Blog Tour review from book blogger Yvonne Me and My Books

Oh my goodness what a fabulous book this is. Following a diagnosis from his Doctor, Nick needs to drastically change his lifestyle. Stress had been a major part of his job and it has taken it’s toll. Along with his wife Lesley, decide to sell up and start somewhere new with a slower paced lifestyle.

Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds is a fabulous account of the journey this couple made to finally discover a new home and they decide on the move Ireland. This book is great fun to read and it had me smirking so many times. It was great to follow their journey around rural Ireland as they become the latest “blow ins” (newcomers) to a life in rural Ireland.

The first half of the book was great and is written in such an honest way. Mistakes, mishaps and misunderstanding are all laid out. The quirky workings of a different legal system, buyers market and trying to find builders are all really interesting.

The second half of the book had me in hysterics and laughing out loud so many times as I read about the antics of Nick, Lesley and also their dogs and chickens. There were actually a couple of moments where I actually had tears running down my face with laughter! Nick has recounted so many moments so vividly that as a reader I could see what he was telling me.

This book is brilliantly written and I loved the open and honest style in which it was presented. This is a wonderful read about a couple starting afresh in Ireland, getting used to the local flow and way of life. In some ways it is their innocent naivety as they start this new stage in their lives that adds such a wonderful feel to the book and it also had me willing them to succeed. I have never been to Ireland and so I could very much empathise with the couple as they came across many different things. Ireland is a place I would love to visit with my husband, and reading this book has made this a trip change from want to visit, to definitely must visit.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes a real life stories, and memoirs. To be honest I think this book would appeal to many readers and I would highly recommend it. It is amusing, honest, funny and heartfelt.

I enjoyed it so much that immediately after reading this first book I then immediately bought the second one and I can’t wait to see what happens to them next 🙂

Blog Tour Audible review from Em at Radzy Writes, Reads and Reviews

My Review

Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds is the story of how one man and his family make the decision to relocate from Essex to rural Ireland. The novel begins with Nick, our narrator, being told he must alter his life and reduce his stress, else his heart could give up. Then, as if fate heard the Dr, he’s made redundant from his retail management position, and due to the sensitive nature of his job, he’s promptly put on garden leave with full pay. Now, without a job, and Drs orders to relax, Nick and his family decide it’s time to seek new ventures, and Ireland is the destination they select. This book, the first in three, details Nick’s journey from that beginning, through a family holiday, and then follows himself and his wife, Leslie, as they house hunt.

I received an audible copy of this novel and am thankful I did. Nick’s writing lends itself to the spoken word, as he weaves a tale full of little details and interactions that should be heard, as to read it would feel longwinded, rather than charming. There’s a scene somewhere in the middle of the novel where Nick and Leslie are trying to find a house, they’ve organised to view but have no phone number or clue where to go. This sees them meeting a crazy lady with holy water on her dashboard and going to the postmasters building to have around eight people pipe in trying to work out where they need to go. Listening to this, I was enthralled. The image is painted to be hilarious, but in the way of a tale being told in a pub, or on the phone as you catch up with someone. That scene, and many others, encapsulate the entire tone of this story, but I’m not convinced it works as successfully in written form. I’m reminded of David Sedaris’ work, whom if you’re new here, I adore, where I devourer his novels in audiobook form, but the charm is lost for me when I read his work. I need to hear his voice to feel the fluctuations of tone, and the small added jokes, as well as the gravitas of the entire work. Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds isn’t dissimilar for me. For comparison, I downloaded the sample and the first few pages felt long, and no where near as charismatic as they had been when I heard them, but overall, I must still say, it’s a wonderful story, even if you read it. I would say though that I highly recommend you get this in audiobook form, sit with a cup of tea, or do whatever you like to do while listening to something, and enjoy this. The narrator is charming, with different pitches and mild changes to his voice for different characters, and overall is a wonderfully compelling storyteller. Would I have personally preferred the author’s voice? Yes, as that’s something I truly enjoy in my true stories, but Andy Stevenson has a skill, and I enjoyed listening to him.

Plot wise, I enjoyed the mosey of the pace. I’ve gone against my usual self and checked out some reviews, and noticed a few people felt this took too long to get to where it wanted to be. They expected what they saw as superfluous scenes to be cut to a line, or ignored completely, and that this and the second book should be edited down to one novel… now, again, I listened to this, so there is a difference in intake, but I truly loved the meander, and the gentle stroll to the finish. I loved the not immediately obvious important scenes, and the way everything eventually wrapped up, or made sense. Fresh Eggs takes its time, explaining things when and as needed, and takes us along on this journey without much worry about how long we’ll be. I’m thankful every scene is there, and will happily listen to the second and third, but this does go to show how different formats can cause different reactions.

