Tishylou's World

 Hi, hello, welcome!  So, with this being a comeback, some of you will already know me, while some of you may not. You might have known me from "back in the day" of Twitter and blogging, long before Booktok. This post is to help reintroduce myself and fill you in on where I've been and why I stopped blogging for a while.  I started book reviewing in around 2009, had a blog on Wordpress but got locked out of it, and moved over here. I have always loved blog tours and sharing author posts etc, and am hoping to bring that back. It may take me a while to get back into the swing of things, so please bear with me.  So, here's what you might have missed... I suffered the greatest loss of my life in December 2023 when my husband, Steve, passed away. He was in renal failure and dialysis wasn't improving his quality of life, so he chose to stop treatment. We had 2 weeks together before he took his final breath. I can't explain that kind of loss to someone who hasn't...

  Hi! Fancy seeing you here! Well, actually, fancy seeing ME here as I'm the one who has been AWOL. Life has been changing so much for me these past 3 years that my love of blogging got pushed aside. But I just celebrated my 49th birthday and felt compelled to revive my blog. I have still been reading and reviewing, but it's mainly been short posts on my social media pages, like Tiktok and Instagram. I really miss long form reviews and the personal posts I used to share with you. So, I'm going back to my roots. I plan on doing a Get To Know Me post soon for those of you who aren't familiar with me and my crazy life. That will be followed by bringing and expanding some of my Tiktok reviews on here. I have chosen 10 very special books for my first 2 weeks of posts, and I hope you'll feel how much I love them and what they mean to me.  So, I'll leave you with this for now. To those who have always supported and encouraged me, thank you from the bottom of my heart. ...

Hi friends! Long time no see! I have been so bad at blogging, and any book reviews I've done have been just on my social media pages. But it's tradition that when a new Heidi Swain book comes out, it HAS to appear on my blog! In fact, my last blog post was almost a year ago, for a Heidi book. If  you  know me at all, you know I love being in Heidi's books. They are so comforting, wholesome and hope filled. The locations are always idyllic and the characters always make me want to befriend them. All Wrapped Up is no exception. What They Say : In Wynbridge, the scent of autumn is on the breeze and love is in the air…   Clemmie Bennett has been renovating beautiful Rowan Cottage on the outskirts of the small town of Wynbridge, for eighteen months following a very public heartbreak back in her childhood hometown. The popular Instagram influencer, lost her husband, sold their home, and has been cosied up the Fens and living a very private life, but now she feels it’s time for ...

Welcome to my Stop on the Blog Tour for Home For Christmas by Heidi Swain! What They Say: Bella is living her best life in Wynbridge, with her beloved Spaniel, Tink. She’s found a way to keep the house she inherited from her grandparents while expanding her dream business – Away With the Fairies – and she’s ecstatic that Christmas is on the horizon!   In fact, everything is perfect until family friend, Catherine Connelly asks Bella if she’d be willing to rent part of the house to freelance author, Jude who is researching the history of the Connelly Clan and Wynthorpe Hall ahead of turning his findings into a book. The plan had been for Jude to stay at the hall, but he can’t cope with the chaos and Bella reluctantly agrees to open her door to him.   Initially, the pair clash but then friendlier feelings begin to grow and Bella finds herself wondering if Jude could become more than just another guest before it’s time for him to leave. That is, until he announces he h...

Blog Tour Stop - The Summer Reunion by Leah Mercer Blurb: Six friends on holiday. A secret worth dying for. In a gorgeous French stone villa, a group of friends reunite for a weekend of reminiscing and laughter. But as glasses of wine are poured, they find they aren’t alone. Standing at the door is a man the friends thought they’d never see again. With a ferocious storm raging and roads closed, they have no choice but to let him in. Instantly the dream weekend takes a dark turn. Because someone invited him here. Because someone has been living a lie. And someone wants revenge. But when the truth is revealed, will anyone make it out alive? A totally addictive psychological suspense thriller that fans of Lucy Foley, Adele Parks and Sally Hepworth will absolutely love. What I Say: The Summer Reunion by Leah Mercer is a really interesting read. It deserves to be devoured in the sunshine by a pool with a cocktail in hand. I, however, read it in dreary, rainy Lancashire. This book deserves b...

Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour for The Holiday Escape by the delightful Heidi Swain! Let me preface this by saying that this is my first blog tour in a year, and the last one was for Heidi's last standalone book, The Book-Lovers Retreat! What better way to make my comeback than this??!! What They Say: Her dream holiday is his everyday life. His dream holiday is her normal life. What happens when they collide?   Ally and her dad, Geoff, run the family business, a creative retreat, from their home Hollyhock Cottage in picturesque Kittiwake Cove. They give their guests their dream break, but Ally hankers after glamourous city living, fancy restaurants and art galleries. Ally’s survival strategy is to escape out of season, take a break abroad and pretend to be the person she always imagined she would be. She meets Logan while she’s away and he turns out to be  exactly  the kind of distraction she’s looking for. With her spirits restored, Ally returns home, picks up the r...

Welcome to my blog tour stop and review of The Book-Lover's Retreat by Heidi Swain! What They Say:  One long summer. One perfect setting. Can fiction inspire real life…?   Sometimes a book grabs you by the heart and grows to mean everything to you. That’s what  Hope Falls  is to friends Emily, Rachel and Tori. So, when they get the chance to spend a whole summer at the cottage in Lakeside where the film adaptation was located, they know it is going to be the holiday of a lifetime. Spending six weeks away will give them a chance to re-evaluate their life choices. For Emily to decide which way her career will go – the safe route, or the more risky creative option? And for Rachel to decide whether to move in with her partner Jeremy. Then Tori has to drop out at the last moment, and her space is offered to another  Hope Falls  afficionado, Alex.  But when Alex turns out not to be who they expected, the holiday takes an unforeseen turn. And as the summer de...

  First off, I must apologise to Zoe and Carol. My blog tour stop was yesterday, and somehow my post got lost in the ether. I didn't notice until today, as thr hubby hasn't been well, and my time has been taken up with my dogs and caring for hubs. So, a day late and pared down from my original post due to lack of time, here is my review of A.Truth For A Truth by the wonderful Carol Wyer. Review: What can I say?? Any book by Carol Wyer is going to be a hit in my opinion, and this is no exception. DI Kate Young is a flawed character who is full of heart and humility. I think she's been dealt a shit hand in life, and struggles to figure out her path. Traumas and dramas, untrustworthy men, and unstable mental health make her slightly difficult to bond with sometimes. But still, I care a lot about her wellbeing. This installment of her series is really compelling, and an interesting take on a "who dunnit". More of a "who will they THINK dunnit"! I loved that!...

 Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour for Together Again by Milly Johnson!! What They Say: Sisters Jolene, Marsha and Annis have convened at their beautiful family home, Fox House, following the death of their mother, the tricky Eleanor Vamplew. Born seven years apart, the women are more strangers than sisters. Jolene, the eldest, is a successful romantic novelist who writes about beautiful relationships even though her own marriage to the handsome and charming Warren is complicated. Marsha, the neglected middle child, has put all of her energy into her work, hoping money will plug the gap in her life left by the man who broke her young heart. Annis is the renegade, who left home aged sixteen and never returned, not even for the death of their beloved father Julian. Until now. So when the sisters discover that their mother has left everything to Annis in her will, it undermines everything they thought they knew. Can saying their final goodbyes to Eleanor bring them together again? Toge...