Book Review: The Sun in Her Eyes by Paige Toon

When Amber Church was three, her mother was killed in a car accident. A stranger was at the scene and now, nearly thirty years later, she's desperate to talk to Amber.

Living in London and not-so-happily married to Ned, Amber is greeted one morning by two pieces of news: she's to be made redundant from her City job and her beloved father, across the world in Australia where she grew up, has been felled by a stroke. She takes the first plane out to be by his side, leaving Ned uncertain as to when she will return. Reunited with her old friends, Amber is forced to confront her feelings for Ethan Lockwood, the gorgeous, green-eyed man she fell for as a young girl.

And then Amber receives a letter that changes everything... 

First of all I would like to thank the publishers for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: Paige Toon is one of my all time favourite authors and I always look forward to her new releases. With The Sun in Her Eyes, she takes us to Australia again, just like in Pictures of Lily. I certainly couldn’t wait to go back to beautiful Adelaide and as Paige always likes linking her stories, I was hoping for some guest appearances from her previous characters.

The story follows Amber, who lives in London with her husband Ned. But when his father has a heart attack in Australia, she decides to go back there to help take care of him. As soon as she lands, though, she is faced with her past: Ethan. Her first love and best friend, who she has avoided for years because she still has strong feelings for him. That's when a very interesting love triangle starts, involving Amber, Ned and Ethan. At first, I certainly liked Ethan a lot and his chemistry with Amber was electrifying. But as the story progressed, we got to read snippets of Amber and Ned’s story too and soon I found myself in two minds, just like Amber.

I rapidly became really invested in the story and its characters and ended up reading into the early hours. Even if I not always liked Amber and questioned her decisions more than once, I couldn't help but wishing the best for her. Her situation with her father was really touching but I could feel the tension between Amber and her father's partner. This and the mysterious letter from a woman who had witnessed her mother's death, added a bit of family drama to this love story that made it even more interesting.

Paige Toon managed, once more, to create complex but really down to earth characters with whom we can connect and relate easily. Her easy style and her beautiful descriptions make you feel like you are in Australia living it all with them. And even if the guest appearances from previous characters were not very long, they are always a treat for us, old fans.

All in all, The Sun in Her Eyes is a lovely story that touches various topics about love, family, letting go and what we consider right and wrong. As usual, Paige's book is never what you expect. A treat for this summer.

Rating: