Sam's Fireside - Cosy Book Reviews & Recommendations

“I swear this airline reminds me of The Flintstones. I'm surprised the floor doesn't open up and we land the plane using our feet.” 😂✈️ Told over the space of twenty-four hours, There’s Always Next Year was a fun listen, alternating between Dominique and his cousin Andy, who, although from the same small town in Indiana, have been living very different lives for the past two years. The story was engaging, with multiple plot threads culminating in a finale in the town square on New Year’s Day, when everything comes together. 🎆 I enjoyed the focus on the attempted redevelopment of the town, alongside Dominique and Andy’s relationship mishaps, as they navigated a chaotic New Year’s Day with some wonderfully crazy characters thrown into the mix. 🤪🏙️ Eric Lockley and Khaya Fraites, as Dominique and Andy respectively, were excellent narrators, drawing me into the manic, rushing-around-town madness that provides the backdrop for most of the story. 🎧✨ Although a Young Adult novel...

'We're all sprinkled with crazy. Some of us are just better at hiding it.' You know those books that stay with you for a long time after you've read it? Well, I think this is going to be one of those. The Drowners was incredible, from start to finish. I never know what to expect from a new author, and I often open that first page with a certain amount of trepidation. I needn't have worried about this one though, I was hooked.  Set in the early 1990s, Aaron is just beginning to understand his sexuality, and it's difficult, the stigma, the apprehension and the judgment of being queer in 1990s Ireland. Aaron is funny, so funny, and when he and Robbie get together the puns are never-ending. I highlighted just a couple of the lines, which had me spitting my coffee out! 'All those years without draining your nuts is enough to send you loopy.' 'That miserable old bollix isn't knocking on Heaven's door, he's booting it off its hinges.' It was...

Wizard waffles and a noodle cult! The Legend of Uh is hilarious! The humour had me laughing out loud and reaching for my phone to add notes, as I listened to this on my long walks through local villages. Often I stopped in the middle of a quiet country road to write something down so I wouldn't forget it in my review.  The narrator is honestly one of the best I've listened to - and I listen to a lot of audiobooks. He brought the characters to life, and his Scottish and Irish accents were incredible. I have no idea whether those were the accents Aaron was thinking about when he wrote the book, but Adriel nailed it! I loved the weird and wonderful characters that DJ and his friends met along the way, in particular, the waffle wizard (who pops up in the most unusual places), had my heart and yes, I want to try one of those waffles please! Aaron hits the mark with the cult of Phillips and Friar Steve. I couldn't help but laugh and enjoy those plain old names that bring such int...

I was instantly transported to a small Japanese mountain village. I went into A Thousand Gates of Prayer, completely blind. I'd read the synopsis a while ago when Michael asked if I'd read it, but I haven't read it since, and seeing as I can't remember what I did half an hour ago, I had no idea what it was about! So I dove straight in, and immediately I knew this going to be a story I loved. It's a beautifully written love story about a young Japanese girl who is finding her way into the adult world and the responsibilities that follow.  It's not just the love that a young girl has for her first romance, it's also the love she has for the village she was born in and grew up in and how she wants it to remain the community space that she knows and loves and that supports her and her family.  I fell in love with the writing, the characters, and the story. Michael Weiss swept me along as Miyuki climbed the mountain to the hot springs every day and I could easily...

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...

I was lucky enough to receive an Advance Listening Copy of Steggie Belle & the Dream Warriors from the author, and I was really honoured to be one of the first to listen. We are told the story from the point of view of a man called Zoofall, who has shut himself into his room to tell us the tale. Steggie is the boss in the dreamworld and Zoofall is the new recruit. This book is full of fantasy, myth and magic and goes far, far beyond the world of even lucid dreaming.  I simply loved how Zoofall came to realise that he was different and that he could travel throughout the dreamworld on quests and adventures. Even when you’re dreaming, the world is full of bad people as well as good ones and yes, there is a fair share of enemies for the band of warriors to contend with whilst they’re asleep! Elias Pell has such a fantastic imagination, writing the story as he does, it’s full of amazing imagery and to me, the sign of a great author is one who can make you believe that what you are...

Descended is so beautifully written, I couldn’t get enough! Indigo knows he is a little different from his peers. He’s way more in tune with his feelings and surroundings than any of his other friends, and it feels like most of them just don’t ‘get him’. Everything about his story touched my heart, his rapport with Cordelia and the loving way he was accepted into hers and Robbie’s family. I guess Descended is a coming-of-age story, nothing is trivialised or made to appear worse than it is. It is just all about growing up and the issues that come along with all that and Ingrid J. Adams masters the whole thing brilliantly. The story is set in the early 90s, and at that time I was in the latter half of my teens. Many of the references that the author makes in relation to music and whatever else was happening at the time melted my heart a little as I remembered what I was doing, who my friends were and the fun times I was having. Descended is the first in the series and I absolutely cannot...

