The Sun in Her Eyes

4.25 Stars I enjoy women's fiction, but it is not my favourite genre. Its not often I get totally engrossed in it. But today, I couldn't put this book down. Every second that my son had his eyes closed today, my eyes were buried in this novel. Thank goodness he still has a day nap! When he was awake and we were going about our day, I was still thinking about it, and I picked it up again as soon as he went to bed tonight to finish it! I thought it was great.

Amber is 29 and living in London with her husband Ned and their relationship has been going through a turbulent time. She gets a phone call from her fathers girlfriend telling Amber that her father has had a stroke and she needs to come home to Adelaide, Australia. In the same morning she had just been made redundant, and with no work commitments, she hurries on a plane, alone. When she reaches Adelaide she has to confront her father's condition, her wicked step mother, and the man she has been in love with since she was eight years old. Amber is forced to evaluate her life and discover if the grass really is greener on the other side..?

Now I didn't particularly like the main character Amber. I thought some (ok most) of her decisions were stupid and there was more than one occasion that I wanted to slap her across the face and scream "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?". But she was so READABLE! Even though I didn't like her, I was totally hooked and immersed in her life! I was FORCED to like her by the author DAMMIT! I really didn't want to!

The beauty in this novel is the way it is written. The way the flawed characters pulled at the heartstrings and how the relationships twist and turn. I have read novels with similar themes and premises that just fell totally flat in comparison. I am so excited to take a look at the authors other novels which I have heard are as good, if not superior to this one.

The interactions between the characters and the budding chemistry and humour was so enjoyable, however at times it dragged a little bit for me. But don't let that turn you off this book, I am a thriller junkie so I think I get frustrated at a slower pace than most people would, especially big fans of women's fiction.

Overall I thought it was fantastic.

Would I recommend it?

Absolutely. for any romance/womens fiction fan. I think you will really enjoy the superb writing and extremely likeable characters.

Thanks to Paige Toon via NetGalley for a copy of The Sun In Her Eyes to read and review!

This is a story that showed me how close you can be to loosing the one you love by making a poor choice. When Amber’s father has a stroke, she flies straight home to Australia to be with him. Away from her husband, Amber finds comfort in her oldest friends, but her feelings for Ethan, the gorgeous, green-eyed man she once fell for, have never been platonic.

In addition to the confusion engulfing Amber about her love of two men, she is to meet and deal with her past and the last person to have spoken to her mother almost thirty years earlier.

I wanted to shake Amber a few times to get her to wake up to herself. There were a few areas in the plot that got on my nerves. For me it is the sign of a good book when the characters on the page seem so real that they actually trigger a response in me as the reader. That said the book was well written and kept me reading to the end. An end I cannot allude to for fear of a spoiler.

A great read and I look forward to the next book by Paige Toon.