Book Review - The Sun in her Eyes by Paige Toon - Paperback Summer

Amazon UK

Title: The Sun in her Eyes

Author: Paige Toon

Format reviewed: Paperback

Source: Purchased

Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

Publication Date: 21st May 2015

Rating: 4 Stars

Blinding sunshine... A bend in the road... What became of the little girl with the sun in her eyes? 

Amber was three when a car crash stole her mother's life. She doesn't remember the accident, but a stranger at the scene has been unable to forget. Now, almost thirty years later, she's trying to track Amber down. 

Amber, meanwhile, is married to Ned and living on the other side of the world in London. When her father has a stroke, she flies straight home to Australia to be with him. Away from her husband, Amber finds comfort in her oldest friends, but her feelings for Ethan, the gorgeous, green-eyed man she once fell for, have never been platonic. 

As Ethan and Amber grow closer, married life in London feels far away. Then Amber receives a letter that changes everything.

'Before your mother died, she asked me to tell you something...'

When Amber's father has a stroke, she knows she must return to Australia to help him recover. Her husband Ned however can't get away from work, having been recently promoted, so he stays in the UK. Amber not only has to help her father recover, she also gets a chance to catch up properly with her oldest friend. But of her feelings for Ethan, the man she has loved since she was 8 years old. 

Ethan is part of their friendship group, and is going through a divorce, and seems delighted that Amber is back for a while, even if the circumstances aren't great. 

When Amber was 3 years old she was involved in a car accident that killed her mother.  The only person who stopped to help them, has never forgotten Ambers mother's last words, and has always wanted to get back in touch with her to make sure not only that they were passed on, but to see what happened to the little 3 year old she helped. 

There are a couple of pages that are from the point of view of this bystander to the accident, but the rest of the book is completely from Amber's point of view.  Watching Amber take care of her recovering father is heart-warming, but she also seems to have reverted to teenagerdom too, with her squabbles with Liz (her dad's long term partner), and staying out late and getting drunk with her friends. 

I loved a lot of the times Ethan and Amber spent together, especially with Ethan's keen interest in wine, and working on a vineyard, brought up some wonderful imagery. I also loved how most of the book was set in Adelaide, Australia, somewhere that I would love to visit outside of a book one day, but for now I was more than happy to read descriptions of the location, and wish I was soaking up some of that sunshine!

I really enjoyed reading The Sun in her Eyes, but felt it was missing some of Paige Toon's normal spark in the book. It just seemed to be missing her usual magic touch, which is a shame. It is regardless a very good book, with a strong story. 

Rachel (left) and Paige Toon (right)

I was lucky enough to meet Paige Toon at her book signing on May 19th at Watermark Books, Kings Cross Station. It was an absolute pleasure to get a chance to chat to one of my favourite authors for a couple of mins, and of course get my copy of The Sun in her Eyes signed. 

I can only apologise for not reading the book and posting a review sooner.