Sam's Fireside - Cosy Book Reviews & Recommendations

"I'm going to swim with the stars". Metal Slinger was May's choice for #thatbonkersbookclub and, hands up, I wasn't looking forward to reading it. 🙈 I knew nothing about it; I just knew I wasn't keen on the title! Well, what a mistake that was! 🤦‍♀️ It is an A M A Z I N G story with one of the most mind-blowing plot twists I've ever read. 🤯 When it happened, I literally sat up in my chair and re-read the page in question — WTAF did I just read?! 😱 I went through varying emotions with the main characters. I feel like I loved them and hated them in equal measure, and if you asked me now, my thoughts would probably change during the course of one conversation! 😂 The world-building is kept to a minimum, which I liked, although I did check out the map a couple of times to see where all the different regions were located. 🗺️ Metal Slinger is an easy-read romantasy that I'm sure readers will be able to get into pretty quickly. With politics, magic, war ...

“There’s no need to be afraid of the dead. 👻 It’s the living you have to watch out for. 😬” I first listened to Daisy Darker back in 2022 when I was on holiday in Cyprus. 🌞 We had moved out of one house and our new one wasn’t ready, so we were nomads for about a month! 🧳 Because I had so much going on, I never got around to writing a review, so when #thatbonkersbookclub decided to read it in April, it was the ideal opportunity to pick the book up again and finally write my thoughts. ✍️ Now, considering I don’t remember what I had for dinner last night, it came as no surprise that I didn’t remember much of what happened. 😅 No spoilers for those of you who haven’t read it, but I did remember all there was to know about Daisy! It was just as thrilling a read as last time around — characters I wanted to smack, others I felt like throwing in the sea 🌊, and one or two who definitely needed a huge hug. 🤗 I do enjoy a locked-room murder mystery; it often makes me think I’ll be able to wo...

“There is magic in the ordinary, magic that has the power to change the world.” ✨💫 Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune was our April pick for #thatbonkersbookclub Sequel Shelf, 📚💥 following The House in the Cerulean Sea, which we read at the beginning of the year. This sequel focuses on Arthur’s story and why he returned to Marsyas as an adult. 🏝️🧭 The book is full of magic, wonder, and love, 💙🌈 and picks up where the previous story left off, with the possibility of a new child joining the family. 👀✨ If he does, the question becomes whether he will fit in—and how that journey unfolds. 🧩💛 My heart was completely wrapped up in the idea of a family that can be so full of happiness despite the discrimination, difficulties, and disorder faced by those who are different, 😤💔 all while simply wanting what everyone deserves: love and safety. 🏡💞 Arthur and Linus are funny, 😂💀 the kids are downright hilarious, 🤣🔥 and I found myself giggling constantly while reading. There are...

  " The sky is a velvet blanket littered with stars that wink at me for the first time in a week." To Bleed a Crystal Bloom was the March read for #thatbonkersbookclub and… I was disappointed. 😕 It’s a Rapunzel retelling, which I honestly found a little strange and quite dark. 🕯️ Our protagonist has been locked in a tower since she was two, but now has this odd fascination with the man who put her there, as well as a weird creature living in the sea. 🌊 I just found the story boring.  😴 Nothing grabbed me, nothing made me want to keep reading—but I did, because I kept hoping it would get better. It didn’t… at least not for me. 🤷‍♀️ When we discussed it, the majority of us felt the same way, and at least two of us got the ick from the relationships, 😖 never mind the nauseating references to other things I never want to think about ever again. 🤢 A lot of it felt random and unexplained, and maybe that comes in the next book—but I won’t be sticking around to find out. 🚫 So...

“I think all worlds are magic. We just get used to it.” ✨🌍 #thatbonkersbookclub chose Fairy Tale as the read for The Chiller Shelf for March (it may even have been my suggestion—I can’t remember! 🤔📚). Either way, it’s definitely my favourite of the three Stephen King novels I’ve read so far. 🙌 In my mind, it leans far more toward fantasy than horror, which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. 🐉✨ I both read and listened to this one, but definitely leaned more towards the audiobook. 🎧📖 The first half of the book follows a normal kid who’s had a pretty tough childhood 💔 and has had to grow up fast. He then takes it one step further by agreeing to look after an older man who needs extra care after an accident. 🏡🩹 The second half is where the fantasy world kicks in—and wow, does it kick in. 😳⚡ We go from a normal world with a normal kid to a portal into another world where everything is very much not normal. 🌌🚪✨ Slight spoiler (but necessary!): Radar is one of the main charac...

“Good Luck is rather particular who she drives with, and mostly prefers those who have got common sense and a good heart…” Black Beauty was my March read for #classiclitbookclub. 🤎 I’m pretty sure I’ve read this before, but not for many, many years—and definitely not with the same understanding I have now. Also, how pretty is this Wordsworth Collector’s Edition ? ✨ It’s such a lovely one to have on the shelf and made the whole reading experience feel a bit more special. Told through Beauty’s own voice, I slipped so easily into his world, starting from his early days as a young colt. 🐎 It’s set in a time when horses were part of everyday life—used for work, travel, and everything in between—and honestly… I wasn’t quite prepared for how differently they were treated. Some owners showed real kindness and care, but far too many were cruel, pushing them harder and harder just to get more out of them. 💔 It made parts of this really difficult to read at times. I absolutely loved his kinde...

