One Night by Deanna Cabinian

4 Stars

WARNING: This one is gonna be a mess . . . .




I told y’all yesterday that Shelby is the reason behind all of my recent NetGalley requests (because my library addiction has become so hardcore that I am at a constant state of maxed-out checkouts and I have grounded myself from there). Normally she just uses simple catchphrases like “meth” to get my ears to perk up. This is the only time I can remember her TELLING me to go get a book without providing any info other than she knew I would love it. She was right.

Thompson is your average “scrawny AP class nerd who played NBA Live instead of real basketball.” The CW (not like the television channel – originally it stood for Caroline Wells, but after the Worst Valentine’s Day In History™ the C “stood for Cheating. The W stood for a word most guys would use to describe the girl who cheated on them.” ) was the first and only girl Thompson had “come to know in the Biblical sense” and therefore was the one he couldn’t get out of his head. Faced with the option of driving by the CW’s house for the eleventeeth time or crossing his fingers for a potential meet/cute, Thompson takes door #2 and goes to the local Tiki House on Elvis night (the CW’s favorite). Rather than seeing his former flame, Thompson instead discovers Johnny Lee Young . . . .



An Elvis impersonator so perfect the panties be nearly droppin’ right on the Tiki House floor. When Johnny Lee offers up his personal rendition of “Hurt” . . . .

(Sidenote: I wasn’t familiar with this song – which you can listen to HERE – so my brain kept replacing it with this instead . . . .



And then I couldn’t get the image of Johnny Lee as a Johnny Cash impersonator out of my head because I am an idiot and my brain hates me. /End Sidenote)

Thompson knows he and Johnny Lee are kindred spirits who have both experienced the pain of losing the love of their life. As Thompson settles in as Johnny Lee’s #1 fan an opportunity arises in the form of an assistant position for the summer. And as Thompson learns about the girl Johnny Lee let get away another opportunity arises – travel from Hawaii to the mainland and stop her wedding . . . .



You know what that means, right????? ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!



If you know me you know the road trip is my most favorite storyline of all. This one topped the charts because the destination was Chicago where the two fellas went to places like the Art Institute which made me think of . . . .



And ate the world’s best deep dish pizza – which I totally didn’t agree with because Lou Malnati’s (to me) doesn’t event compare to . . . .



And went to other touristy places like the Sears Tower where you can this . . . .



Which I would NEVER do because one time this happened . . . .



And now all I can think of when I see pictures of people doing it is . . . .



Eventually the duo does end up at the wedding. But more importantly Thompson realizes that . . .

“A life where you don’t live isn’t any kind of life.”

And finds his own happiness which made me oh so very . . . .



Do you just want a book that makes you feel happy? One that won’t change your life and that you might not even remember after some time passes, but makes you go from this . . . .


(^^^Remember, I read this during "No Shave November.")

To this . . . . .



While reading???? If so, give One Night a shot. It might just make smiling your favorite.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you, NetGalley!