Something I’d like to talk about, moving away from formats and whatnot, is the way the author portrays his characters. There’s a lot of love in this story, as well as an eye for small, relatable details. Leslie kicking Nick’s cold feet away or getting out of the car to scold two wayward dogs, or even struggling to have a private wee behind a bush, portrayed fondness, and devotion. She’s hilarious, and tangibly real, but also kind, and no hits have been taken to exaggerate her simply for fiction. The same goes for strangers, and people we don’t even interact with, but a fleeting line tells us they existed. Nothing’s been pushed over the top for laughs, or to create ugly characters, and overall this creates a warm, well natured story. My favourite probably is the side surfing puppy though, and I’ll be damned if anyone tries to say she can’t be my favourite character.

All in all, I recommend this for anyone who enjoys true stories with handfuls of comedy, fun, and light heartedness. It’s one for the whole family, and something I’ll be keeping handy for a rainy day. I urge you to check this out in audiobook form if you enjoy listening to stories, and if you’re unsure whether audiobooks are for you, this would be one I’d recommend trying with, as it lends itself so naturally to spoken form. However you decide to check though out though, I hope you do, and it’s top marks from me.

Blog Tour - Here's a free sample from Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds

Extract:

This scene occurred a few days after we moved to our new home in Ireland.

A few days later we spotted someone walking along the lane at the rear of our house. I called out a greeting and he stopped to have a chat. Jim is a local farmer who lives around five miles away. He is a delightful man, with a ready smile, twinkling blue eyes and a tendency to call everyone ‘sir’. Today, he was wearing boots, jeans, and a mud-smeared jacket that may once have been green. A faded baseball cap partially covered his tousled dark hair and like an eight-year-old boy, his pockets overflowed with bits of twine, pocket-knives, apples and cattle feed. Next to him was an actual eight-year-old boy. He was immaculately dressed, standing politely to attention and shyly watching us from under the brim of his Munster rugby cap.
After introducing ourselves, Jim welcomed us to the area and explained he was in the habit of grazing his cows on the pasture attached to our property. Apparently his relatives once owned much of the land in the area, and his great uncle used to live in our house. I promised to take great care of the property and asked his opinion of what it would be like to live here.
“Well, sir,” he declared. “You will find it’s grand – apart from the midgets.”
“Midgets?” I queried, thinking of the dwarf we had seen twice, driving a tractor while standing up. “What about them?”
“I fecking hate them. They’re BASTARDS, sir!” he replied.
I knew some people had a prejudice against those they considered outside of the norm, and while I understood everybody is entitled to their own opinion, I felt very uncomfortable with Jim’s venom. However, I was conscious this man was my distant neighbour and I didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot.
“Really? That seems a little harsh,” I offered in pacification.
“Harsh?” He seemed genuinely shocked. “Harsh is it, sir? Them little bastards cum up here in their ‘undreds. They’s after me cows they is. Well, you ask my opinion, they should feck off to Scotland, where they cum from.” He turned his head and spat.
I looked out over the hills and pictured a missing scene from the movie Braveheart, with hundreds of kilted dwarfs, belonging to some secret cattle rustling clan, charging across the moor like slightly taller versions of Mel Gibson. It seemed a little far-fetched, but I was new to the area.
“Well, I’ll have to try and keep out of their way, I suppose,” I offered.
“You can try, sir, but it won’t work. The girl midgets are the worst. When it’s time for them to breed, they can smell you out for miles. So I’ve heard.”
“Good gracious – how extraordinary! You learn something new every day.” I was now picturing a miniature version of an Essex girl’s hen night. “Perhaps they’re attracted to the smell of Guinness.”
“Oy don’t know about that,” he proclaimed. Suddenly, he changed tack like a drunken sailor. “Can I still graze me cows on yer field, sir?” he asked.
“Yes, Jim, I don’t see why not.”
Jim’s hatred of little people remained a perplexing mystery until the first muggy day in late April. I was trying to wash the mud from my car, when I became aware of tiny hot pinpricks of pain on my neck and face. I noticed several small lumps were already growing on the backs of my hands. In the sunlight I could see a cloud of dancing dust that seemed to follow my every move.
“Oh! MIDGES!” I gasped slapping my forehead, physically and figuratively. I quickly made my escape indoors in search of the antihistamine cream, and told Lesley the puzzle of the midgets was now solved.

Blog Tour review by splashes into books

This is a heart-warming memoir, following the lives of Nick Albert and his wife, Lesley, Albert after his GP friend warns him that the stress he is struggling to cope with will kill him in six months unless he makes changes in his life. . . . . Taking redundancy and moving to a totally different life style in Ireland, the dramas, laughs, decisions, characters they meet and problems they encounter are all shared in this relaxing read.

Get ready to meet Mrs Menopause, killer hens, an honest estate agent, family, friends and pets in this engaging story. So many of their escapades had me laughing out loud and I was delighted to discover there’s a sequel to this lovely story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about their search for a new home, the builders – good and bad – even the removal men add to the humour and reading about them all, together with their brilliant dogs, definitely put a smile on my face. If you want a taste of escaping work pressures read this highly entertaining book and maybe you’ll decide to follow your dreams, too – or it might even make you reconsider them!

I requested and was gifted a copy of this book and this is my honest review after choosing to read it and laughing almost all the way through it.

Purchase Links –

UK

Kindle: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B075NY9BNN/

Paperback: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1977611605

Audible: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1977611605

USA

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075NY9BNN/

Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1977611605

Audible: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1977611605

Blog Tour review by Melissa at Bibliotica

For almost my entire adult life, I’ve loved stories of people moving to new places and building or refurbishing their homes. Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence was my “gateway book” in this respect, but since then, I’ve read many others.

It should be no surprise, then, that when given the opportunity to read and review Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds, the first book in Nick Albert’s saga of moving from England to Ireland to revamp, not only a “secondhand” home, but also his own life, I leapt at the chance with all the excitement of a dog chasing a tennis ball. (Like one of Nick’s dogs, mine are into the chase, but not so good at the retrieval part of the game.)

I was immediately absorbed by Nick’s story. He’s candid about the less pleasant aspects of his life – facing repeated staff reductions at work and being the lone survivor (something my husband has gone through more than once) – and then choosing the redundancy package so that he could make a fresh start. (Is it just me, or do these things sound more civilized when phrased in British English instead of American?)

I laughed at the bit where he described the pushpin-and-atlas method of choosing a new place to live to his (adult) daughter (to be fair, this method did not work), and nodded in sympathetic understanding at every mention of a contractor whose work was dependent on other contractors’ work being done, or who couldn’t meet a deadline, having heard similar stories from my own parents when they retired to Baja California Sur, Mexico, twenty years ago (in their case, they refurbished one house, built their second, and then sold that and built their last house, which my mother just sold in the aftermath of my stepfather’s death).

Nick is an engaging storyteller. I felt like I was experiencing all these life changes with him. I could feel the rain, breathe in the wind, and smell the distinctive odor of a dog who has rolled in something disgusting. I was disappointed when I came to the end of this first volume, and then delighted when I realized two sequels are already available, and a third will be coming out later this year.

If you are the kind of person who sees those Facebook ads to buy an island in Scotland, or who fantasizes about moving to Italy every time you catch a few minutes of Under the Tuscan Sun, you will love this book. If you don’t do either of those things, you will still find Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds a worthy read, because of the warmth, honesty and humor with which it was written.

Goes well with cottage pie and a pint of ale.

 

BlogTour Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds review by Cheryl M-M's Book Blog

Sunday, 16 February 2020

#BlogTour Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds by Nick Albert

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds: Living the Dream in Rural Ireland by Nick Albert.

About the Author
Nick Albert was born in England and raised in a Royal Air Force family. After leaving College he worked in retail management for several years before moving into financial services where he quickly progressed through the ranks to become a training consultant. As a very passionate and reasonably talented sportsman, Nick had always wanted to use his training skills towards creating a parallel career, so in the mid 1980's he qualified and began coaching sport professionally.

After a health scare in 2003 and in search of a simpler life, he and his wife Lesley, cashed in their investments, sold their home and bought a rundown farmhouse in the rural west of Ireland - a country they had never before even visited. With little money or experience and armed only with a do-it-yourself manual, they set about renovating their new home, where they now live happily alongside a flock of chickens, two ducks and several unruly, but delightful dogs.

In 2017 Nick was signed to Ant Press to write a series of humorous memoirs about his life in rural Ireland. Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds (book one) was published in September 2017 and soon became an Amazon bestseller. Book two in the series was published on 1st June 2018 and book 3 in August 2019. Book four is due out in early 2020.

Nick is also the author of the twisty thriller, Wrecking Crew, the first in a series of books featuring reluctant hero Eric Stone.

Follow @NickAlbertautho on Twitter, on Instagram, on Goodreads, on Youtube, on Amazon, on Facebook and NickAlbertAuthor on Facebook, Visit nickalbert.co.uk  nickalbert.allauthor.com  nickalbertauthor.blogspot.com, Buy Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds

About the book
Nick and Lesley Albert yearn to leave the noise, stress and pollution of modern Britain and move to the countryside, where the living is good, the air sweet, with space for their dogs to run free.
Suddenly out of work and soon to be homeless, they set off in search of a new life in Ireland, a country they had never visited. As their adventure began to unfold, not everything went according to plan. If finding their dream house was difficult, buying it seemed almost impossible. How would they cope with banks that didn’t want customers, builders who didn’t need work, or the complex issue of where to buy some chickens?

Review

What is a nightmare to one person is a dream to another. A series of events in Nick's life lead him to a new path in life. He wants to change the way his life is built, the way he spends his time. No more being a hamster powering a tiny wheel in the huge machinery of his industry.

It's interesting how some events can seem almost like an omen or a sign, perhaps more so because some of us perceive them as much, whilst many of us just ignore them and carry on. A health-scare  jolts Nick and Lesley into action, it awakens forgotten wishes and a need to be relaxed instead of constantly stressed.

Albert wrings the comedy from the eccentricity, the boldness and the determination. Simple tasks often become mole hill to mountain situations, so it's easier to cope when you can laugh at yourself and others.

This is a humorous memoir, the beginning of a series of books that explore life in rural Ireland. A chosen life, as opposed to a life that is forced upon us as we try to navigate the problems and find pleasure in the small moments. Nick and Lesley take the bull by the horns and do what many of us would like to do - build a life that gives not only stress, but also peace, fulfilment and happiness.

Aside from that if you come away with anything from this read it will probably be the love of Ireland. The reverence, admiration and love for the surroundings is palpable.

Buy Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Ant Press; pub date 25 Sept. 2017. Paperback Audiobook. Buy at Amazon com. Paperback Audiobook

Blog Tour Audio Book Review

Fresh Eggs & Dog Beds

I love audiobooks, especially when dog walking and especially non-fiction, so this was a double tick as soon as I saw it. I particularly love memoir narrated by the author themselves, but understand that’s a big task and not for everyone (certainly not me anyway). In fact the narrator was excellent – I’d definitely look out for anything else by him.

At times I forgot this was non fiction and was looking for a plot. Then again, as a memoir, I was expecting some life lessons, but it’s a pretty straightforward linear account. It is a little slow – five chapters before they even think of moving to Ireland and way more before they actually make the purchase – it’s a bit like watching one of those “Home or Abroad” or “Move to the Country” property search TV shows! If you enjoy those shows, this lets you see “behind the scenes” and you’re going to absolutely love it. It could have gone straight from his health wake up call/ redundancy into the action, but I guess by taking the slow road it’s left plenty of scope for book two. I wasn’t rolling around with laughter, just a gentle smile but, as a light, easy listen, I definitely enjoyed it and am looking forward to book two.

Blurb

Nick and Lesley Albert yearn to leave the noise, stress and pollution of modern Britain and move to the countryside, where the living is good, the air sweet, with space for their dogs to run free. Suddenly out of work and soon to be homeless, they set off in search of a new life in Ireland, a country they had never visited. As their adventure began to unfold, not everything went according to plan. If finding their dream house was difficult, buying it seemed almost impossible. How would they cope with banks that didn’t want customers, builders who didn’t need work, or the complex issue of where to buy some chickens?

Author Bio

Nick Albert was born in England and raised in a Royal Air Force family. After leaving College he worked in retail management for several years before moving into financial services where he quickly progressed through the ranks to become a training consultant. As a very passionate and reasonably talented sportsman, Nick had always wanted to use his training skills towards creating a parallel career, so in the mid 1980’s he qualified and began coaching sport professionally. After a health scare in 2003 and in search of a simpler life, he and his wife Lesley, cashed in their investments, sold their home and bought a rundown farmhouse in the rural west of Ireland – a country they had never before even visited. With little money or experience and armed only with a do-it-yourself manual, they set about renovating their new home, where they now live happily alongside a flock of chickens, two ducks and several unruly, but delightful dogs.
In 2017 Nick was signed to Ant Press to write a series of humorous memoirs about his life in rural Ireland. Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds (book one) was published in September 2017 and soon became an Amazon bestseller. Book two in the series was published on 1st June 2018 and book 3 in August 2019. Book four is due out in early 2020. Nick is also the author of the twisty thriller, Wrecking Crew, the first in a series of books featuring reluctant hero Eric Stone.

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