AJ's Reviews > Only One Night

“I hope she knows that for only one night, she gave me the world.”

4.5 stars!

OMG, this book brought the feels! I started reading and I couldn’t put it down, and I was feeling everything along with Manning and Evelyn in their dramatic, emotional, angsty and swoony romance, and I loved their story so much!

I'm sorry that this review is so long, but I have so many feels, and so much I feel I need to say, so please bear with me!

This is the third book in the Only One series, and while it can be read as a standalone, you’ll probably appreciate it more if you’ve read the earlier books. Those who have read the earlier books will know all about Dallas NHL Captain, Manning and his dysfunctional family life. He is stuck in a living hell, having spent the last four years wanting to divorce his socialite wife, Murielle, but she won’t have it, refusing to give up her status as the ‘Captain’s wife’ and she threatens him by using their son, Jaxon. Manning has been living in a separate part of the house from Murielle for years, and wants absolutely nothing to do with her, but to keep the peace and be there for Jaxon, he puts up with the situation, even though it makes him desperately miserable.

While out at a business dinner one night he meets a woman who takes his breath away. Surprisingly, she has no clue who he is, which he loves, and when it’s clear she returns the attraction, he is stunned at the depth of his need for her. So, embracing the moment and desperately wanting something that is just for him just once in his life, he has his very first one-night stand. It’s a night that is everything. They talk and laugh, and it’s so easy between them, and they have the most earth-shattering sex either of them have ever had. They share a true connection, and it rocks both of their worlds, but she leaves before he wakes.

Evelyn can’t believe she had a one-night stand. Her night with Manning was everything she’s ever been looking for in a man, but she’s just had an epically bad break up and is trying to get her life back on track. She’s not looking for a relationship, but that doesn’t mean she has forgotten about him. So, she’s thrilled when she unexpectedly runs into him again while picking her nephew up from soccer practice. Only to learn that he is, in fact, married, with a son of his own.

It's an awkward, awkward situation, and so full of everything! The chemistry is there, but so is the anger, betrayal and devastation. I could fully understand everything that Evelyn was feeling, and my heart ached for her.

I feel like the earth is crumbling under my feet. This can’t be happening to me. This can’t be true. It can’t be. But then I look up and see him, his eyes, and I know. Everything we did was a lie. Everything I felt was a lie, and everything he said was a lie.

Manning knows he screwed up, and he knows that Evelyn deserves better than the way he treated her, but he just can’t let her go. And when he pours his heart out to her, oh, my heart hurt for him!

“I begged her to let me go.” He swallows now as his voice cracks again. “But she refused.”

It’s such a hard position they are in, and yes, there are grey areas in this story, but I was rooting for them and I wanted so much for them to find their happy together.

Manning’s story is heartbreaking, and we have seen how beaten down he is, so I loved seeing him finally find his happy. You could tell that he was completely taken by surprise when Evelyn came into his life, but he bravely followed his heart, and I LOVED that!

“I was happy to just go through life and give everyone else what they wanted. And then I saw you.” He stares at me. “I saw you, and something in me jumped off the ledge … Something in me woke up.”

And Evelyn is a wonderful heroine. She is confident and strong, and though she recognises the rarity of what she’s found with Manning and is understanding of his situation, she stands up for herself. She’s not a doormat, and I love the way she handled herself through the whole thing.

“You, Evelyn … You are what dreams are made of.”

Now, about that grey area… (view spoiler)[ Yes, Manning is married when he has a one-night stand with Evelyn. Yes, they continue their relationship while he is still married. But context is important here. He is married on paper only and has made it very clear to his wife that he considers them separated. He hasn’t touched his wife in four years, she has a lover, they live in separate parts of the house. He wants out, his wife knows he wants out, but she wants him for the social status. He stays because when he asked for a divorce, she took off with their son and only returned when he promised never to mention it again. Could he have dealt with it legally before it got this point? Definitely yes. But he is so beaten down and didn’t think he would ever find happiness, so he just put up with it.

While reading the book I was feeling a little bit iffy that he was continuing to see Evelyn without making any moves to end his marriage, but as I kept reading, it became clear that he needed a push to take that step. It took him getting a glimpse of happy and then being faced with the possibility of losing it, before he realised that he could actually have it. It took Evelyn to come along and love him for who he is, not for what he can give her, before he could see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it gave him the courage and the motivation to fight for a better life.

Do I wish he had done it sooner even within the confines of this story? Yes. But his situation was difficult, and it’s hard to judge when looking at it from the outside. But he does take those necessary steps, he fights for his happiness, for his son, and for Evelyn, and there are some epically satisfying smack-down scenes that had me cheering as he claimed back his life.

(hide spoiler)] I’m somebody who usually does not tolerate cheating in a book. I’ve DNF’d books with cheating in them before, and it usually turns me right off. This, to me, did not feel like cheating. The marriage is over in every way except on paper, and there is no emotional connection between Manning and his wife at all. It wasn’t ideal for him still to be tied to another woman, but it creates a dramatic twist which forms the real crux of the story, and I so desperately wanted to see him make it all right.

“Will you wait for me?” He doesn’t stop. “I want to be the man who deserves you. I want you to be the one holding my hand at the end of this.”

It’s a bit of an angsty one, and the feels are intense as Manning and Evelyn ride the emotional rollercoaster, but it’s a beautiful, beautiful romance. It’s so easy and natural between them, and they are so freaking sexy! Their strong physical connection is hot as all hell, and reflective of the deep emotion between them, and they are just gorgeous together. They have unique challenges to deal with, and though it didn’t play out the way either of them would have wanted, I loved watching them work through it all to claim their HEA.

Little Jaxon is a wonderful part of the story - he’s written so perfectly, and the relationship between him and his Dad just melted me. The couples from the previous books make an appearance, and I loved seeing them have their Captain’s back. And there is a delicious tease for Nico and Becca’s book coming up next!! Damn!

I loved this one. The set-up is possibly going to scare a few readers off, but I urge you to go into it with an open mind and appreciate the storyline of a man reclaiming his life and fighting hard for the woman he loves. It was such a beautiful journey.

4.5 stars.

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.