I don’t actually know which lovely member of Books and the City @TeamBATC for Simon and Schuster sent me a copy of The Last Piece of My Heart by Paige Toon, but whoever it was – thank you!

I was fortunate to meet Paige Toon a year or so ago at a blogger event but I have never read one of her books before. What a fool I’ve been to leave it so long!

The Last Piece of My Heart will be published by Simon and Schuster on 18th May 2017 and is available for pre-order on Amazon paperback, Amazon Kindle, iBooks, Waterstones, WHSmith, Kobo and Google Play.

The Last Piece of My Heart

When life feels like a puzzle, sometimes it’s the small pieces that make up the bigger picture… Join Bridget on a journey to put her world back together.

A successful travel journalist, Bridget has ambitions to turn her quirky relationship blog about the missing pieces of her heart into a book. But after a spate of rejections from publishers, she accepts an alternative proposition.

Nicole Dupré died leaving behind a bestselling novel and an incomplete sequel. Tasked with finishing the book, Bridget is thankful to have her foot in the publishing door, even if it means relocating to Cornwall for the summer and answering to Nicole’s grieving husband, Charlie…

My Review of The Last Piece of My Heart

Bridget needs to write a new book. The trouble is, it’s not necessarily the one she want to write.

I cannot believe it has taken me so long to read Paige Toon. I have half a dozen of her books on my shelves but have never actually got round to reading anything before today. And as I write this review I mean one day. I started reading The Last Piece of My Heart this morning and simply couldn’t put it down. I read through my lunch and dinner and all the other things I should have been doing because from the very first word I was totally invested in what happened to Bridget and I was desperate to know what would happen.

Unashamedly chick-lit in genre, The Last Piece of My Heart represents the very, very best writing of its kind. It is an effortless read that develops emotion so skilfully that it is impossible not to be caught up in the story. Yes, I was expecting a happy ever after ending (and you’ll have to read it for yourself to see if I got one), yes I expected a hunky man as the male protagonist and Charlie doesn’t disappoint, but there’s so much more to this writing than the simple formulaic construction I was expecting.

Firstly, I absolutely loved all the characters, especially Bridget and Charlie, and even those whom I also disliked in the story I appreciated as well defined human beings . It says something that I found baby April a real delight to read about. I’m not maternal and I usually loathe the representation of children in fiction but I felt the balance here was perfect; realistic and unsentimental so that April’s presence enhanced the reading experience for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed the insight into how writers conduct their research and felt Paige Toon’s ability to create a sense of place, be it Cornwall, Thailand or the interior of the camper van Hermie, was very finely wrought so that I could imagine all the settings in my mind’s eye. The playlist of music added an extra dimension to this effect too.

Alongside the elements I was hoping to find was a treasure chest of emotion, a vivid picture of love and grief and a hugely entertaining and enjoyable story that drew me in and captivated me. I absolutely loved reading The Last Piece of My Heart and recommend it wholeheartedly to those looking for the perfect summer read.

About Paige Toon

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.

You can follow Paige on Twitter, visit her website and find her on Facebook.