One Perfect Summer

‘One Perfect Summer‘ is written by Paige Toon. It tells the story of Alice who has been taken down to Dorset by her Mum, to have a holiday and time together before she leaves to go to university in Cambridge. First of all Alice wonders how she can possibly survive this, however when she meets Joe, who works at a local pub she quickly changes her mind.

Of course a relationship starts between the two, what else would you expect from a Paige Toon story?! Alice realises that Joe isn’t happy where he is and knowing that he’s soon planning to move to London, she suggests that he comes with her to Cambridge instead.

On one of her last days in Dorset, Joe disappears. When Alice gets back home to London, she searches for him and when she moves onto Cambridge, she does the same, but Joe is no-where to be seen. After a while she decides to stop moping after him and to get on with her life, taking up a job as a punter and making a great friend in Jessie. She meets a guy called Lukas and things start to get serious, however Joe is always at the back of her mind and when she hears news of him, she feels compelled to go and see him.

This was a great read, I loved that the first part of the story was set in Dorset. Having holidayed there a lot in my childhood, I knew exactly where Paige Toon was talking about. With mentions of Corfe Castle and Old Harry Rocks, it allowed me to see the story as it happened. I must also mention that there is a great sequel to this, ‘One Perfect Christmas’, which is another great read, yet disappointedly a much shorter story, you’re left wanting more!

OTHER REVIEWS OF BOOKS BY PAIGE TOON

Lucy in the Sky
Johnny Be Good
Baby Be Mine
Chasing Daisy
Pictures of Lily

Pictures of Lily

If you haven’t guessed it by now let me tell you, I’m a great fan of the books written by Paige Toon, and her forth release ‘Pictures of Lily‘, is another great read from her collection.

The story starts off with Lily, aged 15 (soon to turn 16), who’s just moved to Adelaide in Australia with her Mum and they’re both about to move in with Mum’s new boyfriend, Michael and his son Josh.

At first Lily finds it hard to settle in, but when Michael invites her to join him at the local conservation park one day, she finds a new life for herself as later on she gets an invite to come back and help out more with the animals. Another something that she finds there is Ben, a man aged 28 who she falls in love with. After spending a lot of time together, her love for him grows, however knowing that he is a lot older and finally finding out that he is engaged, means that nothing happens between them. Despite all the electricity, Ben then leaves for England to marry his fiancée.

The story then skips to ten years later, Lily is now aged 26 and has definitely not forgotten about Ben. Lily, however, is happily together with boyfriend Richard, living in Sydney. Everything seems fine and dandy until one day when visiting the zoo, she bumps into an old friend. This is where the drama starts and well I’m not going to tell you what happens, because then there would be no point in you picking up this book to read it. If you don’t do that, you’ll be missing out on another great read from  Paige Toon!

I loved this story and identified with the lead character Lily, and her love for all the animals at the conservation park in Adelaide. I would love to have her job! As always there’s complications in the life of the lead character but out of it all, something positive is born.

OTHER REVIEWS OF BOOKS BY PAIGE TOON

Lucy in the Sky
Johnny Be Good
Baby Be Mine
Chasing Daisy

Baby Be Mine

‘Baby Be Mine‘ is the sequel to the much loved ‘Johnny Be Good‘, by Paige Toon. So if you haven’t read the first in this series, I recommend you do before you read this review as there’s going to be some spoilers!

Ready to read on? Ok!

So we left Meg in ‘Johnny Be Good’ hoping that the baby inside her would come out looking more like her boyfriend Christian, than the famous rockstar Johnny Jefferson.

We get back to Meg in ‘Baby Be Mine’, who’s still happily living with Christian, having not heard from Johnny for about two years. However, Meg starts to realise that her son (Barney) isn’t looking quite the same as she had hoped when he was sitting in her belly. In fact he’s starting to look more and more like Johnny everyday, although at the moment Meg’s managing to keep this secret all to herself.

