It’s always a joy to return to The Dog and Duck and the fantastic Jill Steeples has truly outdone herself with the latest dazzling installment in this enchanting series, Wedding Bells at The Dog and Duck.

With a baby on the way, Ellie Browne, landlady of the Dog and Duck, is looking forward to spending a quiet Christmas with her partner Max nesting, recharging her batteries and getting ready for the new arrival. Ellie does not want any drama or excitement, but just wants to enjoy the peace and quiet before her life is turned upside down. However, Ellie’s plans for a peaceful and quiet Christmas fly out of the window as a snowstorm is brewing outside, turning best-laid plans topsy-turvy and bringing some unexpected and unprecedented excitement into the mix…

As the Christmas decorations are packed away for another year, Ellie – having barely recovered from all the Yuletide cheer and dramatic events of the season – has started to settle down at Braithwaite Manor, Max’s huge country mansion and tries her best to settle into her new life and juggling work, family and friendships as best she can with a minimum amount of fuss. When one of her best friends turns up and asks her to help her organise a summer wedding, Ellie is absolutely thrilled. But when she is knee deep in confetti and tulle, her mind turns to wondering whether next time, it will be her own wedding she is organizing, rather than her friend’s!

As Max makes his feelings about marriage and matrimony known, Ellie wonders whether there will ever be a wedding at the Dog and Duck…or whether she will spend the rest of her life watching other people walk down the aisle wondering what might have been!

Reading a Jill Steeples novel is one of the greatest joys in life and Wedding at the Dog and Duck is a fun and feel-good read that is refreshing, delicious and simply irresistible. Packed with characters that leap off the pages and full of humour, drama and wit, Wedding at the Dog and Duck will cheer up the darkest of days and if you’re a fan of Katie Fforde, Trisha Ashley and Jill Mansell and are looking for a new favourite to add to the list, then look no further than Jill Steeples and her delightful books!

This is the 3rd book in the 'Dog & Duck' series (I believe) by Ms Jill Steeples, though actually the first that I have read, though I didn't know this when I received the book. However, through the clever use of recaps, which gave me just enough detail so that I don't go, 'What the...?' I never felt remotely confused as to what had previously happened that was now occurring on the page. Always, in my opinion, the sign of a top author.

These are the continuing tales of Ellie Browne, her partner Max and some of the most rounded characters it's been my pleasure to come across. 'Wedding Bells at the Dog & Duck' is a character set piece of work, but the author's description of the locations in the village are delightful and make you wish that such a place existed in reality.

Heartwarming and this reader will certainly be looking into this author's back catalogue.

Ellie is the landlady at the Dog and Duck pub. She's also heavily pregnant. She and Max move into Braithwaite Manor, Max's home. They want to move things forward for themselves in terms of love, but will it be engagement or marriage for them? When baby Noel arrives early during a Christmas snowstorm, Ellie at last feels she has achieved an important goal in life. She and Max are besotted with their beautiful son and she finds support in her friend Sasha who is mother to a little girl. The neighbours of Little Leyton, the village where they live, are equally happy about Noel.
Ellie feels content working at the pub and being a mother. Life is certainly not dull!

All is good, but Ellie can't shake the thought that many of her friends have children and are married. She juggles caring for Noah with planning her friend's wedding (to be held at the Dog and Duck).

Max is a great dad and help to Ellie, as are Ellie's parents and Katy and her mum. Arthur, an elderly man who frequents the pub and is respected in the village is also an important character in this book.

The cast of characters in Wedding Bells at the Dog and Duck is varied and realistic to show the demographic of an English village. There are the babies, then teenage Katy and the adults and finally Arthur. There are enough personal conflicts that the book is enhanced with very realistic issues and lots of drama.

Through it all, we see Ellie as resilient, open caring trustworthy and determined, and The Dog and Duck being the glue that holds the community together.

I was going through this book in anticipation of the wedding and loved seeing the way Ellie's little family went through life.

This is the first Jill Steeples book I have reviewed. It has a fast, exciting pace and she has a real talent for making the reader feel and experience what the characters do through using honest and straightforward language. The Dog and Duck and the Manor both have a homely, cosy feel and I felt absorbed in the writing
and immediately able to connect with the characters from the beginning until the end of this book.

Wedding Bells at the Dog and Duck is a book about how we sometimes have to take chances and make changes in order to be happy. It is also about being happy with what you have and appreciating those around you.

Thanks to Jill Steeples and Aria, in imprint of Head of Zeus, for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. Now that I've read one Jill Steeples book, I can't wait to read more! I also participated in the blog tour for this title.

