Author: Josie Silver
Genre: Romance | Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Ballentine Books
Publication Date: February 15, 2022
Book Description: Spending her thirtieth birthday alone is not what dating columnist Cleo Wilder wanted, but she plans a solo retreat―at the insistence of her boss―in the name of re-energizing herself and adding a new perspective to her column. The remote Irish island she’s booked is a far cry from London, but at least it’s a chance to hunker down in a luxury cabin and indulge in some self-care while she figures out the next steps in her love life and her career.
Mack Sullivan is also looking forward to some time to himself. With his life in Boston deteriorating in ways he can’t bring himself to acknowledge, his soul-searching has brought him to the same Irish island to explore his roots and find some clarity. Unfortunately, a mix-up with the bookings means both have reserved the same one-room hideaway on exactly the same dates.
Instantly at odds, Cleo and Mack don’t know how they’re going to manage until the next weekly ferry arrives. But as the days go by, they no longer seem to mind each other’s company quite as much as they thought they would.
Written with Josie Silver’s signature charm, One Night on the Island explores the meaning of home, the joys of escape, and how the things we think we want are never the things we really need.
Rating: 4. 5 stars
Review: This is the second book I read from Josie Silver and I liked this one even better.
Cleo writes about relationships. Her boss sends her to a secluded island to marry herself for her 30th birthday. When she arrives she find Mack at her lodgings and they find they are both booked to stay in the same 1 bedroom house. Mack is running away from the life he has in Boston. He thought he had the idyllic life, but learns that is not necessarily true.
The opening seemed very typical with both protagonists disliking each other and wanting the other one to leave. When circumstances leave them stranded on the island for an extended amount of time, they decide to grin and bear it.
What develops is a beautiful friendship that turns into love with an agreed upon end date, that leaves them never seeing each other again. Both are severely broken, but together they heal and become the people they hoped they would be.
I really loved Silver’s book about self discovery, the healing power of friendship and unexpected love. I thought this was going to be a much lighter novel, but it was so much deeper than that and I loved it all the more for that.
Thank you NetGalley and Ballentine Books for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Obsessed Bookaholic 