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...

It's that time of year again!! Yep, you guessed it, BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022!!! I have (as of Dec 12) read 44 books, including several on Audio and for the month of December, I decided to turn all the books on my TBR backwards so I can't see the spines. Then I made myself a little lucky dip so I have to read whatever I draw out. It's been interesting so far! Anyhoo, let's get this show on the road! My Top 10 Books Published and Read in 2022 are; 10) The Judas Tree by Amanda Jennings 9) The Fixer Upper by Lauren Forsythe  8) Cornish Clouds and Silver Lining Skies by Ali McNamara 7) The Guilty Couple by C.L. T a ylor 6) From Now On by Amelia Henley 5) The Summer Fair by Heidi Swain 4) One Last Secret by Adele Parks 3) Mrs Van Gogh by Caroline Cauchi 2) The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell And my Book of the Year 2022 is... WOMEN LIKE US BY AMANDA PROWSE I discovered and fell in love with the books of T.M. Logan this year, when I got sent The Curfew to review. Now I'm worki...

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Unwrapping of Theodora Quirke by Caroline Smailes! This is my most anticipated book of the year! What They Say: Theodora Quirke has no reason to be merry. It's bad enough that she has to work on Christmas Eve but now there's a drunk bloke dressed as Santa and claiming to be St Nick hanging around outside her flat. Given he's professing to be the giver of Christmas miracles and nearly 2000 years old, she's wary. Things get even more weird when St Nick insists he's there to save Theo. And with the next St Nicholas Day somehow fast approaching, he's even got a plan that'll change her life forever. It all seems pretty straightforward, apart for one awkward fact: Theodora Quirke doesn't actually need saving. #TheodoraQuirke What I Say:   First off, everyone should read Caroline Smailes books! She's incredible and so undervalued as an author. Everyone should know her name.  The Unwrapping of Theodora Quirke is ...

MY LIFE IN BOOKS BY TRISH HILLS @TISHYLOU Charlotte's Web by EB White . This is the first book I remember reading as a child. I still have my really old, battered paperback copy and also found a beautiful old hardback too. This book is so beautifully written and so poignant. I can't read it any more, it makes me cry, but I still hold it fondly as a favourite.   The Babysitters Club Series by Ann M Martin. This series basically shaped my “tween” years. They were fun, clever, inspirational. The girls (Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, Mallory, Jessie, Stacey, Dawn) formed a club to give childcare to all the neighbourhood kids. They were organized, professional, caring and most of all, fun. I started babysitting aged 12 because I wanted to be like them. I even became a qualified first aider and got my babysitting certificate! Pet Semetary by Stephen King. This was the first “grown-up” novel I ever read. I was terrified but wanted to read something naughty that I wasn...