Summer Days at Sunrise Farm

Hope Meadows #5

by Lucy Daniels

Veterinary nurse Helen Steer adores her job at Animal Ark, and with the summer ahead things couldn't be better.

That is until her best friend goes travelling, leaving Helen unexpectedly jealous and questioning her own stable life with her boyfriend Seb. Charming new vet Toby Gordon, with his flirtatious wit and mysterious family background, suddenly seems a much more exciting prospect.

But just as Helen and Toby's friendship starts to become something more, Sunrise Farm, the beautiful fruit farm where Helen lives, is hit by crisis leaving its future in the balance. Along with her friends Mandy and James, who put aside their own problems to help, Helen throws everything she has into saving her home.

Though with so much at stake, is there time to think about a new relationship? Or will Helen be forced to let her second chance at love slip away?

Genres: Romance, Chick Lit, Cozy, Animals, Fiction

368 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2019

About the author

Lucy Daniels is the collective name for the writing team that created the bestselling children's book series Animal Ark, many of the books are also published under the name of the series creator, Ben M. Baglio.

Reviews

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

With thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Staughton for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

In this book the story is focussed on Helen Steer who is the veterinary nurse at Animal Ark Veterinary surgery.

When Helen's best friend went to Spain for three months, Helen was envious and longed to go on her own adventure with her dogs. Helen became further suffocated when her boyfriend Seb wanted them to save up for a mortgage deposit,

Out of the blue Seb explained he had been offered a job in Aberdeen and wanted Helen to go with him. Helen loved her little cottage on Sunrise Farm and her job at Animal Ark and they broke up.

Confused Helen started a relationship with Animal Ark vet and notorious womanizer Toby Gordon. Things were going smoothly until Helen found out that the owners of Sunrise Farm were going to sell the farm after plunging profits and a bad harvest. Helen loved her cottage and decided to rally up the villagers of Welford to save Sunrise Farm.

Although the series was about Helen I was glad that vet Mandy Hope and her partner Jimmy Marsh appeared in the story.

I always enjoy the veterinary procedures in the books. This time Helen had to deal with Croissant the diabetic cat and Toby had to treat Tango the Hope`s family's cat after he was run over. The best part for me was little Isla the blind dog that Helen adopted and too home to live with her.

I liked Helen who was a brilliant nurse and loyal to her friends. I can understand why she didn't want to leave Welford where she had a great house and job with kind understanding friends.

Although Summer Days is the fifth book in the Hope Meadow series it can be easily read as a standalone. I was glad to catch up with lives of characters in the previous books such as James and his partner Raj, Susan and Douglas.

Aah, I love this series so much and leaves me glowing with happiness. For any of fans of the series there are some troubling times ahead for Mandy, I can't wait for book 6.

[thewoollygeek (tea, cake, crochet & books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable read, bit predictable at times, but a nice summer read. It was a bit slow to start and I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the others in the series, but was a nice entertaining story

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

[Rachel Gilbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always great to be back in Welford amongst my friends at Animal Ark.

This time the story focuses on Helen, and her relationship with Seb which has become a bit on the rocky side.

We also get to fall in love with Isla, a new rescue dog that Helen can't resist helping.

For fans of the series don't worry we see plenty of Mandy Hope and the rest of the hope clan, just from a different angle, and it is great catching up with them too.

I loved all the animals as always, and also the real sense of community when something happens and everyone bands together to help.

I adore this series and am already eager to start the next one, well once its out!

Full of charm, plenty of enjoyable moments, cute animals and the course of true love not running smoothly, this is another fantastic addition to the series, and one I whole heartedly recommend.

Thanks to Hodder and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

[Justkeepreading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book number 5 in the Hope meadows series. Which yes can be read as a stand alone. But will be much more appreciated if you read the whole series from the beginning.

This book focuses on Helen Steer who is a veterinary nurse at Animal Ark surgery.

Helen loves her job and loves Hope Meadows, and cannot wait for summer to begin. But then Helens best friend tells Helen that she is going to go travelling and to see the world. Helen is beyond jealous and starts questioning her own quite life and her stable relationship with her boyfriend Seb.

Helens head is turned by the new vet Toby. With his flirtatious ways and mysterious family background.

Then suddenly the fruit farm at sunrise farm is hit by disaster. Leaving the future of the farm hanging in the balance. Helen along with Mandy and James they put aside their own problems and throw everything that they having into saving the farm. But with helping to save the farm. Will there be enough time for Helen to decide what her future should be.

A fabulous, feel good read.

