The Minute I Saw You by Paige Toon - Bookstagram Tour - Day Three
As always here is the blurb from the book:
*****
When Hannah meets Sonny, she's irresistibly drawn to him: he's sexy and confident, but only in town on holiday. That's fine with Hannah - she doesn't do long-term relationships. And luckily for her, neither does Sonny. But before they can even so much as kiss, Sonny receives some shocking news and commits to making serious life changes - ones that can't and won't include romance.
With even a short fling now off the cards, Hannah and Sonny settle for being friends. But as summer hots up and their chemistry shows no signs of cooling, they start to question their reasons for shutting each other out.
Are they both too broken to find love? And if they tear down the walls between them, will they still like what's on the other side?
*****
So when I started out reading The Minute I Saw You I was a little apprehensive. The blurb was solid enough but as I passed through chapter after chapter I felt that both Hannah and Sonny's 'troubled' relationship issues were going to turn out to be minuscule compared to the amount of mystery surrounding both of them.
I WAS WRONG.
I was blown away by the turn both of their stories took. I was not expecting either of their tales to be as complicated and real as they were. And I would like to take a moment to applaud and thank Paige for her choice to not make Hannah a victim of abuse, as so many authors do in complicated romance stories. For once we were given a leading lady who had trauma that did not exist in her life as a result of a man. In 2020 this is exactly the kind of story I want. I want to explore how women can have tragic and over-com-able backstories that do not need a shadowy, phantom, 'bad man' as their root cause.
Also Sonny's story! Again so refreshing.
Paige has flipped the gender constraints as far as I am concerned and I really, really appreciated this as a woman.
I judged this story too soon based on my past reading experiences of romances aimed at women. The Minute I Saw You is the perfect example of how to write for women in the 21st Century.
Hannah is strong, self reliant and smart. She is sexually liberated, even if it is a little unhealthy (this is addressed in the book and again this is wonderfully executed and thoughtfully portrayed), she is a world traveller (in my opinion this makes her confident and brave in ways that I could never be), but she is also tender and troubled. She felt more like a real person than a character by the end of the story.
I'm a sucker for a story with character growth and development and we get that here with both her and Sonny.
Sonny was also well written. A guy with a string of heartbroken women in his wake (including models!!) due to his monumental unresolved past trauma (again credit to Paige for her choice here) but a talent and a huge heart. Sonny is a great example of a man trying to overcome the toxic masculinity that is dangerous and prevalent in our world today. And he is, by the end of the book, the best match for Hannah and she for him.
Both of them have huge emotional range with hearts that melt for each other and they both lend their strength to the other when needed.
Even the supporting characters need a notable mention - Matilda and Archie - the best kind of people to make friends with. Supportive and sweet.
My only criticism would be Nessa. Her very short but nasty appearances lent themselves well to the stereotype of the crazy, bitter, jealous, rejected ex lover troupe but did little to actually affect or further the story-line. I think the story would have been just as strong without her in it.
Paige tackles some very heavy issues in The Minute I Saw You but she does so with grace and with care. I will just pop a TW here for readers: sexual abuse and substance abuse. But Paige addresses these elegantly and with the humility that we deserve as readers. I feel as if Paige took into consideration readers who may have faced or known someone who may have faced similar issues as the characters and wrote her story with them in mind. These traumatic topics are relevant to the story but they are not glorified nor do they take centre stage - which is important.
Another huge thing I loved about this book was how it drew my attention to Vision Care for the Homeless. As someone who needs glasses to be able to see - this resonated strongly with me. The book helped to raise my awareness and push me to look at a marginalised group of people, the homeless, and to think (shamefully) for the first time what do they do about eye care.
The Minute I Saw You just blew me away. Not only was this a solid modern day romance that swept me along on a journey of growth and healing but it also raised awareness around a very important and often forgotten cause. Extraordinary.
Paige is going to be holding a number of auctions to win signed copies of The Minute I Saw You and so here is the link to sign up to her email mailer list so you don't miss out: Paige Toon's Mailing Sign Up
I will wrap up by saying that this is a heart warming, thoughtful summer read - perfect for the beach - with lovable characters and a poignant plot. But it also a story of awareness, growth and looking beyond ourselves to discover the good we can do for others.
The Minute I Saw You is out now, here are the link to order:
The Minute I Saw You - Waterstones
Once again thank you to Kaleidoscopic Tours, Simon & Schuster and Paige Toon for giving me a chance to read and review The Minute I Saw You.
Definitely worth a read this summer.
Until next time, keep on reading,
Lottie
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