The description of Salvation Island and the people were so richly written I felt like I was there. I wanted more of a neat bow on the ending, but I also understood why there couldn't be. Like Mack, I didn't really get the whole "marry yourself" thing, but as the story progresses you just...kinda go with it?

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

I am very grateful for an advanced copy of this book. I, like many others, was a big fan of One Day In December. It was a great story and beautiful romance.

Unfortunately, One Night on the Island did not quite live up to my expectations. I felt that the story line was very predictable and not very engaging. I do believe others will like this and I might pick it up again if I was in a different time/place.

5 STARS for me! I really enjoyed One Night on the Island. I've read both of Josie Silver's prior books - One Day in December and The Two Lives of Lydia Bird and really loved both. I never knew I liked romance until I read One Day in December. It pulled at my heart strings and I was so invested in the characters and rooting for them. So of course when I heard she was releasing her latest book (One Night on the Island), I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Like her prior books, it did not disappoint!

First, the characters were wonderfully developed and genuine! You feel like you know somebody like them or can even relate yourself! And the setting of Salvation - can I please visit? You even got the feel of the tight knit community and how everyone was like family between the knitting group, the bar, and all of the locals introduced to the story. She really painted the perfect picture and setting for this book.

The idea of 2 characters from different places, renting the same remote cabin and being "trapped" together for their own retreats for solitude was something new and I couldn't wait to read how it would all play out. It was so great seeing how both of the characters grew and their friendship evolved over this unique situation.

Josie Silver's writing style is beautiful. The story was a wonderful slow build! I'm hooked and will continue to be a fan!

Special thanks to Random House Publishing Group & NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review One Night on the Island before its publication date! And to Josie Silver for sharing this wonderful story!

I can't even express how much I loved this book. I adored Josie Silver's One Day in December so this had a lot to live up to, and it did not disappoint. This story focuses on Cleo & Mack, with dual POVs and forced proximity. It's a beautiful story of self love and acceptance, community, and offers a wonderful scope in the world of divorce and heartache. This book delivered. I want so desperately to visit Otter Lodge and Salvation Island. My only disappointment is that I can't live in this story more.

Thank you NetGalley, Josie Silver, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine Books for the eARC for this book in exchange for an honest review. I can't wait to buy my own copy!

Oh my gosh this is definitely my favorite of all of Josie Silver’s books: I stayed up late to finish it! I am currently in a book hangover and missing these main characters. Cleo comes to Salvation Island to marry herself... but she discovers the small cottage she booked is also being occupied by a Han Solo-esque man. She finds herself, and she finds more.

I want more time!!! Thank you to Random House and to NetGalley for the ARC!

Gosh this was good! The dialogue was over the top and not how I actually believe people are eloquent enough to speak, but all in a great way if that makes sense! The writing was so beautiful that I just didn't care. I truly felt like I was on the island with the main characters, living along with their journeys. The only thing I struggled with was that it felt a little more like a love triangle than I was expecting, although I guess that's a pretty realistic situation for people to find themselves in as they figure out whether to stay in or leave their marriage.

One remote island off of the Ireland coast. Two people, both seeking solitude and at very different points in life. And only one house for our protagonists to share, despite what they thought were their best-laid plans.

I initially expected something very different from this book, but Josie Silver gives us an exploration of love in its many forms: love between friends, sisters, lovers, spouses, partners, parents and children, love of a place, love of a community, and love of oneself.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of this work.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

This was absolutely wonderful. I may have received a free copy for review purposes, but I will absolutely buy an audiobook version of this when it’s released.

Cleo Wilder is getting married. To herself. Kind of. She’s turning 30 and at her employer’s suggestion, she’s going to have a self-coupling ceremony at a cottage on an island for her 30th birthday. Once she arrives at this tiny island, she learns that the cottage she’s booked has also been promised to someone else - a handsome American with his own issues to work through.

