Review: 'The Sun in Her Eyes' by Paige Toon (2015)

'Before your mother died, she asked me to tell you something …'
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 …
I was incredibly excited when I was contacted about Paige Toon’s tenth novel ‘The Sun in Her Eyes’ and I felt so lucky when I found a paperback review copy on my doormat a few weeks ago! I’m sure any chick lit fan is familiar with Paige Toon, whether it’s just her name (if this is the case, please don’t hesitate and pick up one of her books as soon as possible!) or her actual novels. I can’t believe ‘The Sun in Her Eyes’ is already Paige’s 10th novel; all her other books have been such great reads, so it’s no surprise I definitely had high hopes for this one as well. I always enjoy taking one of Paige’s novels with me on holiday, because they’re great stories to get lost in and leave everything else behind for a few hours, but I just couldn’t wait that long to give ‘The Sun in Her Eyes’ a try, so I sat down with it a few days ago and couldn’t wait to start reading it!
Amber Church left her life in Australia, where she was born, behind several years ago and now lives in the UK together with her husband Ned. Yet, things aren’t going too well for Amber. She gave up her job as a maths teacher a few years earlier and started working as a broker instead, but suddenly she has been made redundant and finds herself without a job. At the same time, things aren’t going too well between her and Ned; he’s spending a lot of time with his boss Zara and Amber is sure she has a thing for Ned. Then Amber receives the news that her father has had a stroke and is in hospital, and she decides to fly back to Australia straight away. While she’s there, she runs into her former best friend Ethan who also happens to be the guy she had the biggest crush on when she was a teenager. The sparks are still there between them and with everything going wrong in her life, Amber is no longer sure what it is she wants exactly. To make things even more challenging, Amber receives a letter from someone who wants to tell her more about the car accident in which Amber’s mother was killed, and Amber knows she’s on the point of receiving answers that might change her life completely... 
‘The Sun in Her Eyes’ is another thoroughly enjoyable Paige Toon novel that is perfect to pick up on a warm summer evening or a sunny day at the beach when you just want to leave everything else behind and get lost in a book. The novel is set mainly in Australia and I personally loved this setting and the descriptions; perfect for a summer/holiday read, in my opinion! It took me a bit of time to warm to Amber, the protagonist; she’s a complex character who doesn’t always make the best choices, but that is also what made the characters and the story realistic and relatable. There are two fascinating male characters in the form of Ethan and Ned, whom I both liked, and the author really managed to portray a convincing and realistic group of characters as a whole. 
The book focuses on two plotlines: Amber’s love life and her past, most particularly the car accident that resulted in her mother’s death when Amber was only three years old. This resulted in a story with both a romance aspect and an intriguing and mysterious aspect that had me guessing. I was surprised by the turn of events in the novel and definitely couldn’t have predicted how everything would eventually end. While this book is not one of my personal Paige Toon favourites, it’s still a wonderful and captivating read; it’s incredibly easy to get lost in Paige’s writing and I finished the book in just two sittings. ‘The Sun in Her Eyes’ is another thoroughly enjoyable and well-written read by author Paige Toon. With her name on the front, you simply can’t go wrong!

Rating:8,5/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.