Sam's Fireside - Cosy Book Reviews & Recommendations

Over the last few months, I have been enjoying more and more fantasy books, usually listening to them as an audiobook. When the opportunity arose for me to listen to Compass Points on audio, I leapt at the chance. Slow to begin with as we are immersed into the world in which Rose lives, the story soon picks up as I become familiar with the characters and their purpose in the fae world.  Compass Lake is the home of the four Compass Points, north, south, east and west. Each worships a different God and each has their own magic. I really enjoyed this one. Rose is one bad-ass-bitch who is determined not to take any shit from anyone. Even when Luc happens upon her in the market, looking for the weapons master, she tries her hardest to remain aloof and independent. Hats off to Jillian Witt for a great debut novel with loveable characters, fascinating world-building and a truly great story. I loved listening to Kari Hollowell read this. She totally throws herself into each character and ...

I’ve been waiting to read this since Madeline announced when the last book in the Emily Fallon series was coming out! It’s definitely been worth the wait and we pick up exactly where we left Emily, Xander, Maverick and Uncle Paul in the second book - in the throes of trying to bring the head of the US Navy to justice.  Once again, Madeline Vaughn has written a fast-paced story with an intriguing and thrilling plot. It gripped me from the start. There were loads of ‘WTF’ and ‘no-way’ moments and I was totally gobsmacked at how some things played out! No spoilers from me, but I really didn’t see what was going to happen and part of me thought a miracle might occur! This definitely needs to be read as part of the series, so get out and there and buy all three now! Once again, thank you to Madeline for including me in her ARC Street Team. I’m looking forward to the next book she writes. About the Book Her opposition's reach is unparalleled. Who will be left standing? In the gripping fi...

The second in the East End Library Girls series and a welcome return to Cordelia, Jane and Mavis. Since Cordelia arrived at the library, the three have become firm friends. This book continues where the first one left off and we follow the lives of the three women and how they are surviving the war. Houses are bombed, children are evacuated and soldiers are injured, but the three are resilient and manage to cope with whatever is thrown at them. I loved catching up with these three again. Despite the harrowing circumstances of war, the book has a lovely warm feeling. I enjoy reading about life during the war, the difficulties with housing, finding food and not knowing from one day to the next what will happen. It makes us appreciate everything we have today. The library helped bring the community together and for those who were lonely, I can only imagine that this must have been a godsend.  Although the second in the series, this could be read as a standalone. However, the first one...

Although I have The Silent Patient on my bookshelf, it remains unread, and therefore this is my first venture into Alex Michaelides’ world. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure about this one at the beginning. I don’t know how to describe the style of writing apart from that it’s narrated from the point of view of one of the characters. However, as I settled into the writing and read on, I understood more about what was happening and why it was being written such as it was, and I began to enjoy it - a lot. The Fury is full of deception, lies and intrigue from beginning to end. I’m not sure I actually liked any of the characters very much, each having their own secrets and reasons for being who they want others to perceive them. Only an accomplished writer can portray their characters as such and hats off to Alex for achieving this. I found the story to be full of twists and an ending I didn’t see coming. A Fury is a local Greek term for strong winds and storms and the fury in this case provid...

Books, sunshine, cocktails, sea, beaches, dogs and handsome Greek men - what’s not to love?! Well, to be honest, Greek men are far too hairy for me but I’m sure others love them!!! Evie has lost her job and joins her eccentric grandmother in Santorini, where she has married for the ninety-millionth time. I loved all the characters. Each had their own quirky ways and were delightful to read about. The dogs were all brilliant! Especially Houdini, who loves stealing wallets and hiding them from his owners! Evie is trying not to fall for Georgios, Granny is trying not to get into anymore debt and Evie’s mum and sister are trying to find out all about what is actually happening in Santorini, but no one is telling them anything! In the meantime, Granny and Evie are running the bookshop and planning the opening of a cute evening cocktail bar. Once you’ve read this, I guarantee you’ll want to jump on a plane and whisk yourself off to Santorini for your next holiday. Thank you to NetGalley, HQ...

“There are only two types of being with such power - those who have no vested interest in the contents contained within the artefact, completely ignorant of its contents, of its worth, a rare being indeed; and those born of the Elder God! So, which are you?” The Book of Consciousness is the book that everyone seems to want to get their hands on, some to make their existence better, some to make others’ existence worse. Ignatius and Indigo are just a couple of humans who stumble upon the reality of demons, gods, dragons and super-beings, and that maybe there really is something beyond the world in which we live. Once you get past the world-building, who is who and what is what, Timeslayers is a fascinating, thought-provoking read. I actually read it twice, almost immediately. The first time to figure it all out, and the second time to settle down and enjoy the story. In my head, Ignatius and Indigo are a couple of strange eccentrics who just don’t want to be the same as anyone else, a...

I’m currently on a Carmel Harrington binge listen. I listened to A Mother’s Heart just over a year ago and it was incredible, and now I’ve decided it’s time for more. I love the Irish narrators with their lilting voices and right now I can’t get enough of them.  My Pear-Shaped Life was a great listen, with loveable characters and thought-provoking, sometimes difficult themes throughout. Greta is our female protagonist in this book and she’s simply amazing, even if she doesn’t believe it herself a lot of the time.  Greta has to accept that life isn’t going quite the way she would like right now and is finding it difficult to accept that maybe, just maybe, she needs some help, both personal and professional. Her family is right behind her, most of the time, Greta just needs to realise that.  I loved that Carmel incorporates a US road trip into Greta’s story, something which my husband and I are doing more and more as we get older. With an end destination of Las Vegas - my h...