Sam's Fireside - Cosy Book Reviews & Recommendations

“Confidence makes men sloppy. And sloppy men are easy targets.” I saw that Dire Bound was on the Libro.fm choice list and decided it was time for me to jump on the Wolves of Ruin series. I mean, I'm only a year or so behind, right?! 😅 I loved it. With its Fourth Wing and The Hunger Games vibes, I was invested from the beginning. Unusually for me when listening to an audiobook, I didn't feel like I'd zoned out at all. The dual narration brought the characters right into my ears as I joined every battle with Meryn and shared her frustration at being bonded to the ass of a Dire Wolf that is Anassa (see, it's even in her name! 😂🐺). A wolf who seems to have no patience or tolerance for the girl who really doesn't want to be bonded at all and is only there because she has no other choice. There are secrets around every corner, and just about everyone seems to have something against Meryn... or do they? 🤔 Maybe they're just trying to keep her safe. I listened to Fu...

"Sally lifts the fishfingers from the grill pan and turns off the gas under the tinned spaghetti." This quote is so English and so comforting. 🇬🇧✨ I love fishfingers and spaghetti hoops, ideally with homemade chips! 🍟 Anyway, I digress. This is my first book by Simon Michael, and I really liked it. A lot of the book is written across two timelines, 1942 and 1970, and is set predominantly in a tiny village in France. Much of it is loosely based on true events and characters, which makes it all the more chilling. 👀 Once Charles arrives in the small French village, he discovers, in a somewhat strange way, that he is surrounded by secrets, strangers, and a lot of anger. Seemingly without reason, he is thrown into the middle of the village's version of a court case and finds himself defending the accused. ⚖️ Eventually, all the mysteries are solved, but not without upset and danger along the way. 😬 Even though this is the eleventh Charles Holborne thriller, it doesn't...

"Never turn your back on the sea." 🌊 I always enjoy any book that is set in Cornwall. We nearly ended up moving there, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. So, reading a Phillipa Ashley book gives me my Cornwall fix whenever I need it! 😊 I love the beaches that only the locals know about, the Cornish folk singers, and any mention of a pasty! And Eric... poor Eric! 💔🕊️ I could almost imagine myself sitting on the balcony with a cup of coffee, chatting away to him. Phillipa never fails to immerse me in the stunning Cornish coastline, the often laid-back way of life, and the quirky inhabitants of its towns and villages. Sybil is definitely the quirky one in this book! 😄 I can imagine she'd be an absolute hoot to have as a friend, with plenty of wayward stories to share. Zennor is the female protagonist in this story. I thought it was a weird name at first until I realised it's actually a village in Cornwall, not far from St Ives—so that's kind of cool! I liked Z...

"I love you, Betty! Forgive me. You aren't to blame!" Jack Kendall is our protagonist in  Mountain Crossing , and this is our first insight into him as an investigative reporter in Jay B. Greene's new series. I enjoyed the whirlwind way in which the story progresses, jumping from one manic scene to another, with a number of very unlikeable characters who, quite frankly, would be far better off walking into the Jamaican mountains and never returning! 😆 I think I liked Jack... I'm still on the fence 🤔. I'll let you know after the next book! What I can say is that he's definitely better off without his wife. When she goes missing, I'm not sure I'd have been bothered to go and find her! 😂 There are a few strange characters who tag along with Jack as he sets out to find his wife, and it seems that, in his eyes, they're completely disposable. They're there to help him in his mission, and he doesn't much care what happens to them afterwards...