'Wedding Bells at the Dog and Duck', is the third book in this series and the first one I've read. It reads perfectly well as a standalone novel but having finished it I enjoyed it so much I want to read the first two in the series to discover Ellie and Max's early love story.
Romance and humour fill the pages of this gentle love story, which depicts English village life centring around the country pub and its charismatic landlady Ellie Browne and her sexy, partner Max Golding. Romantically involved they are about to have their first child and Max wants to marry Ellie, but she is holding back.
It's Christmas, and most of the villagers are having Christmas dinner at the pub, which leads to one or two surprises for Ellie and Max. There is a wealth of carefully crafted characters who bring the pub and village to life, they all have their own stories, and these subplots continue throughout the book adding interest and realism.
Who is the mysterious character knocking on the pub door on Christmas day, I did guess, but it doesn't matter because it adds an element of mystery to a story about family, friendship and making the most of what life gives you.
The Dog and Duck is the quintessential village pub, a focal point for village life and Max is the modern day squire breathing life into the village and ensuring all are taken care of. If you fancy a slice of English village life with lots of laughs, a few tears and lashings of romance read on...
I received a copy of this book from Aria via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

The book
"Ellie Browne is looking forward, with her partner Max, to hosting Christmas Day lunch at The Dog & Duck, but heavily pregnant now and with a snowstorm brewing outside, it seems that things might not go quite to plan.

After the dramatic events of the holiday season, Ellie settles into her new life at Max’s country mansion Braithwaite Manor, juggling work and family as best she can. When she’s asked to help organise a summer wedding for one of her best friends it’s only natural that her mind turns to her own, non-existent, wedding plans!

With Max decidedly lukewarm on the whole subject and other family complications threatening to disrupt life further, Ellie fears there'll never be wedding bells at the Dog & Duck after all."

Dixit goodreads :)

Now, this summary is really deceiving in at least one way. Namely, that the book basically begins with an immediate reference to the fact that Max isn't so much lukewarm on the subject of weddings. Rather he's been turned down by Ellie. And his "being turned down"-ness doesn't quite stop at the beginning of the novel either. Quite frankly, even when I wanted to shake him to get some sense into his head (because let's be real, with a newborn baby that would be quite a bit harder for Ellie), I kind of understood where he was coming from.

Actually, here's another way in which this summary is deceiving: Wedding Bells at the Dog and Duck is a lot richer than just that one plot. There's Ellie's parents, there's Max' sister Katie, there's Max' ex, Sasha, there's Ellie's ex Johnny, there's Ellie's bffs Josie and Polly. Seriously, every single character we've been introduced to so far? They have quite a busy start of the year going on.

The opinion
I liked this series better with each book of it I read. Now, considering it started off as "there's really something missing but I don't know what"? That's not necessarily saying a lot. The author actually managed to round up (or start, in some cases) each of the character's story lines in a very satisfactory way.

And I even managed to finally pinpoint it! What exactly it was that was rubbing me the wrong way about Ellie! I'm not quite giving any spoilers, because things like this also happened a lot in the first two books. But, basically, Ellie seems to deal with everything in one of three ways:

Clichés
"and the rest, as they say, is history" when referring to herself and Max' relationship
"after some time and with a bit of careful mediation from me, they came to understand each other a bit better" to Max and his sisters relationship.
Hindsight is 20/20
Throughout the books, I've so far counted at least 11 occurences of Ellie thinking she's not been there enough for her friends. At which point she resolves to do something about that soon. And then we get to the next occurence of her thinking this. It's that bit of self-absorbedness that I was talking about when reviewing Winter at the Dog and Duck as well.
Alcohol
I mean, I know she literally says that she didn't miss drinking at all, during her pregnancy? But she then spents the rest of the book drinking in just about every other scene. As in: she actively uses making drinks, drinking drinks and just generally: drinks to avoid problems, solve problems and think about problems.
Now, I did say that this series grew on me throughout the books, and that was largely thanks to the way Ellie grew as a character as well.

(By the way, if she and Max Golding should get married, she would be called Ellie Golding. A realisation she has in the book as well. Is it bad I thought that was really funny, somehow?)

But as I said - Ellie did grow as a character. We still don't get to see her and Max have anything resembling a real conversation. We also don't quite know why they like each other. Again: I do understand Ellie's doubts . At one point she states that she keeps fearing that her and Max only have an attraction and that it will fizzle out. Quite frankly, that is all we are shown, as readers.

