Book Review: One Night on the Island by Josie Silver

One Night on the Island by Josie Silver, is a story about love and finding your way in life. It’s about taking time to define what matters. Unfortunately, it’s not as enjoyable as I’d hoped. In fact, it left me as confused as the main characters, Cleo and Mac.

My Overview

Dating columnist Cleo is sent to Salvation Island in Ireland, on a self-coupling assignment. The purpose of the trip is for her to embrace her state of being single and bring a new perspective to her column. While Cleo isn’t immediately a fan of the self-coupling idea, she accepts the assignment anyway. When she arrives at the cabin, she realizes it’s not the luxurious accommodation she’d expected. When a man, Mac, suddenly lets himself into the cabin with his own key, they realize the cabin’s been double booked. Unable to get the booking problem resolved, they both end up staying at the cabin for several weeks.

This story had a lot of what I enjoy in romance novels:

• Dual POVs
• Beautiful setting in Ireland
• Enemies-to-lovers and forced-proximity tropes
• Small town with supportive characters

Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me:

• I didn’t understand Cleo and Mac’s motives or decisions
• The self-coupling aspect became a crutch rather than a way to propel the story
• The flow of the storyline was as disjointed as the conversations between Cleo and Mac

As much as I’ve enjoyed the author’s previous books, I expected to like this one too. Instead, I was left as confused as Cleo and Mac were throughout the story. I didn’t even understand the title. Why One Night on the Island, if Cleo and Mac spent several together? I didn’t see one specific night as a main turning point for either them.

My Recommendation

Overall, this wasn’t the enjoyable and introspective romance story I’d expected. It’s my third book by this author, so I thought I knew what to expect. Clearly, that wasn’t the case. While I recommend Silver’s other books, I can’t recommend this one. If you’d like to give this book a try, I recommend the audiobook. I thought it was well done, with dual narrators.

The books I’ve enjoyed by this author:

• The Two Lives of Lydia Bird
• One Day in December

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts?