Sam's Fireside - Cosy Book Reviews & Recommendations

'Watch where you are going, you glorified pincushion! ' I'm finding it difficult to begin this review. Not because I hated the book (absolutely not!) but more because I can’t quite pin down how I feel about it yet. For a change, let's work backwards.The last chapter was so good. I’m already itching for the next book just to see how this new character is going to shake things up (don’t worry—no spoilers). The final battle was less fighting and more of an intense rescue mission. It was heart-wrenching and scary, whilst being fully immersive, as we trudge through the forest in the rain, and the mud, with an incredibly novel way to stop the storm from raging and the rain from pouring down. 😉 Shaedes of Beasts was slow to begin with, as Jenny takes her time reintroducing old faces and bringing in new ones, whilst slowly recapping earlier battles. However, once it gets moving you are once again thrown into the magical lives of the members of the Shaede Court, as they atte...

'You're part of this town now, Freya, and we protect our own.' Crestwood Falls gave me massive Gilmore Girls vibes with a gorgeous magical twist!! I loved how everyone lived happily together, despite their ‘differences’. 😉 I’ve never read anything so unique before, where the magic is normal, useful and just surrounding everyday life. It was simply beautiful.  As soon as Freya found herself in Crestwood Falls, she knew she was where she belonged, as the residents picked her up and wrapped her in a great big welcome. She’d found her people, and they loved her.  I’ll be interested to see where the author takes Crestwood Falls next, with so many different characters, there is plenty of opportunity for many more books.  Thank you to BookWolfUK, Salpe Publishing and Emma-Louise Smith for the opportunity to read and review Crestwood Falls. About the Book Grieving the loss of her parents and blaming their deaths on their magical obligations to their coven, Freya Lockchild packs...

“I don't like holding hands.” “How do you know? You've never held mine.” I have a beautiful sprayed edge copy of Shield of Sparrows, but I really didn't want to read that one. So, I grabbed a copy on Libby, plugged myself in, and immersed myself in the beautiful narration, primarily from Samantha Brentmoor. I knew I'd enjoy this. Marketed for lovers of SJM, what would there be, not to love? It turns out, nothing. I devoured every word, I was invested in Odessa's story, I was with her every step of the way, as she fought the monsters, cared for Evie and snuggled up with Faze, her cute but little scary baby monster! I adored the Guardian - should I have done? Probably not! 😉  I really wanted to stay in that treehouse that Odessa made home for a while, it seemed so cute, and I know that here in the UK at least, you can rent out treehouses for holidays! How cool would that be? Of course, it's similar to every other romantasy book out there, but give me any sort of ...

'And then the world exploded.' Hmmm...... #thatindiebookclub decided to do an about-turn and read a Stephen King book, alongside July's book of choice (Silver Elite), and, being up for anything, I thought I'd give it a try. Now I don't particularly do horror, but as I've been discovering, horror in books doesn't have the same effect as horror on the screen, so why not give Carrie, Stephen King's first ever published novel, a try. I had no idea what this was going to be about. I don't think I've ever read the synopsis, and I certainly haven't seen the movie. While I enjoyed the story, and was fully invested in the destruction of everyone and everything which surrounds our protagonist, I'm afraid I didn't enjoy the writing.  I described it, to a friend, as - the bits where it says what she's thinking - but after clarification, she kindly explained to me that what I actually meant was 'that stream of consciousness method in the ...

'The first thing a gargoyle eats after coming alive becomes its sole diet'. "What exactly did she eat?' 'Erm...strawberry cookies.' Omen of Light is the first book, in a planned seven-part series and I really enjoyed it. Think ACOTAR crossed with Harry Potter quests and battles. There was a sort of resemblance to dementors in the story and Hairito reminded me a little bit of Dobby - although I only just thought of that! Lilly is our protagonist, and she's only eighteen. I forgot that as I disappeared into the forests with the adventurers on their quest for Luminiferous. For such a young girl, she has a good head on her shoulders, she doesn't panic - much, and is determined to rid the worlds of the dark creatures known as noxes.  I enjoyed the world building, which wasn't too complicated, and sets the scene for the following books to come. I have the second one, sitting on my bookshelf and I really hope there are more to come. Thank you to Yana Metro...

'Live, let live, and let the things that howl in the night, be'. If you remember, you will know that I rarely read a synopsis, so I am presuming this ended up on my Libro FM list because I saw the word werewolf, and give me a book with a fluffy wolf in any day! 😂 What I wasn't expecting was the monster thing when the lycanthropes had to move, and live in a ghost town. I still have absolutely no idea what that creature even was, I just know I was rooting for the werewolves, every single step of the way.   There is a big sense of family and supporting each other throughout this book. Delia is Mummy wolf and tries to do everything she can to keep the pack safe and hidden from humans. When the chips are down, they all look out for each other. Humans by day and wolves by night, no matter what they are, family always comes first - even if the little sister is the most annoying baby wolf there is! Read this is you like a paranormal horror story, with plenty of scary parts, which ...

