One Night On The Island – Josie Silver

Published By: Penguin
Pages: 432
Released On: 17/02/2022

Cleo writes about love stories every day. She just isn’t living one of her own.

When the editor of her dating column asks her to marry herself on a remote Irish island – a sensational piece to mark Cleo’s thirtieth birthday – Cleo agrees. She’s alone but not lonely, right? She can handle a solo adventure.

Cleo arrives at her luxury cabin to find a tall, dark, stubborn American who insists it’s actually his. Mack refuses to leave, and Cleo won’t budge either. With a storm fast approaching, they reluctantly hunker down together. It’s just one night, after all.

But what if one night on the island is just the beginning?

*****

Thanks to Penguin for the advanced readers copy of this title in return for an honest review.

I’ve only read one of Jodie’s books before (One Day in December) and that was fantastic, so I had high hopes for this one. I’ve seen it everywhere and seen nothing but rave reviews.

What instantly connected me to this book is it’s about a near-30 year old, single writer who has a column called “Finding my Flamingo”, and she’s threatened with a flamingo tattoo. I am nearly 30, I am single, I am a writer (albeit unpublished), and flamingoes are my favourite animal – yes, I do already have a flamingo tattoo on my arm.

Is there anything Josie can’t write? Every topic, every sentence feels like it exists just for her to write. She is delicate and passionate and a real romantic, but in a very real sense, not in an over the top “just for fiction” sense – it’s like it’s actually happening to someone we love.

After finishing this, I went straight online to look at beautiful isolated islands to run away to. I found a lovely one off the coast of Scotland, but at nearly £1,000 a week, that will have to wait for another day.

I found the story of Cleo marrying herself incidental. Whilst obviously a big part of the book, I felt myself drawn more to the friendship/relationship between her and Mack, and Cleo finding her own place in her story.

It is not always a traditional rom-com, but it’s everything you could want. Josie definitely gets better with everything she writes, and this one will truly take a bit of your heart with it once you’ve finished.