Tishylou's World

Hello! I hope you've had a lovely Holiday period and got loads of lovely book-ish gifts! We had a very chilled out, relaxed time and spent some time with good friends. Right, down to business... It's time for the Top 10 Books of 2014 (in my opionion!) 10 - The No Kids Club by Talli Roland. This is a lovely story about the struggle to decide whether parenthood is right for you or not. It made me think, cry and laugh. 9 - The Teashop on the Corner by Milly Johnson. A warm and touching tale featuring a dreamy teashop, loveable characters and lots of cake! 8 - Where Love Lies by Julie Cohen. This book was so emotional and beautiful! Just wonderful! 7 - You Had Me At Merlot by Lisa Dickenson. Hilarious, sweet, sexy! This book was everything a summer read should be! Grab a glass of wine and enjoy! 6 - The Judas Scar by Amanda Jennings. This book broke me in to a million pieces! I sobbed so hard but was completely compelled to finish it. Gritty, gripping and emotional! ...

Welcome to my Stop on the Blog tour for The Stall of Second Chances by Dana Bate. What They Say: Sydney Strauss is obsessed with food. Not just with eating it - though she loves that too - but with writing about it as an aspiring cookery reporter. But food journalism jobs are more coveted than cupcakes, and so Sydney is stuck working for one of TV's biggest egomaniacs - until she's left scrambling for shifts at the local farmers' market. Selling muffins at the Wild Yeast Bakery is hardly going to make her the next Nigella. But soon Sydney is writing the market's weekly newsletter, and her quirky stories gain attention from a prominent food columnist. After years of being left on the shelf, she's even dating again. And then Sydney gets a shot at the story, one that could either make her career or burn it to a cinder - along with her relationship and her reputation . . . What I Say: I've never read any of Dana's books before so I was quite exci...

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for On Strike For Christmas by Sheila Roberts! What They Say: At Christmas time, it seems as though a woman's work is never done. Trimming the tree, mailing the cards, schlepping to the mall, the endless wrapping - bah humbug! So this year, Joy and Laura and the rest of their knitting group decide to go on strike. If their husbands and families want a nice holiday filled with parties, decorations, and presents - well, they'll just have to do it themselves. The boycott soon takes on a life of its own when a reporter picks up the story and more women join in. But as Christmas Day approaches, Joy, Laura, and their husbands confront larger issues in their marriages and discover that a little holiday magic is exactly what they need to come together. What I Say: I have never read a book by Sheila Roberts before so I was quite intrigued when I was asked to participate in this blog tour. The book arrived and it was beautiful so I was exci...

What They Say: Meet Britain's Worst Innkeeper Single mother and extremely undomestic goddess, Lottie, has five days to become the ultimate B&B hostess to save her beloved Aunt Kate’s livelihood. When Aunt Kate ends up in the hospital, Lottie and her seven-year-old daughter are called to rural Wales to stand in at the B&B. Without the faintest idea how to run a hotel (she can barely run her own life), Lottie must impress the picky hotel reviewer and his dysfunctional family who are coming to stay over Christmas. Without the rating only he can bestow, Aunt Kate will lose her livelihood. But will Danny, the local taxi driver who she hires to help her, really be Santa’s little helper, or the Grinch who stole Christmas? What I Say: I am loving all the Christmas novellas out this year and Christmas at The Falling Down Guesthouse is no exception! Lottie is just an awesome character! I loved her so much! She's so normal and relatable that I instantly liked her....

Blog Tour: Three Little Birds - Carol E Wyer + Giveaway! Fantastically fun author Carol E Wyer is flying high at the moment,  as her latest release Three Little Birds soars into the ether to land at various different blogs over the coming weeks. There will be reviews, guest posts and giveaways along the way, and this life-affirming read is sure to set your heart a-flutter!   What they say:  'If your friend challenged you, would you dare? Charlie Blundell cannot get over the tragic death of her only daughter. She drifts between her job at the Art cafe and her hospital radio show, the only things which give her life purpose. Her best friend, the madcap Mercedes, cajoles Charlie into writing a 'carpe diem' list, but then swaps Charlie's list with her own. Now, each must complete the other's challenges, and the outcomes will astound both of them. The challenges begin as a series of relatively harmless, fun activities. Soon, though, the stakes increase w...

