Sam's Fireside - Cosy Book Reviews & Recommendations

⭐⭐⭐⭐ This shouldn’t work, but it oh-so does! It’s cuteness overload and as much Christmas kitsch as you can ever imagine. Everything, literally everything, is Christmas, from the name of our protagonist to the village she’s residing in. Even the pub is called The Christmas Pud Inn! Merry (yep - that really is her name) is looking after her aunt’s cottage in the Scottish Highlands and the menagerie that comes along with it. She wants to turn her life around and become a new and confident Merry and where better to do that than somewhere where no one knows her past. Coincidentally, Theo is the new vet in town and he is also running away from his past and then he runs into Merry… I really enjoyed reading Snowflakes and Secrets in the Scottish Highlands and yes, I want to live there, be part of the secret Santa that and drink pumpkin and gingerbread lattes with Merry. If you don’t like Christmas then you probably won’t like this very Christmassy story but I thoroughly enjoyed it and ...

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Once again, we are heading off to Brambleberry Creek for the last part in this Elizabeth Bromke trilogy. This time around we discover the secrets behind Amber’s and Morgan Jo’s parents and just where Carla-May has been disappearing off to on her mysterious date!. Another slow burner from Elizabeth Bromke, but one I was more and more invested in as the story progressed. Family is important to the Coyle’s, and this is evident throughout all the Brambleberry Creek books. They always have each other’s backs, no matter what. I wanted to be with the cousins as they launch their winemaking business and I definitely wanted to sit and enjoy Brambleberry Creek with them and a glass of their homemade wine - I fancied the peach one! Although part of a trilogy, Secrets at the House by the Creek could be read as a stand-alone, but I feel you would get more from the story if you knew the background of all the characters. I am lucky enough to be a part of Books on Tour for this book, so thank ...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I think I’d have liked to work in Bletchley Park and be part of the code-breaking team, which helped so much during the Second World War. When I read a book like this, the horrors of war and the actualities of what people suffered disappear into the background, as I become so immersed in the importance of what these amazing men and women did. Once again, Anna Stuart has written an amazing story of perhaps some of the unsung heroes of World War II. We learn that everyone working within Bletchley Park had to sign The Official Secrets Act, and they weren’t even allowed to talk to each other about what they were working on, let alone their family and friends. I’ve seen a couple of movies about the work of the code breakers during the war, but this book takes in so much more detail than a movie ever could.  Based on true events and inspired by her visit to Bletchley Park, Anna’s account of The Bletchley Girls - Stefania, Ailsa and Fran - will have you curled up in your chair with ...

⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Boy in the Attic is the second book I’ve read by Imogen Matthews and, once again, I was hooked from start to finish. This time, the story is based on events that happened to Imogen’s family, back in 1944 and as she states at the end of the book, if it weren’t for the courageousness of her mother, then she herself wouldn’t be here today. The story skips back and forth between Ilse’s story in 1944 and Anna’s in 2005, and as we follow them both in their lives, we discover how their stories are linked. The author tells Ilsa’s story brilliantly and with her amazing descriptive writing, we can almost imagine how hungry and scared people must have been during the war. Despite the tragic circumstances, I loved how Anna began her investigations into her past, with a silver sixpence and a peacock blue scarf. Fast-paced, entertaining and educational. If you enjoy a dual timeline story and you enjoy historical fiction, grab yourself a copy of The Boy in the Attic. I am lucky enough to be ...