Book Review - Five Years From Now by Paige Toon

Welcome to my Review of Five Years From Now by Paige Toon

What They Say:

‘One day, maybe five years from now, you’ll look back and understand why this happened…’ 

Vian and Nell are thrown together at the age of five when Vian's mother and Nell's father fall in love. At first archenemies, the two children soon become the best of friends. But five years later, tragedy rips them apart, and 10-year-old Vian is sent to Australia to live with his real father.

Fast-forward five more years and Nell is still angry at her dad for not trying harder to keep Vian with them. When her father finances a Christmas trip for Evan to visit, Nell soon discovers that the boy she once knew is now a wholly different creature. Vian is now ‘Van’ – a wild and carefree teenager who surfs with dolphins and dives with sharks. Chemistry crackles between them, but once again, they’re separated.

For the next two decades, Nell and Van cross paths every five years, but fate and circumstance continuously intervene to keep them apart. Will they ever find true happiness? And will it be together?


What I Say:

I don't know how Paige Toon does it! Each book she writes is better than the last! It's hard to believe that anything could surpass my love for The Last Piece of My Heart, but Five Years From Now has done it!

Five Years From Now is beautiful, heart wrenching, warm, funny and life affirming. It made me think, cry, laugh, wish, dream, sigh, cry again. It is just the perfect book to read to escape from your troubles. Paige takes you on a journey across a lifetime and treats you to some beautiful insights into the lives of Nell, Vian and their families and friends.

Nell and Vian are an amazing pair of characters and I laughed and cried following their journey. I also loved meeting Ellie, Nick and co. They are such a wonderfully woven cast of characters and it's a pleasure to follow them through the years as they grow and change.

Cornwall is the most glorious setting and I felt like I was really there. I could fully imagine myself sitting on a beach watching the guys surf or paddling Platypus across the lake, coming home caked in mud. I was fully immersed in the destination and when we visited Australia, my senses were overloaded with the beauty written on the pages. I could completely picture every landmark.

I can't tell you how much I cried reading this book, how much it reminded me of my Mum in places, made me yearn to be home in Canada in others and how happy I was with the way things came together.

This is just a stunning, beautiful book! 10/10

Thanks to Jess Barratt at Simon and Schuster for sending me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.