On a Night Like This
Fiction
HarperCollins
January 18, 2022
Advance reader copy
384
Free from publisher
Within days of wishing she could change her life, Fran Cooper is acting assistant to a celebrity, on a yacht in the Mediterranean, and en route to a tiny Italian island and the glittering Crystal Ball, along with the world’s rich and famous.
When she – quite literally – bumps into a handsome American called Evan, a man able to keep his cool in the face of chaos, the magic really begins.
Evan makes her a promise: no last names, no life stories, just one unforgettable night. Yet Evan belongs at the Crystal Ball and Fran is a gatecrasher. They may be soulmates, but their homes are an ocean apart, and their lives a world apart. They’ll never meet again – unless, on a night like this, everything can change forever…
My review:
This book was a breath of fresh air, and the perfect read if you've been binging on thrillers and books with heavier subject matter. It was well written and well paced, with characters you felt like you wanted to get to know. And lest you think it was a cheesy romance, there were lots of subjects dealt with that kept it from that classification (for me). Fran is struggling with her present life situation, and when she takes on a new job, even that has its problems. Some of the predicaments she finds herself in made me chuckle, and while there are definitely some parts that are a little convenient and contrived to fit the plot, I found myself happily going along for the ride. There were several supporting characters that I really enjoyed, and the way they fit into the evolution of Fran were critical to making the whole story work. The love interest was sweet, but I was glad that the entire book didn't revolve around that. I'm never a fan of the pivotal last third of the book conflict which inevitably finds its way into romance books, but thankfully this one was resolved fairly quickly and painlessly. To me, the most important aspects of this book were the personal growth of Fran, and the friendships both old and new that were made.
This is the first book I've picked up from this prolific author who has tons of back titles, but I'm anxious to give something else a go when I need a cute (but not cutesy, there is a difference) story.
