[Review] Paige Toon: Chasing Daisy *****

CHAISING DAISY
Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit

Author: Paige Toon
Publisher: Pocket Books UK, 2009
Paperback, 432 pages
ISBN 978-1-84739-390-6

Backblurb:

If you fall too fast...you might just crash.

"You don´t have to worry about me. I have no intention of getting my heart broken again."
Of course, I´m lying. I feel like Will is chipping a little piece of it away, day by day. It´s killing me...

Daisy Rogers is in love - and that´s no good thing. It´s not just that her very famous ex is neither out of sight nor out  of mind, but that the man of her dreams, Wiliam Trust, has a girlfriend - a childhood sweetheart, no less. And as a Formula 1 racing driver, he puts his life at risk every day he goes to work.

Review:

So, thanks to Julia, who encouraged me, this is my first review in English. I hope you all like it, and please be kind, because English is not my first language.

This book is written in first person from Daisy Rogers´ point of view. Daisy is working as a hospitality girl for a Formula 1 team. Not before the middle of the book we get to know that Daisy is not a working class girl, but was born into one ridiculously rich family. Her father is big in banking business and she has been living with him and her Italian mother in a posh penthouse in New York City. Daisy didn´t want to live that way any more, and decided to leave her family after having finished law school. She went to Los Angeles to become  PA (personal assistent) to a certain celebrity, whom she fell for and who finally broke her heart. (If you have already read "Johnny Be Good", you will certainly know who this celebrity was, as soon as you learn that Daisy´s middle name is Paola.) Daisy once again flees, this time to England, where she was born. She gets a job with Frederick who runs a catering company with his wife Ingrid, and ends up following him to the Formula 1 circus, where she works as a front-of-house-girl with Holly, whom she shares a room with at the racing weekends. This is where the book starts.
Daisy is not willing to tell anyone about her family and her past. Not even Holly knows these things about her. Though Daisy has sworn off men, after having been dumped by youknowwho and she still is not over him yet, she can´t help falling for Will Trust, one of the teams drivers. But Will has a girlfriend and Daisy is not a woman to steal one other girls guy. But that´s life - you can´t choose whom you fall for. So she tries to ignore her feelings.
And then there is Luis, the other driver of the team, whom Daisy has a very bad start with, but becomes some kind of friends with, although they are teasing each other all the time. As for me, I didn´t understand why she fell for Will in the first place, because I liked Louis better. But that´s not the thing.
The whole team is working hard, but has some fun going out at night as well. Both drivers are quite successfull and nearly everything seems to run well for the team. Daisy´s feelings for Will grow, and she notices that there might be a chance, that Will returns those feelings.
Right in the middle of the book, when everything seems to turn out right for Daisy, there is a gut-wrenching  twist in the plot which you wouldn´t have seen coming, and which leaves Daisy, many other people in the book, and even the reader, heartbroken and in despair. How can they all go on after what had happened?

This is the third book by Paige Toon after "Lucy in the Sky" (see my review in German) and "Johnny Be Good" (see my review in German). I totally like all the books I´ve read so far by Paige Toon!

Paige Toon creates great characters. I like almost all of the main characters, but most of all, I like the girls she writes about. Lucy, Meg, Daisy - they are all "normal" girls, even if they come from rich families or have to deal with celebrities. They are smart and hardworking. They are likeable as well as understandable. They are pretty and like nice dresses, but they do not complain about their weight or babble about fashion all day long like the typical chick-lit-heroine. They sometimes behave badly, they curse very often, they sometimes drink too much alcohol, but they go to work the next day and always try to give their best, even if they "only" work as a waitress. They fall in love with the wrong men sometimes, they get their hearts broken, they are desperate, but they never become hysterical, and most of all, they never ever act like some annoying, clumsy, TSTL-chick-lit-heroine.
As to the guys in Paige Toons books, you have to know, that there are always two of them. Two very likeable, sexy, real sweet guys. Although they have some flaws as well.

Paige Toon herself says that she writes Chick-Lit. I´m sorry to tell you, but the author ain´t right there. These books are so much more!
Judging by the covers, you might think that they are some light and funny read, for a day at the beach, maybe. But they are not. Yes, sometimes they are, but on the other hand there are some gut-wrenching twists and turns in the plots, some heartbreaking things happen, and then again, there are situations that make you smile or even laugh out loud. Paige Toons stories are always touching me deep inside and I highly recommend reading her books.

For those of you, who have read "Johnny Be Good" and always wanted to know the answer to the final question: Daisy knows it!
For those of you who want to read "Chasing Daisy": Please read "Johnny Be Good" first! Although it is not necessary to understand "Chasing Daisy", there are some hints you will quite enjoy. And on the other hand, there is some information you better not have when reading "Johnny Be Good".

Since I´m a long time fan of Formula 1, following the races for years now, I first thought it might be odd to read a book about the Formula 1 scene which is totally fictional, but then again, it was not. Paige Toon sets up a story with fictional names and fictional events, taking place at the real racing circuits - which just turns out to feel right.

Rating:

5 out of 5 Stars for a book I totally enjoyed. It made me laugh and it made me cry - and it made me sigh in relief with a satisfying end.
I´m very much looking forward to reading Paige Toons latest release "Pictures of Lily" which plays in Sydney, a city I love. 

Watch out Paige Toons other books:

in English: Lucy in the Sky (auf deutsch: Lucy in the Sky)

in English: Johnny Be Good (auf deutsch: Du bist mein Stern)

only in English yet: Pictures of Lily