I listened to Truly, Madly, Amy as an audiobook and it blew me away. The story is told from the point of view of Joe, our protagonist, who is now thirty-six, but tells the reader/listener all about his summer as a sixteen-year-old. Very much a coming-of-age book, Joe talks of new experiences in his life, a summer job, a girlfriend, and reading his first ever book for fun!  Joe has to deal with many things during the six weeks of the summer of 1999, his father’s death, his mother’s depression, his sister moving ahead with her own life, and what he is going to do with his own, once he receives his exam results. He also has to learn how to manage his heightened teenage feelings, both of love and anger, and the consequence of what happens if he can’t control them. Truly, Madly, Amy sent me straight back to my teenage years, as I reflected on the similarities and differences between my life, and Joe and Amy’s. You learn so much as you grow from childhood into adulthood and I think that...

⭐⭐⭐⭐ I wanted to get this review out before the end of Pride month and June 20022. A great read, and ideal for younger people who are perhaps coming to terms with their sexuality. The Boy in Makeup is fun, entertaining and in parts heartbreaking as we follow Cory as he deals with the people who can often be narrow-minded, uneducated and prejudiced as well as his close friends who accept him for who he is. He is an inspirational young lad who knows what he wants and goes all out to make it happen despite the obstacles that appear in his way. I really enjoyed the story and the characters and the author was adept at drawing me into Cory’s life. I was invested in how he was going to deal with bullies and teachers who perhaps weren’t quite as understanding as his friends. As The Boy in Makeup is a short story, a lot happened in a short space of time, this would be great as a prequel to lots more full-length novels about Cory and I hope Anthony Connors-Roberts continues to write and I’d lo...

  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Once again, it was a privilege to be an Advance Reader for Gary Clark’s new book, Some Kind of Comfort. It’s totally different from his Interland books, which are a dystopian fantasy series. This one is real-life, sensitively dealing with issues that many teenagers have suffered or are suffering with.  Charley is our protagonist. A sixteen-year-old girl with severe anxiety issues and ‘thought tangles’, her anxiety has caused Charley numerous problems as she has been growing up, but right now, they’ve hit what is hopefully the peak and she begins to deal with them.  Admitted to a psychiatric unit for children and young people, Charley makes friends with a group of people who are on the same wavelength as she is and, slowly, with therapy and the understanding she needs, she begins her road to recovery. Gary Clark is an awesome author, and he has dealt with the topics in this book brilliantly. He delves into each character and we begin to understand why they have...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 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...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I have only recently heard about Cassandra Clare’s books, but immediately decided they would be the sort of thing I’d really enjoy. Fantasy, paranormal, and magic - what more could I need to enable me to escape once again to another world. I downloaded the Audiobook of City of Bones from Borrowbox and lost myself in Idris, the Shadowhunters’ home country. Fifteen-year-old Clary Fray lives with her Mum in New York City. Just a normal teenage girl, with a normal teenage attitude. However, after a night out in Pandemonium nightclub with her best friend Simon, she realises that the world is not as it seems. Did that young boy really just get killed in front of her and then disappear as though nothing had happened?  Clary is now part of the Shadowhunters world and learns how she can see things that normal humans (mundanes) can’t. She has a swift introduction to demons, vampires and werewolves and discovers that she has powers of her own. Focused on friendship, teamwork and ‘d...

⭐⭐⭐⭐    I reviewed Worldlines by Adam Guest for Online Book Club, and although I thoroughly enjoyed it, I often found myself trying to follow the ‘worlds’ too closely, trying to understand whether there really was the possibility of us occupying several dimensions at once, and this detracted from the flow of the novel. Worldlines is a sci-fi/fantasy novel about a multiverse rather than a universe, where the protagonist, Gary, gradually realises, with the help of his university professor, that he might be actually existing in more than one world at any given moment. Events are happening around him that he has no memory of and which he cannot explain. With the help of his friends and family, he attempts to discover the scientific background behind what’s going on and whether it could be real. Wordlines seems to have some sort of science behind them and whether this is based on evidence or just in the author’s imagination is unclear. Regardless of this, it is a well-thought-out ...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I t was an honour to be asked to read and review Interland (Interland Series Book #2) by Gary Clark before the publication date of 26 April 2021, and I would like to thank the author for this opportunity. Once again it was a delight to read a Gary Clark novel and a joy to discover the next adventures for Jay, Cassie and Stitch. Towards the end of Gary Clark’s previous novel, The Given, Jay and her friends discovered the Interland and found safety from the warped government officials on the outside. However, it is quickly becoming apparent that the outside world is on a downward spiral, Jay’s friend Cassie has gone missing, and the Readers are slowly getting closer to ruling in a way they believe is right. Jay, therefore, has no alternative other than to leave the safety of the Interland, search for Cassie and find out what is going wrong on the outside. Accompanied by her friends, and with the help of the energy of the elements around her - the land, the sea, the creatures and...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This review is for The Given (Interland Series Book #1) by Gary Clark . I was given this as an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) by the author, and it was a privilege to read it. I reviewed this in February 2021. Described as a Young Adult dystopian fantasy novel, it drew me in from the outset, and I couldn’t put it down, turning the pages with enthusiasm as I needed to see what happened next! Jay has just turned 18, and her powers are becoming stronger. She isn’t yet aware of all this entails, however, she is aware that in the society she lives in, having the powers she does isn’t a good thing. Jay and others like her have enemies who are known as Readers, and her Dad, who also has some level of power, is arrested by the Readers and taken away from his family. As the Readers also become aware of Jay, she has no alternative other than to go on the run, and try and find the Interland - the place of legends that her Dad is convinced exists, where she will be safe. Along with her brothe...