One Night Only by Catherine Walsh- BOOK REVIEW
Synopsis
Who could have predicted this? Being at the same wedding. In Ireland. There's a reason one-night stands are one-night stands. You're not supposed to see each other again, especially not when you're the maid of honor, and he's the groom's brother...
Sarah Anderson has never been more excited about anything in her life. She's going to her best friend's wedding. And not just any wedding. An Irish wedding. Goodbye New York, hello rolling green hills and men with beautiful accents and twinkling eyes. But Sarah should have known that not all guests are fairy-tale princes... There's the chinless Uncle Trevor, whose idea of small talk is to claim climate change is a conspiracy. Then there's Great Aunt Eileen, who doesn't talk at all (she's too busy replacing the hotel cutlery with her own set). Worst of all, there's Declan Murphy. Best man. Brother of the groom. And the man Sarah last saw naked. Is there anything more mortifying than bumping into a one-night stand halfway across the world? Especially as Declan seems determined to embarrass Sarah at every turn. At least when the wedding's over she'll never have to see him again.
But, back in New York, Sarah finds the more she tries to forget Declan, the more she can't shake the thought of that infuriatingly charming smile and the way he wears a tux...
Was he really just for one night only, or might Declan Murphy be The One?
⭐️ 5 stars ⭐️
Things to expect from this book:-
- Slowest of slow burn romance
- One-night stand to Friends to Lovers
- Big fat Irish wedding
- Heartwarming friendships
- Grumpy x Sunshine (but here, our girl is the grumpy one!)
Wow. Wow. WOW!! I can’t even put into words just how much I loved this book!! Everything about it was just absolutely perfect! The romance, the drama, the emotional parts, the humor, the side characters, the friendship. It was all just *chef’s kiss* I was VERY invested from the beginning!
Sarah Anderson has been afraid of commitments and relationships ever since her mom and dad got divorced and her last relationship ended in heartbreak. She just wants one-night stands with no feelings involved and that’s exactly what she seeks. I personally loved how Sarah was a cynical when it came to love but still craved for a happily ever after. I found that so relatable. She was a great character to read about! Usually, I find cynical characters a bit annoying but being in Sarah’s head, reading about all her thoughts and experiencing her feelings was a very nice and refreshing change.
Declan Murphy was your perfect hot, sweet and caring love interest but I also loved the fact that he was more than that. He was emotional, he had a back story and his actions echoed just how nice he was. I loved him from the first moment he was introduced in the book! He was such a wonderful, positive character! Also, he is IRISH!! And he has an accent. So that automatically gives him extra 1000 points in my rule book lol.
Despite the book not being YA and starting with a one-night stand, surprisingly there was no smut at all. Instead, there was an amazing, amazing slow-burn romance which was incredibly sweet. The sexual tension was off the charts and it made me want to scream at these two to just get together already!! But of course, there was a lot of emotional baggage, their pasts and their insecurities but all of it made the story (and when they finally got together) worthwhile. There was also some matchmaking involved (which was absolutely hilarious) and very fun moments so it balanced out the emotional part!
I also adored all the friendships in this book. Sarah had such a wonderful group of supportive friends. I loved how Annie and Sarah’s friendship was portrayed, especially how much support Sarah provided at Annie’s wedding and how attuned she was to her best friend’s needs. And I also loved Will and Sarah’s easy going office friendship. He was such a funny character and all his on-page moments made me laugh! Claire, Sarah’s roommate was another character I absolutely loved. She was very supportive, always there with a good advice for Sarah and I am personally very fond of this kind of friendship!
There were emotional moments, laugh out loud moments, romantic moments that’d make you swoon, angry moments and heartwarming moments. Basically, this book is the whole package. Any trope you might think of in a cute romance, it’s HERE!! I cannot mention them all because of spoilers but they are here and you’ll see it when you read it. I highly encourage you to go preorder it asap!
One Night Only comes out on 30th July’2021
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Huge thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.
I loved One Night Only and will definitely recommend it to all Romance lovers! I will also be looking forward to reading more books by Catherine Walsh in future.
There is a lot to discuss because so much happened but when/if someone reads it, I would love to discuss all the spoilers with you so do leave your thoughts in the comments below