*Introduction*

Picture this. I'm sat down on the Eurostar waiting for my two hour journey to commence so I pull out the book that I'm reading which is Paige Toon's Pictures of Lily. I'm approximately half way through when I'm reading something that I actually remember. The book has only got a chunk of the novel missing and a chunk repeated. I was gutted as I was well over half way through and ready to finish it off with my two hours of sitting on the train that I had ahead. I contacted the publishers immediately and I was thrilled when another copy came through the post the following morning so I continue my reading.

*About the Author*

Paige Toon grew up in Australia, America and England. For over seven years, Paige worked at Heat Magazine as Reviews Editor. She is married and has a son, born in September 2007. She lives in north London.

*A Brief Outline of the Storyline*

Lily moved to Australia with her mum when she was 16 years old. Unexpectedly, she fell in love with someone that she shouldn't have: a man 12 years older than her and engaged to be married. He leaves for England leaving Lily broken hearted and with the feeling that she'll never fall in love again. 10 years later, Lily is living in Sydney and engaged to her boyfriend of two years. When someone from her past appears in her life again will she be able to continue with her new life or will ghosts of the past prove that she hasn't really moved on? Whose heart will she break other than her own?

*My Opinion*

The first part of the book was my favourite. Paige has the ability to set the scene well and introduce the main character of Lily. I thought the first 100 or so pages that set the scene and described the relationship between Lily and her mother and the motivations between why they had left England were detailed but necessarily so. It helped you to understand and love the young, independent teenager in Lily. It was my connection with her character that kept me wanting to read more and more of the book. I flicked to the pages eagerly, reading about the chemistry she had with the forbidden love interest.

The characters that Paige Toon creates are fantastic in particular the main character Lily. I was so drawn into her character that when she felt distraught and heartbroken, I also felt a little like that. The way that Paige Toon describes her loves and passions of both people and hobbies as being so real that you feel it these emotions. I was also quite fond of the secretaries that Lily worked with, her two doting sisters, Michael (the reason that she was in Australia anyway), Josh and the characters of both her forbidden love and fiancé. All of them seemed so real, that you could imagine them being real people and connect them to people in your own life.

Pictures of Lily is in Australia, when her mum feel in love with a man over the internet and decided to uproot hers and Lily's lives to the other side of the world. I have never been to Australia but some of the descriptions especially that of Mount Lofty, made me feel like I had been.

Paige Toon nails chic lit and Pictures of Lily is a fantastic read which demonstrates this. Pictures of Lily had a nice but not overly exciting plot. The great characters and chemistry between them is what stands out the most. I think what made it more interesting was the fact that the prologue started in the present day, switched to 16 year old Lily to start and then comes straight back to the moment in the prologue when we leave the heartbroken teenager.

What I really enjoyed about reading Pictures of Lily is the easiness of reading it. Somehow, Paige has a way of making her words flow effortlessness. So much so that you finish one chapter and immediately want to start reading the next followed by the next. As you can imagine, I was extremely frustrated when I found chapters of this book missing replaced by chapters that were repeated but the second that I received my new copy through the post, it took me two hours at the most to finish the second half of the book.

At no point throughout this book was I bored or wanting the scene to move on. I thought that each event had the perfect amount of detail and none were dragged out too long, a mistake that I find a lot of authors make all too often. The pace of the book was fast and keeps you going through chapter after chapter, forcing you not to put the book down even for a minute.

What you get from Paige Toon's Pictures of Lily is an unpredictable end which keeps your interest up throughout. I love this book and if you choose to read it I am sure you will too.

*Other Recommendations*

I think that if you enjoy a good chic lit book then Pictures of Lily will definitely be right up your street. And my recommendations if you liked or like the sound of this book are:
- Johnny Be Good by Paige Toon
- Lucy in the Sky by Paige Toon
- I Heart Paris by Lindsey Kelk

*Overall*

I have now read three of Paige Toon's chic lit books and she has failed to let me down yet. Lucy in the Sky was good, Johnny Be Good was better and Pictures of Lily I think is her best yet. This book had it all: great characters, romance and lots of twists and turns throughout. I will warn you ahead that if you pick up this book, be prepared not to put it down until you've finished it. The perfect holiday read.

You can buy this book from www.amazon.co.uk for £4.18.

Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Pocket Books (8 July 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1847393918
ISBN-13: 978-1847393913