One Night On The Island
- Author: Josie Silver
- Published: February 15th, 2022
- Publisher: Ballantine Books
- Ratings: 3/5
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Goodreads synopsis
Spending her thirtieth birthday alone is the last thing that dating columnist Cleo wanted, but she is going on a self-coupling quasi-sabbatical–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 quiet, solitary self-care while she figures out her next steps in her love life and her career.
Mac 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 in search of his roots and some clarity. Unfortunately, a mix-up with the bookings means both solitude seekers have reserved the same one-bedroom hideaway on exactly the same dates.
Instantly at odds with each other, Cleo and Mac 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…
My thoughts
One of my favorite books of all times is The Two Lives of Lydia Bird my first book by Josie Silver and I absolutely LOVED that book, it broke me, I was a mess after reading that book and when I saw the opportunity to read another book by this author I took the chance and requested it on Netgally and to my surprise I was approved! Yea!
At the start of the story we are introduced to Cleo she’s turning 30 and is tired of her life in London, and she feels that is time for a change, and pushed by her boss she takes a trip to Salvation Island and take self coupling, . I really loved this idea and the fact that it’s inspired by Emma Watson self partnered decision made the story more interesting.
One thing I loved about the story is Salvation Island, sadly it is not a true location but a made up one, and I’m sad because I would’ve love to visit it LO, but it felt real, the author really brought the make believe island to life with the beautiful descriptions.
When Cleo gets to Otter Lodge on Salvation Island she runs into Mack and they both soon realized that there has been a booking error with the lodge. Since both of them are there for personal reasons neither one of them wants to give up the right to the lodge, this was interesting to read and see how they work out the details and I love how both of them expected the other to give up their stay at the lodge.
As mentioned before Cleo needed a break from her everyday life and turning 30 soon she wanted a change in her life. Mac on the other hand, was having problems in his marriage and was separated from his wife.
Without giving too much away, I have to say one of my least favorite thigs was that Mack was married and even though he was separated I didn’t like the fact that there was a chance for a romance here. Don’t get me wrong I did feel bad for him, since it was very clear he was not the one who wanted to be separated from his wife and kids, and I felt bad for him since he was struggling with the idea of not being present in his kids life.
After Cleo and Mack work out the details and rules of their stay, We see how these two go from can’t wait to get rid of this person to wanting to spend time together and still be able to work thru their own problems. I love how they grew as characters and accepting their time together had an expiration date.
There was so much good with this story but to be honest it didn’t hit me the say way The Two Lives of Lydia Bird did, there were parts that were a bit slow and even though I really did enjoy the book the thing with Mack and his wife wow how much did I dislike her, I wasn’t very fond of her at all.
Overall, this was a great read, it had so many good things about it like character growth, a beautiful made believe island with beautiful side characters and when we see Cleo’s marry ceremony that was just beautiful. And the ending, it was good!
Thank you to Netgalley, Random House – Ballantine Books, and the author for the advance reader’s copy in change for an honest review.
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