“I am not trying to take you from the life that you know. All I'm trying to do is show you a world that you deserve to see".  #thatbonkersbookclub chose Wisteria for February’s “Sequel Shelf” 📚 It’s the third and final full-length novel in the Belladonna series, which is a series I’ve really loved! ✨ Wisteria focuses on Blythe and Fate and their forced relationship — one that slowly evolves with understanding and time spent together. Blythe has never been my favourite character in the series by any stretch, but she did grow on me in Wisteria. I know lots of people loved her, but for me she was always a bit… meh! 🤷‍♀️ Fate (aka Aris) was well grumpy 😤 Quite frankly, he needed a good kick up the a**e to stop him treating Blythe the way he did. I mean, come on — did he really need to be that harsh?! This is a difficult review to write without including spoilers, but my favourite thing had to be the front door that leads anywhere you want it to 🚪✨ Just imagine how useful that ...

“It's accepting the value of things – an old pot, an old person – and understanding that those things have wisdom, that they have seen things. They have value in being.” The Little Teashop in Tokyo has been on my shelf for a couple of years after I found it in a charity shop one day. It was February’s choice for #thatbonkersbookclub, so I finally had the opportunity to dust it off (literally) and dive into cherry blossom season in Japan. It was a quick, cute read, and I loved hanging out with Fiona as she enjoyed her prize-winning trip to Japan. The family she stays with are instantly loveable characters, and I found it fascinating to discover their way of life — the simplicity of their home and the warm welcome Fiona receives the moment she steps over the threshold. I was intrigued by the many tourist spots that Fiona and her mentor, Gabe, visited. I’m not sure whether I’ll ever visit Japan, but if I do, I’d definitely want to go during cherry blossom season! About the Book Grab y...

“All it takes to get along in this here man's town is a little shit, grit, and mother-wit.” Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison_ was February's read for #classiclitbookclub 📚, and I decided to listen to this one — which turned out to be a very good decision 🎧. I really enjoyed Joe Morton’s narration; he did a fantastic job capturing the many different accents as our unnamed protagonist moves from the Deep South 🌾 to the hustle and bustle of New York City 🗽. We never learn the protagonist’s name, even when he is given a new identity. I believe this reflects the invisibility he feels — as a Black man coming of age in a world with deeply blinkered views about how he should behave in the presence of “white folk.” Few books stay rent-free in my head 💭, but this may just be one of them. If this sounds like something you’d enjoy but you’re worried about struggling with the colloquial language, I highly recommend the audiobook 🎙️. This is definitely a book I’ll return to, and one I su...

“A home isn't always the house we live in. It's also the people we choose to surround ourselves with.” If I could give The House in the Cerulean Sea a thousand stars, I absolutely would! And honestly—who says I can’t? A thousand stars it is! ⭐️✨ I adored everything about this book: the descriptive writing 📖, the unbelievably imaginative characters 🧠💫, the storyline, the setting 🌊🏝️, the artwork on the cover 🎨, the cosy feel of home 🏡 and—most importantly—the fact that there’s more to read! The only thing I didn’t adore was how fricking long it took me to actually read it 😅. This book has been sitting on my shelf for at least two years! Finally, thanks to the amazing #thatbonkersbookclub (previously known as #thatindiebookclub), I’ve taken it off the shelf and absolutely devoured it 📚💙. I haven’t felt this way about a book since I first read Harry Potter almost thirty years ago, but The House in the Cerulean Sea has completely captured my heart 💖. It’s all about belon...

“I’ll never get used to anything. Anybody that does, they might as well be dead.” Breakfast at Tiffany’s is our first read of 2026 for #classiclitclub 📖✨ and despite it being one of my favourite films, I’d never read the book. It’s rare that I enjoy the film more than the book, but for this one, I’m making an exception. In my opinion, the film is way, way better. 🎬💔 Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly is iconic ✨, and while reading the book, I couldn’t help but hear Holly’s lines in Audrey’s voice. I think Holly is incredibly lonely and somewhat immature—although I’m pretty sure she knew exactly what she was doing when she relayed Sal’s weather report. 😉 Holly is running from a life she didn’t like and ended up in New York 🗽, where, let’s be honest, she keeps on running—though maybe not physically. As one of our book club members said, Holly is a survivor 💪, and given what she’s come through, she’s had to do whatever she can to get by, whether that’s mixing with criminals or taking...

“A multitude of people and yet a solitude.” December's choice for #classiclitbookclub was A Tale of Two Cities, and I have to be honest—having finished it, I don't think Dickens and I click! 😬 This was tough, slow-going, and, quite frankly, boring. I tried to mix it up: I read some, but listened to most of it—let's be honest, it was the only way I was going to get through it! 🎧 That's fifteen hours of my life I'm never getting back. ⏳ I don't know whether it was the subject—the French Revolution 🇫🇷—or the writing, maybe some of both. I know people who love Dickens, so I’ll give others a go at some point, but this one will never be on my list again—sorry, not sorry! 😅 While I didn't enjoy most of the book, I did have a soft spot for Dr. Manette and his daughter Lucie ❤️, who comes to his rescue after many years of imprisonment in France and helps him regain relatively stable mental health. But yep, that was about it. The only other Dickens novel I’ve rea...