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...

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...

Tangled Power is the second book in the Compass Points series, and we return to Compass Lake. This time around we meet Juliette who is the Osten Point and Carter, the Vesten Point. Along with Luc and Rose who we got to know in the first book (Suden Point and Norden Point respectively). Together they are on a mission to find and defeat one of the Gods and they must pool their power and weapons in order to do this. Can they all put aside their differences to achieve the ultimate goal? Get yourself a copy of Tangled Power right now, and find out! Thank you to Jillian Witt and Literary Media Tours for the opportunity to listen to and review Tangled Power. About the Book “Technically, the continent is doomed if you can’t figure out how to work together…the good news is there’s no way for the Compass Points to trust each other less than they currently do.” -- Arie Before the Compass Points can confront a god, Rose will unite them the only way she knows how: through their magic. To forge her...

Over the last few months, I have been enjoying more and more fantasy books, usually listening to them as an audiobook. When the opportunity arose for me to listen to Compass Points on audio, I leapt at the chance. Slow to begin with as we are immersed into the world in which Rose lives, the story soon picks up as I become familiar with the characters and their purpose in the fae world.  Compass Lake is the home of the four Compass Points, north, south, east and west. Each worships a different God and each has their own magic. I really enjoyed this one. Rose is one bad-ass-bitch who is determined not to take any shit from anyone. Even when Luc happens upon her in the market, looking for the weapons master, she tries her hardest to remain aloof and independent. Hats off to Jillian Witt for a great debut novel with loveable characters, fascinating world-building and a truly great story. I loved listening to Kari Hollowell read this. She totally throws herself into each character and ...

'Human or vampire, the rules of survival are the same: never trust, never yield, and always – always – guard your heart'. This gave me Fourth Wing/Iron Flame vibes, and I adored it right from the beginning. This isn’t something I’d have chosen myself, but it was a book club pick of the month for February, and I’m so glad Carissa Broadbent is now at the top of my ‘favourite authors’ list. As the weather slowly starts to improve in the UK and I spend more time outside, I find myself listening to more and more audiobooks. I love that I can keep up with my TBR as well as lose myself in someone else’s life for a few hours while I’m outside. Narrated by Amanda Leigh Cobb and full of energy, passion and excitement, this book had all the weirdness of Hunger Games, the fantasy of Harry Potter, plus so much more. Oraya was awesome, feisty and wasn’t taking any shit from anyone, and quite frankly Raihn was an ass and I couldn’t work out what was in it for him? Why he befriended Oraya and ...

I love a book with a vampire theme, whether dark and gory or cute and fun. This one fell into the latter category and was a quick, easy-going read. Frederick is our vampire, and he simply doesn’t have a clue. He doesn’t have a clue how to dress in the twenty-first century; he doesn’t know how to order a cup of coffee and doesn’t know anything about the internet at all! Cassie and Frederick made me laugh throughout the book. Between them, they get up to all sorts of scrapes and somehow have to rectify them, which usually gets them into even more trouble! One of my favourite parts was when Cassie was trying to teach Frederick about Instagram and he wasn’t understanding why people take so many pictures of food! I completely agree with him. But yet I still do this, almost every time I sit down to a meal! I really hope there is a sequel to this, I'd love to find out what Cassie decides to do in the future. Thank you to #acrossthepondbookclub for choosing My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenn...

⭐⭐⭐⭐ I’m always up for a paranormal novel which includes werewolves and witches and any sort of fantasy creatures, so when I had the opportunity to read, Throw Me to the Wolves, I grabbed it with both hands! Slow-paced to begin, but speeding up as the story progresses, the book focuses on Britta, our female, werewolf protagonist as she recalls the tragic events which befell her family and the curse which was put on her by a witch ten years ago, and now, as that same witch is attempting to regain her power by using Britta. This was an easy read without too much to think about, apart from losing yourself in a fantasy world of werewolves, witches and the occasional ghost, and how they interact with their human counterparts. Britta is a prominent character, but in my opinion there wasn’t a strong male lead. Aaron, and Alec in particular were egotistical, however one of them redeems himself in the end! I’ve noticed that Throw Me to the Wolves has been classed with horror as a genre. Now I...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Thank you to Gary Clark for sending me an ARC of The Dark, the third book in the Interland series. Once again, it was a privilege to be asked, and I loved reading it and falling into the world of Given and Readers. After the downfall of Readers, Jay, and her friends and family, are continuing with their lives and trying to get back to some sort of normality. Jay is working in Alf’s bookshop in a dedicated section on the top floor, which she is dedicated to the history of Given. Collecting books from all over the country, Jay has provided a wealth of information for anyone wanting to learn more.  But something isn’t right. Darkness appears to be just around the corner and Jay, Cassie, Stitch and their friends need a plan of action. They need to discover what is happening and work out how to fix it. As with his previous books, The Given and Interland, Gary Clark has written a real page-turner with The Dark. Full of tension, thrills and nail-biting experiences, The Dark t...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My second Audiobook from Sarah J. Maas and the first in the Throne of Glass series. I considered reading a physical copy. However, I’m out and about in the garden so much these days, and I love Elizabeth Evans narrating. I thought I’d lose myself in a fantasy world for a few hours. It was so awesome; I loved everything about it....but Mum, if you’re reading this, don’t bother, it’s not for you! However, if you love fantasy, fae, witches, paranormal, and anything other-worldly, then prepare to lose yourselves in the life of Celaena Sardothien. Celaena is a bad-ass assassin who is experiencing a reprieve from the salt mines of Endovier where she has been sentenced to hard labour. The Crown Prince is offering her, her freedom in a competition to find the King’s next assassin. If she wins, she will work for the King for a few years, before she gains her freedom. If she loses, she will be back in the salt mines. As with the previous Sarah J. Maas book I listened to, the beginning...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  OMG, this is awesome! I urge everyone who loves anything paranormal to read this. I have heard of Sarah J. Maas, an enormous amount in all the Facebook groups I am in, but I’ve read none of her books! Why not? I need more of her in my life! I actually listened to House of Earth and Blood as an Audiobook (narrated by Elizabeth Evans), and was transported into Crescent City as I walked my dog! Bryce Quinlan is half-fae and half-human, working for a barely legal antiquities dealer in the City. She lives and parties with her best friend Danika Fendyr until a tragic event occurs, which changes Bryce’s life forever.  I never like to give too much away in my brief synopsis of books (in fact I never read them before I read a book, as long as I know the genre then that’s enough for me), as I don’t like to include too many spoilers for readers. The first part of House of Earth and Blood is really slow, as Maas sets the scene and explains the politics and hierarchy of Crescen...