I am in LOVE! Some of her previous work couldn´t convince me and with this book I gave the author the literally last chance to make me a fan. Guess what – mission accomplished. The Last Piece Of My Heart is one great love story, full of emotions and so deeply touching – it brought me to tears. And that will mean something. Because usually, it needs quite a bit to make me cry while reading.
Dein Platz In Meinem Herzen*
by Paige Toon
Translation Heidi Lichtblau
Original Title The Last Piece Of My Heart**
Publisher Fischer Krüger on June 24, 2020
Genre Novel
Pages 412
Format Paperback
Source Publisher
✶✶✶✶✶
The Heart gets bigger when you give it away … the journalist Bridget is convinced of that. She travels the world and writes a blog about the men she once gave her heart to. Then she received an unexpected offer: she should continue to write the book by the recently deceased successful author Nicole Dupré. Without further ado, Bridget seizes the chance and tries to trace the life of Nicole. She travels to Cornwall and meets Nicole´s baby daughter and a grieving husband. Bridget immerses herself in the family´s life and is suddenly about to give her heart away again. (personal translation ©Vi at Inkvotary).
Story
Bridget wants to publish her novel, but her agent believes that she can´t sell it. But her blog needs to move forward and with that in mind, Bridget does everything to gain more followers while following the trail of the lost pieces of her heart. Every man she gave a piece of it throughout her young life she wants to see again and ask them to give it back. Sounds fun? Well, not quite.
Style
The reading speed is perfect and the author´s gentle writing style lets you immerse yourself in a warm, heartfelt story with fantastic characters. Yes, I am in love with baby girl April. This little girl took my heart by storm and made me laugh more than once. But what I liked best: Nothing is cheesy here. Sure, you read the characters do or say something that comes close to that, but it fits into the character of this book and sounds just perfect. Something I didn´t know the author could do. The story takes place in Cornwall and you can see the beautiful scenery right in front of your mind. It was a fantastic journey to discover all the places together with Bridget. To experience her feelings, to learn her story and how she sees the world.
Characters
Paige Toon has created great characters in this novel. You can find all shades of men and women here. From the arrogant man to the aggressive one. All shown in a sensitive way and make you want to keep reading further and further. Okay, Bridget is not what I would call a good girl. She´s had some men in her life and she´s had her own experiences with each of them. Now she wants to find her happy ending with the one man she believes she can lead a happy life. But the moment she meets Charlie and his adorable daughter April, things start to change.
Conclusion
Looks like Paige Toon just got a new fan. I never thought that I would say that. But with this heartwarming and very touching novel, she made it. I had tears on my cheeks and was deeply moved when I finished the novel. And not every author can say that about himself. Oh, and did I mention that I read this overnight? No? Well, now you know. Highly recommended.
Happy reading
*This book was kindly provided to me by Fischer Krüger in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Thank you. Therefore, the cover of the German edition is shown first in this review.
Deutsche Rezension
Stil
Das Lesetempo ist perfekt und der sanfte Schreibstil der Autorin lässt den Leser in eine warme, herzliche Geschichte mit fantastischen Charakteren eintauchen. Ja, ich bin verliebt in Baby April. Dieses kleine Mädchen hat mein Herz im Sturm erobert und mich mehr als einmal zum Lachen gebracht. Aber was mir am besten gefällt: Hier ist nichts kitschig. Sicher, da liest man, dass die Figuren etwas Tun oder sagen, das dem nahekommt, aber es passt in den Charakter dieses Buches und klingt einfach perfekt. Etwas, von dem ich nicht wusste, dass die Autorin das kann. Die Geschichte spielt in Cornwall und man kann die wunderschöne Landschaft und Kulisse direkt vor dem inneren Auge sehen. Es war eine fantastische Reise, gemeinsam mit Bridget alle Orte zu entdecken. Ihre Gefühle zu erleben, ihre Geschichte zu erfahren und wie sie die Welt sieht.
Charaktere
Paige Toon hat in diesem Roman großartige Charaktere geschaffen. Hier finden sich alle Schattierungen von Männern und Frauen. Vom arroganten bis zum aggressiven Mann. Alles wird feinfühlig gezeigt und macht Lust, weiter und weiterzulesen. Okay, Bridget ist jetzt nicht das, was ich ein braves Mädchen nennen würde. Sie hatte einige Männer in ihrem Leben und mit jedem von ihnen hat sie ihre eigenen Erfahrungen gemacht. Jetzt möchte sie ihr Happy End mit dem einen Mann finden, von dem sie überzeugt ist, dass sie ein glückliches Leben führen kann. Aber in dem Moment, in dem sie Charlie und seine anbetungswürdige Tochter April trifft, beginnen sich die Dinge zu ändern.
Resultat
Sieht so aus, als hätte Paige Toon gerade einen neuen Fan bekommen. Ich hätte nie gedacht, dass ich das mal sagen würde. Aber mit diesem herzerwärmenden und sehr berührenden Roman hat sie es geschafft. Ich hatte Tränen auf den Wangen und war überaus bewegt, als ich den Roman beendete. Und das kann nicht jeder Autor von sich sagen. Oh, und habe ich erwähnt, dass ich das über Nacht gelesen habe? Nein? Nun, jetzt wisst ihr es. Höchst empfehlenswert.
**The novel was originally published by Simon & Schuster UK on June 1, 2017.
Paige Toon
Paige Toon was born in 1975 and grew up between England, Australia, and America. A philosophy graduate, she worked at teen, film, and women´s magazines, before ending up a reviews editor at Heat magazine. Paige is married, has two small children, and lives in Cambridge.
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