Baby Be Mine

by Paige Toon

[Leah]

It’s fair to say that Paige Toon is one of my favourite Chick Lit authors. I’ve loved all of her books, Johnny Be Good being my favourite. Her writing style is something I love and her characters are always a joy to read about and she’s an author I look forward to each time summer rolls around. This year, though, I almost imploded with excitement because after THREE long years, the sequel to Johnny Be Good was finally in the making in the shape of Baby Be Mine. I didn’t much like the cover – I wanted it to match Johnny Be Good but instead it’s entirely different, but I didn’t care. Once I knew it was on the way I was covertly waiting for my postman each day and I was so excited when it finally arrived. It didn’t disappoint me in the slightest.

I’m quite surprised, actually, that I’ve managed to cobble my thoughts sufficiently to be able to type this review. Baby Be Mine has been a long time coming, and all I’d really like to say is: You have to read it. Because that just about sums it up. I’m crap at writing reviews for books like this because I start to sound like a fan-girl. So I apologise in readiness for my fan-girliness. Baby Be Mine picks up a year and a half after Johnny Be Good ends. At the end of Johnny Be Good we found out Meg is pregnant and she doesn't know who the dad is and Baby Be Mine begins with Barney's first birthday party and we all know, conclusively, that in the DNA stakes, baby Barney picked up Johnny Jefferson's DNA. Which would be fine and dandy, except that, you know, Meg's currently with Christian, Johnny's best friend and biography-writer. Can you say uh-oh? I did wonder how long Meg would keep the secret that Barney's babydaddy wasn't Christian; would it last the whole novel? Would it come out quickly? I was nicely surprised that the whole babydaddy drama wasn't dragged out like a Jeremy Kyle episode. The fallout was something else, but the reveal was surprisingly swift and done with remarkable... politeness. (That's the only word that comes to mind.)

Baby Be Mine is a book I've waited three long years for and despite it being so, so long a wait, it was well worth the wait. I'd read a boring computer manual if it was written by Paige Toon because she's just so able to get to the heart of her characters and to make us care about them. In five novels and four leading ladies, I've found myself wanting to know all of them; to be their friends, to share their secrets, to be part of their lives. That's not something I can say for all authors, but Paige has this innate ability to really make her characters speak. There is no book I look forward to more each year than the new Paige Toon novel and I eat up her books in double-quick time, wanting to know how they end. Wanting to know if it all gets better. Not only does she bring us such wonderful characters, but she also tells us about her previous characters, she sneakily inserts them into her following books and it's like they're all in their own little world. It's quite something and Baby Be Mine just continued that amazing trend. What does it say about a writers ability that I can easily brush under the carpet that Meg cheated on Christian with Johnny? I mean it's unforgiveable, right? But it's not. It's not all black and white.

Another problem with sequels – particularly sequels that don’t immediately follow each other – is that the characters could end up having character transplants but everyone is good and accounted for (despite the fact I forgot Bess). Meg is just as warm and just as loveable as in the first book. I know what she did is wrong but I’ve explained how I feel about it, Christian didn’t deserve what he got, but… well, let’s just say I’m blinded by my love for Johnny and we’ll leave it at that. The main reason I wanted to read this novel – apart from potentially getting my happy ending – was being back with Johnny Jefferson. I love him. Although Ricardo Carlos Manoso (aka Ranger, from the Stephanie Plum books) has rather crept up on him in my “favourite male character” stakes, Johnny is still my number one. I liked his humour, the way he and Meg spark off each other although I hated the drugs. And the booze. But he’s a rock star. Not that that excuses him. But, still, he sounds totally hot. Despite the fact I forgot Bess (I thought Meg’s best friend in JBG had a different name) I loved being re-introduced to her, ditto Meg’s parents and sister who I also forgot (HOW? I’ve read JBG three times, how can I not remember Bess or Susan or Meg’s mum and dad? It’s mind-boggling.) There's something about these characters I just so love.

In case you can’t tell, I loved Baby Be Mine. I did. I did. I did. It was excellent, and I do hope you can see how much I loved the book. It was well, well worth the wait. It was written so perfectly, that I just couldn’t put it down. Honestly, I was so tempted to tell my dogs to just cross their legs while I finished it up (but, alas, I didn’t. Suki would bite me. Probably.). It was so absorbing to be back in Meg’s world again. To go to France, England, LA, to re-visit old haunts, and be back with the wonderful characters. I do think, though, this is the end. Sob. Everything was wrapped up brilliantly – no pesky ending that leaves us all hanging! I’ve loved a lot of books this year, but Baby Be Mine could quite easily be my absolute favourite. Despite the lacklustre cover (I so wish it would be re-designed so it could match my other Paige Toon books), the book inside is brilliant. Seriously, people, anybody who was disappointed with the ending of Johnny Be Good will forgive it when they read Baby Be Mine because it turns out Meg, Johnny and Christian needed a sequel, needed a second, amazing novel. I told you I loved Paige Toon. Now… how long exactly until One Perfect Summer comes out?