Friday 26 July 2019

Blog Tour: When Polly met Olly by Zoe May*



Upon reading the blurb for this book, I knew I wanted to be involved in this tour! It sounded like a great romance that was apt to have some comedy thrown in. Check out the Blurb below to see what I mean.


'Polly and Olly were never supposed to meet…
Polly might spend her days searching for eligible matches for her elite list of clients at her New York dating agency, but her own love life is starting to go up in smoke.
Even worse, she can’t stop thinking about the very person she’s meant to be setting her latest client up with… surely it can’t get any worse!
But then Polly bumps into oh-so-handsome Olly, who heads up a rival agency, and realizes that perhaps all really is fair in love and dating war…
Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Debbie Viggiano.'

One thing I loved about this book where the characters. They were 100% relatable in this readers eyes, which just added to the amazing story. I mean take our main lady Polly, she knows her mind and what she wants to do with her life but that isn't necessarily what she ends up doing. I know a few people in real life exactly like this. Whereas main man Olly has found what works for him and he enjoys it. 

So along with the amazing characters you have the problems they experience, which are very real and relatable. With characters and problems that you can relate to, Zoe has made it easy to fall in love with this book. The whole dating story is intriguing and it pulls you in. You want to see who ends up with who,and whether or not your guesses where correct. This leads to a book you simply don't want to put down. 

Now lets move onto the Author Zoe May, she lives in Oxford and writes romantic comedies. Since her teenage years Zoe has dreamed of being a novelist. Her twenties consisted of living in London and working in Journalism and Copy-writing, that was until she wrote her debut novel, Perfect Match. Perfect Match became one of Apple's top-selling books of 2018. Having experienced the dating scene first hand in London, Zoe couldn't resist writing about it. When she isn't writing you can find Zoe walking her dog, painting and reading. 

I completely adored this book, to the point that I picked it up at Chapter 7 one morning and that evening I completed the book. The 30 Chapters of this book really flew by and I found myself wanting more. If you want to get your hands on a copy of this book, you can buy it here.

Until Next Time

Emma

XX


Tuesday 23 July 2019

Why I Shaved My Head

As you can already probably tell, this post is a little different from what I usually post but I thought something different would be nice. So as you can tell from the title I shaved my head. I'm writing this in two parts the first was written before I shaved my head and the second part post shave. One reason I decided to write this is because I knew I would get questions and this way I didn't have to explain my reasoning. 

Part One

So let's start with Why? Why did I shave my head? The simple answer because I could, I have wanted to do this for a while now. I don't know what was different that this time I actually did it but I did. The first time I was going to shave my head was for charity, but for some reason it didn't happen. The next time was in support of a friend, but they changed their mind and my head remained un-shaved.This time though it happened quite quickly, I shared a video on Facebook of someone shaving their head and stated how much I wanted to do it as well. Then within days I have a plan for my Little Brother to shave my head. 

Another reason I wanted to shave my head is Psoriasis. I have it on my scalp, face, ears and small patches on my body. I cut my hair short in the past to try and help, this time I just happen to be going one step further. I hope that this will help in the sense that the shampoo and greasy creams can be applied, but even if it doesn't I don't mind. This is a bucket list thing that I can't wait to do. 

As I write this part it is 5 days before D day. I am feeling both nervous and excited. Excited because part of me still can't believe that this is actually going to be happening. i mean every other time there was a reason not to do it. I'm nervous because it's a scary step, I mean I know people will judge me and disagree with my decision but I just need to remember that the key word was it's MY decision, MY hair. This is Me. 



Part Two

So as usual with all my planning, this part is actually being written 2 months after the first shave. I say the first shave as I have since had it done again, which in itself tells you how much I love it!

I can recall the day I got my head shaved with perfect clarity, I can tell you I was nervous and that I was shaking, whether that was the diabetes or nerves we will never know. I had my friend with me and she cut off the first chunk with a pair of scissors before she videoed the rest. My Brother then continued with the scissors before the clippers came out. In my opinion my 'little' brother had far too much fun playing hair stylist for me but hey he enjoyed cutting my hair off. 

I sat there watching chunks of my hair (and psoriasis) land on me, and for some reason kept thinking "It's too late to go back now". I don't know why that was going through my mind, probably some very last minute nerves. I mean we have all had those nerves when we decide to get a new style that is completely different.  I remember not seeing myself in a mirror until  it was completely done, which I am thankful for. I also remember my brother and friend deciding that a Grade 3 was too long so I was getting a Grade 2. 

