Sam's Fireside - Cosy Book Reviews & Recommendations

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Do people ever really get together by writing notes to each other in windows? I’m not sure they do, but I wish they would. The Start of Something is just a lovely, happy story for those incurable romantics out there. There are lots of times when I wanted to slap the two main characters, Lachlan and Bethan, just for being so pig-headed and not talking to each other! Come on, you’re adults, stop behaving like kids! Bethan doesn’t want Lachie to know she is a single mum and Lachie doesn’t want Bethan to know he’s suffering from a severe leg injury, each have their own reasons for keeping things to themselves - for now.   Lachie is currently on leave from the army, recovering from a car accident. He has a dog and a cat called Bert and Ernie. The names made me smile and the antics of the two were entertaining throughout the story. Bethan has a three-year-old son called Noah, works in a garden centre and is trying to rebuild her life following a difficult break-up.  I enjoyed...

⭐⭐⭐⭐ I wanted to get this review out before the end of Pride month and June 20022. A great read, and ideal for younger people who are perhaps coming to terms with their sexuality. The Boy in Makeup is fun, entertaining and in parts heartbreaking as we follow Cory as he deals with the people who can often be narrow-minded, uneducated and prejudiced as well as his close friends who accept him for who he is. He is an inspirational young lad who knows what he wants and goes all out to make it happen despite the obstacles that appear in his way. I really enjoyed the story and the characters and the author was adept at drawing me into Cory’s life. I was invested in how he was going to deal with bullies and teachers who perhaps weren’t quite as understanding as his friends. As The Boy in Makeup is a short story, a lot happened in a short space of time, this would be great as a prequel to lots more full-length novels about Cory and I hope Anthony Connors-Roberts continues to write and I’d lo...

⭐⭐⭐⭐ I’m not sure whether I’ve been living under a rock for the last forty-odd years but I knew nothing about the Jonestown cult and the horrific things that went on there so when I read the synopsis for The Girl From Jonestown by Sharon Maas, I knew I needed to find out what had happened. Inspired by actual events, Sharon Maas sympathetically retells the story of how the cult came about and what happened in the following few years. To say I was shocked to the core was an understatement. Few things shock me these days, but The Girl From Jonestown made me shudder and recoil and really just wonder how and why!  Our protagonist, Zoe, was determined to find out all about the noises she hears in the night. Other people just wanted to brush everything under the carpet and let people get on with their lives, regardless of right and wrong. I know this is true of people and places everywhere in the world, but looking the other way doesn’t always mean it’s the right thing to do.  Sharon...

When lots of my bookish friends started talking about The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand, I knew I just needed to read or listen to a copy. When my request for the Audiobook was approved, I couldn’t keep the smile from my face! Read by Erin Bennett, I was enveloped completely into The Hotel Nantucket and its staff, residents and ghost (yes you read that correctly) from the moment they opened their doors to guests. Following a fire in 1922 in which Grace, aged 19, tragically perished,, the hotel has never really been the same again, until now, when a billionaire from London has purchased it and wants The Hotel Nantucket to be simply the best. Elin takes us on the hotel’s journey and I definitely felt that the characters were becoming friends as I got to know all about them.  I have never travelled to Nantucket, but after listening to Erin Bennett put the author’s words so imaginatively into my ears, I would love to go. It sounds just like my sort of place. Nantucket now needs t...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Well, there was a tear in my eye within the first couple of chapters, and it was more about how The Hideaway by Norma Curtis was written, rather than what she was writing about at that moment. Right from the beginning, I wanted to be the one to move into The Hideaway for the summer, nestled somewhere in Wales, and somewhere you could go and dangle your feet in the water!  A dual timeline story, set both in the present day and towards the end of the Second World War in Belsen Concentration Camp. Hedi was a German Prisoner of War and we learn all about the traumatic ordeal she and her friends underwent, and we discover how she met her husband Harry whilst there. Thea is their granddaughter and Hedi tells her story to Thea each night, sitting on the jetty with a glass (or bottle) of wine in hand.  Historical fiction, romance and a little bit of mystery all mixed into one, Norma Curtis just picks you up and drops you down, right in the heart of both Belsen, with Hedi, and Th...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Awww, An Island Summer is such a lovely read. I’m a sucker for ‘a girl who leaves a busy life/boyfriend behind and moves to the coast’ sort of story. Usually, it’s set in the UK though, so to read one based in the US is a change for me.  Meghan returns to Hatteras Island with her best friend, Tess, moving into her Pappy’s old cottage that he left to her when he passed away. Meghan is set on creating a new life for herself away from NYC, and Tess, well, Tess has come along to support Meghan and have a bit of fun at the same time.  Jenny Hale deals delicately with dementia issues and how they can affect family and friends. I felt for Toby as he was trying to come to terms with his past and move ahead with his future. Tess is absolutely the best friend that anyone could wish for and absolutely always has Meghan’s back and only wants what is best for her.  I loved all of it, from the descriptions of the Atlantic Ocean, the little fishing cottage that Meghan slowly bring...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I love Liz Fenwick, one of my favourite authors who writes about Cornwall, and The River Between Us didn’t disappoint. We are currently looking at houses in Devon and Cornwall, possibly a small renovation project, but nothing quite as big as the one Theo, our protagonist, took on in Boatman’s Cottage on the banks of the Tamar. Theo is escaping from the breakdown of her marriage and, whilst looking around her new home, she discovers some love letters written during the First World War. The story is then told between the two time periods, 1914-1920 and 2019. We come to learn how and why the letters were written and how Theo and her family fit into the storyline.  The author covers a variety of subjects in the wartime part of the novel, including same-sex relationships, marrying for money and titles, but not for love, and the control parents had over their children. I enjoyed both timelines equally, and it was interesting to see how each was going to play out. The River Between ...

⭐⭐⭐⭐ I love Imogen Church as an Audiobook narrator, so when I was at a loss for a new book to listen to, I just had to choose Too Close by Gayle Curtis from the Borrowbox list I was perusing! Slow to begin with but quickly picking up the pace, Too Close follows the lives of twins, Cecilia and Sebastian and the dark and troubled journey they both endure. The book is tense, troubling, violent and sometimes just plain weird, but I loved it. There is so much going on, and as we get towards the end of the story, it jumps backwards and forwards between characters and the plot so much that my head hurt - in a good way! Gayle Curtis is a master at giving us only the snippets of detail we need, right at that moment, and bringing more explanations to the story when it’s necessary. This kept me intrigued throughout and often wondered what she was going to throw in next. As I said before, Imogen Church is a brilliant narrator and once again, she doesn’t fail to bring the characters into your head....

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Heartbreaking, shocking, unbelievable, and harrowing. These are just four words that only make a dent in how The Midwife of Auschwitz will make you feel. Inspiring, courageous, graphic and brilliant. Another four words that only make a dent in how Anna Stuart has written about and portrayed the events that occurred in Auschwitz-Birkenau between 1943 and 1944, from the point of view of the midwives that were imprisoned there but who helped to birth over 3000 babies during that time. Ester and Ana, one Jewish and one Catholic, become friends and ultimately end up in the concentration camp. Ana is there because she has become part of the resistance and is captured as she tries to help others. We follow the journey of the two women and those they care for as World War II continues and they await liberation. I’m finding it difficult to express how I feel about The Midwife of Auschwitz. I just love, love, love reading about events during both World War I and II and in particular, books...