Review: That One Night by Josie Wright (That One #1)

Note: This ebook was provided by Give Me Books Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

That One Night is the first novel in the That One series from author Josie Wright and it's a second chance romance about twenty-two-year-old Francine "Frankie" Gilbert and twenty-six-year-old Benjamin "Ben" Gibson. Frankie's always had feelings for her older brother Dave's best friend. Ben's always been a part of her life, but when he ups and disappears after one night together and her whispering the words "I love you" to him, leaving only a one-worded note, Frankie is broken. Then she learns she's pregnant and try as she might to get in touch with him, she doesn't hear back. When, out of the blue, Ben suddenly appears before her during her visit back home to see her parents and brother, she's gobsmacked. The best night of her life led to the worst morning after, but now the father of her baby boy Archer is back. The last thing she wants is to take away his right to know and be there for his son, but he's already broken her heart once and she has no intention of allowing him do it again. Archer is falling for Ben...and Frankie never stopped.

This was a good read, one that had angst and drama but it was balanced out with lighthearted humor and sigh-worthy moments. Frankie is probably one of my recent favorite female main characters. She was courageous and forthright, and didn't allow the hurdles thrown her way to get her down. She was independent but she also didn't shy away from leaning on her brother or her best friends and those she considered family when everything got to be too much. I was glad she didn't simply allow herself to swoon and give into what I felt were Ben's dubious attempts at being charming. Her cussing up a storm and flipping people off on a regular basis clinched her badass heroine status for me because I do the same things. But that's just a small part of what makes her a great lead character. She strove to continue with her studies while still providing the best possible life for Archer, and while was still very much in love with Ben, she wanted him to work for the right to be someone in her life again and rightly so! She was fabulous.

Then there's Ben. Ah, Ben. It took me much longer to see Ben as more than the cocky guy that he was. Considering he left Frankie the way he did a year and a half prior and that he just found out he was the father to a nine-month-old, Ben seemed to be more than ready to flirt and let Frankie know that she was going to want to sleep with him again. Seriously? But yes, he did make up for all that jackassery (feel free to add that to your dictionary). The reason for his disappearance remains a secret for more than half the book and then there's an additional twist that's thrown into the mix. All in all, the story was good, but goodness, it was longer than I felt it should have been. There were a lot of mundane things going on and while it was good in the beginning because you feel as if you're part of the daily routine, that's what it ended up feeling like--routine. The highlights were exactly that--highlights--but I could have done without all the fillers because it ended up taking away from the overall experience. That One Night gets four stars. ♥

Date Read: 06 May 2016

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