The One We Fell In Love With by Paige Toon
| The One We Fell In Love With by Paige Toon | |
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| Category: Women's Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Zoe Morris
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| Summary: Another wonderful Paige Toon title, this sees three sisters and one man caught up in an odd yet workable relationship that spans a decade and several cities. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 416 | Date: May 2016 |
| Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1471138430 | |
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I'm not sure whether it would be flattering or stressful to have three beautiful women lusting after you. In the case of Angus, it's itchy footed Phoebe who'd rather be flitting around the French Alps than stagnating in suburban Sale, boho musician Eliza who's still waiting for her big break, and former nurse Rose who is leaving behind an unsuitable boyfriend and a life in the city to move back up north… and live with her mother. It's a complicated situation, made only more complex by the fact that the girls know each other. In the past they've shared a room, and a womb. Hello, triplets.
This is not a story about the fight for a boy's affections, because that part is already over. Angus and Phoebe are engaged to be married as we meet them, and Eliza and Rose have little say in the matter. That's not to say they're not happy for their sister, but there is a bit of a feeling of What if?. What if one of them had got there first? What if Phoebe had decided to stay in France that winter? What if Rose and Eliza had talked about how they felt? What if Angus had known any of this?
I adore Paige Toon's books and they regularly accompany me on extended overseas trips. They're perfect when access to reading material is limited because you can read them again and again without loss of enjoyment. This new book caught my attention in two ways. Firstly, because of the link to the mountains – I'm a latecomer to, but firm fan of, snow sports, and I adore cable cars to the point that we got engaged on one, so the descriptions of Chamonix were captivating for me. Secondly, the part of the story not set in France is set in Sale. For the uninformed, this is a town south of Manchester, about 15 minutes from where I live. It's a slightly odd choice for a setting because there are few defining features of the place, but it's perfectly pleasant and you can imagine a place like Jennifer's setting up shop there.
Each of the three sisters gets their chance to tell part of this story, and while the voices are quite similar (they are related, after all) it's not hard to hear who is speaking each time. The common thread throughout is their relationships, with their parents and with Angus, but each girl also has a distinct work life that marks them out from their siblings. With a big reveal midway through the story that substantially changes things, I was hooked right up until the very last page. It was such an interesting take on a love triangle (love star in this case, with multiple spokes leading to the same centre?) and the loss the triplets go through has the intriguing effect of both pushing them apart and pulling them closer together.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending us a copy to review. I thoroughly enjoyed it (and, yes, I will read it again).
It's a few years old now, but good never goes out of fashion - Johnny be Good is another title I love by the same author. We also loved her The Last Piece of my Heart.
The One We Fell In Love With by Paige Toon is in the Top Ten Women's Fiction Books of 2016.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The One We Fell In Love With by Paige Toon at Amazon.com.
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