Sam's Fireside - Cosy Book Reviews & Recommendations

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was such an awesome read and just kept on getting better and better. The more I read, the faster those pages were turning. I was hooked almost from the beginning. A psychological thriller, mystery and suspense, The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan has it all.  The novel begins in the remoteness of Northumbria as the ladies begin what was supposed to be a relaxing weekend away. However, it turns out to be anything but this. As a storm rages in, the cragginess of the fells of Northumbria becomes treacherous, malevolent and downright scary.  A story with many characters, each one playing their own part and each adding to the timeline as events occur. They are all damaged, in their own way, and this just adds to the suspense as I tried to get to grips with what was going on. I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next and everything, literally every tiny thing, was a surprise. The author got this dead right, and I didn’t know the identities of bad guys and vic...

  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My first Audiobook of 2022, The German Wife by Debbie Rix, enthralled me from the beginning. Brilliantly narrated by Tamsin Kennard, I plugged myself in at every given opportunity and just couldn’t get enough of Annaliese, Alexander and Hans. Largely set in Germany, during the Second World War, we live life amongst the Vogel family and Hans’ work at Dachau prisoner of war camp. Fast forward to the late 1980s in North America and we discover how their journey has continued. Listening to The German Wife went some way to showing me more about the atrocities that went on inside the German concentration camps, and how some SS officers probably had little say in what their job roles involved if they wanted to stay alive themselves. We discover the lies that people told, and the in-depth deceit that occurred, all to seem to be, upstanding members of their community. Debbie Rix has researched her book incredibly well, and before now I hadn’t really thought about how the Nazi re...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wow! Just wow! What an amazing book to start my reading in 2022. Wahala, by Nikki May, is outstanding and I simply loved it, staying up way past my bedtime to finish it!  Wahala is set in London and centred around three, Anglo-Nigerian friends. Ronke, Boo and Simi have been inseparable since they met at University and are constantly in and out of each other's lives, godmothers to one another's children, and shoulders to cry on when necessary. Until Isobel appears on the scene, causing chaos wherever she goes and with whoever she meets. Everyone's lives are turned upside down and no one can understand what is happening. I'm not giving too much of a synopsis to this book, it will spoil it for you but read it, read it, read it! It's a romance, a thriller, and a mystery all rolled into one. I understand that they are making Wahala into a television series later this year, and I'm so excited to hear this. I'm sure it will be awesome. I'm off to ...

  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I have very little knowledge of life and events in India or Indian history, but after reading ‘Diary of an Angry Young Man’ by Rishi Vohra, I’d be interested in learning more. At the beginning of the book, Raghav is a seven-year-old boy, but as the story progresses, he does indeed turn into ‘an angry young man’, for a very good reason. Inspired by true events, the author has captured the characters and scenes vividly. With the descriptions of the shantytowns and the people begging on the streets, we are almost taken there to experience the sights, sounds, and smells for ourselves. Raghav wants to make an impact on the country that he lives in and slowly but surely he discovers what he can do to help this happen. Thank you to the author for contacting me and asking me to read his book in exchange for an honest review. I’m so pleased I accepted and I will definitely read more of his books.

  ⭐⭐⭐⭐  If you fancy a psychological thriller, with an element of quirkiness, then check out ‘Seen and Not Heard’ by Deborah Jean White.    Told from two points of view and beginning with Molly. Still a teenager and fresh out of school, Molly falls into a job as a Classroom Assistant and settles in well until the children slowly become absent from her class. The second point of view is ‘house’. It takes a bit of getting used to, but before long, I can guarantee that you will begin to see things as the house does. It loves children, but isn’t too sure about the adults! The story had me gripped from the outset and I honestly could not put it down. Yes, it’s slightly strange because I’ve never read a book written as a house before, but weirdly it works. The author brings each character to life, even the house, and we are carried along by memories and present-day as different timelines are visited. I found the ending surreal, but believable, and I loved the entire b...