Book Review: Baby Be Mine by Paige Toon

"'He's not mine, is he?' That's the question I fear the most. You see, I have a secret. My son is not fathered by my boyfriend, but by one of the most famous rock stars that ever lived. And he doesn't even know it. One-time celebrity personal assistant to wild boy of rock Johnny Jefferson, Meg Stiles is now settled and living in the south of France with her doting boyfriend Christian and their son Barney. But they're living a lie - a lie that will turn their lives upside down and inside out - because as Barney reaches his first birthday, Meg can no longer deny that her son is growing to look more and more like his rock star father every day, and less and less like Christian, and sooner or later, the world is going to realise ..."

I have read and loved all of Paige Toon's books so far, and I have to admit that I think they have the nicest book covers in the entire world! So imagine my surprise when I saw the cover for her latest book, Baby Be Mine, and seeing that it couldn't be more different from the previous covers, and sadly not in a good way! It's wishy-washy, dull and boring, whereas I feel Paige's books are vibrant, fun and colourful, much like her previous covers. However, since this book is the eagerly anticipated sequel to the brilliant Johnny Be Good, I decided to definitely NOT judge a book by its cover on this occasion and just get stuck in to what I hoped was another of Paige's brilliantly readable novels!

The book finally brings to a close the question that left all of Paige's readers hanging at the end of Johnny Be Good, who was the father of Meg's baby - rock star Johnny Jefferson or her loyal boyfriend Christian? Since it's actually written in the blurb of the book, it isn't a spoiler for me to discuss this outcome, and the fact that Johnny is Meg's baby-daddy. I was so hoping this was the outcome, but the book certainly didn't go as I expected! I felt really sorry for Christian when it's revealed he isn't Barney's dad, and surely it's every guy's worst nightmare, and Paige manages to tap into that emotion really well, without making the reader hate Meg as well. You can see she is completely ripped up by what has happened, and that makes her even more likeable, and I really did feel sympathetic towards her too, because you see she is hurting from how she has hurt Christian. Meg is fab throughout the book, with the escapades she gets up to and how she treats Johnny when he wants to get in contact with Meg and his son. She's a great leading character, and it is fab to read about her in another book!

The male characters as ever were brilliant. I really did love Christian, and although we don't see huge amounts of him in the book, I felt he was so well written that he felt like a big presence anyway. However, the main male is of course Barney's dad, and all round rock-god Johnny Jefferson. He hasn't actually changed that much from the first book but I loved that! He is arrogant yet the scenes with him and Barney are fab, showing us a different side to him in some respects too. I love that Meg doesn't give him an easy ride and the way the story develops between the pair is very realistic and believable. I have to say I loved all the settings in the book, how it travels about with Meg and Barney and certainly keeps the reader interested all the way through. Toon writes great descriptions of everywhere, the showbiz parties and everything, that you really feel absorbed into the world of Meg!

For fans of Johnny Be Good who were hoping for a sequel that would really match up to that book, you will certainly not be disappointed with this one! It's a great visit back to Meg, Johnny and co to find out what they are up to next, and how things are going to work out now the truth about Barney's paternity is out. It's a sweeping read that has you hooked from the very first page, and I whizzed through it in just 2 days because I couldn't put it down! As usual, Toon's writing is fantastic and really thrusts you into the middle of the action, displaying plenty of emotion from all of the characters and keeping it fresh and fantastic all the way through. It was nice to get an end to the parentage storyline but really that is just the beginning of an exciting new adventure for these characters, and I do hope that the door has been left open enough to revisit them again in the future. The characters are exactly the same people that I remember leaving behind in the previous book, and it was fab to bring them back again. You must read this book, especially if you loved Johnny Be Good, it's just brilliant!

Rating: 5/5


You can buy Baby Be Mine in paperback and on eBook/Kindle now! (links go to Amazon.co.uk)