Sam's Fireside - Cosy Book Reviews & Recommendations

New Dreams at Polkerran Point is the first book in the Polkerran Point series and the first I’ve read by the lovely Cass Grafton. Cass is fast becoming one of my auto-buy authors! I loved this story so much. I’m a sucker for anything which includes a girl giving up city life for village life in Cornwall. Throw in some romance, attractive men and nosey neighbours full of village gossip, and you have the perfect combination. Anna is our protagonist and has inherited her Aunt Meg’s cottage, so why wouldn’t she up-sticks and move across several counties from Yorkshire to Cornwall? And there begins the stories in Polkerran Point, which can’t come fast enough! I loved that the story isn’t just a plain old romance, there is plenty of mystery and intrigue throughout and Cass kept me guessing the entire way through about, well, absolutely everything! I loved Lauren, who is Anna’s bestie in Yorkshire and is always at the end of a FaceTime call when Anna needs her - and vice versa. I liked the br...

I listened to The Journey After the Crown as an audiobook. It grew on me, but it was incredibly slow to begin with and it took me an age to get to grips with the characters. Daisie and Violet are nineteen-year-old identical twins who have the chance of a lifetime. They are to be maids to Queen Elizabeth II onboard the royal ship, as she and Prince Philip embark on a royal tour of Australia and the Commonwealth. Whilst the story is long-winded and the characters are unlikable, I did enjoy the story. Some parts shocked me, whilst for much of it I was frustrated by the actions of several people. It was full of drama and interest and worth a read for anyone who enjoys historical fiction. Whilst based on a true event, the story is entirely fictional, maybe it would have been better if there were more elements of truth included. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review The Journey After the Crown by Andrew Mackie. About the Book A young...

Full of twists, turns, alcohol and sunshine, this thriller audiobook kept my anxieties high as I listened. Told in turn, from each character’s viewpoint, it didn’t take me long to work out who was who, and their relationship to Lexi, the bride-to-be on her hen weekend in Greece. We all knew someone would die. What I didn’t work out, though, was who that was going to be and what was going to happen. That came as a complete surprise. All six women had their secrets and, of course, during the trip, all the secrets were going to come out, one way or another. Lucy writes with intrigue, and suspense and I adored listening to this. A Greek island, female friendships (or not), sunshine, good food and alcohol. What’s not to love?  Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review a copy of One of the Girls by Lucy Clarke. About the Book It was supposed to be the perfect weekend away. Six very different women travel to a sun-soaked Greek island f...

Jenny has just celebrated her 100th birthday and decides that now is the opportunity to revisit her past, and takes her carer, Candice, along for the ride. Written across dual timelines, 2019 and 1940s Wales and Italy, Jenny and Candice open up Jenny’s memory box and delve in to see where history will take them. The Memory Box is beautifully researched and written, and I adored the characters and the story. I can guarantee that this book will trigger every emotion within you and just goes to show that relationships are often similar, regardless of the era.  Historical fiction books, set during WWII, are one of my favourite genres, and this book is right up there among the top. Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for the opportunity to read and review The Memory Box by Kathryn Hughes. About the Book Some love stories can't be forgotten... Jenny Tanner opens the box she has cherished for decades. Contained within are her most precious mementoes, amongst them a pebble, a carving and a...

Jeremy Clarkson - he’s a bit like Marmite. you either love him or hate him, I don’t think there’s really any middle ground. I love him. Yes, he’s a pompous ass some of the time, but he’s funny, he has an amazingly sarcastic sense of humour, he’s politically incorrect a lot, and I mean a lot, of the time but he’s done alright for himself so something must be working!  If you’re unfamiliar with Clarkson, he’s a petrolhead first and foremost and you’ll best know him for Top Gear and more recently The Grand Tour, but he’s got a sideline too. A farm in the heart of the Cotswolds in the middle of England. A farm called Diddly Squat. In this audiobook, Jeremy tells of his first year on the farm to go alongside the TV show on Amazon Prime.  Full of crop failures, too much sunshine, too much rain, vindictive sheep and a massive, massive tractor that wouldn’t fit in the tractor shed. This book is a delight to listen to and will have you laughing out loud. If you don’t like Jeremy, then ...

I think I’ve been living under a rock or something. I had no idea, absolutely none at all, as to why Prince Harry’s book was called Spare, or indeed what a ‘Spare’ was. For those of you who are unclear (and I’m presuming it’s not many of you), Prince Harry was/is the spare. William - the heir - Harry - the spare. It’s as simple (and as callous) as that! I know memoirs are one-sided and yes, we’re only hearing one person’s point of view, reasoning and opinions, but you have to go with what you are listening to or reading at the time, right? Throughout his book, I often felt saddened at the things Harry was telling me but a lot of the time, to be honest, I wanted to tell him to stop moaning so much - and he moans a lot, particularly about William and Kate but then to be fair, if what he says is true, then they often had complaints about Meghan so he was only standing up for her! In all honesty, and as other reviewers have stated, maybe Harry’s story would have been more balanced if he’...

I wasn’t really what I’d call a Spice Girls fan, not like some people were. I was probably a bit too old at twenty-something when they were at the height of their fame, but I enjoyed some of their music and, well; they are more or less the same age as me so of course I’m nosey and interested in how lives pan out. Melanie Chisholm - Mel C - Sporty Spice, one of five girls who responded to an advertisement in the paper to form what was to become one of the most famous girl groups of all time. Listening to Melanie narrate her own story was at times fun, at other times a hard listen, but amazingly entertaining and interesting. She is open and honest about the good and bad times. The difficult times she had with her fellow band members but also, and what stood out for me, was the amount of fun and friendship that was evident for much of the time. Throughout the book, Melanie’s fighting spirit shone through, and I’m so glad she decided to share her story. I would recommend the audiobook to a...

Dear Eliza is Andrea Stein’s second novel and just as with Typecast, it’s a winner from me. If I read a book fast, it means I’m loving it and I read this one, oh so fast!  Eliza is twenty-six, and ten years ago, when she was sixteen, her world was upended when her Mum died. Now it’s being upended again, in more ways than one! Eliza went through a whirlwind of emotions during this book, her and me both! Grief, anger, acceptance and love. For me, Dear Eliza focuses on the importance of family and friendship and the people you can count on in life. I cannot recommend this book enough. If you enjoy contemporary fiction with amazing characters, which is full of heartfelt emotion and a beautiful story, then pop along to your local bookstore and pick up a copy of Andrea’s new book. Thank you to NetGalley and Andrea Stein for the opportunity to read and review Dear Eliza. About the Book Ten years after her mother’s death, Eliza Levinger never imagined she’d hear from her again. But then Th...

I love Rebecca’s books, and this was no exception. Christmas, books, intrigue and mystery, along with a little bit of romance. I’ve never fancied Paris, to be honest, but pick the hotel up and put it down somewhere else and I’m there! The characters were all adorable, some quirky, some cute and some just a little bit grumpy! Manon and Anais have an adorable relationship as cousins. My cousin and I are really close and yes, actually, I could see us working together in a cute little bookshop in the windy streets of some seaside town somewhere. Definitely not a city though, we’re both country girls at heart! As always, Rebecca has knocked it out of the park with this one, and I always want to read whatever she writes, Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Rachel’s Random Resources for the opportunity to read and review Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel by Rebecca Raisin. About the Book Turn a tumbledown Paris hotel into a perfect boutique, bookish retreat, and have it open for Chri...