Josie Silver

I have to admit that I am conflicted as I write this review for One Night on the Island by Josie Silver. This book is extremely well written. The descriptions of Salvation Island are so beautifully done that had a clear picture of it in my mind as I was reading. I wanted to go there! I also loved the residents of the island and how they were depicted. It is the two main characters that I'm not as fond of. Both Cleo and Mack have come to the island to escape their personal problems and search show more for answers about how they should proceed with their lives when they return home. Without giving up too much, let's just say that I was not a fan of their decision making. Mack in particular could have been a lot more sensitive to who he was hurting by the choice he made. Cleo didn't help matters in how she pursued him. She was supposed to be exploring the idea of being happy without being in a relationship with another person. I just wasn't happy with their so called "relationship" and how it played out. I think the idea behind the story was good and the setting was fabulous, but it just wasn't executed in a way that made me love it. I will read more Josie Silver in the future; this particular book just didn't hit the mark for me.

My sincere thanks to Random House/Ballantine Books, Josie Silver, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read One Night on the Island and give my unbiased opinion of it. show less

Two people's eyes meet across a road in London: one sitting on a bus, the other outside at a cafe. There is an instant connection. Each thinks about moving toward the other, briefly, and then the bus drives away. What follows is the course each of their lives takes after that broken "connection." It's a plot that has been done before, but I have not read anything like this in a while. I stayed up way too late finishing this charming novel, and now I see what all the buzz has been about! We show more keep having to buy more copies for the library where I work because the holds are so high (it was also a Reece Witherspoon pick - the pot of gold for an author). I don't read a lot of romance anymore because I have to read very widely, and a lot of different genres, for work. But this one is exceptional. You know that completely satisfied sigh you make when you finish a good book? Well, I did that after turning the final page. If ever a book was meant to be made into film, it's this one. And I will be first in line! show less

Favorite Quotes:

She’s whippet-thin and eats like a bird, preferring to save her calories for the champagne she’s rarely seen without. When she dies, if she ever dies, “it’s always five o’clock somewhere” will be engraved on her tombstone.

I grab the tin of Nonna’s limoncello babas and lift the lid, inhaling the smell so deeply it’s a wonder the buns don’t levitate.

I’ve decided this is the perfect staff-bonding exercise for Artie and Marina, a getting-to-know-you over a can show more of turpentine instead of a bottle of vodka, because he barely drinks and she could leave a sailor for dead in a drinking competition.

“A peace offering?” I say, peeling back the layers of tissue to reveal a little silver horseshoe. “Or have you come to tell me that you’ve given up ghost-hunting in favor of being a farrier for really tiny ponies?”

I’m not the religious kind, unless there happens to be a Goddess of Sweet Things, because if there is I’ll fall down on my knees and swear allegiance right now. I’d happily swallow a holy sugar lump and beg for divine assistance.

I think I’ve just stepped closer to him. I look down at my feet in alarm and issue them a direct order: Fall back, you fools! Fall back!

My Review:

This was good fun and a total delight to read, so much so that the next book is already locked and loaded on my precious Kindle and ready for immediate perusal. I enjoyed it so much, I was loath to put my Kindle down and hissed at any interruption to my reading.

While I rarely watch or read anything in the paranormal genre, I couldn’t resist since it’s Josie Silver. I adore this wily wordsmith’s clever wit and emotive scribblings. I frequently smirked and chortled as I zipped through this lively and amusing tale featuring a superhero-loving and sugar-fueled ghosthunter who consults a Magic 8 Ball for guidance. show less

Iris has fled from her life in London to start a new life in New York, with only a battered suitcase and her trusty gelato machine to her name. Whilst getting back on her feet, she comes across a gelateria that stirs something in her memory and Gio, whose family owns the gelateria stirs something in her!

A Winter in New York is THE most beautiful book. I absolutely adored every bit of it. The characters are perfect, the story is tender and warm, and there are foodie references galore via the show more gelateria and the wider New York streets. Iris's recent past is raw and painful and Gio and his family provide the salve she needs, but it's complicated by the past, her mother, and a secret that she should never have been told.

I know when a book has really burrowed its way into my heart when I don't want to let it go, when I'm playing Joni Mitchell songs and tearing up, and when the characters feel like real people. It's not helped by Gio being rather a dish, an Italian man with a gorgeous personality to match. The scenes between him and Iris were electrifyingly passionate. I loved the way his huge family enveloped Iris and how it was just what she needed.

A foodie love story is probably my favourite kind of book and this one is a top-notch case in point. It's magical and touching, heart-rending and emotive, and full of joy. I've been thoroughly transported to New York and to be honest, I'm not quite ready to leave. show less