 

Of course, this would not be a Paige Toon book without some drama! When Johnny comes to visit, Meg’s world gets turned upside down and there’s nothing else to do but tell the truth. This of course comes with consequences and you’ll have to read the book to find out what happens!

This was a great follow up to ‘Johnny Be Good’ and it was great to find out what happens next, in the story of Meg, Johnny & Christian. If you enjoyed the first, you’ll soon find yourself picking up this one, if not just to see what happens!

The story, however, does go on after this read, and you’ll be pleased to hear there’s a bit more to be added to this story! A short story named ‘Johnny’s Girl‘ has been written by Paige Toon, as an exclusive eBook, so if you’ve got a kindle or any other device that’ll allow you to download, I recommend you do so!

Other reviews of books by Paige Toon

Lucy In The Sky
Johnny Be Good
Chasing Daisy
Pictures of Lily

Johnny Be Good

Pictures of Lily

‘Johnny Be Good’ is another great read from Paige Toon. I was drawn to the title of this book, as in my mind it reflected the title of the song ‘Johnny B Goode’ by Chuck Berry, being a lover of music I thought that the story may have a musical theme to it and in a way it does!

The story starts when we are introduced to Meg Stiles, normal, average woman living in London, who has just accepted an offer to go and work in L.A as a P.A. She takes the offer, albeit feeling a bit nervous about a new life across the pond and goes to meet the man who she’s going to be looking after, rock star Johnny Jefferson.

At first life is a bit of a whirlwind and Meg isn’t quite sure how to take it all in. Glamorous celebrity parties, dealing with the press and Johnny’s ever changing moods is all a bit too much to deal with at first, however, after making friends with fellow PA Kitty and becoming close to Johnny’s friend Christian, she starts to cope better with her new lifestyle, however she still can’t seem to shake off her feelings for Johnny.

This book is full of romance, love and admiration, however you may not agree with Meg’s decisions. The story ends leaving you knowing that it’s not over, there’s more to tell and more to discover and I felt so glad when I discovered that there’s a sequel to this book (Baby Be Mine) which I shall be reviewing for you next week!

This book is a really great read if you’ve ever dreamed of dating your favourite rockstar and living a glamorous life in L.A. I felt like I really connected with Meg throughout the story, not that I always agreed with her decisions, but she’s a great character to get to know and if you’re looking for a good romance to read this summer, I’d definitely recommend this one!

 

Other Reviews of books by Paige Toon

Lucy In The Sky
Baby Be Mine
Chasing Daisy
Pictures of Lily

Lucy in the Sky

Pictures of Lily

Let me introduce you to my new found favourite author… Paige Toon! I have recently read a few of her books and have loved them all! But today I’m starting with the first title I picked up, ‘Lucy in the Sky’.

So being honest, the reason I picked up this book to read, was because of it’s title. Firstly the lead lady has my name and secondly the title made me think of the popular Beatles song, ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds‘!

I hoped the read was going to be as good as I expected from the reasons above and I am pleased to say that it lived up to my expectations!

The book tells the story of Lucy, together with gorgeous lawyer boyfriend James, who she’s had to leave behind to go to her best friend Molly’s wedding on the other side of the world in Sydney. As she settles down to start the 24-hour flight, she receives a text message, from a woman who claims that she has slept with James four times in the past month. Lucy starts to worry and spends the whole flight coming up with various situations in her head.

When she reaches Sydney, her head is still whirring as she meets up with Molly and her brother Nathan, who has suddenly become very attractive. Lucy spends her time in Australia fixated with Nathan, almost forgetting about her boyfriend and soon finding herself stuck between the two men and the countries in which they live in.

This is a great read if you’re a fan of a chick lit, full of sadness and happiness throughout. It’s an easy read and one you’ll fully enjoy. If you’ve only just come across Paige Toon, this is a great place to start!

 

OTHER REVIEWS OF BOOKS BY PAIGE TOON

Johnny Be Good
Baby Be Mine
Chasing Daisy
Pictures of Lily