#BlogTour: Away With The Penguins by Hazel Prior @HazelPriorBooks @TransworldBooks @annecater #AwayWithThePenguins #RandomThingsTours

Book Synopsis:

Veronica McCreedy is about to have the journey of a lifetime . . .

Veronica McCreedy lives in a mansion by the sea. She loves a nice cup of Darjeeling tea whilst watching a good wildlife documentary. And she’s never seen without her ruby-red lipstick.

Although these days Veronica is rarely seen by anyone because, at 85, her days are spent mostly at home, alone.

She can be found either collecting litter from the beach (‘people who litter the countryside should be shot’), trying to locate her glasses (‘someone must have moved them’) or shouting
instructions to her assistant, Eileen (‘Eileen, door!’).

Veronica doesn’t have family or friends nearby. Not that she knows about, anyway . . . And she has no idea where she’s going to leave her considerable wealth when she dies.

But today . . . today Veronica is going to make a decision that will change all of this.

Away With The Penguins is available in ebook on the 5th March 2020 and in hardback on the 19th March 2020. You can pre-order your copy using the link below.

My Review:

Oh I so enjoyed this lovely, moving and quirky read which was hugely enjoyable. I didn’t realise I could like penguins as much as I do now!

The author has created some fabulous characters who were such fun to get to know and watch develop throughout the book. Veronica was my favourite as she was exactly how I hope to be when I’m her age as she’s very independent and doesn’t let her advanced age stand in her way which was very admirable. Her growing relationship with her grandson Patrick was very interesting to follow and I liked how it changed as they got to know each other.

I loved the unique way this story was told with the inclusion of Veronica’s diaries from WW2 making the story particularly interesting to me. I enjoyed learning about a younger Veronica and the trauma that she has experienced in her life. I felt this helped me understand her more and realise why she behaves like she does. It was quite a moving story, particularly when you realise how much there might be that we don’t know about someone and the interesting stories that will be lost when they die.

Finally, of course, there is the ultra cute penguins which I just fell in love with. I found it very interesting learning more about them and it was lovely to see how they helped Veronica. They had little personalities of there own too which made me smile.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Transworld for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

HAZEL PRIOR lives on Exmoor with her husband and a huge ginger cat. As well as writing, she works as a freelance harpist.