The One We Fell in Love With

by Paige Toon

[Leah]

Paige Toon has been one of my favourite authors ever since I read Lucy in the Sky and I count those first four books - Lucy in the Sky, Chasing Daisy, Johnny Be Good & Pictures of Lily some of my favourite books, ever. But I wasn't so enamoured with the past few, if I'm being perfectly honest, so I was a bit dubious about reading The One We Fell In Love With, because I didn't want yet another love triangle book - or, in this case, a love quadrangle, if that's even a thing? But The One We Fell In Love With is right up there with Lily, Johnny, Daisy and Lucy in terms of how amazing it was. It's like I fell right back in love with Paige Toon.

The One We Fell In Love With seems to be a turning point for Paige Toon, as she takes a bit more serious approach to her novels and there isn't one point of view, there's three, identical triplets (which is a rare thing, apparently) Rose, Eliza, and Phoebe. It's all about how they fell in love with this guy Angus, but it's actually so much more than that, and I can't even mention half of it because you need to read this book with as little information as possible, because then you'll get the greatest reading experience. There was lots of talk on social media about some kind of big twist, which made me sad to hear because I didn't want to know, but knowing there was a twist coming didn't change a thing, because it absolutely blew me away. And to find out exactly what that twist is you'll have to go and read the book. Sorry.

This is actually a hard review to write. Because I don't want to accidentally ruin anything. I will say that I loved the girls. Well, I loved Phoebe and Rose. Eliza was harder, because reasons. But each of their voices were strong, and for once, I loved all the points of view, instead of wanting to rush back to Phoebe or Rose or Eliza. Instead, I liked hearing what all the girls had to say. And I LOVED Toby. Oh man, did I love Toby. (And yes, you'll notice I didn't say I loved Angus). To me, Angus was just there, it wasn't really HIS story, it was the girls story (to me, anyway) and I never really felt anything for him (sorry Angus).

This truly was an amazing read, deserving of all the praise heaped upon it by Marian Keyes and Giovanna Fletcher, to name the two authors quoted on the book itself. I can't believe it's Paige's tenth novel, mind, it seems like only yesterday I was reading (and loving!) Lucy In The Sky. In fact, I'm desperate to re-read those earlier books. Pictures of Lily has been calling my name for weeks. The One We Fell In Love With was delightful. I've fallen back in love with Paige's writing completely, and I'm so glad I took the plunge and bought the book, because it was stunning. One of the finest books I've read this year, for sure. It'll take a lot to top this book, I'm telling you. It hit me in all the right places, and it's a book that just has to be read.