On the surface, Chelsea Greer has it all: A loving husband. A nice house. A good job.
In reality, she works hard to maintain the illusion this is her life. She's also missing the most important life:
Love.
One night could change her life. One night could give her the strength to rediscover what's important. In one night, she could find love when she most needs it and least expects it.
All Chelsea has to do is follow her heart after One Chance Night.
I actually read 'One Chance Night' last month, and posted my review, but with the blog tour coming around I thought I'd give you all another chance to catch it, in case you missed it first time around. This review excerpt is going to be slightly shorter and completely spoiler free, but you're more than welcome to read my spoilery review here!
'Change has never done me any favors--mostly because I've never tried it--so I don't know why I imagined that tonight would be any different.'
In this novel, we follow Chelsea Greer through her 'One Chance Night' - in which she takes a chance and heads to a bar with a work colleague and her roommate, two women she hardly knows, despite the fact that her husband would go crazy if he knew she had sneaked out of the house while he spent time with his friends. On this night out, she meets mystery man Brett, who recognises the fact that she isn't happy and takes it upon himself to help her with her problems and give her the confidence to make changes in her life - and decide whether to take a chance on the possibility of true love...
The premise of 'One Chance Night' was reminiscent of synopsis's I'd read about Gayle Forman's 'Just One Day' (which I admittedly haven't picked up yet!) but it meant that I was very interested in reading a novel set entirely in one evening, even if I did worry that it might get a little stale. Thankfully, it didn't! The first half of the novel was well developed and gave a brilliant setting of Chelsea's life, letting us see inside her relationship with Wesley, the husband she just doesn't love anymore.
But, surprisingly, there is a little jump in time - between the One Chance Night and a period of time eight months later. I will admit that I did find this a bit hard to get my head around - I'd gotten perfectly into the mind frame for the story and then it jumped quite drastically, but it definitely kept the novel interesting and moved the story along.
Eliza Boyd crafts brilliant characters, and I loved her constant referencing of country songs (some that I knew, some that I didn't, but all that I've written down to listen to as a playlist!) because it is a really under-appreciated genre, and one that specialises in the storytelling aspect of lyric writing, making it perfect to add a deeper level to this kind of novel.If you're interested in reading 'One Chance Night', it's available on Amazon UK and Amazon US! The second installment in the series, 'Two Pink Lines', will be out in just under a year, so keep an eye out for that too - I guarantee it's going to be great.
Because I was so interested in the country music aspect of the novel, when I got the chance to ask Eliza Boyd for a top ten list, there was no way I could resist asking her about her favourite country music songs! So get your cowboy boots on and get ready to dance, because Eliza is about to give your ears a treat!
1. Sam Hunt - Take Your Time
From the moment I heard this song, I've been in love. His mix of spoken word and singing and his fresh, creative songwriting combine to make something incredible. Plus, he's pretty nice on the eyes :)
2. Blake Shelton - Boys 'round Here
He's pretty classic, but his new stuff is what got me interested. This song is so fun! He has some really romantic songs too. And his live show is really entertaining.
3. Florida Georgia Line - Round Here
They have a great live show too, but I love the catchy tunes (even though I really didn't like 'Cruise' when I first heard it). But this one is probably my favorite, as it inspired the very first book I started to write.
4. Lady Antebellum - Downtown
This song screams karaoke to me. And it's cute and it makes me dance. I haven't listened to too much of their other music, but I enjoy this song a lot.
5. Dustin Lynch - Where It's At
I love to dance and sing to this in the car (like I do with all of these songs). It makes me happy! The whole song is cute and fun #yepyep
6. Thomas Rhett - Get Me Some Of That
Yet another song I love to sing and dance to in the car! Makes me want to swing my hips and sling my hair like he says in the song. Haha!
7. Brett Eldredge - Don't Ya
Ooooh this song. It made the idea of 'One Chance Night' pop into my head, so I can't be mad at it. Haha! But I actually love it. I love his deep voice. Hehe.
8. Kelsea Ballerini - Yeah Boy
Or 'Love Me Like You Mean It' or 'Dibs' or 'XO'. Seriously, I love this girl. Her songs are catchy, well written, and fun. She's incredible live, too. Her voice is on point and she kills it. Good stuff!
9. Rascal Flatts - Mayberry
This song makes me feel like I'm in the South, sitting in a rocking chair on a porch with some really chill souls who might be strumming a guitar. Love it! :)
10. Sam Hunt - Speakers
Okay, I tried not to repeat, but I can't help it. His music is amazing, this song is so romantic in that ooey-gooey way. Mmmm. :) It's slow and sweet and I totally dig it.
I also want to say a huge thank you to Patchwork Press for giving me the opportunity to get involved in this book tour. As regular readers of my blog know, half of my reviews are for concerts that I've been to, so it was brilliant to finally have the two sides of my blog working in harmony for this music-orientated book tour! I hope you enjoyed this post and found some country music that you can enjoy - it'll take over your life before you know it.
Thank you so much for posting this!! I'm glad you loved the book, and I hope you enjoy my favorite country songs!! <3
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing them with me! The weather here is lovely at the minute, so country music is extremely fabulous for this time of year :)
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