One Night on the Island: A Novel
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December . . . When a double-booking at a remote one-room cabin accidentally throws two solace seekers together, it feels like a cruel twist of fate. But what if it’s fate of a different kind?
“A perfectly executed and quintessential romantic comedy.”—Christina Lauren, author of The Unhoneymooners
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.
“A perfectly executed and quintessential romantic comedy.”—Christina Lauren, author of The Unhoneymooners
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.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
A novel that slipped quietly into my soul, wrecking me in the best ways, One Night on the Island by Josie Silver is more than a romance. It’s a story about loving yourself, finding your place in the world, and being the best version of who you want to be.
I’m not always an emotional reader, which is odd for someone who identifies as a hopeless romantic. I regularly blame it on my no-nonsense spouse. His more pragmatic views of how the world works have dulled the rose-colored glasses I wore in my younger days over the past… well, a lot of years together. I find myself more cynical than hopeful lately. But sometimes the right book comes along and once again I’m that giddy girl who loves love. One Night on the Island had me in tears. From heart-wrenching, gut-punched tears to heart-soaring, hope-consuming tears. I simultaneously wanted to fly through the pages and stay in this book forever.
The island that brings Cleo and Mack together is a special place. When I turned the last page of the book, I wanted to pack my bags, board a plane, and live on Salvation Island forever. Silver has made it absolutely magical. Not just the setting—the cozy lodge that has become our leads home away from home, or the wind-strewn beach where the icy water bubbles on the sand. But it’s also the people of the island, the found-family Cleo and Mack slowly discover. Silver has done such a good job fleshing out these side characters, I feel a whole history of their own tales without reading a word of their backstories. I came to love them almost as much as our main characters. And I have a budding hope that a few of them might get their own books. Especially if it brings me back to Salvation Island.
When I started One Night on the Island, I felt sure I was reading a romance, the kind of story I’ve come to know and love, but as I read more, I didn’t know if this book would have a happily ever after. Don’t worry, no spoilers here. (If you have to know, you can ask me!) But I was okay with it. I trusted the characters to find their way, to find the ending that was right for them. Because for me, it was more about the individual people—about Cleo and Mack as humans—-than it was about whether or not they found their happiness in each other. Which is kind of the point of a story about someone who goes on vacation to marry herself, I guess.
One issue that might have some readers stumbling is Mack’s relationship status when he meets Cleo. It didn’t bother me at all, though. Silver handled it expertly, illustrating how life is messy. Relationships are messy. And things aren’t always what they seem to be on the surface. That’s about all I can say without getting too spoiler-y.
It’s a dual point-of-view, which works splendidly. Open-door, but done beautifully. In fact, I highlighted many passages. Silver’s words are chosen carefully and lyrically.
In the end, I found this book hopeful, joyful, and inspiring! It’s a book I wish I could write. A book I wish I could live in. (You know, if I were single. And younger. Don’t worry, I don’t want to leave my family.) And now I’m off to languish in my book hangover for the foreseeable future.
Thank you to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
Check out my review and inspired playlist at A Book Wanderer
#popsugarreadingchallenge2022 (prompt #40b - takes place on an island)
I’m not always an emotional reader, which is odd for someone who identifies as a hopeless romantic. I regularly blame it on my no-nonsense spouse. His more pragmatic views of how the world works have dulled the rose-colored glasses I wore in my younger days over the past… well, a lot of years together. I find myself more cynical than hopeful lately. But sometimes the right book comes along and once again I’m that giddy girl who loves love. One Night on the Island had me in tears. From heart-wrenching, gut-punched tears to heart-soaring, hope-consuming tears. I simultaneously wanted to fly through the pages and stay in this book forever.
The island that brings Cleo and Mack together is a special place. When I turned the last page of the book, I wanted to pack my bags, board a plane, and live on Salvation Island forever. Silver has made it absolutely magical. Not just the setting—the cozy lodge that has become our leads home away from home, or the wind-strewn beach where the icy water bubbles on the sand. But it’s also the people of the island, the found-family Cleo and Mack slowly discover. Silver has done such a good job fleshing out these side characters, I feel a whole history of their own tales without reading a word of their backstories. I came to love them almost as much as our main characters. And I have a budding hope that a few of them might get their own books. Especially if it brings me back to Salvation Island.
When I started One Night on the Island, I felt sure I was reading a romance, the kind of story I’ve come to know and love, but as I read more, I didn’t know if this book would have a happily ever after. Don’t worry, no spoilers here. (If you have to know, you can ask me!) But I was okay with it. I trusted the characters to find their way, to find the ending that was right for them. Because for me, it was more about the individual people—about Cleo and Mack as humans—-than it was about whether or not they found their happiness in each other. Which is kind of the point of a story about someone who goes on vacation to marry herself, I guess.
One issue that might have some readers stumbling is Mack’s relationship status when he meets Cleo. It didn’t bother me at all, though. Silver handled it expertly, illustrating how life is messy. Relationships are messy. And things aren’t always what they seem to be on the surface. That’s about all I can say without getting too spoiler-y.
It’s a dual point-of-view, which works splendidly. Open-door, but done beautifully. In fact, I highlighted many passages. Silver’s words are chosen carefully and lyrically.
In the end, I found this book hopeful, joyful, and inspiring! It’s a book I wish I could write. A book I wish I could live in. (You know, if I were single. And younger. Don’t worry, I don’t want to leave my family.) And now I’m off to languish in my book hangover for the foreseeable future.
Thank you to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
Check out my review and inspired playlist at A Book Wanderer
#popsugarreadingchallenge2022 (prompt #40b - takes place on an island)
As I was reading this it kept going downhill. At first it was kind of fun. Then I was dubious. I grew bored. I considered DNFing but I'm so stubborn. Finally, I got mad. You know what's not romantic or hot? A story about the dissolution of a marriage. Especially as the ex-wife became my favorite character.
And for a little while, he made me feel as if I’d swallowed stars
2.5 ⭐
This book took me a longer time to read through, partially because I couldn't get into it.
I feel like the blurb had the best settings: a getaway on a remote island, so called vacation being interrupted, one bed/place trope and it even had the banter between the main characters. But the book didn't deliver them well.
The tone of the book was generally monotonous and boring, I couldn't wait to get to the end of the book. There were dual POVs which is good but nothing really happened enough to get the depth of the story the blurb promised. The book was too long and the main characters focused so much on other elements in their life it felt like I wasn't reading about them.
It felt like the circumstances around the characters made them even boring, the backstories to them did not make it better. I'm giving it 2.5 ⭐ only for Cleo's bravery in addressing the issues in her life and for how beautiful the island sounded.
Ratings for other books by Josie Silver
1. [b: One Day in December|38255337|One Day in December|Josie Silver|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1573862622l/38255337._SX50_.jpg|56132017]: 2 ⭐
2. [b: The Two Lives of Lydia Bird|46225061|The Two Lives of Lydia Bird|Josie Silver|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1583446296l/46225061._SY75_.jpg|65929772]: 4 ⭐
ONE NIGHT ON THE ISLAND
by Josie Silver dating oneself) as a way to re-energize herself and bring something fresh to her column. She's booked a luxury cabin on a remote Irish island.
Mac is also looking forward to some alone time. His marriage is falling apart - something he doesn't want to admit - so he leaves Boston behind with the plan to soul search on the same Irish island.
Due to a mix-up with the bookings, it turns out that both Cleo and Mac have booked the same cabin. The two are instantly at odds, but since the ferry only comes weekly, they are stuck with one another. As the week goes on, they find that they don't mind each other's company as much as they thought.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.