Sam's Fireside - Cosy Book Reviews & Recommendations

“Maybe it's not possible to let go of who you used to be and escape old patterns.” 💭 I was lucky enough to receive  La Dolce Veto  as both a digital and audio ARC, and I chose to read it first. Although I enjoyed it so much, I’ll probably go back and listen at some point too. I always find things I missed the first time around on a second visit. 🎧✨ Pick me up and put me back down in a traditional European village with sunshine, good food, good wine and nosey locals, and I’m in heaven. ☀️🍷 This is exactly what Caitlin’s book did for me. Izzy needs to run away, and so she does — to La Musa in Italy, a place filled with fond memories for her. It’s not quite the same as she remembered, but it’s good enough to hide away from the world for a while. 🇮🇹✨ I don’t usually go for a political romance, but the politics quietly simmered away in the background, which I really enjoyed. The Italian people and countryside are the things that will stay with me most though. The descriptions ...

“You’ve got to be incredibly confident in your transport choices to drive a highlighter pen on wheels.” 🚗💛 I was worried about reading Jaimie’s new book because I loved her Ever After Street series so much, but I needn’t have worried—The Sunshine Teashop is every bit as good. It has a new vibe, new characters, and lots of huggy moments. 🤗 As the book starts, we’re in Kent. No offence to Kentish people, but I want my cute romance books to be set in the countryside or near the sea. 🌊🌿 So imagine my delight when Dolly ups and leaves for a gorgeous village in Yorkshire. 🏡 (Yes, I know the synopsis says this, but I don’t read them! 😆) I was with Dolly every step of the way and loved how easily she immersed herself in village life. She had the little old ladies wrapped around her little finger—in a lovely, happy, friendly way—and, just as importantly, they had her back every step of the way. 💛 I did cringe a bit when she and her new-found builder friend, Reece, got out the paint rol...

“Leonardo hid so many of his secrets in his artwork. My very last hope is that he hid the secret to setting me free…” ✨ I really liked the first quarter of this book—but the rest of it? I absolutely loved it. 💛 It completely blew me away. Magical realism, living forever—quite literally—not what I was expecting at all. 🤯 I don’t want to say too much because that would spoil it… just trust me and read it. 📖 Don’t be fooled—there are some truly heartbreaking moments here. 💔 It isn’t all sunshine and roses. But there are also some beautiful family connections, especially towards the end, and it all balances out so well 🫶 Helen McAlpine and Nathaniel Priestly were brilliant as narrators, 🎧, bringing warmth, love, and sadness to their characters. I was completely invested in their voices from the start. Honestly—read it, listen to it, I don’t mind—just get your hands on this book NOW! 🔥 A very belated thank you to Hodder & Stoughton Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to liste...

“Inside was a message in her dad's handwriting.” 💌 The Lily Garden was April's read for #kindlecrushchallenge 📚 and a book that had been sitting on my Kindle for almost five years! This was the first Barbara Josselsohn novel I’ve read, and I loved it from beginning to end. ❤️ We spend the majority of the book in the small town of Lake Summers—a place where, almost thirty years ago, Caroline lost her parents. 💔 She left a few years later and never returned… until now. ✨ The story had everything I adore in a book: a close-knit community, 🏡 cosy spots to grab a coffee, ☕ a great food place serving delicious, mouthwatering dishes, 🍽️ and of course, a cute love interest. 💕 Throw a garden into the mix 🌸 and I’m all in! I really liked how Caroline’s daughter, Lee, consistently knew what she wanted throughout the book and stuck to her guns. 💪 Yes, other people tried to force their opinions on her, but in the end, her dreams shone through. ✨ Maxine and Gull are great characters...

“...this place has a way of encircling your heart, cocooning you in its warm embrace so that you never want to let go. Of it, or the way it makes you feel.” Falling for Polkerran Point was published in October 2025, and I’ve been putting off reading it. Why? Because it’s the final book in the series. I wasn’t (and I’m still not) ready to say goodbye to Cleggie and old Mrs Lovelace. I adore Mrs Lovelace’s mispronunciations—they’re hilarious, and I always enjoy the chuckles she brings as the story goes on. This book follows Ellie and Will in a second-chance romance, full of friendship, community spirit, and oodles of love. The lovely Anna is still there too, making everyone feel welcome around her kitchen table every single morning with coffee and homemade cakes—far too sociable for me, though maybe I could manage it occasionally! I’ve loved all the books in this series, and it’s definitely one I’d read again—high praise indeed. Please, Cass, I hope you have another equally unforgettable...