  As always, I was thrilled to learn that my festive favourite Scarlett Bailey has a new Christmas book out! Eager to learn what was in store for the wonderful folks in Poldore, I dived in straight away!   What They Say:   A self-confessed Christmas queen, Sue Montaigne prides herself on organising the annual nativity pageant in her small Cornish village of Poldore. But this year, what with having to deal with the repairs on Castle House after it was wrecked by a terrible storm, training a new – and frankly flighty – Virgin Mary and managing a Joseph who is allergic to sheep, she is distinctly lacking a little bit of ‘me time’. And then there are the auditions for the new Santa. But nothing prepares her for the beautiful man who turns up, a twinkle in his eye and a promise to make her Christmas dreams come true… What I Say: Scarlett has never let me down! Her books are always perfection. This is a bite sized treat, ideal for snuggling up with a hot c...

Hello! I know it's been weeks (maybe even months) since I've blogged about our adventure but I have good reason for being absent. WE BOUGHT A BUS!! A few weeks ago we finally took the plunge and bought the bus we've been talking about buying for ages. It arrived 2 and a half weeks ago and we moved in straight away. It's huge. It's literally a 40 foot coach, think National Express size.    Things didn't go smoothly with YOLO's delivery. It was based in Chesterfield and was supposed to be delivered to us by a transport company on Tuesday. It was quite late on when they picked it up, so it was then going to spend the night at their Manchester depot and be brought to us Wednesday morning. Until we got a phone call on Tuesday night saying it had broken down, was pouring steam out and wouldn't restart. The decision was made that it would be towed to the depot overnight and then towed to us the next morning. So, YOLO arrived, late and on the back of a b...

MARRIED  BY MIDNIGHT BY TALLI ROLAND What They Say: It seems obvious to everyone but Kate (and her Mum) that she's about to marry the wrong man. But the stars say it's a perfect match and that can't be wrong, can it? What I Say: Kate is a wonderful character although she drove me a bit mad. I wanted to shout at her that Tim wasn't right, that she shouldn't marry him. So, when she meets Nick I was jumping up and down, hoping they'd get together. I'm not going to give the game away, but let's just say, Talli keeps the suspense running. This is a fabulous short story that will keep you on  your toes right to the very end. There are plenty of Aww moments and lots of laughs too. A lovely, bite size book from a wonderfully talented writer!  9/10

I'm a massive fan of Alex's books so I jumped at the chance to review her new festive novel. The Great Christmas Knit Off  is the first in a new series set in Tindledale and I so want to live there! What They Say: Heartbroken after being jilted at the altar, Sybil has been saved from despair by her knitting obsession and now her home is filled to bursting with tea cosies, bobble hats, and jumpers. But, after discovering that she may have perpetrated the cock-up of the century at work, Sybil decides to make a hasty exit and, just weeks before Christmas, runs away to the picturesque village of Tindledale. There, Sybil discovers Hettie’s House of Haberdashery, an emporium dedicated to the world of knitting and needle craft. But Hettie, the outspoken octogenarian owner, is struggling and now the shop is due for closure. And when Hettie decides that Sybil’s wonderfully wacky Christmas jumpers are just the thing to add a bit of excitement to her window display, som...

Hey guys! I'm really sorry for all the re-posts of old blogs! I got shut down on Wordpress for "violating terms and conditions". I accidentally posted a blog tour on there that should have gone on here... D'oh!! So, I've brought across the blogs that are relevant to The Adventure. As you may have seen on the Twitters, my fiancé and I now own a bus. I promise I will blog about this very soon. It's just been chaotic for the past 2 weeks! I owe you a ton of before and during photos (there are no afters yet, nothing is finished!) and lots of details. For now though, I will tell you this. Life is good. We are happy and I am so in love. With J, with the bus (#YOLOtheecobus) and with life in general. So, for now, be happy. xxx

Ok, so we've been living in our cosy little caravan for, what, about 6 weeks now. And I gotta tell ya. Life is good. I've never felt so peaceful and contented. Don't get me wrong, we still have our little spats about work and stuff, but nothing like we used to have. Every morning we wake up and it's bright, no matter how gloomy it is outside, it's bright in here. That's probably down to the pink curtains, but I like it! We have breakfast together outside if it's not raining and then he goes off to work. I sort my Dad out and then spend an hour doing whatever needs doing. Whether it be boring stuff like laundry or ebay, or it could be reading or writing if nothing else needs me. I then roll into work for an hour or 2 and sort out postage etc. When that's done, I do a bit of food shopping and come back home. The rest of the day is mine. I spend a lot of time reading outside. It's great! I'm tanned for the first time since I left Canada! In the ...

