Portobello Book Blog

As soon as I heard about One Night in Edinburgh I knew I had to read it. After all, I was born and bred in Edinburgh and still live here. It would be rude not to, right? Thanks to Rachel for having me as part of the tour and to publishers Canelo for the review copy from Netgalley. One Night in Edinburgh is published today in paperback and ebook. Let’s find out what the book is about.

One night. But how many second chances?

Heartbroken on Hogmanay, Steph wanders through the Edinburgh street party until she bumps into Jamie. He’s funny, attractive and clearly interested. In a word, he’s perfect – but she didn’t get his number. All she remembers is his lime and mango beer.  

Determined to be reunited, Steph tracks him by a milk carton style campaign, sticking a message to his favourite beer across local pubs. Although eventually reunited, Jamie is frequently uncontactable and evasive, and Steph worries she’s on the path to heartbreak once more.

There’s a fine line between being patient and being gullible, and Steph’s reaching her limit. When a chance encounter with Jamie reveals his secret, she faces an even tougher decision. Should Steph give love another chance, or was one night in Edinburgh all she and Jamie were meant to have?

A funny and emotional romance for fans of Mhairi McFarlane, Beth O’Leary and Rosie Walsh.

My Thoughts

It would be hard not to feel for Steph when her relationship ends unexpectedly on Hogmanay of all days. When she is persuaded to go to the Street Party in Princes Street by her friend Anna, she meets the gorgeous Jamie and despite her recent heartbreak, there is most definitely a spark. After a night to remember, they go their separate ways with seemingly no way to get in touch. If fate brought Steph and Jamie together on Hogmanay, would fate bring them together again? I really enjoyed reading about the ways Steph tried to give fate a helping hand by visiting the area she knew he lived in, going to the pub they had gone to that night and launching a beer can campaign. It read like a rom-com film and I do think this would be a brilliant film actually.

It soon became apparent that Jamie perhaps wasn’t all he seemed and was hiding something major from Steph. Like her, I did feel he was one of life’s good guys and couldn’t imagine what his circumstances and reasons were for behaving the way he did. When all was revealed, although I was surprised, it all made perfect sense and tied in nicely with many of the themes of the book.

Steph has some great friends and Anna and Connor were excellent supporting characters. The friendship between Anna and Steph in particular was so well written. Connor and Steph’s relationship was rather unusual to say the least but I really enjoyed how it developed over the course of the book and the genuine pleasure they found in each others happiness.

Steph’s family, on the other hand, were so materialistic, really quite unpleasant and judgemental, apart from her brother Mikey. I have to say though that the family WhatsApp messages were often quite funny. I did wonder if they remembered that Steph was part of the group! 😄

I loved the setting of this one of course. The detailed mention of streets and shops, bars and buses that I’m so familiar with really brought the book to life for me. There’s something special about reading a book set somewhere you know so well. It was obvious that the author also knows Edinburgh well and hadn’t just chosen it as a nice place to set a book. A lot of it was set around north Edinburgh where I’m from. I feel that I’ll be expecting to see Steph or Jamie next time I’m passing Leith Links or walking along Duke Street!

One Night in Edinburgh is an engaging, romantic read. Meeting the right person can happen at the most unexpected of times and I really enjoyed reading about Steph and Jamie’s journey and the will-they-won’t-they path the book takes you on.

Purchase Links

UK – One-Night-Edinburgh

US – One-Night-Edinburgh

About the Author

Nina Kaye is a contemporary romance author who writes warm, witty and uplifting reads with a deeper edge. She lives in Edinburgh with her husband and much adored side-kick, James. In addition to writing, Nina enjoys swimming, gin and karaoke (preferably all enjoyed together in a sunny, seaside destination). Nina has previously published The Gin Lover’s Guide to Dating and has also been a contender for the RNA Joan Hessayson Award.

Social Media Links

Instagram: @ninakayeauthor

Facebook Author Page: @NinaKayeAuthor

Twitter: @NinaKayeAuthor