Happily Ever After at the Dog & Duck

It wouldn’t be a visit to Little Leyton if the challenges and moments weren’t piled together one after another. From her childhood wish of a busy, fun-filled, family filled home now all too true, Ellie and Max have been busy with the pub, family, little Noel and the always outrageously exuberant Flora it’s been a few months for them. Katy is more settled, Arthur has fitted in just perfectly, and there’s no end of distractions. But all isn’t entirely happy, a miscarriage a few weeks earlier still have Ellie emotional, although she is trying, in her usual way, to just power through it all. With a few days before their week away on the Northwest Coast of Northumberland, Max is determined that a date for the wedding will be set. Picking out a date where the barn at the pub is free – the planning can begin on their return. But then, an unexpected guest in the form of Max’s mother, sans husband and declaring her unwillingness to return to the marriage has Katy up in arms in her typical exploding over everyone and everything, and putting Ellie right in the middle. Soon the fuller house is not the only issue as a fire at the Dog & Duck guts the kitchen, destroys the barn and throws everything planned and booked into chaos. Max, as always, has come forward as the voice of reason, nearly dragging Ellie away from home and off to their seaside views and escape from everyone and everything. A week in a luxurious castle turned hotel, glorious food and a lovely seaside café where Ellie’s curiosity and warmth brings yet another into their circle – and the cares and worries about wedding prep, the pub and even Katy and Rose getting along are pushed aside as Max and Ellie reconnect. Of course things are madly busy – with the holidays, Ellie’s parents’ wedding anniversary and trip, the bridesmaids announcements and Flora going missing: Ellie’s dad tripping off a curb, mid-tango in Paris, and the never ending stress from Katy’s attitude, the multiple construction projects that Max is overseeing, the loss of the Dog & Duck while in reconstruction and the worries about timetables all play in. As does Polly’s big secret and the distance it put between them…… until another holiday snowstorm threatens like the one a year before, and the wedding day dawns cold, snowy and utterly enchanting. This is a village that comes together to celebrate and support its own, and Ellie and Max at the center are just the perfect couple to bring everyone together in ways unexpected. Steeples has created a storybook village with plenty of life-challenges, yet allows everyone to both be themselves and bring out the best in others. A lovely series that will sweep you away and make you long for your own little cottage, just off the village green to call your very own, with a welcome that is only possible at the Dog & Duck. 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.

I loved this series and wished it didn't end. There a still stories to be told with Max, Elle Katy, Ryan and Rose.

I absolutely loved this series. Ellie & Max get their happy ever after