Chasing Daisy: Paige Toon

Product Information

You see I think everything’s terrible anyhow,’ she went on in a convinced way. ‘Everybody thinks so—the most advanced people. And I know. I’ve been everywhere and seen everything and done everything.’ Her eyes flashed around her in a defiant way, rather like Tom’s, and she laughed with thrilling scorn. ‘Sophisticated—God, I’m sophisticated!'” Authors, if you are a member of the Goodreads Author Program, you can edit information about your own books. Find out how in this guide. That’s why I was stoked when someone told me that Paige Toon has written a book that is set in the ‘F1 circus’. I was so excited to finally read it and it definitely didn’t disappoint me. I looked outdoors for a minute, and it’s very romantic outdoors. There’s a bird on the lawn that I think must be a nightingale come over on the Cunard or White Star Line. He is singing away… It’s romantic, isn’t it Tom?”

In two weeks it’ll be the longest day in the year….Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it.” He couldn’t possibly leave Daisy until he knew what she was going to do. He was clutching at some last hope and I couldn’t bear to shake him free.” They moved with a fast crowd, all of them young and rich and wild, but [Daisy] came out with an absolutely perfect reputation. Perhaps because she doesn’t drink. It’s a great advantage not to drink among hard-drinking people. You can hold your tongue, and, moreover, you can time any little irregularity of your own so that everybody else is so blind that they don’t see or care.” Daisy is completely unlikable, as for that matter is Holly who is also having an affair, but who I am also supposed to feel for because the wife of this man is a complete bitch. Daisy was young and her artificial world was redolent of orchids and pleasant, cheerful snobbery and orchestras which set the rhythm of the year, summing up the sadness and suggestiveness of life in new tunes.”They are self-centered, moody, unfaithful and over the age of 25 but act like fifteen year olds. The insta-love between Daisy and Will worked for me when I thought for sure I knew how it would go; I was absolutely sure that she would realize that he was a sneak douche and serial mistress-keeper. Because the prologue was basically all about Luis it was obvious from then on that he is who she would end up with but halfway through this is instead arranged by Will dying in an accident, becoming canonized, leaving his affair with Daisy as Twu-Wuw in her imbecile mind. Cue plenty of dramatic wailing. I shouldn't have read this in one sitting because now I have to write this review before I forget my main points. Unfortunately, I barely have any coherent feelings towards this as it is.

I loved Daisy. From her opening scenes where she’s swearing in Italian I just knew she was going to be a brilliant character and she doesn’t disappoint. She has many secrets which we learn throughout the novel which helps with her character (as well as answering questions from Johnny Be Good) and makes her likeable. Daisy, our protagonist, is and/or was heartbroken by a character in one of Paige Toon's previous books Johnny Be Good. We find this out pretty early on in the book and we find out he cheated on her multiple times, just for those not aware of Toon's last book. So why am I supposed to feel sorry for the girl because she is 'in love' with a man in a serious relationship is beyond me, its also beyond me why I should like her actively going after said man. Is it okay for her to flirt, and pine over him because his girlfriend isn't always around? Unlike Daisy who was an eye witness to Johnny's womanizing ways? Am I supposed to believe there star crossed lovers and where always meant to be together? Sorry, not buying it. Daisy is actively going after this man, and she's not even trying to prevent herself from doing it. It's Daisy who's pursuing Will with the full knowledge that a romantic relationship will begin at some point, not Will. He may be along for the ride, but left to his own device I very much doubt he would pursue her half as much as she pursued him. Understandably, it can be difficult to enjoy a book when the main character (and a lot of the others) make some very morally incorrect actions. For most of this I had no idea what the real plot was and where it was heading. I just knew a lot of conscious mistakes were being made, indecisiveness was a prominent theme and I was waiting for some 'good' to come out of these characters. I found myself caught up in the story despite all of this. There were definitely a lot of fillers or inconsequential dilemmas, but oddly enough I wasn't deterred from reading on.I have to admit I didn’t warm to Will at first, the guy Daisy falls hopelessly in love with, but as Daisy and he got chatting more I found him an OK character. I loved Luis, from his opening exchange with Daisy to the very end, I couldn’t wait for the scenes between him and Daisy. As Daisy’s Nonna said, I though Luis better suited her than Will… I won’t tell you who Daisy does eventually end up in I’ll only say it’s a corker!

The length. I have no problem reading long books. I prefer shorter ones but if the story is good then long is okay cause I don't feel like it's dragging. I feel like the author could have cut out a good 1/4 of the novel and it still would have been just as good.I thought Daisy was so annoying and I understand (spoiler alert) that when someone dies it's horrible but I thought she was a little too much. I'm not going to lie, I wanted to slap Daisy. Life can be snatched away from you in an instant, but if you don´t give yourself up to love, even with all the risks of losing it, life isn´t worth living.” Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth, but there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget: a singing compulsion, a whispered ‘Listen,’ a promise that she had done gay, exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour.”