Sam's Fireside - Cosy Book Reviews & Recommendations

“She could see the stern schoolmistress, rows of desks, pens dipping into inkwells, tracing the script on straight lines.” It’s been a few years since I’ve read a book by Suzanne Goldring and this one has been sitting on my NetGalley shelf for a while, so I chose it for May’s read for #kindlecrushchallenge 📚✨ I enjoyed it immensely, just as I have done with the previous two books of hers that I’ve read. The Shut-Away Sisters is a dual timeline story, split between the Great War and the late 1990s, and it’s a real eye-opener into what was expected of women in the early 1900s. Of course, I knew they were predominantly housewives and brought their daughters up to learn how to keep house, but I don’t think I realised they weren’t supposed to go out unchaperoned unless it was to the shops. Even walks in the park were expected to be taken alongside a male member of the family! 😳 I was intrigued by Kate, in modern-day London, discovering the diaries of Florrie, one of the sisters, and learn...

“Hamish’s impression was that kindness itself was a cure, and one that was as powerful as any drug.” 💙

 The Figurine has been sitting on my NetGalley shelf for a while, and when @megbatsbooks suggested a buddy read, it pushed me to finally pick it up. 😊 Now while I didn't hate it, I didn't love it either. 🤷‍♀️ First off, the title is The Figurine and we see no such thing until approximately 70% into the book, which was strange. 😅 There was a lot of (for want of a better phrase) ‘world-building’ in the story. 📚 We learn about the Greek Junta — the military regime which took place from 1967–1974 — and while it was relevant to the rest of the story, there probably didn't need to be quite so much of it. 🤔

 I enjoyed Helena clearing out her grandparents’ apartment, and I was invested in what she was finding. 🏺 I loved the friends she made in Athens, and I was keen to follow along on the investigative journey to search for answers about what was happening in the archaeol...

“New friends can often have a better time together than old friends.” Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald was April’s read for #classiclitbookclub, 📚 and one I’d read before for A Level. I wasn’t a fan when I first read it at sixteen—though, to be fair, I really didn’t enjoy dissecting books. For me, books were written to be read and enjoyed, not analysed and picked apart so students could try to get into the author’s head. 🤯 That’s probably why I failed my A Level English Lit!!! Anyway, I did enjoy it more this time around, thanks in part to the narration from Trevor White, who brought the characters to life far more than a classroom full of students and a slightly fuddy-duddy teacher ever did! I also noticed a lot more this time 👀. Before, all I really remembered was people lying on a beach in the South of France—after all, a teenage girl is going to pick up on the places she’d rather be. ☀️🏖️ What I didn’t remember was the reason Nicole Diver was in a mental institution i...

“It’s strange to think that this little black bean will grow up to be a big plant and that plant will have its own seeds to make another plant and another seed and this will go on, over and over again, for years...” My Name is Leon was recommended to me by my cousin, and it’s set in and around Birmingham — my hometown — which immediately drew me in 🏙️. I listened to the audiobook via Libby, narrated by a true Black Country lad, Lenny Henry, while pottering about 🎧. For those who don’t know, Lenny Henry is a comedian, so I went in expecting something light-hearted… but it’s far from that! While there are moments of humour, the story is often upsetting and deeply moving 💔 — powerful and eye-opening, set against the backdrop of the Birmingham riots in the early 1980s. I loved Leon’s story ❤️. I adored Tufty, his allotment friend 🌱 (who I’m guessing Lenny Henry plays in the TV adaptation), and I really admired Maureen as his foster carer through much of the book. It’s the kind of story...

“Goodbyes were left unsaid, alongside a multitude of lingering regrets.” 💔 The Long Way Home is February's read for @hook.me.a.book and the #kindlecrushchallenge, and what a delightful book it was to finally read. Set between 1950s Paris 🇫🇷 and 2019 UK 🇬🇧, I loved the adventures Isla’s Mum got up to as a young girl working and living in Paris, and the investigative journey Isla and her granddaughter Charlie navigated back in the UK to finally uncover the answers she’d been searching for. 🔍✨ It’s rare to find a book with a main character in her sixties, but that’s exactly what we get here — and it was so refreshing 🤍 I especially loved watching Isla and her teenage granddaughter’s relationship grow, as Charlie slowly realises there’s more to life than her mobile phone. 📱💫 I’ll definitely be seeking out more books by Fanny Blake 📖 It was a heartwarming, easy read that I’d happily recommend. A very belated thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK for the opportunit...

“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...