[Abi · Rating 3 out of 5]

When her best friend leaves Welford for a 3 month trip around Europe Helen begins to question her simple life. Whilst she loves working at Animal Ark, things with boyfriend Seb are plodding along and Helen fancies some adventure. Floating the idea of a trip to India, Helen is shocked to discover Seb has more permanent, less exciting plans for their future. With talks of moving and mortgages it seems their ideals are poles apart, and they soon decide to go their separate ways. 

Local heartthrob vet, Toby, is only too happy to step into Helen's life and offer the thrill she seems to desperately seek. But when her home at Sunrise Fruit Farm is in jeopardy will Helen realise what she had all along?

The fifth instalment in the Hope Meadows series focuses on veterinary nurse Helen Steer. As a secondary character in the previous books, I've always liked Helen and it was nice to learn a little more about her this time around. It was obvious from the start that she was beginning to doubt her relationship with Seb and the first few chapters were ultimately their undoing.

What surprised me in this story was that Daniels seemed to show an uglier side to the other characters. This is hard to explain without giving too much away, but I often found myself thinking "why is he/she being that way?". This for me was quite disappointing, and wholly unexpected, as I've always enjoyed each character and the general community spirit of Welford.

It was, however, an enjoyable part to the series and I completed it in a little over a day thanks to the Bank Holiday weekend. I look forward to the next story at Christmas time.


** Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton, via NetGalley, for this ARC **

For more reviews please visit: https://twiabblog.wixsite.com/theworl...

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is part of the Animal Ark revisited series. I have read the other books in the series, and I feel that this book is more enjoyable when you have read the previous books.
This book focuses upon Veterinary Nurse Helen, who begins to question her sensible life with her boyfriend Seb. Her friend is travelling for a few months, and she wonders if she needs more excitement in her life. New vet Toby suddenly seems more interesting.
Mandy and James are also having problems with their relationships, but when Helen's home Sunrise Farm is suddenly at risk, everyone puts aside their problems to try and save the farm.
This book is feel good read. It is perfect for a holiday read, or a relaxing summer read. The locations are appealing, and sound lovely. There are storyline featuring various animals,both rescue and pets. This is not my favourite book in the series so far, but I still found it enjoyable.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first three books in the Hope Meadows series and generally enjoyed them but did feel the third one was getting a bit tired and there wasn’t much further Mandy’s story could go however focusing on other characters has brought the series back to life for me. I enjoyed Helen’s tale and her questions about her relationship with Seb combined with her attraction to vet Toby, she’s a lovely character facing very realistic questions about what she wants in life. It’s an easy going story, very character led with lots of animals thrown in making for a relaxing read. This could read very easily as a stand-alone so even if you’re not familiar with the previous books you’ll have no trouble getting into this.

[Vikkie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review. I had no idea that this book was part of a series. However, it can be read as a stand-alone book. After reading this book, I definitely need to read the series. This was such a good read, I really enjoyed it. I would recommend this fun and easy read to others.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love it so much. But I couldn’t believe it took more than half of the book (69% to be exact) for the event on the blurb to actually happen - basically first two thirds were pointless.
1 ⭐️ for being slightly ok in the final third.
1 ⭐️ purely for the nostalgia - I read animal ark books as a child.

And the main character is one of the weakest people I’ve ever encountered.

[Nicola Clough · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have so enjoyed this series and and now can't wait to get the new one out soon but it's lovely to go back to the lovely village and hear more about the people who live there. It's full of romance finding out who you are and who is right for you along with friends and pulling together with the village. It's worth far more than five stars and so heartwarming and such a brilliant read with great characters.
Helen is the vetenary nurse at the local vets and loves her job and has a steady boyfriend but when her best friend goes off traveling it makes her question her life and especially with Seb her boyfriend. She's happy living at sunrise farm and loves her job and is starting to worry that he's going to ask her to marry him as he's being saying about saving up to buy somewhere together. She sees Toby as a friend who she works with as he's the new vet and she's getting rather friendly with him. Seb can see Helen isn't happy and he gets offered a new job in Scotland and he says he will go on his own and leave her behind and she feels quite happy. She's sees more and more of Toby and gets close with him but is it right for her then she learns where she lives is going to have to be sold as the fruit they harvest and sell has lost its buyer so she throws herself into saving the farm and Toby helps her and she learns about his background and where he has come from he tried to help with saving the farm and seb turns up to help and she now wonders if she has the right man. Can she save the farm and does she choose the right man or not.

[Carol Beasley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 5th book in this series and I had read a couple of the others but not all of them. I will however now seek them out to read as I think it might add to the enjoyment even more. This one focuses on Helen, a vet nurse who loves her job and home and will fight to keep them. While the story may not be new it was engaging and I especially liked the veterinary procedure scenes. It doesn't gloss over the life of the vets and that this is a focus is a big pull. I highly recommend.

