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Book Review of One Night on the Island

One Night on the Island
VolunteerVal avatar reviewed on + 594 more book reviews


I enjoy the occasional romance novel and can count on Josie Silver to write one with unique characters and an unpredictable plot. This is the third of her titles I've read and liked. Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the review copy.

The premise: On a rustic island just off the Irish coast is a remote cabin that's perfect for someone to "get away from it all." Cleo, a British dating columnist, travels to Salvation Island to stay in the cabin, contemplate her life as a single person, and "marry herself" on her 30th birthday. Upon arrival, she's shocked to discover the cabin is double-booked, and Mack, a handsome American photographer with family ties to the island, also plans a solitary stay. There's no other accommodations on the small island, and the only boat that visits the island makes the trip just once each week (and that trip is cancelled due to weather) so Cleo and Mack are forced to share the open-floorplan cabin for weeks.

My thoughts: I appreciated the strong sense of place - the isolation, the relentless wind and cold, and the beauty of hidden coves. I also enjoyed the delightful cast of secondary characters and the community they formed, Being single until I was 35, I could relate to Cleo's introspection at age 30, and was pulled into Mack's journey through his separation. I was confused by the book's title - will all of the author's titles include the words one or two?