So, We've been in our cosy new home for a week today. It's been fab! Maybe I still feel like I'm in holiday mode, I dunno. But I love it! The sun streams in the windows all day long, I walk out and step onto lovely grass, it's quite peaceful (except for today as the people whose yard we're in are having a big party today so there's loud music and lots of kids!) and I love being so close to my Dad if he needs anything. This week has been so free and easy! I bought a watermelon that must have weighed 12lbs and re-enacted the "I carried a watermelon" scene from Dirty Dancing. Sadly there was no lake dancing afterwards. I read 2 books and reviewed them both (The Life You Left by Carmel Harrington and Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige). I've started 2 new books (You Had Me At Merlot by Lisa Dickenson and Disraeli Avenue by Caroline Smailes). I always read 2 books at a time, one on kindle and one proper book, just in case you wondered. I have done a...

You may (or may not) remember a while ago, my fiancé and I were talking about getting a bus and touring the country. We talked about it a lot and for about 4 years. Something always held us back, held ME back, there were always reasons not to do it. Until now.  2 weeks ago, we argued all night long and as the sun came up and he left for work, I was left sat there thinking "now what". No resolution had been reached. I was quite frantic and could feel myself spiralling down to my dark place. I didn't want to be there... So I did something I thought I'd never do. I went to him and said "Fuck it. Let's do it!" His face was a picture. He seemed stunned. I was stunned! We talked about for the rest of the day and he kept asking if it was what I really wanted. It had to be, because the only thing that mattered at that moment was being with him. And if that meant letting go of the flat, the shop, the stress, that's what we would do. That night I began lis...

I'm thrilled to be bringing you an exclusive extract from I'll Take New York by Miranda Dickinson as part of Miranda Mondays, which run until the book is published on 4th December!     Chapter Two Departures Hall, San Francisco International Airport, California ‘Are you sure you have everything?’                 ‘I’m sure. All my worldly possessions that didn’t leave for New York in the movers’ van this morning are in my backpack.’ Jake Steinmann forced a smile as the woman beside him dabbed her eyes with a lace handkerchief. ‘Hey Pam, it’s OK.’                 Pam Lomas – Jake’s faithful PA for the past seven years – shook her head. ‘No, I’m sorry. It’s not OK. It’s not OK that your wife’s given up on you like this. It’s not OK that you have to abandon your whole life because of her latest whim. Can’t you reco...

Scandalous Stable Mates by best-selling author Zara Stoneley is cantering its way through the bloggersphere. Get ready for lust, love and outrageous goings-on as we bring you romping reviews, exciting excerpts, galloping guest posts and a tip-top giveaway!     What they say:   'Secrets and scandals, love and lust – when the ‘Cheshire Set’ are up against the ‘Footballer’s Wives’ the only common ground is carnal… Flirting and fun seem the perfect antidote for Lottie's battered heart, and where better to find them than back in tranquil Tippermere, home of sexy eventer Rory Steel, the smiling Irish eyes of hunky farrier Mick O'Neal, and mysterious newcomer, model Tom Strachan? But when landowner Marcus James drops dead unexpectedly, and the threat of his waggish wife Amanda selling the heart of the village out from under them looms large, things look like they're about to heat up in and out of the saddle. With tensions running high, and the champagne ...

Beneath the Moon and the Stars is released on October 17th, the gorgeous new debut from Amelia Thorne. Here's the blurb Home, sweet home… Joy Cartier has been to some of the most beautiful places in the world – but none of them have ever felt like home. So moving into a tiny cottage in the idyllic village of Bramble Hill, walking distance from her childhood home, seems like the perfect plan. That is, until she gets there. The surly inhabitants of Britain’s Friendliest Village are anything but welcoming. Even her neighbour, reclusive Hollywood star Finn Mackenzie, takes one look at her and walks in the other direction. But when the village animosity steps up a gear, it is the infuriatingly brooding Finn who keeps coming to her rescue. Slowly Joy begins to realise that maybe a happy home isn’t about where you live, but who you’re with… You can read a sneak peek of chapter 3 here...     Chapter Three Finn was standing at the bottom of his garden, ...