This book isn’t exciting and there aren’t many spoilers to reveal, so I’m not going to say anything else about the plot. The plot is fine, but the characters are what makes this book wonderful. Cleo & Mack (the American) are likeable and relatable. Their stories made me laugh and cry. The supporting characters - the wonderful, interesting, charismatic occupants of this small village - are equally wonderful. You grow to love them all, and if you’re anything like me you’ll finish this book and immediately start talking to your partner about the possibility of retiring to a tiny cottage on an island in Ireland.

I loved One Day in December and loved this one just as much! I was so excited for the change to read this! Love Josie Silver and can't wait to read more by her! Highly recommend!!!

Cleo embarks to Salvation Island off the coast of Ireland to “marry herself” and become comfortable with being single. Mack escapes to the island to process his separation from his wife. Salvation Island is not a place for tourists and has 1 rental, which was booked by Cleo and Mac for the same duration. In Otter Lodge chalk lines are drawn, over time the two let down those lines and throw out their initial goals and agree to have a holiday romance.
Story was cute but a bit predictable at times. I enjoyed the Irish Island setting and loved the characters on the Island.

Cleo Wilder is an almost 30 year old dating columnist, with an online column called Finding My Flamingo. Her boss, Ali, books her a trip to a remote island off the coast of Ireland called "Salvation Island”, so she can escape her family’s surprise birthday plans and get some self-care alone. Everything is okay until she arrives to her lodge on the island and it has been double booked with an American named Mack Sullivan. There is a terrible storm coming, the ferry boats are not operating and they are trapped. There are no other places to stay and they are both too stubborn to give up the room. They find themselves sharing the lodge while at odds with each other. They don't know how they will manage until the next ferry arrives within the next week. But as the week goes by, things change and they realize maybe each other’s company is not so bad.

This was a sweet romance. I devoured the pages rather quickly, wanting to know where this was headed. If you like Josie Silver's other novels you will likely enjoy this one. The ending was not a typical one, I thought it was perfect for both the characters with their current situations. I would recommend if you need a day to escape into an enjoyable, funny, and charming read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

Cleo and Mack end up with reservations for the same cabin on a place called Salvation Island in the seas off of Ireland. Both are dealing with adjusting and adapting to being single: chronically single with Cleo and dealing with the single that comes from divorce with Mack. They start off angry strangers but over time begin to understand the complexity of one another’s lives and uncertain paths. As they navigate those difficult paths they grow into a unique kind of romantic love that lets them continue this self love and self acceptance.
This is a very different but beautiful kind of love story. It feels like a privilege to be able to join them on the journey. The insight into Cleo and into Mack is amazing even though both are coming to this point so differently. The cast of secondary characters are unique but we know these people anyway. The setting is another character, lovable with depths of discovery even though it is rainy, cold and just inhospitable. Discovering and seeing its beauty is an analogy for their ability to love their own sometimes hostile selves.
I would recommend this book to my patrons.

I loved Josie Silvers other book “One Day in December” so I had really high hopes for this book. It lived up to my expectations! I honestly loved the 2 main characters, Cleo and Mack. I love the idea of going to an island and finding yourself. I love the idea of finding your person even more! The added characters of the island people were great too. There wasn’t a character I didn’t like! I got teary eyed at some spots, but the ending was perfect. I want a love like they found with each other!

DNF

Too much language for me. I found the characters to be very difficult to root for. Just not the book for me.

‘One Night on the Island’ is a definite turn from Silver’s ‘The Two Lives of Lydia Bird’, which focused primarily on a woman’s reaction to the sudden death of her fiancée. Although ‘One Night’ is more romantic than ‘Lydia Bird,’ I would not solely classify it as a contemporary romance. A major part of the story is the protagonists’ personal struggles and how they deal with them on their own. Cleo is learning how to “self-couple,” to be independent, know her boundaries, and make decisions that are best for herself. She goes on a journey to a remote island and, despite finding and loving Mack, placed her own goals and career decisions before any romantic decisions. Mack gives her the space to explore her own independence, while loving her from an ocean away. Mack’s biggest struggle is learning how to be the best dad he can be, despite his separation from his wife.
There were several tropes in this book (which is not an insult; I adore a trope), but I felt like Silver defied a lot of popular tropes; this book could have been predictable, but I never knew where it was going. It was sweet, thoughtful, fun, and unexpected. With its likable characters and its sweet message, ‘One Night on the Island’ is sure to be at the top of many lists in 2022! I adored this so much!

