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Chasing Daisy - Paige Toon
Chasing Daisy - Paige Toon

Member Name: dippykitty
Product:
Chasing Daisy - Paige Toon
Date: 28/10/09
Rating:
Advantages: Engaging heroine, accessible writing style
Disadvantages: Actual F1 action seemed rushed over, pace may be too fast for some
I've never read any of the author's previous books so this was my first introduction to her. I gather from other reviews that the lead character also appears in at least one of her previous stories, but I didn't feel that I had missed out in any way by not having read it as this is essentially a different story.
***The Plot***
After an acrimonious break-up, Daisy is now travelling the world as a caterer for a Formula 1 team. Along with the hospitality side of things, Daisy is also in charge of looking after the team's drivers, Will and Luis. She quickly falls for Will, who has a long-term girlfriend, but is she heading for heartbreak?
***The Characters***
Daisy - The lead character is a feisty character, and this much is evident from her first meeting with Luis in the first few pages of the book. She seems a strong and resilient girl for the most part, due in part to the aforementioned break-up. She falls for Will in a big way and I felt some sympathy for the fact that he seemed to toy with her emotions while making what seemed like a vast amount of excuses for not breaking up with his girlfriend. Throughout the book, I felt that her and Will were too different to work as a couple and that her fiery personality would be better suited to Luis.
Will - He is Daisy's love interest and features predominantly in the book despite only really being in half of it. I didn't particularly warm to him as a character and felt that he was messing Daisy about but I couldn't work out whether that was intentional or whether he didn't realise he was doing it. There were points at which he seemed genuine towards her though so I gave him the benefit of the doubt on that front. All the same, I preferred Luis as a character as he seemed more upfront.
Luis - As I've already hinted, he had a similar kind of character to Daisy. He fits the stereotypical Formula 1 driver in that he seems to sleep with a lot of women but that didn't make me dislike him as a character.
Holly - Like her friend Daisy, Holly is also keeping secrets. She is a good friend to Holly in the aftermath of her romance with Will and seemed a likeable enough character.
Daisy's family - With the exception of Nonna (Daisy's grandmother), I couldn't warm to Daisy's family. Her father is overbearing and quite controlling, while her mother is much less so and seems weak in comparison. They have tons of money but it rankled me how Nonna was effectively left to her own devices when it wouldn't have taken much to fix her house up.
***Writing Style***
The book is written in the first person from Daisy's point of view. This draws the reader into her story and situation and makes it easy to emphasise with her. The book is written in a relatively chatty style so it often feels as though Daisy is relaying events to the reader (but in real-time at points).
***Overall Verdict***
I've been a Formula 1 fan for over ten years and have to admit that the F1 background was a big factor in me choosing this book. With that in mind, I was quite disappointed that the racing action was limited to one or two recap-style paragraphs telling the reader where Will and Luis did or didn't finish in the qualifying and races. The races themselves were largely relegated to the background, which is fair enough I suppose given that the story is about Daisy. However, with Will and Luis being such prominent characters and Daisy herself working in an F1 environment, I would have liked to have read more about what the F1 life is like (fictionally, of course). That aside, I really enjoyed the book and found myself involved in Daisy's story and feeling very sorry for her from around halfway onwards. She was an engaging and often entertaining character that drew me in. I haven't read any of Paige Toon's previous work but I'm much more inclined to after reading this one.
Summary: I loved this!

