I thought from the current synopsis that this was going to be focused more on Daniel and Liv's chance encounters during their younger years, but there is a lot of the novel dedicated to their adult lives and struggles. I sometimes had a hard time following all of the time transitions because something was hinted at, but the story would go back or forward a few years and not mention it again for a while. Also, trigger warnings for drinking/drugs, stillborn babies, and cancer should be noted.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tesora. Given the richness of the words and the love story that evolved, this book spoke to me as a tapestry of colors. Red symbolized Olivia and Flora's hair as well as Olivia and Daniel's permeating love. Pink is the blush on Daniel and his cheeks and their girls. Ivory is the slip dress that changed Olivia's life as well as her wedding dress that catapulted her fashion career. Blue is Jude. Green is the strength of the relationships between the two mammas and friends. Gold is the sparkle that Olivia brought and her ankle bracelet. What a trailblazing book.

The Night We Met chronicles the love story of two people over a twenty two year period. Told primarily from the perspective of the man, the clearly labeled chapters move back and forth from the present to the past.

From the past: Daniel Bleeker, a Brit, has just graduated from college and is about to embark on a long-planned trip to Australia when his girlfriend abruptly ends their relationship. Despite his shock and upset, he decides to embark on a solo adventure where he sees Olivia Messina, a rich, spoiled Italian, in a coffee shop. After four chance encounters, Daniel, who suffers from a painful case of self-deprecation and lack of confidence, becomes obsessed with Olivia, who barely seems to register his existence. She, too, has suffered a loss. Her beloved father died unexpectedly of a heart attack and she flees Italy to lose herself in alcohol and drugs. In the present: Daniel and Olivia are married, have two daughters, successful careers and a monumental challenge.

I have great respect for the dedication and courage it takes to be a professional writer. That said, I found that this author’s style was not a good match for me. This was a challenging book to read on several levels. It is rife with tragedy with very little inspiration (or levity) to balance the depressing nature of the storyline. The pacing of the book was glacial with too much detail given about inconsequential matters – half way through the book I found myself skimming whole paragraphs due to my impatience to finish it. Most importantly, I never connected emotionally with the main characters. Both were very human in their woundedness, yet strangely their issues never evoked empathy for their circumstances until the last few chapters. Based on the above, I can’t recommend this book.

My thanks to the author, Aria and Aries, and NetGalley for providing the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon and Barnes and Noble upon publication.

This was a sweet, vulnerable, and emotional women's fiction novel. Set in England, we start in the present when 43-year-old Olivia is in the hospital, on hospice, where she has cancer. While she knows she's dying, her husband Daniel refuses to give up hope and isn't ready to lose his wife. Time's running out for his fashion designer wife and the journalist has been frantically working to find a solution that'll save her. Knowing she doesn't have much time left, she asks him to write down their love story so he can tell their two daughters when she's gone. So, based on that alone, this book starts off super heavy but definitely captivating as I just want to know the whole story. Most of this read is told in flashbacks as we see the story of how they met. In the past, over the course of several years, Daniel kept seeing her around while traveling post-graduation in Australia and New Zealand, when she was in college in London, when he visited her in Milan when she went back home. Over and over again, he was mesmerized by every time he saw her in a bunch of near meetings. We also see Daniel starting off his career after Aussie and NZ, plus years earlier when Olivia first got sick and her treatment. This book features such rich language that plays out like a movie in my head and I can totally see their story unfold. However, all the back and forth between '17, '96, and '98 is really abrupt, and it should have been in chronological order rather than just jumping around. Back to the story, Daniel was always captivated by this elusive, wild creature that she was and in the present has a deep fear of losing her and will do anything to make sure he doesn't. The book is written in the third person, but it's primarily Daniel's point of view, however, occasionally it switches to Olivia's or her friend Mimi's, which comes almost out of nowhere and a bit choppy. Even though it's a slow burn love story of this couple, you can tell Daniel always just had eyes for Olivia. Even though, predictably, it ends tragically, the epilogue aims to put a meaningful, optimistic spin on this unexplainably sad moment and show how they'll always love Olivia as they move forward because she accomplished so much she loved in her short life.

I received an advance copy of, The Night We Met, by Zoe Folbigg. I did not care for the cursing in this book. If you dont mind cursing your ok. I could not get into the book, because of the language, it interrupted the story.