The minute I saw you by Paige Toon

Today I’m sharing my thoughts on ‘the minute I saw you‘ by Paige Toon. A huge thank you to Sara-Jade of Books and The City for this gorgeous book which popped through my letterbox just before Christmas 2020.

Synopsis:

When Hannah meets Sonny, she’s irresistibly drawn to him: he’s sexy and confident, but only in town on holiday. That’s fine with Hannah – she doesn’t do long-term relationships. And luckily for her, neither does Sonny. But before they can even so much as kiss, Sonny receives some shocking news and commits to making serious life changes – ones that can’t and won’t include romance.

With even a short fling now off the cards, Hannah and Sonny settle for being friends. But as summer hots up and their chemistry shows no signs of cooling, they start to question their reasons for shutting each other out.

Are they both too broken to find love? And if they tear down the walls between them, will they still like what’s on the other side?

My thoughts:

My initial thoughts are why has it taken me so long to read one of Paige’s books. I have five sat on my Kindle at the moment. I bought them during lockdown part 1 to read on holiday later in the year. The holiday didn’t happen and so they are still waiting to be read.

I picked this book up over the Christmas holidays when our local area was plunged into Tier 4 as rates of Covid had doubled in just a week, and my anxiety levels had also risen. Now was not the time to be reading something depressing.

I partly chose this book from the to-be-read shelves because it is set in Cambridge, where I should be this month with a group of students and work colleagues. It is a beautiful part of the world and I hope to head back there again one day soon.

The story revolves around Hannah and Sonny, who are both fighting demons from their past, which have made them act differently and could stop them finding the happiness they both deserve. The story flows well, as slowly we find out more about what has happened in the past and how they can help each other with friendship to move forward.

There are so many fabulous characters in this book, including Archie and Matilda, plus the four legged best friend Bertie, who spent more time visiting pubs and people than any of us did in 2020. This book tackles both fun and serious issues but in a sensitive and skilful way, so that the reader is left feeling uplifted by the experience.

Happy to recommend this fabulous book for anyone wanting an emotional read (the gorgeous dragonflies from the cover feature in the story too). I’m looking forward to reading more from Paige in the future too.

Author Bio (from Amazon):

Paige Toon was born in 1975 and grew up between England, Australia and America, following her racing driver father around the globe. A philosophy graduate, she worked at teen, film and women’s magazines, before ending up at Heat magazine as Reviews Editor. Paige is married, has two children and lives in Cambridge.

Visit Paige’s website at paigetoon.com to sign up to her free book club, ‘The Hidden Paige’, and say hi to her on Twitter @PaigeToonAuthor and Facebook.com/PaigeToonAuthor

There are more reviews this month on my book blog for other Books and the City Books, including these:

My One True North by Milly Johnson

I’m pleased to share another of my five star reviews from 2020 on my book review blog today. It is also appropriate to be sharing one of the fabulous Team Books and the City books today, when I will have the opportunity to see their 2021 showcase later today (I’m very excited!).

Synopsis:

Laurie and Pete should never have met. But life has a different idea.

Six months ago, on the same night, Laurie and Pete both lost their partners. Overwhelmed by their grief, they join the same counselling group…and change their lives forever.

From their profound sadness, Pete and Laurie begin to find happiness and healing. Except, the more they get to know one another, the more Laurie begins to spot the strange parallels in their stories. Then Pete discovers a truth that changes everything—one which threatens to reverse everything they’ve worked towards.

But, as surely as a compass points north, some people cannot be kept apart.

My thoughts:

I’m pleased to say that the extra wait to read the latest book by Milly was worth it (my hint for Mother’s Day was ignored so I had to wait until June for my birthday). I had tears in my eyes at times and laughed out loud too, especially when reading the Daily Trumpet misprints. If you haven’t read a Milly Johnson book before (how? why?), then you won’t have seen the bloopers that they have made in many of Milly’s previous books.

In My One True North, Laurie is the solicitor visiting the offices of the Daily Trumpet on a weekly basis. She is also heart broken after the death of her boyfriend in a tragic multi car accident. She meets Pete, a firefighter, who lost his wife in the same accident, an accident he attended as part of his job.

As the story unfolds, we find out more about the relationships Pete and Laurie had with their partners. We also return to the The Teashop, from The TeaShop on the Corner, a Milly Johnson book I read and enjoyed back in 2016. It was lovely to catch up with some of the characters again, but if you haven’t read it, it won’t spoil this story. This book looks at new and old friendships and family relationships.