This was somehow my first Josie Silver book and it certainly won't be my last. This story was beautifully crafted and it worked me over while giving me all the feels. I picked up the book thinking it was one thing (a fun, steamy rom-com) and while it did touch on those things it delved much, much deeper.

This was not a cut and dry love story by any stretch, it was deep and even dark at times. I recommended a warm blanket, a hot drink (preferably with whiskey) and grab a box of tissues before jumping into this one.

I would suggest a trigger warning for those looking to avoid divorce, separation and or cheating.

Set on a small Irish island the scenery was beautifully described and jumped from the pages -- I laughed whenever Cleo referred to the mountain while Mack kept calling it a hill. I definitely think I'm more like Cleo than Mack when it comes to hiking. These two are forced together after their hosts don't communicate they've both promised the property to people at the same time. This is not a meet cute it is an all out war when it's discovered they are stuck with each other. It's hard to fall for Cleo at first I'll be honest, she's intense and a bit of a brat and also very self involved - I struggled with her throughout the book. As the story continues they eventually find some common ground and discover that being alone together could have some benefits ....

This is a hard one to write a review for that doesn't contain a million spoilers.
I will likely come back to this review as right now I'm still processing everything that happened.

Review
One Night on the Island by Josie Silver
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to @randomhouse @ballentine and @netgalley for the ARC. One Night on the Island will be available February 15, 2022.

This was my first Josie Silver and while I loved it, I definitely need space between her books if they are like this. It was All. The. Feels. I laughed, I cried, I cringed, I got mad, I wanted to be part of the knitting group. I almost DNF-ed and am SO glad I stuck it out because what a satisfying and rewarding read in the end. This was not a typical romcom or romance, although it did have very funny moments and steam and swoon. It was heavy and complicated, and I loved that the ending wasn’t tied up in a neat bow with a typical HEA. This was the type of book that sits within you. The characters were imperfect, their situations were so real, it was messy and real life on so many levels. One minute Susie is the enemy, the next you feel for her in the gallery; the three things was one of my favorite parts; micro-love and the circle of life. I don’t regret anything about it (iykyk).

Pre-order this book now. It’s a keeper.

Quote: That’s the way it is sometimes, isn’t it? Life is the stuff that happens in the cracks between your plans and expectations.

Song for Cleo and Mack: Temporary Love by Ben Platt. “We don't have to hide our love away and
Both of us are gonna make mistakes 'cause leaning on somebody's never easy. But look at me and tell me you don't see that. This is not a temporary love…now your heart is in my hands, I won't give it up.”

I've read all of Josie Silver's books, but this one is definitely my favorite. Reading <i> One Night on the Island</i> reminded me a lot of Maeve Binchy's books. The cast of characters is really charming and even though the main plot is a romance one, Silver shows really solid female friendships along the way. Overall, I found the book really charming, and definitely expect to see this book featured in a lot of book clubs online.

Thank you, NetGalley for ARC of this book!

I love Josie Silver’s books but this one wasn’t for me - the description (and that lovely cover) drew me toward it, but I found I could not get into this one.

At the heart of it, I wasn’t the proper reader for this story.

If you enjoyed Josie Silver's other novels, such as One Day in December, then you'll be happy to know her newest one is out in February!

I was immediately jealous of Cleo's plans to isolate herself on an Irish Island. Maybe it's my age, but if I fantasize about a dream vacation, it's isolation, bubble baths and books. This means I did have a hard time liking Mack being there. It took me most of the book to like him, but in the end their arrangement sounded pretty solid. Mack aside, my favorite characters were of course the island ladies. I am shipping Delta and Barry...maybe Salvation Island book 2 is in the works. Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse ballantine books for the ARC.