I fell in love with my hair as soon as I looked into a mirror and it was surprisingly easy to get use to. I loved the ease of it and loved it even more when I found out that I could wash my hair in the sink. Hair puns became my new favorite thing. Getting out of bed and saying 'Excuse the bed head' or getting into the car and saying 'wow this wind is messing up my hair!' They didn't get old for a few weeks either. Also my new favorite hobby was running my fingers through my new short, incredibly soft hair.

The Shaving of my head was done on a Saturday of a bank holiday weekend at the end of May. I planned it this way so I could get use to my hair, or lack there of before I went back to work. I don't know what I expected when it came to reactions, but what I got wasn't it. There was a lot of shock, which is to be expected as I didn't tell any of my work colleagues. I believe a dozen people knew before it was done. What I didn't expect was people assuming that I did it for charity. I know that was a plan in the past, but that had nothing to do with this time. It was like people thought you only shaved your head for charity or because you were ill. It boosted my spirits at work when the head of the department complimented me as well as two patients and a porter. I went home grinning, because three people I didn't see on the daily noticed my hair cut and loved it!

Now surprisingly Social Media had a great reaction. My photo got loads of positive comments and likes. If I am being honest I thought that social media would be the place where I would get negative comments, but I guess it really does show that you can't judge it. 

The main comment I was getting was that it really suited me, so I have kept my hair short and just 3 weeks ago it went back down to a Grade 2. So far I haven't seen an improvement in my psoriasis but I don't regret my hair cut. In the entire time it has been done not once have I looked in the mirror and thought "What did I do?" 

So as of now the hair is staying short. I am going to start growing it out over Winter and who knows maybe next Summer I will shave it again. But for now I am so happy that I did this.  If you are reading this and you want to shave your head. My advice is do it. Hair will grow back. The biggest thing I have gained from this experience, is I stopped caring what people thought. You want to stop talking to me because I shaved my head, go ahead. Whether this attitude stays when my hairs grows remains to be seen, but I for one hope it does. 

Until Next Time

Emma

XX


Wednesday 17 July 2019

Blog Tour: The Wedding Planner by Eve Devon*


Upon reading the blurb of this book, I just knew I had to take part in this Blog Tour. The main reason is because I really wanted to read this book, it sounded exactly like something I would pick up, so I signed up and was not disappointed. Check out the blurb below and see what you think. 

'Wedding bells are ringing and gossip is spiralling in Whispers Wood…
Single mum Gloria Pavey has a bad habit of saying exactly the wrong thing at the wrong time. Determined to make a positive change she can’t say no when her best friend, Emma, asks her to take on the role of her wedding planner. The only problem? Gloria’s co-planner – best man Seth Knightley.
Gloria is on a self-imposed man ban but pulling together the most beautiful wedding Whispers Wood has ever seen alongside gorgeous Seth is pushing her to her limits. As every interaction increases the tension between them Gloria finds herself wondering…could the happy ever after she never thought she’d have be in her future after all?'

So I know this is a heart warming romance but I have to tell you that this book had me laughing out loud more times then I want to admit. I don't know what made it funny exactly there isn't one bit that makes this funny. It could be Gertrude (you'll know when you read the book) or it could be the things that Gloria says. Whatever it is, it works!

This book really showed you different Characters point of view, so you really got to step into their shoes. Now it didn't do this too much where it takes your eye off our main couple, Gloria and Seth. Eve had a way of giving you another persons point of view on what was going on with them to add tension. Making you want to keep reading to find out more but at the same time wanting to get back to Seth and Gloria.

One thing I absolutely adored was a few very subtle hints to TV and Films. Now I say subtle because it would be the main catchphrase from a TV show or a line from a movie. It was done in such away that fit in well with the book but if you know, you know. I absolutely loved the two I saw and it has me wondering is there any more?

I found this book really grabbed the readers attention to the point that it made it so easy to get stuck into. I mean I read the book in one sitting, absolutely and totally absorbed in the story from start to finish. 

So let's tell you a little bit about the Author Eve Devon, who currently lives in Surrey with her husband. Eve writes about sexy heroes, sassy heroines and happily ever afters. She grew with a taste of adventure in places like Botswana and Venezuela. Her love of romance started when her mother shoved one in her hand in order to keep her quiet while the Wimbledon Tennis Finals were on. While a teenager she could be found playing the damsel in distress, solving mysteries and writing down her adventures. She devoured romance books by the bucket load and wrote countless episodes of TV Detective drama ensuring her hero and heroine would end up together. 

So my overall thoughts are that I completely loved this book! I found that while working my way through the book I really wanted to read and find out more about the other characters in the book. The best part is this is actually the third one in a series, so I know need to go buy the others. Now this can be read as a stand alone book.  Let me know if you give this book a shot and what you think. You can buy your copy HERE

Until Next Time

Emma

Xx