'The One We Fell In Love With' by Paige Toon

 

'The One We Fell In Love With' front cover

'The One We Fell In Love With' by Paige Toon - Review

*Trigger Warning - death, grief *

*SLIGHT SPOILERS - marked in final thoughts*

Description

Phoebe is caught between a rock and a hard place. Settle down and get married, or return to the French Alps to pursue her passion?

Eliza is in love with someone who is no longer hers. In fact, he probably never was... And her dream of becoming a successful musician seems to be vanishing before her eyes.

Rose is out of a job and out of a boyfriend. To make matters worse, she's been forced to move back in with her mother.

But these very different girls have one thing in common. Angus. The one they fell in love with...

Goodreads Rating: 4.08        My Rating: 4

First Impressions

I must have had this one sitting on my shelf for AAAAGES and finally gave it a go this month! Maybe because purple is my favourite colour AND matches spooky season, or maybe something just drew me in on a paranormal scale - we may never know... What I can say is that I think I imagined this one would be harder to get into the flow of as it fluctuates between the three sisters (Phoebe, Eliza, and Rose), but I could genuinely pick it up really quickly and had to stop myself from reading too much at once!

The prologue instantly gives away a little secret that makes you think ''OOOOH SHIZZLE'' since it starts in Angus' point of view, and then the actual chapters are seemingly years later and tell the story of the sisters. I would have liked to unpack that first section a little bit more and get all of the juicy details, but that is probably because I get way too ahead of myself and a little nosy... I do love how each character is completely different to the other so it is easier to decipher who is who, especially since they are triplets!

The Characters

Phoebe is kind of at a crossroads and unsure what she wants to do, does she have a wedding and settle in Manchester or does she carry on living and working in the French Alps in a career and environment she loves? She also feels like the bridge between her sisters since she has a great relationship with both, yet they don't get along with each other so well. The death of their father definitely hit Phoebe the worst as she shared the same passions and had made lots of plans for them both, so she is definitely struggling in silence at the start of the book.

Eliza wants to be a successful musician and be there for her mother, but obviously has some deep-rooted hurt. I think she feels as though she has always been in her sisters' shadows and needed something just for her! I adored being able to grow with her and understand her more as the book played out, as well as experiencing her interactions with Angus as well as her.

Rose was kind of trying to keep up a 'perfect' or 'acceptable' life as a nurse and doing everything to be a success like her mother, partly so that she can get the same amount, if not more, of attention that Eliza gets. At the start, I was very unsure about whether I really liked Rose but in the latter half of the novel, I respected her so much and my heart swelled for her so many times!

Final Thoughts

There were a few twists within the story that I wasn't prepared for which made the novel a lot more serious and important - I don't think I would have felt as strongly as I did towards the characters if those hadn't had happened! I grew to love Toby, such a sweetheart, and REALLY wish I could visit Jennifer's bakery...

*slight spoilers* 

Rose taking that time to travel and explore made me so happy! It's common in books for one character to put off their own self-discovery and such for a romance that, for all they know, could just be temporary. There needed to be an element of acceptance for each character to be able to move onward from the events that had occurred, which I think was done quite well in 'The One We Fell In Love With' - so huge praise to Paige Toon for the way she handled this! 

Conclusion

Paige Toon created so many differing and beautiful characters and embraced their flaws and mistakes, ultimately showcasing growth and strength in a multitude of ways. I couldn't help but be proud of them during certain moments, but I was also able to be frustrated, hurt, and happy for them too. It is so important to be able to experience the good, the bad, and the ugly as it would be so unrealistic if it were a fairy-tale scenario where everybody is happy and somehow make the right choices all of the time! 

'The One We Fell In Love With' is an enthralling, unique, and charming story that deserves so much more attention! I really recommend it if you haven't given this one a go yet...

This is my first novel I've read by Paige Toon and I am definitely not disappointed! She has an amazing way of story-telling without confusing the reader about which point of view we are in, and also conveys important messages in a raw yet digestible manner. I can't wait to read more of her books!

Let me know what you think! :)