I was sent this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Rachael L Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this follow up the village, found I couldn't put it down and wanted to know if they'd save the farm.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable and relaxing book to read. I like the way each book focuses on one particular relationship, whilst continuing everyone’s stories. I enjoy all the bits about the animals, and the community feel.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series more with every book I read. This one follows the vet nurse Helen and the plans she has for saving Sunrise Farm. It has a real sense of a community pulling together to help out those in need. It's like meeting up with friends when you lose yourself in a new book. Everything feels so familiar you really feel as though you have turned up to help with everyone else. The animal characters are also wonderful.

[Mathilde Lbh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ce tome est le cinquième de la saga, cependant il peut être lu séparément, j'ai lu le premier il y a quelques mois et cela ne m'a pas du tout handicapée dans ma lecture, vous pouvez même commencer par celui-ci si vous n'en avez lu aucun. Ce tome est centré sur le personnage d'Helen, l'infirmière vétérinaire de cabinet de Vert-Cottage.


On retrouve évidemment en personnage secondaire Mandy et l'ensemble de la famille Hope, j'ai beaucoup aimé retourner dans la campagne anglaise, j'ai retrouvé cette ambiance bienveillante que j'apprécie tant.


Helen est une jeune femme très investie dans son travail et auprès de ses animaux de compagnie, elle est beaucoup moins à l'aise dans les relations humaines et dans ce tome on va découvrir que cette jeune femme manque cruellement de confiance en elle et que les non-dits peuvent rapidement amener des relations dans des impasses. Elle a cruellement peur de l'engagement et on comprend rapidement pourquoi.


Les habitants de Welford sont tellement solidaires les uns des autres que par les temps qui courent on aimerait tous, je pense, trouver un endroit comme celui-ci pour poser ses valises.


Cette lecture est parfaite pour cet été, une vraie parenthèse de douceur qui nous fait voyager dans la campagne anglaise, un scone et une tasse de thé c'est le combo gagnant pour passer un agréable moment.

[Ileana Renfroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written romance, Summer Days at Sunrise Farm was exactly what I needed when I picked up this book.

As the story unfolds we find veterinary nurse Helen Steer working at Animal Ark. It's the beginning of summer and everything is looking up roses until jealousy creeps into her life. Her best friend has gone traveling and left her behind. But soon a new vet comes to town and the unexpected happens.

This is a charming feel-good story and I can't wait to read more by this author in the future.

[Emi-lit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Toujours un grand plaisir de retrouver Vert-Cottage. Tout ces animaux et ces vétérinaires.

Dans celui ci nous suivons Helen l'infirmière vétérinaire. Qui a du mal à gérer ses animaux et sa vie personnelle quelque peu compliquée.

Pas besoin d'en dire plus... ces romans sont une ode au bien être animal , à la nature et à l'amitié.

Et je pense pouvoir m'avancer et dire qu'il y aura encore un tome à venir, on ne peut pas nous laisser dans le floue concernant Mandy et Jimmy.

Bref encore un coup de coeur !

[ClarkeyBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

If im honest i wanted to put 2.5 stars just because it was kind of boring and nothing really happened from the bike ride you knew where it was going with Toby from the cricket match you knew were it was going with Seb and if im honest Helen just got on my nerves. Best character of all has to be Lucy the Retriever

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was such a huge fan of the original Animal Ark books growing up, and was thrilled to learn that there's an adult series too! This series truly has just as much heart as the original books did. If you like British countryside settings, All Creatures Great and Small, James Herriot, adorable romance, and wildlife, then you're going to love these! <3

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5* and I’m so disappointed that I can’t round it up to 3*. I’ve been enjoying this series but this book just felt very disjointed to me. I didn’t really believe the feelings and the main character felt very flat.

[Anne Cotton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I normally love books like this but this one was just lacking something. It was fine but it just didn’t grab me or enthral me at all. I didn’t feel a connection to the characters. Normally I’m sad to finish a book and miss it and the characters for a few days. But I felt nothing for this one.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Histoire toujours sympa à lire mais j'ai moins aimé l'histoire d'Helen... Et j'avouerai que ça manque de ne plus lire d'histoires sur Mandy, j'aurai voulu en entendre plus. Je lirai le dernier volet pour sûr mais j'espère qu'il sera un peu plus palpitant.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable listen although not quite as good as the other books in the series, at least in my opinion. This book focused on Helen, and it was good to get to know her better, although she caused me some frustration. Surprised by the storyline with Mandy though...

[donna craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

when the chips are down village life and people come together to save helens home

[Emily Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a heartwarming but slightly stressful book!!

[Loz · Rating 3 out of 5]

wasn't the best for me but still enjoyable.

[Juliet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another light read. This time about another main character

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy fun read

[la biblioteca di belle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfetto per l’estate