I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I won’t divulge any more of the story. I love the way Milly brings her characters to life so that we care about them and feel their emotions. As a Yorkshire born lass myself, I love visiting Yorkshire in Milly’s books, especially when I can’t travel there at the moment due to the global pandemic.

I loved this book, even if it did make sad in places. As some of the other reviews have said, Milly’s book should be available on the NHS to give joy to people.

I have a lovely hardback copy but the paperback version was released in July.

Milly Johnson

Milly Johnson was born, raised and still lives in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. She is the author of 18 published novels, 4 short story ebooks, a book of poetry and a Quick Reads Novella (‘The Little Dreams of Lara Cliffe’) and was an erstwhile leading copywriter for the greetings card industry. She is also a poem and joke-writer, a newspaper columnist and a seasoned after dinner speaker.

She won the RoNA for Best Romantic Comedy Novel of 2014 and 2016, the Yorkshire Society award for Arts and Culture 2015 and the Romantic Novelist Association Outstanding Achievement award in 2020. See her popular acceptance speech here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxzeFTvHXDo&fbclid=IwAR27aZML4er_dZLgD2e-URQdBoOK3L9hM8mauFpn3aFvAws7y3VVtXsYTvI

She writes about love, life, friendships and the importance of community spirit. Her books champion women, their strength and resilience and celebrate her beloved Yorkshire.

Her latest book – My One True North tackles the subject of moving on after grief with a light and joyous touch. The Daily Trumpet makes a large appearance and previous novels ‘The Teashop on the Corner’ and ‘Here Come the Girls’ are referenced.

Milly’s website is http://www.millyjohnson.co.uk. She is on Twitter as @millyjohnson, Instagram as @themillyjohnson and has a Facebook page @MillyJohnsonAuthor. She also has a monthly newsletter http://www.millyjohnson.co.uk/newsletter with exclusive, news, offers and competitions.

View all my reviews

My One True North by Milly Johnson

I’m pleased to finally be able to share my review for the fabulous new book by Milly Johnson on my book review blog today. I say finally because I had dropped subtle hints that I would like a copy of this for Mothers Day. Sadly my hints were too subtle (or perhaps the start of lockdown meant the family couldn’t get a copy…), but thankfully I had a copy given to me for my birthday in June instead.

As an additional birthday treat (their words), the husband and the teenage son went on a 24 hour fishing expedition a couple of days later (5 miles from home), so I could curl up with My One True North, our rescue dog Jake and my teenage daughter.

Synopsis:

Laurie and Pete should never have met. But life has a different idea.

Six months ago, on the same night, Laurie and Pete both lost their partners. Overwhelmed by their grief, they join the same counselling group…and change their lives forever.

But, as surely as a compass points north, some people cannot be kept apart.

My thoughts:

I’m pleased to say that the extra wait to read the latest book by Milly was worth it. I had tears in my eyes at times and laughed out loud too – especially when reading the Daily Trumpet misprints. If you haven’t read a Milly Johnson book before (how? why?), then you won’t have seen the bloopers that they have made in many of Milly’s previous books.

In My One True North, Laurie is the solicitor visiting the offices of the Daily Trumpet on a weekly basis. She is also heart broken after the death of her boyfriend in a tragic multi car accident. She meets Pete, a firefighter, who lost his wife in the same accident, an accident he attended as part of his job.

As the story unfolds, we find out more about the relationships Pete and Laurie had with their partners. We also return to the The Teashop, from The TeaShop on the Corner, a Milly Johnson book I read and enjoyed back in 2016. It was lovely to catch up with some of the characters again, but if you haven’t read it, it won’t spoil this story. This book looks at new and old friendships and family relationships.

I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I won’t divulge any more of the story. I love the way Milly brings her characters to life so that we care about them and feel their emotions. As a Yorkshire born lass myself, I love visiting Yorkshire in Milly’s books, especially when I can’t travel there at the moment due to the global pandemic.

I loved this book, even if it did make sad in places. As some of the other reviews have said, Milly’s book should be available on the NHS to give joy to people.

I have a lovely hardback copy but the paperback version is being released in July.

Milly Johnson

Milly Johnson was born, raised and still lives in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. She is the author of 17 published novels, 4 short story ebooks, a book of poetry and a Quick Reads Novella (‘The Little Dreams of Lara Cliffe’) and was an erstwhile leading copywriter for the greetings card industry. She is also a poem and joke-writer, a newspaper columnist and a seasoned after dinner speaker.

She writes about love, life, friendships and the importance of community spirit. Her books champion women, their strength and resilience and celebrate her beloved Yorkshire.

View all my reviews