Sam's Fireside - Cosy Book Reviews & Recommendations

'The sun has drowned itself in the sea," said Lucy-Ann at last, as it disappeared.' Another winning series from Enid Blyton which I adored when I was a kid and still adore today. Last year, I read some and listened to others, losing myself in the adventures of brother and sister Philip and Dinah and their friends, brother, and sister Jack and Lucy-Ann, and Jack's vocal parrot, Kiki. Kiki is absolutely hilarious and honestly the star of all the books! Each of the eight books, see the children fall into another adventure, how they find danger is beyond me! 🤣 They jump on aeroplanes on their own, hide in caves, camp on islands and search for lost treasure, all with barely a parent in sight. They have so much fun and take the reader (or listener) along for the ride. I mean I know kids had more freedom decades ago, but these children are feral. Drinking from streams, picking berries to eat and tackling villains all alone. I wish I could get my grandkids to read these books...

'The best way to treat obstacles is to use them as stepping-stones. Laugh at them, tread on them, and let them lead you to something better.' Sometime in 2024, I decided I wanted to listen to all the books which I loved as a kid and most of these (in fact probably all of them) were written by a British author called Enid Blyton. All my UK friends should have heard of her, but I don't think she was a 'thing' in the US. Anyway, luckily Borrowbox seemed to have a lot of them, so I'm slowly going through them - usually when I need a little pick-me-up! I'm going to review the series, rather than the actual books, otherwise we will be here until 2030! My first reviews come from Mr Galliano's Circus Story Collection, which comprises Mr Galliano's Circus (1938), Hurrah for the Circus! (1939) and Circus Days Again (1942). Mr Galliano is the ringmaster in a travelling circus and in each delightful book, we meet a wide variety of fun (and sometimes bad) charact...

'Why spiders? Why couldn't it be "follow the butterflies?' I've just re-read my review for the audiobook of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I didn't write much about the actual storyline! 🤣 However, I'm presuming that anyone who is reading this, knows the ins and outs of each book! This one, is slightly more scary than the first, and I remember correctly, as the series progresses, they each get a little darker. I remember taking my stepdaughter to watch this at the cinema - I was frightened - never mind her! The Chamber of Secrets introduces us to a variety of new characters, ranging from teachers, to students, to ghosts. There is also that extra magical spark that comes with being taught that little bit extra in the second year of Hogwarts. In this one, I took a liking to Moaning Myrtle, I mean come on, if you'd been killed whilst you were minding your own business on the toilet, you'd be moaning too! All she needed was someone to li...

'The South West is like a Christmas stocking – all the nuts end up at the bottom .' It's thanks to Sarah, @emeraldreader that I reserved myself an audiobook version of this on Libby and dived right in, as soon as it became available. If it weren't for Sarah, I wouldn't have known this book existed! Sue is probably most famously known as the other half of Mel and Sue, from The Great British Bake-Off. But I was interested in listening to how she got to where she did and the obstacles which she overcame on her journey. Sue is a very funny, hugely popular comedian, born in London at the tail-end of the 1960s. I adored this audiobook from beginning to end. Sue We used to go to the Gower on holiday, every, single, year and Sue talks about beaches that I visited all the time. I loved it! Sue is hilarious, with an incredibly witty, yet dry sense of humour which I guarantee will have you laughing out loud. Although there may be a moment (Pickle) when you might shed a tear. ...

'I’m the one who decides whether you walk out of here alive' 'Obsessed, cliffhanger, Team Uprising, Team Crazy Redden Brothers, Team Sane Cross' - just a few of the words and phrases that #thatindiebookclub used to describe this stunning novel by Dani Francis. Silver Elite is the first book in the dystopian romance trilogy, which has taken the fantasy book world by storm. I'm thrilled that our book club chose Silver Elite for their July read. The world-building is light and easy to understand, the characters are a mixture of badass and kind, as well as badass and evil! I fell in love with Wren, maybe not quite from the start, but definitely as soon as she joined the training program which shapes her into the formidable warrior she is to become.  Who knew that we needed another fantasy series in our lives! With similarities that you'll possibly notice from others such as Fourth Wing and Hunger Games, Silver Elite has enough unique aspects to make it into a series...

'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 ...