And in more likely news: the author also grew as a writer throughout this series. Where I felt that this story had potential in the first book? You can see that the execution has actually improved a lot from Winter, through Summer into Wedding Bells at the Dog and Duck.

The rating: 3.5/5
While this was definitely not my favourite chick-lit ever, I do maintain that there's a lot of potential in this series. Wedding Bells at the Dog & Duck was without a doubt my favourite of the three books and also the one where Jill Steeples got to show her ability best. I don't know if it's that she had more characters to focus on? Whether she was just improving as a writer? But this last one? I have no hesitation in recommending if you want a fluffy read that has some nice plot twists. Again: it's not just about Ellie and Max anymore!. Don't expect your world to change, do expect a couple of cosy hours of escapism.

-Saar

3.5 stars, Rounded.

It’s Christmastime in Little Leyton, but there’s far more happening. Ellie and Max will soon be expecting their first child, there is a massive snowstorm (not unlike this past weekend) and since the Dog & Duck is the perfect gathering place, this is where Ellie has gathered her friends for Christmas dinner. But an unexpected stranded tourist, a baby that has decided he wants to meet Santa and Polly’s newly minted engagement – there is plenty to celebrate. Well, that is until Max makes a huge effort to propose and Ellie, being a little slow on the uptake and a bit of a scardey-cat when faced with a choice, refuses. Almost instantly she realizes her mistake, but with the ups and downs after Noel’s birth, her worry about her parents, the roller-coaster erratic behavior from Katy, Max’s half sister, and the second-guessing that comes with a new baby, particularly a colicky one – and you have a story that is ripe with overthinking, drama, secrets and everyone (yes EVERYONE for this is Little Leyton) qualified to give well-intentioned advice.

From feeling like you are dropped into the center of the village, most of the story is focused on Ellie and her struggles: and triumphs, and she’s a person who can quickly push her own concerns to the side to focus on others, and she’s got plenty to focus on here. From arranging her best friend Polly’s hen night and wedding, to worrying about her parents’ sudden decision to leave Dubai and move back, to Katy’s obvious struggles and the apparent breakdown of Josie and Ethan’s marriage, she’s got plenty to sidetrack her as she stealthily ignores her own reasons for declining Max’s proposal. And when you add in the fact that she and Max are building a family, from inviting the elderly Arthur to stay with them, and accepting Katy’s news (and shock of it) with support, love and plenty of patience: there’s plenty happening to move the plot along.

Granted, this is not a story that you can read easily without having read earlier books in the series, although you’ll enjoy it more if you have: and the pacing is a bit uneven: but these are characters that feel real and plausible. They are flawed and prone to impulsive moments that always lead to a rethink, often overly involved in one another’s lives while they ignore what’s happening at home, but the love and caring is there and make this village a wonderful place to visit.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=”https://wp.me/p3OmRo-9Fo/”> <a> I am, Indeed </a>

This book makes for perfect reading at this meteorologically challenged time of year as it takes us from the cold, snowbound days of Christmas into joyous, warm springtime and then summer. Ellie Browne, landlady of the Dog and Duck, and her partner Max, owner of the country mansion Braithewaite Manor, are our central characters. There’s great excitement at the beginning of the book, when their baby Noel makes his precipitous entrance into the world, but the action keeps going as life is busy for Ellie and there’s also Polly’s wedding coming up. Polly is Ellie’s best friend so she wants to put on a really good show. However, deep down there’s another wedding she’d rather be planning for, but she’s the one who keeps throwing the spanner into the works where that one’s concerned.
There’s a fascinating cast of characters in the book. We get to meet Ellie’s parents, now back from Dubai, and they add some drama of their own to proceedings. Max’s family have a few surprises of their own too.
As well as the feel-goodness of the story, the author’s writing raises your spirits as it’s warm and inviting. Jill Steeples tells her romantic comedy in a friendly, flowing fashion. There’s humour, drama, tension, heartache and joy, all the compelling ingredients we need to keep us hooked to the very end. This is the last in the Dog and Duck trilogy, and it’s been a pleasure to read them all.

What a pleasure to be back at the Dog and Duck again! I was so pleased to be invited to be part of the blog tour for this book. I’ve read and loved all the books in this series so far.

As we return to the Dog and Duck, Ellie is expecting her baby and busy in the pub for the Christmas season.

So many different events happen over the next while. Ellie is busy juggling her home life, the pub, her friends and family.

Along with Ellie and Max’s story we also have the wonderful tapestry of village life, with back stories about her friends, her parents, and other villagers. It makes for a really rich book.

A lovely, feel-good, enjoyable read. I’m already looking forward to the next instalment.

If you haven’t read any of the books in this series yet, treat yourself and devour them all. They’re fabulous.

If you haven't read a book from this series yet, where the hell have you been? If you were feeling rebellious, you could probably get away with reading the books in a haphazard order, but, having read all of the books in order myself, I fully recommend that you start with book one. Not only is the series brilliant, I really do think that if you read the books out of sync, you'll be missing out on some character information which you might find useful later on in the series.

According to Ellie's dates, Dog and Duck Jnr isn't set to arrive for a couple of weeks, but, as I'm sure those with babies know, they pretty much come when they want! Of course after being told that by a friend of hers, Ellie is convinced that she still has time. Ahem, but does she? I mean, it's a snowstorm outside, traffic has come to a halt, OH and the fact it's Christmas. Surely baby will take that into consideration before attempting to arrive, right?

That said, a new baby is the least of Ellie's concerns....if you can call having a baby a concern, obviously, but I'm sure you know what I mean. A lot of family drama is threatening to unfold - NOW that is a typical Christmas!

I really didn't think that this series could get any better! It's not that I didn't have faith in the author to produce an even better book, I just had no idea how Jill Steeples was going to top her previous storyline! Little did I know just exactly how much Ms.Steeples was going to top her previous book!

Despite having a little break between books, it didn't take me long to get back in the swing of things with Ellie and Max. In fact, it was as though I had never left them! I was able to pick up where we left off in the previous book, falling in love with every character all over again.

From the very beginning, my heart felt as though it was being cuddled, warming my soul better than any fire could ever do. 'Wedding Bells at the Dog and Duck' was an absolute joy to read - a series which I am devastated about coming to an end. 

Not only was I able to lose myself in the storyline, I was also able to connect to several characters on an emotional level. It's not often that happens because I can be a little bit of an ice queen, but when it does, it means something incredibly special has allowed me to do so.

'Wedding Bells at the Dog and Duck' left me wanting so much more, yet reaching the end of the novel made me feel like I was about to say goodbye to some fantastic new 'friends'.

Jill Steeples has written a book which captured my heart, made me laugh out loud, filled my heart with immense joy, and made me feel as though I was reading something incredibly precious. Like a precious stone, or a gem. Something which you would do anything to protect, yet you just want to keep hold of it and keep it near you for eternity. Honestly? 'Wedding Bells at the Dog and Duck' is exactly like that.

This series didn't just get better, no. The series went to a whole new level, one which I am incredibly honoured to have been a part of. I really do wish that I could bottle the feelings that this book, and the entire series, have allowed me to feel. Why? Because when you find yourself in reaching distance of something so beautiful, you would do absolutely anything to keep hold of it.

Jill Steeples really has outdone herself with 'Wedding Bells at the Dog and Duck' and, in my opinion, this is the best book of the series so far. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in the series, even though it will be incredibly bittersweet also being the last.

Such a heart-warming, laugh out loud, magnetic and joyous addition to the already fantastic, Dog and Duck series. I cannot recommend this book enough - if I could give it a million and one stars just to show how much I loved this book, I would. Unfortunately I cannot do that, so I just hope that my word is enough.

This wasn't exactly what I was expecting but it was still an okay read. It was a little predictable and slow in places but the characters were well rounded, however it may be best to read the previous books as a lot of the set up was done there.

Overall a nice read but nothing very special.

I was granted an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The village of Little Leyton and the Dog and Duck is just what you need to cheer up on a rainy day. Ellie and Max- what a terrific couple- and now they've got a baby but not a wedding. I'll grant you having the baby in the barn on Christmas is a bit much but go with it. Ellie's living with Max at Braithwaithe Manor and she's using the D&D for weddings but .... There's humor, there's fun characters (love Ellie's parents), and there's a happy thread throughout. Steeples is a good storyteller and things just flow. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Review shall be on my blog on my blog tour date: 04/03 thecosiestcorner.blogspot.com

I was so excited when I saw that Jill had released another novel in the Dog and Duck series, it's such a feel good and enjoyable series that I couldn't wait to read this one! This particular novel sounded right up my street, a wedding, a country pub and a new family? It sounded really interesting and I couldn't wait to sink into it.

It didn't disappoint. I loved the storyline and where it was going was so enjoyable. I loved reading more about Ellie and Max's relationship and see how it developed. I think it was another great addition to the Dog and Duck series but if you hadn't read the others then you could easily read this as a standalone I think. The novel is set in the cute village of Little Leyton and starts on Christmas Day at the village pub. It's a great atmosphere and I loved reading about it in gloomy February.

The festivities are going well until heavily pregnant Ellie realises that something isn't quite right, it was a great start to the book and it'll leave you hanging onto every word. As the story develops, you see Ellie getting on with motherhood, dealing with her own mother and also her marriage worries. One part that I loved about this book is where Ellie is planning her best friend's wedding at her pub, it was so romantic and just a pleasure to read!

All the characters continue to be really lovely and I long to live in a community like this! I loved the pub and the events that take place there, it's just a really nice and easy read. I'm not sure if this is the last in the series, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who would love to read some more about the Dog and Duck!

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.

I absolutely loved this book. I was really gutted it had to end, its a book that i can see myself revisiting. Its full of warmth, love and humour. Its wonderfully written and well worth reading. I will be reviewing on instagram and goodreads.

Ellie has weddings on her mind, she dreams of wedding bells, she’s organising wedding bells - just not her own! I like the premise of this story, it feels like it’s got loads of potential, but for me it don’t quite reach it, almost. Almost. I will read more by the same author

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the Publisher, Aria, for this review copy given in exchange for an honest review. Also thank you to Melanie from Aria for organising the blog tour and giving me the opportunity to be part of it.

This is the third book in the Dog & Duck series. It can be read as a standalone novel as the back story from the other books is covered well. For information, it is set in the fictional village of Little Leyton in Buckinghamshire, UK.

In this book we meet Ellie Browne who is the landlady of the Dog & Duck Pub in the village. She has been in the other books, so is a familiar face if you have already read them. The book begins at Christmas and with a heavily pregnant Ellie and her partner Max are hosting Christmas dinner for their close friends and family at the pub’s barn. There’s a snowstorm blowing and, as per books like this, things don’t go quite to plan. The story continues on through to the summer with Ellie helping one of her best friend’s plan for her summer wedding. Ellie also has to contend with moving in Max’s country mansion, her parents coming to stay and her own marriage worries.

This was my first Jill Steeples book. I am ashamed to admit that I haven’t read any of the other Dog & Duck books, but after reading this one I will definitely be going back to them. When I first read the synopsis (only briefly I may add) I didn’t really feel this book at this time of year. It mentioned Christmas and snow, and it felt like it was a seasonal book, and obviously Christmas has left us for another year. As I started the book, the ‘Christmas time’ actually passed by really quickly, so it wasn’t as seasonal as I first thought. The snow did hang around a bit longer in the book (but to be honest there is snow outside today where I am!) but it gives you that perfect excuse to grab a blanket, make a hot chocolate and turn the heating up to settle down cosily to read it.

The characters were all lovely – I don’t think there was one which I didn’t like. That I have to say is really unusual in a book like this as there always seems to be one ‘villain’ in the village – not in this one though! The story flowed along nicely. There were some sad moments, there were some funny moments (in fact I remember some moments where I laughed out loud!) and there were some secrets which you just know needed to be revealed! It has everything you could want – snow, Christmas, Spring, love, laughter, weddings and babies. This was a perfect, easy read ideal for when you just need to lose yourself for a couple of hours, with a wonderful ending all ready for the next book!

Very enjoyable and well recommended!

Wedding Bells at the Dog and Duck by Jill Steeples is a fun read with a lot of stories woven together to keep the reader engaged.
The story is set in the small town of Little Leyton and the Dog and Duck is the local pub. It is Christmas day and even though Ellie is almost nine months pregnant she had decided to have a big party at the Dog and Duck which she manages. It is owned by the father of her baby, Max. The party will be held in the big barn out back that is used for special events. You know right away where this is going. There is a snowstorm, a stranger appears on the doorstep and Ellie has her baby on Christmas night in the barn. This is just the beginning though. Who is this stranger who was supposed to be passing through and why does he keep reappearing? How will he affect the lives of the residents in the town?
I liked the story very much. I felt connected to the characters and they seemed so real that at times I wanted to give Ellie a good shake; she made some dumb decisions. Some turned out to be laugh out loud funny though. Ellie is a very caring, nurturing and loving person which comes through clearly. Max is also and together they make a difference to those in their community. I give this book a 5 of 5 stars mainly for the how well the characters are described but also for the bit of intrigue with the stranger; it is very well done and the other characters reactions are extremely realistic. I recommend this book to everyone who is looking for a romantic read with a bit more meat to it. I was left questioning why it is called the Dog and 'Duck; I have the impression this is not the first book and maybe that was explained in the first but needed to be included in this one too. There is surely a story there!
I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.