"I've been looking for you. I'm in trouble and could do with a place to stay." Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres 📚❤️, but I usually read books set around the Second World War, so the late 1800s is a rarity for me ⏳. The author weaves fact and fiction together seamlessly 🧵, incorporating difficult subjects including prostitution, abuse, gambling, and factory strikes ⚙️. It seems absurd to me that girls who were brought up well, with a good education and a decent job, were banished to the workhouse by their parents if they fell pregnant 😔. I appreciate that, in some walks of life, this still happens even now, but it continues to baffle me that parents could do that to their own flesh and blood 💔. Even though it is set in the East End of London 🏙️, which we all know or imagine to be part of a large city, there is still a huge sense of community spirit and support, which I loved 🤝💞. Young and old alike are more often than not willing to help their ne...

“…their laughter wove its way around the bustling stalls, a joyous sound telling of friendship and resilience.” 💕 The Market Girls of Petticoat Lane is the first book in a brand-new series from Patricia McBride, and I knew I’d love it before I even started 📖✨ Despite being set during the Second World War, it’s cosy and full of hope and inspiration 🤍🌟 Maisie, Amanda, and Bethan — despite their differing home lives — are the very best of friends. They work together, play together, and look forward to a productive business future together 👭👚 I really enjoyed the camaraderie between the friends, and it’s honestly eye-opening to see how different young people were eighty years ago compared to today ⏳ The work ethic is far more evident, especially during the war years 💪🕊️ It’s always a joy to read wartime fiction like this, and I inevitably feel happy and contented by the end of the book 😊📚 Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Market ...

“An autistic psychopath is the human being who is most fundamentally himself. He cannot be anything but original and spontaneous. He is uninhibited by the collective social will.” The Matchbox Girl is a story based on true events in Austria 🇦🇹 during the Second World War. Our protagonist, Adelheid, has been placed in a specialist paediatric clinic 🏥 for children with a range of mental illnesses. Adelheid tells her story as she lives it 📝. At times it feels chaotic and random, yet she makes meticulous notes about everything that happens around her—sometimes to the detriment of those sharing her world 😬. She follows the rules carefully and does exactly as she’s instructed, until she begins to realise 🤔 that maybe she needs to follow her own rules instead. I initially found The Matchbox Girl difficult to read—not because of the subject matter, but because of the haphazard use of capital letters 😕. This felt like a deliberate stylistic choice, intended to reflect Adelheid’s fragment...

“If you don't trust us, why tell us?” And so Leo’s ominous plans for expanding the British Empire continue, while the Resistance fights back, in the second instalment of Russell Dumper’s Britannia series. Having got my head around the world-building in the first book, I settled into Britannia Strikes very quickly this time, now that I know who everyone is and what their roles are. I still can’t help picturing our current Royal Family as this fictitious one though 🙈 — it’s been very cleverly imagined by the author. I’m not usually a fan of political stories, but this series has really grabbed my attention. The level of research that must have gone into it is phenomenal, and I’m full of admiration for Russell’s dedication to a world he’s been developing since his teenage years. This is a dystopian novel full of intrigue and mystery — and it’s quite frankly unsettling at times, as you realise how easily its events could mirror the real world, with all its relentless and often controv...

'No shouting cracked the silence; no flashlights sliced the darkness'. Steve's writing is incredible. I didn't particularly want to be in Helena's shoes, as slowly, her family disappears, and she has no alternative other than to face the horrors that the Germans are inflicting, all alone. Yet, I had no choice. Such is the power of the words which Steve writes and the in-depth descriptions he portrays of the sufferings Helena experiences, I was right there with her. Every step of the way.  Every time I read a book like this, one which is inspired by true events and particularly one set during WWII, I often have to stop reading, and reflect that all this s**t really happened and how courageous and resilient people absolutely had to be.  So much research has gone into Helena's story and Steve has done an amazing job of telling her story and ensuring that no matter how much time has passed, they have not been forgotten. Thank you to Steve N. Lee for the opportunity ...

'For those they took, whose names we'll never know because no one was left to remember them'. Once again, Steve N. Lee has bowled me over with this WWII historical fiction novel. It is set in Poland at the beginning of the war, in an orphanage run by Mirek, a published author, and Baba Hanka, a grandmotherly figure who I adored. He was a miracle worker in the kitchen. She made edible meals out of plants and herbs that had been foraged in the forest. Mirek was an incredible strength to the kids he was looking after, and even when things were looking bad, he pulled on his positive mask and attempted to turn things into a game, so the kids wouldn't be scared. This is a book, based on true events, about WWII so of course it's heartbreaking, hearing about yet more unspeakable events which took place and how horrific people were treated. But everyone should be aware of just how bad things were for hundreds of thousands of people and how heartless the people who carried ou...