Pictures Of Lily by Paige Toon

Paige Toon is one of my favourite authors. I have read all of her books and have thoroughly enjoyed every one of them. While I am waiting patiently for Paige Toon’s new book Baby Be Mine to be released I decided to re-read one of her books so I picked up Pictures Of Lily.

Plot

   ‘Will you marry me?’

I think of you, then. I think of you every day. But usually in the quietest part of the morning,or the darkest part of the night. Not when my boyfriend of two years has just proposed.

I look up at Richard with his hopeful eyes. 

‘Lily?’ he prompts.

It’s been ten years, but it feels like only yesterday that you left. How can I say yes to Richard with all my heart when most of it has always belonged to you? I take a deep breath and will myself to speak…

Ten years ago when Lily was just sixteen, she fell in love with someone she really shouldn’t have fallen in love with. Now, living in Sydney and engaged to another man, she can’t forget the one that got away. Then her past comes back to haunt her, and she has to make a decision that will break her heart – and the heart of at least one of the men who love her.

My Opinion

The first thing which always sticks out for me with all Paige Toon books are the front covers. They are eye-catching and glitzy and you know by looking at the book before reading the author that it is a Paige Toon novel. Having said this the new book that is being released looks like it has a different style to the cover.

I love that with both Paige Toon and Christina Jones books that although these are stand alone books, characters from the other novels pop up from time to time in the other novels and I like this as it brings a little bit of familiarity to the book. 

Pictures of Lily is split into two. The first part of the book we meet a young 15 year old Lily who has just moved to Australia and is finding it hard to settle into her new life. The second part of the book skips to the present day when Lily is 25 and her life has changed somewhat. I did find the story got off to an incredible fast pace which I fell into straight from the first page, and it had me turning the pages so quickly that before I knew it I was half way through the book and starting the second part of the book. I did find it came to an obvious stop when we switch to the second part of the book and it did take a few pages to pick up the pace again. The structure of this novel suits the book well as we get to know our main character Lily from a young age so by the time we read the second part of the book where she has become a woman we feel as if we know all about her. As with the main characters of all of the Paige Toon books you can not help but warm to these characters straight away.

There are a real mix of characters in this book and they all work well together. It is the first book I think I have read where I have enjoyed each and every character.

Through Lily we see many different emotions and I did find towards the end of the book I did have a tear in my eye! This book is a real page turner as you can tell as I have read this in under a day! If you are looking for a real feel good read that is not predictable and will keep you gripped all the way through then this is the book for you.