Sam's Fireside - Cosy Book Reviews & Recommendations

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I wanted to read A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon because one of her other books, The Trouble With Goats and Sheep, was recommended to me by so many people. However, it’s still sitting on my shelf waiting to be read! Hopefully, I’ll get around to it soon! A Tidy Ending had me gripped from the beginning. Just who was this strange woman, Linda, and why did everyone think her odd? Linda is the protagonist in the story and I honestly couldn’t work out from beginning to end what I should be thinking of her. Is she the victim and a pawn in someone else’s life or is she the mainstay in the plot? She’s weird is what she is, but I definitely wanted to read more of her story. Linda is very insightful, having her own opinions on how she feels people behave in the way in which they do. She’s funny, but she has a sad past which she tries to remember differently than it was.  Joanna Cannon did a great job with all her characters, each has their own quirks and adds to the story, I can’t say t...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Another outstanding book from one of my most favourite authors, Nicola May, but sadly, apparently the last in the Ferry Lane Market series. Rainbows End in Ferry Lane Market was brilliant from beginning to end. It was happy, sad, funny and thought-provoking and definitely something I would recommend to anyone who wants to switch off for a few hours and join someone else’s life. Glanna’s life has had ups and lots of downs until she moved to Hartmouth, but now she’s settling into her new life, making new friends and beginning to love life again. With her gorgeous whippet, Banksy, Glanna is immersing herself into Ferry Lane Market and gradually returning to becoming a local girl once again. She befriends local artist Isaac Benson and they help guide each other through things that have happened to them in the past, both discovering who they are now and how to move forward with their lives.  Nicola brings in characters that have been at the forefront of her other Ferry Lane Market...

⭐⭐⭐⭐  The description of 214 Palmer Street doesn’t do the actual story justice. A psychological thriller that raises more questions than it answers. I was annoyed and hooked in equal measures.  I enjoyed the plot and the way it played out, but Sarah and her husband Kirk annoyed the hell out of me. Sarah is just such a wet blanket. I just wanted to shout at her and tell her to stand up for herself, to do what she wants to do, not what anyone else wants her to do! Meanwhile, Kirk is just overbearing with his love, which borders on control. I know his heart is in the right place, but come on, give a girl some space!  That being said, if the author, Karen McQuestion, wanted her characters like that, then she has done an excellent job, that is exactly how they come across. I sort of worked out what was going to happen pretty early on, although I didn’t realise who ‘her’ was until quite close to the end! It was fun to discover how and why the ending played out as it did and the...