When Mack hears some bad news from home, his connection to Cleo proves stronger than ever. As the days pass, and they learn more about one another, the two are drawn together as two souls searching for what is next in life. When the two are faced with the double-booking error, they have no choice but to make the best of it. He connects with this island community as much as Cleo does. A year into a separation from his wife and family, the reader cannot help but feel compassion for this man who is trying hard to keep his family together. Mack is on the island to explore his family’s history. But as she begins her stay on the island she gleams more about what she wants in life and celebrates this in such a heartwarming way. When she is assigned this solo retreat she is at first hesitant. Turning 30 is a momentous milestone for Cleo given her family history. But as the days go by, they no longer seem to mind each other’s company quite as much as they thought they would. Instantly at odds, Cleo and Mack don’t know how they’re going to manage until the next weekly ferry arrives.

Unfortunately, a mix-up with the bookings means both have reserved the same one-room hideaway on exactly the same dates. With his life in Boston deteriorating in ways he can’t bring himself to acknowledge, his soul-searching has brought him to the same Irish island to explore his roots and find some clarity. Mack Sullivan is also looking forward to some time to himself.

The remote Irish island she’s booked is a far cry from London, but at least it’s a chance to hunker down in a luxury cabin and indulge in some self-care while she figures out the next steps in her love life and her career. Spending her 30th birthday alone is not what dating columnist Cleo Wilder wanted, but she plans a solo retreat – at the insistence of her boss – in the name of re-energizing herself and adding a new perspective to her column.

It’s a heart-felt romance novel which has one man and one woman double-booked in the same cottage which has all the charm I’ve come to expect from this author. Have you ever thought about leaving your life behind and escaping to an island? In Josie Silver’s latest book One Night On The Island two strangers do just that.

Josie silver books in order