Sam's Fireside - Cosy Book Reviews & Recommendations

“Marriage and piracy do not go together.” 🏴‍☠️⚓ I read Frenchman's Creek many, many years ago and I had no recollection of what it was about, so when it was chosen as the September read for #classiclitbookclub 📚 I was excited for the re-read. I felt it was a more light-hearted read than other Daphne du Maurier books that I've read. There was a touch of fun, but it was incredibly scandalous for a lady of her time, who basically left her children with the Nanny and ran away to sea with a pirate – even if only for a short time! 😱 Dona was longing for the freedom away from the stuffy confines of her marriage and she finds it aboard La Mouette with her Frenchman. ❤️⛵ I loved William, the butler, who was complicit in Dona's wanderings and helped her cover up her assignations with the swashbuckling pirate. More than once, he put his life on the line to save hers. 👏 When we chatted about this one in our book club, many people were shocked she could leave her children to focus ...

“I’ve discovered that it isn’t so much the eyes of strangers you miss in old age as the pleasure in your own eyes at the sight of yourself.” ⚠️  Warning – mini spoiler alert at the end of my review! I'm still unsure how I feel about Havoc, two months on. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting. I had imagined a sweet old lady, living out her days in a hotel on the banks of the Nile. It definitely isn't that! Dark is a huge understatement. Maggie is evil, and Otto is an eight-year-old boy who is already meeting his nemesis. There were parts that were incredibly slow-paced and others that were so fast I had trouble keeping up. It was quite a contrast! The ending was totally unexpected, twisted and dramatic, with a few WTF moments, especially in the last few chapters. Maggi-May Reed did a good job narrating this one, and her portrayal of Maggie was brilliant. 🎧 And now for the important bit... THE CAT DIES!  🐈💔 You need to know this so you can mentally prepare yourself for...

“The idea of writing a murder mystery called to her. Her fingers touched the keyboard and began to move.” Everybody is a Liar is a very quick listen at just three and a half hours, and an entertaining story. I was a little bit disturbed by some of the sound effects that appeared in my ears. For example, the clickety-clack of the keyboard as Julie is writing. It's just weird when you're not expecting it! 😂 The title is very apt. Everybody is indeed a liar! Although I did work out what was going on pretty early on, I was gripped by the story and there were quite a few WTF moments, for me as well as for Liza, the therapist. It was difficult to work out where her loyalties should lie, and she was probably the character I liked the most. Barrie Kreinik is currently one of my favourite narrators, so I was thrilled to see she was one of the narrators for this book. 🎧 If you haven't heard her and you love an audiobook, go and find something she's narrated. You won't be di...

"I'm no expert but I don't think a ghoul can wield knives." 🔪👻 Let's Split Up was the September read for the Chiller Shelf for #thatbonkersbookclub and I really enjoyed it! 📚 It's very much a Young Adult story with Enid Blyton's Famous Five vibes, albeit a more adult and darker version. A group of kids who defy all the adults and head off to solve a mystery, but with a lot more death and destruction than Enid Blyton ever wrote about! 😂 All the kids have something going on at home and, as they throw themselves into the mystery, I liked how it allowed them to forget about their own problems for a while and focus on identifying the murderer. The final reveal was a complete shock to me. I didn't see it coming and I was so far off guessing correctly! Who was the wrong-un? Well, it certainly wasn't who I thought it was! 😲 You need to read this for what it is. Don't go in expecting an adult thriller; it's very much written for teens, and it...

"The world's ending in seven hours." 🌍💥 This is officially one of my top reads of 2026. I bloody loved it! ❤️ I skipped between reading and listening to the iconic tones of Derek Jacobi and the inimitable style of Joe Jameson. So, so good! It's not really my usual genre, but I've already got the second one lined up and ready to go. 🙌 Miss Decima Stockingham and Stephen Pike are awesome sleuths and make a brilliant team as they set out to solve the locked-room murder at Tithe Hall in 1910. 🕵️‍♀️🔎 The book gave me Downton Abbey vibes with a dose of Daisy Darker thrown in. It made me laugh out loud and spit out my PG Tips more than once! ☕😂 And I was absolutely in awe of Miss Decima and her octogenarian wit. What a woman! With the world about to end and a murder to solve, what on earth can go wrong?! 🤣 Thank you to Viking Books UK and Penguin Books Ltd for the gifted copies of  The Murder at World's End  by Ross Montgomery. All thoughts are entirely my ow...

"We were better off here, even though we were making do with less than we'd ever had before." Luck is book number 4 in Natalie's Eventing series, and honestly, it's the best equestrian series I've read since I was a pre-teen devouring pony books! 🥰🐴 Luck is definitely something Jules and Pete need right now. They have nowhere to live, and there's a very real possibility that they'll have to give up their horses and their dreams if things don't work out. My heart was breaking for them so many times while listening to this book, and I genuinely couldn't see how they were going to turn things around. 💔 But Jules is a fighter, and as she starts teaching teenagers and passing on everything she knows, she begins to find strength and a new sense of purpose. Sometimes it's other people who help us see things differently, and I loved watching Jules start to look at her future in a new light. ❤️ I'm already looking forward to listening to the ...

“They don't deserve your protection or allegiance. They deserve nothing from you.” 📚 Britannia Hunts is the third book in the  Britannia  series and, although it's not my usual genre, I've really enjoyed this series! Yes, it's complicated, and there are a lot (and I mean a lot) of characters, but as soon as I started reading, I soon remembered them all – well, mostly! 😂 Each location brings its own set of characters and seemingly separate stories, but when you start to read between the lines, you realise that everyone has their own agenda, which ultimately leads to a much bigger picture. 🕵️‍♀️ ⚡ Fast-paced, as we jump from England to Nepal, Italy to America and beyond, this alternate, parallel world to our own could be frighteningly accurate, considering the way the world is right now. 🌍 The story is political, violent, intriguing and addictive. Russell's writing is exceptional and, even when I got lost in the plot, his skill at putting words on the page just ke...