We review the new novel by Josie Silver – One Night on the Island – the hotly-anticipated follow-up to One Day in December. It’s a propulsive, gorgeous romance, filled with whimsy and overlaid with the stand-out theme of empowerment. Pick up a copy here.
Josie Silver’s novel One Day in December was a sensation that is now widely beloved by any romance novels fans. One Night on the Island is a stunning stand-alone novel that will sate the appetite of every fan of Silver’s. The novel centres around dating columnist Cleo who is looking for her ‘flamingo’ – whose boss insists she goes on a ‘self-coupling’ ceremony on a remote Irish island – and Boston native Mac, who is looking for a place to heal after the demise of his marriage and to get in touch with his roots in order to find some clarity. When a mix-up with bookings means that they have both booked the same cottage on the same dates, the duo are forced to co-habitate while waiting for the weekly ferry to arrive. After initial hostilities, the pair begin to find comfort in each others presence, even whilst having clearly delineated ‘chalk boundaries’ between them. They begin to confide in each other – in a game each night where they tell each other three things – and begin to lay their hearts on the line.
What follows though is more than just a strangers to lovers romance, it’s a gorgeous story of empowerment, finding one’s own joy and discovering one’s self when all the noise of modern life is stripped away. Josie Silver writes with so much warmth and heart and the dialogue sparkles on every page. Silver has an awe-inspiring ability to build deeply flawed and human characters within iconic settings – the female supporting cast of the novel was powerful and beautiful – and the Irish landscape is a perfect accompaniment to this windswept romance. Her writing is simply sublime, sweeping you deep within this magical world.
