some much fun. Filled with quirky but believable characters. Quick read. Brush up on your British though. Looking forward to more stories from this writer.
July 18, 2018
Great light reading. Humorous and you out who Pumpkin Allan is about half way through the book.
October 14, 2018
Enjoyable book.
This book is an enjoyable, easy read. The characters are interesting, to say the least, and the story is fairly relatable.
This book is an enjoyable, easy read. The characters are interesting, to say the least, and the story is fairly relatable.
April 30, 2020
Cute
This is a sweet story of a young couple starting a new life, house, marriage and a new baby. I did enjoy this story.
This is a sweet story of a young couple starting a new life, house, marriage and a new baby. I did enjoy this story.
July 27, 2015
This novel was just OK. It provided a change of settling from some of the other city-ish novels that I read this year and was a simple uncomplicated no-stress story.
My biggest peeve comes from the timeline. I found it difficult to gauge the passage of time. We know that Lois is pregnant when the novel begins but after that there is presumably a long stretch of time when the renovations and other things happen but she is still researching how to deliver the baby. So that was strange.
The novel really leads up to the arrival of Pumpkin but it does so in a long meandering circuit of meeting the neighbours and hanving dinner with them, having tea with them, having drinks with them, wathcing the kites, catching the glis glis etc. This makes it a little tedious.
all the same it was a good clean novel about a part of the world that I know little about. It might suit you. Let me know.
My biggest peeve comes from the timeline. I found it difficult to gauge the passage of time. We know that Lois is pregnant when the novel begins but after that there is presumably a long stretch of time when the renovations and other things happen but she is still researching how to deliver the baby. So that was strange.
The novel really leads up to the arrival of Pumpkin but it does so in a long meandering circuit of meeting the neighbours and hanving dinner with them, having tea with them, having drinks with them, wathcing the kites, catching the glis glis etc. This makes it a little tedious.
all the same it was a good clean novel about a part of the world that I know little about. It might suit you. Let me know.
May 17, 2015
One of the essential ingredients of any narrative is conflict. Protagonists need to struggle and overcome. But the only struggles in this blithe tale are ones that take care of themselves. I kept latching onto lines and waiting for the plot to get juicier--for instance, when Lois' best friend indicates her surprise at her impulsive decision to quit her career and become a stay at home mom, I thought, "oh, this is going to come up again later." But no, this was apparently just a wasted one-liner that was meant to be discarded as soon as it was read. The book was enjoyable, the characters were charming, and the whole thing would make for a nice BBC series. But the episodic narrative, complete with "set-em-up-and-knock-em-down" conflicts, leaves it feeling a bit hollow as a novel.
August 15, 2015
This is a story about a soon to be married young couple who decide to leave the hustle and bustle of London to buy a cottage in the country. Their life is quite hectic at the moment with the move, a cottage to rehab, a wedding to plan and the fast approaching birth of their first child. The story concentrates on the lives of . the cast of characters that call this village home. I enjoyed the story but it was bogged down by too many characters. There were too many to keep track of; who belongs to whom, etc. There were too many to really flesh out these neighbors. You learn superficial aspects of their lives. All in all I liked the bucolic setting and the air of comfortable camaraderie between the villagers.
June 10, 2015
This is a very sweet book. I love reading a book set in the UK with all the English turns-of-phrase. There are lots of quirky characters - you can almost see them. That being said - there was virtually no tension in the book at all. Here is a couple who buy a tumble down cottage, while expecting their first child and planning a wedding and virtually nothing goes wrong. It was one happy event after another - which is great- but it's not exactly riviting. As one reviewer said - it lends itself to being the start of a series - with subsequent books focusing on the neighbors in the "park".
May 30, 2015
This is a very likeable book. It has good characters, a good (if predictable) storyline, and it reads well. It desperately wants an editor, though. The timeline is a little crazy. She starts out with nine weeks to go in her pregnancy and different parts of the book say 'a few' or 'several' weeks later. Typos and grammatical errors were a distraction, but I still enjoyed the book.
November 20, 2016
Quite Delightful!
I thought this was a mystery, and kept expecting, then dreading, a gory death of one of the wonderful characters in this book. Well, thankful to say, that never happened, much to my relief. (Or did it? Read and find out!) This would make a great first book for a series of enjoyable, fun stories. All I can say is, 'Here's hoping!'
I thought this was a mystery, and kept expecting, then dreading, a gory death of one of the wonderful characters in this book. Well, thankful to say, that never happened, much to my relief. (Or did it? Read and find out!) This would make a great first book for a series of enjoyable, fun stories. All I can say is, 'Here's hoping!'
May 3, 2015
Great cast of characters
No huge plot twists, no serious or dramatic situations. This was just an extremely well written book about every day people that you really would love to know. This group would make the best friends and neighbors you could ever want. Lovely book.
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No huge plot twists, no serious or dramatic situations. This was just an extremely well written book about every day people that you really would love to know. This group would make the best friends and neighbors you could ever want. Lovely book.
.
June 6, 2015
A delightful story
This well-written, down-home novel leaves you feeling satisfied and fulfilled that happy endings do happen. The characters are likable and the story keeps you absorbed throughout.
This well-written, down-home novel leaves you feeling satisfied and fulfilled that happy endings do happen. The characters are likable and the story keeps you absorbed throughout.
July 31, 2015
Very good read..
Very good read. Humor, love. Really liked this author. Would read more of her books. Very uplifting humor. Could see myself self in some of her relationships with her neighbors.
Very good read. Humor, love. Really liked this author. Would read more of her books. Very uplifting humor. Could see myself self in some of her relationships with her neighbors.
October 8, 2015
Loved it.
I really enjoyed this book. Wonderful, interesting characters. and great humor. I also loved that it was so British with all the expressions and customs and cups of tea. Gallons of tea.
I really enjoyed this book. Wonderful, interesting characters. and great humor. I also loved that it was so British with all the expressions and customs and cups of tea. Gallons of tea.
June 1, 2014
Good
this was all
about the way people in England spend the time reducing a house that is very old and needs much rebuilding and the couple get married and have a child.
this was all
about the way people in England spend the time reducing a house that is very old and needs much rebuilding and the couple get married and have a child.
July 21, 2014
Excellent, I hope Suzie Twine writes more about these characters.
January 22, 2015
Great Read!!
this book was a joy to read! From beginning to end. Can't wait to read more from this author! So enjoyable
this book was a joy to read! From beginning to end. Can't wait to read more from this author! So enjoyable
May 8, 2015
Quirky and fun. The surprises never stopped and it held my interest all the way through. I could envision the characters and felt as though I was meeting real people. Loved it!
May 23, 2015
Delightful story that moves at a comfortable pace. Liked the characters wish that I could organize a new home so quickly!
June 19, 2015
Loved this book
I got it on a whim, thanks to the cover. I read it in 2 sittings-lovely, fast read that pulls you in quickly. I thoroughly enjoyed the story.
I got it on a whim, thanks to the cover. I read it in 2 sittings-lovely, fast read that pulls you in quickly. I thoroughly enjoyed the story.
June 27, 2015
I felt it was lacking in interest. It read more as a series of events than a story. It had good ideas but needs more flow and settings.
July 25, 2015
What a fun read ... start to finish.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews