This book is a cozy and sweet little romance that takes place in the small charming village of Thimblebury, UK. Ottlie Oakcraft has lost her policeman husband in the line of duty and she is grieving fiercely. In order to try to begin her life anew she moves to become the village's country nurse. Here she meets many new and quirky friends and begins to become an integral part of village life. She is almost happy again. And then her sweet cottage is flooded in a freak storm and she is devastated because she cannot afford repairs and feels she must sell up and leave. But the villagers have other ideas. They do not want to lose their new friend and nurse and offer to help repair Ottilies home. Ottilie reluctantly agrees and as the village comes together to help her recover her new home she is healed from her heartbreak in more ways than one. This is a charming story that many people will enjoy. I listened to the audio version and the narrator was very good.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Bookouture Audio for a chance to listen to an ARC copy of this book.

A nice romance set in a lovely country village with a community we all wish we had. Our heroine is a nurse grieving over the tragic loss of her husband making a huge life change to try and move on. She fully involves herself in the village and they embrace her. She thinks she will never love again, until she meets the lovely Heath, who has demons of his own to battle. Nicely done.

I listened to this on audiobook.

This has been an absolute delight of a story, highly enjoyable with lots going on. There were a few emotional scenes but also heartfelt ones and funny laugh out loud moments too. This story really this have a bit of everything.

I really liked the main character of Ottilie, she certainly hasn’t had it easy but I applaud her for her new start in star and throwing herself into her new job as nurse in the village. You can see straight away just how dedicated she is and how much she cares. When disaster struck, I can’t say as I blame Ottilie for almost running away / taking the easy way out, think I’d have done the same. But yay to the neighbours / community coming together to help. Just lovely to see.

The whole story was very well written and I love how other characters in the story have their own little stories that play out within the main story too. You really do get a feel for other characters, not just the main ones of Ottilie and Heath.

I believe there is going to be a second book that follows on from this one and so I truly can’t wait to read the next instalment.

The narrator Katy Sobey was a new one to me, but she did a smashing job of telling the story, she gave each character their own unique voice and it made the story flow very nicely indeed.

After a horrific tragedy, Ottilie Oakcroft moves from busy Manchester to Thimblebury, a village nestled in the Lake District of England. Looking for a change of scenery, Ottillie begins her job as the village nurse and finds that living amongst the community she cares for means that there is always someone who needs a helping hand.

When disaster strikes, Ottillie almost gives up her dream of living in the idyllic English countryside. However, the community she lives in refuses to let her go and several of the village’s residents take it upon themselves to help Ottillie in her most desperate time. Amongst the village residents, Heath, the grandson of one of the elderly villagers, makes it point to lead the repair efforts. As Otillie and Heath open up to each other, Otillie finds new hope for something more.

Listening to the audiobook helps paint a storybook picture of Thimbleburry and I felt that the narration truly enveloped me into the English countryside.

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️s - Enjoyable and fluffy read. I loved the relationships Otillie built and her community. Visiting Thimbleburry and the Lake District of England makes me wish my own lakeside vacation was coming sooner. I admire Otillie and her resilience and caring nature despite the heart wrenching tragedy she faces early in the book.

Thank you Tilly Tennant, Bookouture, and NetGalley for the ARC audiobook! I enjoyed listening to this enchanting and heartwarming story.

I am drawn to books about nurses, so this was a must read. I enjoyed this title…it was a cozy read. If you are a fan of found family vibes and the idea of trying to start your life over after tragedy, this book could be for you.

Cozy, Sweet, reiventing yourself after tragedy, finding a soft place to land-and heal, old-folks who say exactly what they want with little care for feelings…Read this.

I was happy when I Finished

4.5 stars!
This book was so cozy and cute! The best way I can describe it is that Otillie, Thimblebury, and the residents of Thimblebury are so CHARMING. While the story had some heart wrenching and serious sub plots, the way the community comes together to help one another, celebrate one another, and be together is just really lovely.
This book was super heartfelt and I really loved that while the re was a bit of an undercurrent of a love story with another character, it wasn’t the main plot of the story. This felt much more like a love story for Ottilie and herself as well as the new community she was building. It felt like I was really getting to know the townspeople and had a really easy time picturing the town, the residents, and putting myself into the situations. I have already started to recommend this book to friends and will definitely continue. This was the perfect palate cleanser read- feel good, cozy, heartwarming, and optimistic.
Although this was the first book I have read by Tilly Tennant, it will not be the last!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a sweet small town romance. I adored the small town theme of everyone coming together to help someone in need and really liked how many people helped to set the romantic scene. This was a great romance.

Thank you Netgalley and bookouture for the alc. My opinions are being left voluntarily. Not sure what thus books message was, I wish I knew... it started off strong first 5 yo 10% was interesting then fell off the wagon. I found the side characters more interesting then the fmc.

3 5/5☆

Such a fun read. I listened to the book and the reader was wonderful. It’s a nice rom-com and would be the perfect beach and/or weekend read. The characters were delightful and warm. I enjoyed the life of Ottilie. I can’t wait for the next book!

The plot was a cute. Ottilie was almost too perfect and rational for someone grieving the loss of her husband and starting over in a new town. She was kind of redundant in her thoughts and far too calm. I definitely thought there would be more romance than what we got. Honestly, the romance just kind of seemed so random and had no growth to it. I was shocked that they got together during the last few pages of the book and it was wrapped up so quickly.

A Helping Hand for the Village Nurse by Tilly Tennant and narrated by Katy Sobey is a wonderful audiobook and a lovely listen

Katey Sobey has a gentle timbre which is skilled and versatile, adapting to each character and emoting on point

Ottilie Oakcroft is a nurse, a nurse who has just been widowed, her police officer husband receiveing fatal injuries in an unprecendented attack

Ottilie needs to start over, to get away from Manchester, so she ups sticks and buys a Wordsworth cottage in a little village in the Lake District, Thimblebury. The little cottage is in a dip next to the river and Ottilie needs directions so stops to talk to a local, Victor, her first friend on the road to her new life.

However, things are not all flowers around the door, and settling in may be easy with the villagers, (easier with some than others) but with terrible flooding, and fear of recriminations from her huuisbands killer, Otilie is not sure she is safe in Thimblebury, her anxiety going off like a fire alarm at every turn

Tilly Tennant creates the most delightful, likable, authentic characters. The love and care between Victor and Corrinne, The steadfast fortitude and stubbornness of Flo, her grandson Heath who puts his foot in his mouth every time he opens it, Magnus and Jeff, the couple who run the cinema club and local shop, and sweet Stacey and her pregnant teenage daugher Chloe who never looks up from her phone. I enjoyed each and every one of these characters and their interactions with each other and Ottilie, not forgetting the surgery staff! Oh Lavendar you chatty thing you!

(I am SO excited that there is another book in this series on the way!!)

A cosy read that is full of wholesome activity as well as drama, with the whole village coming together, in happiness, in tragedy and as a little community. I absolutely loved this audiobook

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture Audio, Tilly Tennant and the narrator Katy Sobey for this wonderful ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

I really enjoyed A Helping Hand for the Village Nurse by Tilly Tennant. This is a new to me author and I appreciate her honest, insightful, and humorous approach to difficult life situations. I especially liked Ottilie’s perspective to focus on and serve others even in the midst of her pain and struggles. She naturally befriended the village people and made a place for herself both in their hearts and in the community foundation. As a nurse, I was drawn to her story and her interactions with her patients. The focus is on friendships, grieving and healing, and a touch of slow burn romance. All in all, I would love to read more about the adventures of Ottilie and the villagers.
I had the bonus of listening to an audiobook copy narrated by Katy Sobey. She did an excellent job of bringing the characters to life and drawing out their personalities.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are solely my own, freely given.

Otterlie is a nurse; when the unthinkable happens, and her life implodes, she must escape and leave Manchester for a remote Lake District Village. The story explores her role as the Village Nurse and her interactions with the close-knit village community. It's gently paced and works well as an audiobook. The narrator is excellent at bringing Otterlie and the villagers to life in a believable way. It's an engaging listen, full of drama, friendships and a slow-burn romance. Otterlie feels her unexpected loss keenly, and this uplifting story charts her emotional journey realistically. There is an undercurrent of menace at odds with the safety a village location suggests, but this is more of a mirror of Otterlie's emotional distress than reality. I like the relatable village characters and the relationships between Otterlie and the villagers. The romance develops as her grief recedes and is heartwarming. It's an enjoyable listen.

I listened to an audio copy of this book from the publisher.

This was a random request for me as I don't often listen to light hearted books but I have to admit I loved this one, very easy listen and had some laugh out loud moments too. It was the perfect summer listen and will definitely be checking out more books by the author in the future.
Thanks to the publisher and to netgalley for the audio arc

3.5

This story is very much in the vein of all those books taking place in small towns across Cornwall, Scotland, or in this case, the Lake District. They blend a little romance with small village drama and past trauma.

The story starts out on a tragic note, and it can be a little difficult to want to go along for what starts as such an absolutely heartbreaking journey. Fortunately, when you’re in a tiny village and you buy a house with its own name, chances are things will soon be pretty idyllic. Ottilie loved her husband immensely and, assuming you knew this was a romance on some level, you wonder how you could ever be rooting for her to end up with another guy especially the one single man they have introduced. Oh, this must jump ahead a couple of years or something. No.

Again, this is very much in its that niche of the Colgan-esque modern British novel. If you like books of this ilk, you will probably find this charming, though not on par with the mainstays. Though it has an unfortunately long title, what seems would be major challenges for the story line and characters end up not lasting long at all. That is where the book loses points.

The narrator, Katy Sobey, is great, but in an unassuming way. Ottilie’s voice has such a strong local accent, but each character is distinct. You forget that what seems could just be the narrator’s regular dialect is also a convincing middle-aged male with trace of unidentified Scandinavian accent.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for providing me with a free advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for my unbiased review.

Ottilie is recently widowed and decided to pack up and move to a village to start anew. She is a nurse and accepts a job with the town doctor. She makes many friends.
Although the romance fell flat for me in this book, overall, I enjoyed the book just telling about the daily life of the main character.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Bookuture Audio for an audio ARC of this book for an honest review.

This was a very cute book about nurse Ottilie and her starting her life in a new town. I do feel like it had a bit more potential than how it ended. But, all in all, cute, happy feeling at the end!

This was my first title by Tilly Tennant as well as my first book narrated by Katey Sobey and I will definitely be adding them both to my must read/listen list!

Katy did a wonderful job of embodying all of the individual characters through their voice. Through her narration, I was able to visualize the nuances of how each character would truly speak. Her voice is very pleasant to listen to and sucked me in right away!

The character development in this book was amazing and I felt like I was able go get to know them on a personal level. Flo is absolutely a gem and she is the type of elderly woman I hope to be someday. Full of spunk, sass, and a woman who knows what she wants!

Ottilie's journey throughout the story sends you through all of the emotions. From dealing with grief to needing a fresh start to healing in the long run. Not only was the village vital to her healing but I think she helped heal people in the village as well. I thoroughly enjoyed her character development as well as the fact that this story was not just a romance, but a journey of self love, healing, and finding a village, both literally and figuratively.

I absolutely loved A Helping Hand For The Village Nurse. This book is about a woman who is recently widowed. She takes a new job in a village in hopes to find peace after her husband unexpectedly dies. On her journey to finding peace she ends up learning to cope, making new friends and learning how to move on.

I got this audiobook as an arc listen from netgalley , the book will be available 5/24.

A nice heartfelt story.

The whole book focuses on a 35 year old nurse’s - Ottilie - grief journey after her husband gets killed. She moves into the small town of Thimbleburg in search of a new life, which is something we would all do if put in her situation.

Ottilie is a very likeable character. She’s very charismatic despite her immense grief. Speaking of which, the author describes grief perfectly. The pain, the heartache, the what ifs, the wanting to move on but not wanting to let go, the need for distractions, perfectly describe what one feels after losing someone they loved. I wouldn’t know but I’d imagine. Especially the wanting to start over in a place where the memories of her late husband don’t haunt her.

Despite the biggest theme of this book being one that is not taken lightly, there are some humorous scenes in it. My favourite funny quote from this book is “Hill there, hill there, hill there. There you go. All the landmarks.” That was hilarious. Also Heath - Ottilie’s grumpy potential lover - referring to his privates as “crowned jewels”. There are also some funny characters like Flo - Ottilie’s patient and Heath’s grandma/wingwoman. She’s very stubborn, but she has that je ne sais quoi that makes her an amazing character.

I liked the lgbtq+ inclusion without the big stereotypes.

Now on to what I didn’t like as much. It’s very slow in the beginning and the amount of detail is unnecessary. Of course details are important but that doesn’t mean you should go on and on about the same thing. Furthermore, I really disliked the doctor. She was very pushy and callous towards Ottilie’s situation. Btw giving a woman flowers as an apology is not romantic or sweet. If you mess up ask for forgiveness face to face like a normal person. Finally, just because Chloe is young doesn’t mean she doesn’t know Star Wars or John Lennon. It has little to do with age and more to do with how one is brought up.

I loved the found family trope the unique names like Lavender, Ottilie and Phlis/Flis. There was a hint of enemies to lovers which I wished could’ve been more of, but the story is more focused on Ottilie than Ottilie and Heath so I’m satisfied with how it is. Also chapter 26 and 30 were my favourite chapters.

I would 100% recommend this book to someone who is searching for a no spice, grumpy x sunshine, found family, happy ending, feel good read.