“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...

"Sometimes life calls for a pillow fort. And sometimes you just have to build that fort yourself." 🏰✨ Libby! Why am I only now just discovering you?! 📚💛 It's only February, and I think I've already found the book that is going to be in my Top Ten for 2026. This book is incredible — it made me cry proper tears 😭 (and books rarely do that to me). It's so sad, but so heartfelt, and most of all it's full of hope and promise. Hope that there will be happiness following grief, and the promise that you just need to give yourself time and allow other people to care for you. 🤍 I adored reading about Tilly and how she fell in love with reading again 📖, something she hadn't been able to do since before her beloved husband Joe passed away. It was such a gorgeous memory to have — a book from Joe for every month of a whole year 🗓️💌. Oh, and some of those books took her out of her comfort zone and pushed her to do things she would never have dreamed of doing befo...

"...family isn't just blood, it's the people you choose to bring into your life." I’ve joined a few challenges this year, and one of them is the #kindlecrushchallenge which is being run by @hook.me.a.book 📖✨ The aim of this challenge is to finally read some of those books that have been sitting on your Kindle forever. So, I started off with Forever Starts Now by Stefanie London 💕, which has been on my Kindle since 2021—and I’m ashamed to say it was also an ARC. 😬 I really have no excuse other than life getting in the way and new books constantly being added to the pile. 📚 Anyway, I’m here now and I’ve finally read it… and I really enjoyed it 🥰. We’re in the small town of Forever Falls 🏡, where Monroe is stuck in a rut and Ethan drops into town in an attempt to discover the truth about his father. In doing so, he also drops straight into Monroe’s life. 💫 The story is full of friendship, romance, family, and self-discovery 💖—everything that small-town life bring...

‘I want you to have everything you’ve ever dreamed of.’ ✨ I don’t know what it says about me, but when I read a book like this—filled with village life, crafting clubs,  🧶  eating cake,  and drinking tea  ☕  —I want to be right there in the heart of it all  This is despite the fact that I don’t particularly like “real people” and very much enjoy my own company! Jessica has the knack of enveloping you in whatever world she’s writing about, and Tomorrow Starts Today is no exception. 💛 I totally wanted to join Yvonne’s crafting club, chat to Trevor the parrot 🦜, and go for long walks around the Lakes, 🚶‍♀️🌿 what an idyllic part of England to live in! I loved the second-chance romance 💕, the friendships, 🤝 and the new challenges this book brought. It’s full of hope and optimism, and the reassurance that there is a brighter future out there for all of us. 🌈 Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Tomorrow Starts T...

“I have tickets to the Nutcracker. Expensive tickets.”  A Ferry Merry Christmas was my first venture into Debbie Macomber’s books, and off we trotted to Seattle for a ferry ride across the Puget Sound. The entire story unfolds over just a few hours, as we follow the passengers aboard a rather dodgy ferry  ⛴️  that decides to break down mid-journey. 😬 Avery, Harrison, Virginia, James, Beth, Logan, and Olivia are our main characters, all stranded together. And in just a short space of time, each of their lives is going to change—naturally, for the better. 💛 I love how their stories intertwine, how Debbie weaves her Christmas  🎅🏼 magic throughout the ferry, and how joy, forgiveness, understanding, and love ripple through every chapter. 💫 If you’re after a cute, Christmassy  🎁  read that will leave you smiling, definitely pick up a copy of this one. 😊 Thank you to Sphere, Little, Brown Book Group, and Hachette UK for the gifted copy of A Ferry Merry Chri...

'I would let him take me anywhere. Past, present or future. I would give hours of my life to have seconds in his.' OMFG this book was amazing — addictive, awesome, and such a delight to read. I need the next one right now. How am I supposed to cope until next year??!! Within the Space of a Second is Elise’s debut novel and she has absolutely hit the ground running. I love a time-travel story (because it’s real, right? People can actually time travel? I just need to crack the method). I was fully immersed in Mariella’s world from page one, and when she starts realising her dreams are actually a form of time travel, I immediately decided that my own incredibly vivid dreams must mean I’m time travelling too. 😂 It’s a love story packed with fantasy, possibilities, choices, and so much more. It’s beautifully written, brilliantly edited, and one of those rare books I already know I’ll reread. I’ve even grabbed it on LibroFM so I can try the audio! Buy it, add it to your Christmas wi...