Transported to another world, tempted by a dangerous passion. Demons, royal courts, vampires, and an adventure! What more could a fantasy lover need? I probably glanced at the synopsis when I requested this one, but I forget that within five minutes! So when I plugged in my AirPods and started planting up my tomatoes, I absolutely wasn't ready for any of what I listened to, but oh boy, was I taken on an adventure. Unbound by Shadows starts off pretty normally, just a couple of sisters, spending a weekend hiking together, until Selene seemingly falls through the earth. It's then that the fantasy begins.  I loved that Selene was idolised by the majority of people who came across her, it was a refreshing change that someone didn't want to kill her on first sight! Samael was an awesome demon, who, just needed to learn how to control his temper and perhaps Selene was the human who could help him with that. Aileen Bishop did a fantastic job narrating this one, and quite often I f...

'A dragon will always catch you when you fall.' This is such an incredible sequel to the first book, and if it was possible, I adored it even more. Opal, Farris and Edmym - I did not see that coming! 🌶️ But they handled the whole situation with maturity and even a little bit of humour! As our adventurers are tasked with their missions, the amazing Jenny Grimes does an awesome job of taking us along for the ride - quite literally in some cases! Who doesn't want to be able to pop into a hole and transport to another realm, or even just get somewhere that little bit faster - it definitely beats catching the bus! I loved Nell and that's all I'm going to say about her, you need to read this for yourself and continue along with Nell on the High Shaedes journey, as they encounter wizards, sarcastic dragons, and make some difficult decisions.  If you haven't read Shaedes of Power, then read that first. If you love Fourth Wing and ACOTAR then I guarantee you will lov...

Just when you were expecting a sweet romance...... ...and once again I dive headlong in without reading the synopsis, 🤣 but hey, it all adds to the excitement and uncertainty of a book right! There I was, pootling around the garden, pulling up weeds, thinking I was listening to a cute little romance, coming from the shores of Loch Ness. The narrators were dragging me in (especially Flint with his Scottish accent) and I was all set for love and romance, and maybe a little bit of resistance from one of the main characters. What I wasn't expecting was the steaminess between Key and Lachlan. But that was fine, I don't mind spice in a book at all, as long as it's done well and this one was. What I REALLY wasn't expecting was the paranormal aspect! 🦕 That's all I'm going to say, I don't want to spoil it for anyone else who doesn't read the book description or reviews. 😝  Apart from the surprise of what I realised I was reading, I loved the story. Nothing w...

Vampires and Jay Gatsby...... I love The Great Gatsby, and when I saw the opportunity to listen to a retelling, with vampires no less, then I had to download it, grab my AirPods and head off into the garden with Jay and Daisy. Now I didn't particularly like Daisy's character in The Great Gatsby, but she was pretty cool in this one, a great girlfriend, awesome mate and pretty great cousin. I loved how vampires weren't the only paranormal aspect of Beautiful Villain, and I'm not going to give you any spoilers, I'm just going to say that Daisy has a pretty impressive talent which could come in useful in the real world! If you've read The Great Gatsby, you'll have a fun time seeing how Rebecca slots things into the retelling, I thought it was cleverly done and to be honest, the characters are a whole lot better in this version! Ruby Cherise is great as the narrator, she made the audiobook experience fun and enjoyable, and I'm hoping she narrates the others t...

I NEED BOOK TWO - NOW PLEASE! I don't even know where to begin this review. Shaedes of Power is easily the best book I have read so far this year - and yes - I read Onyx Storm! All of it, from the world-building, to the sassy friends that are Opal, Dru and Leyanna. The magic, Farris, Edmyn and even the Shadowlands just blew me away. It picked me up, threw me across The Gaylenswood and brought me down somewhere back in the human realm, and I'm still catching my breath! There's love, there's hate, there's death and there's magic. Lots and lots of magic. You can't always control who you fall in love with, even if that means you'll never see the sunlight again (let's be honest, I can't remember the last time I saw it anyway)! The love triangle had me intrigued, and I had no idea it was coming because hey, I don't check out what I'm reading before I read it! Sometimes that's the best way, right? I can't wait to find out how this pans o...

Death is hot - and I don't mean the temperature of hell! Wow - I didn't see any of that coming! Fantasy, romance, and mystery, and a whole host of other stuff all rolled into one book. I honestly didn't know what to expect when Belladonna was chosen as October's read for #bookstabritsbookclub (yes, I know I'm behind with my reviews)!!! I loved it. The mystery and suspense of finding out who the killer was, was addictive, and Signa and Death's relationship was awesome - you'll soon forget that he's not a real person, as they begin to work together to solve the mystery. Parts of this reminded me of The Secret Garden, I think because Blythe is ill in bed, and she reminds me of Colin Craven, weak and not wanting to help themselves! It was also reminiscent of another book that I can't recall, with Thaddeus Kipling - the library ghost, who quite frankly was an awesome dude! He should have a book written all about him! Published as a Young Adult novel, I wo...