The Sun in Her Eyes by Paige Toon

Synopsis

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…'
'Paige really ratchets up the tension. You'll be in a reading frenzy by the end!' - Lisa Jewell, bestselling author of The House We Grew Up In

Review

I was naturally very excited for this book. Paige Toon is my favourite author of all time, I could literally fan girl forever about how much I love all of her books.

Once again I just lost myself in Paige’s writing, set in beautiful Australia, and I’ve never been more tempted than when reading this book, especially to the Adelaide area.  It seemed so scenic, but with a lovely vibrant nightlife as well.

It is not just the setting that was great about Paige’s writing; I was hooked from the opening prologue and chapter. As usual, it is just so inviting, despite not such great circumstances for our protagonist, Amber.

Some of you may know that I am interested in wine (more than just drinking it) and have two WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust) qualifications, which I absolutely loved doing, and hope to do my diploma and more, eventually becoming a Master of Wine. Isn’t that the coolest title?!  Anyway, I mention this because I was even more excited when I realised this book involves a winery and vineyard.  It was great to read a book talk a little bit more in depth about wine, rather than just mentioning it in passing.

I really liked Amber at the beginning, we get a brief glimpse of Ned, and it isn’t a great first impression, of course you instantly bond with Amber and how she feels.  What I found interesting is that, for the first time in a book by Paige, I found myself halfway through the book wanting to scream at the heroine of the story. She makes some bad decisions, but at the same time as thinking how stupid she was, I understood why and how she got there. No one is perfect, heck, I can honestly say that I have no idea what would happen, had I been in that situation.

While first impressions of Ned weren’t spectacular, he obviously cares when she is in Australia, and while I understand Amber’s disappointment and frustration that he put work first, it was obvious to me that he didn’t really want to, and the sadness he felt near the end of her trip was touching. Simon, my partner, works and stays in Cambridge during the week, so I only see him at weekends (I live in Somerset), and I miss him every single week, so being thousands of miles away for weeks must be horrible. 

On the other hand you have Ethan, Amber’s childhood friend who she’s always loved is just perfect when you meet him, a touch of bad boy but ultimately handsome and charming. There was always part of me holding back though, no one can be that perfect right?

Once again, Paige Toon has written a book I just adore, funny, sad at times, but altogether heart warming.

Released on 21st May 2015
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Published by: Simon and Schuster UK
Gratefully received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.