Sam's Fireside - Cosy Book Reviews & Recommendations

"Say the lines as written or I swear I will write your character as a dickless mute monk." This book has a pet alligator called Bubbles, so honestly, I was already in! Add Ethan with his awesome, loving Floridian family and Chase, who’s all attitude with some very real confidence issues underneath, and I was hooked. Fake It ’Til You Sleigh It is hot, spicy, and funny, with a fake dating set-up that works really well. I will say, Christmas in the sun just doesn’t feel right to me — I want to be wrapped in a million layers on Christmas Day, not wearing a bikini on the beach — but I still had a great time with this one. I really enjoyed watching Chase and Ethan take on their challenge to gain new subscribers for the TV channel they both work for, especially the clever (and sometimes ridiculous) ideas they come up with. It was a great listen overall, and the narrators did an excellent job bringing both characters to life. Thank you to MeLisa Ryun and Literary Media Tours for the ...

Another first and another winner. Once again, I'm late to the party and this is my first Ali Hazelwood book. Listening on a beautiful spring day, whilst pottering in the garden, I had no idea what to expect. I never read the blurb, I had no idea what level of spice 🌶 to expect, I just knew that lots of people love Ali Hazelwood and here was my opportunity to join them.  I loved the diving side story, I'm in awe of watching divers on TV, they have so much skill, it's incredible. Listening to how Scarlett overcame her injury and her blocker on the dive that caused it had me hooked. Lukas was a very welcome addition to Scarlett's life and as she gradually opens up to him, and him to her, the whole relationship made me all gooey inside!  This wasn't as spicy as I was expecting, after I'd listened to the disclaimer at the beginning, but it fitted into the story nicely, as both Scarlett and Lukas began to trust and support each other as time went on - both in and ou...

He loves the spice as much as she does..... For the first couple of chapters of this audiobook, I wasn't sure I was going to like it. I don't know why, I just didn't get that initial vibe, but, OMG, I am so glad I carried on with it. What a cute, spicy listen this was. First off, Jack loves books as much as Hannah does. Now I love my husband more than anything in the whole wide world, but sometimes I just want to tell him about what I'm reading, and he just doesn't care! Although he did say some book mail I received yesterday was pretty so......! The hitman thing worked well, from one extreme to another though - he's the hitman, and she's the librarian, but hey, when you get into her character, Hannah is quite good at holding her own! Feisty little thing she is! The story is told alternately from Jack and Hannah's point of view, and the two narrators, Rock Engle and Gail Shalan were so good. Rock in particular, I could have listened to those dulcet tones...

Unusually, it's the woman who is the grump in this one.... I'm a bit late with this review, but I did read it in December when I was feeling Christmassy! The Christmas Tree Farm is the third in the Dream Harbor series and I loved this one, although Cinnamon Bun is still my favourite! Kira is awesome. Despite her tetchy exterior, we soon discover that deep, deep down, beneath all the crotchetiness, she has a heart of gold, and she loves dogs so yep, that's more than enough for me! I adored her dogged determination as she tried to make her farmhouse at least a tiny bit habitable, and little by little she lets Bennett in to help her. Bennett had the patience of a saint, dealing with Kira's mood swings and stubbornness, but of course they get there in the end. As others have mentioned, this would be great as a Christmas rom-com - think The Holiday! I love that movie! I've already read and reviewed The Strawberry Patch Pancake House, so go back and read my review for tha...

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...

Lena and Gavin....at the beginning I just wanted to bang their heads together - a typical case of miscommunication, or rather a lack of communication! For heaven’s sake, just talk to each other!  Samantha Brentmoor and Patrick Zeller were great narrators as Lena and Gavin, both of them throwing themselves into the characters, especially during the spicy scenes - you have been warned! Of course, it was pretty obvious how the story was going to pan out, but the excitement and the build-up to Christmas and beyond was so much fun. I loved that Gavin was having to eat a gluten-free diet. This resonated slightly with me as my husband has recently been diagnosed with coeliac, so that’s the route we’re going down right now! Lena’s family is just a cuteness overload. From the smallest baby to the eldest Grandma, I was invested in them all as soon as I plugged my AirPods in. The bonus episodes were awesome, I don’t know whether these are included in the physical book, but I loved hearing wh...