Originally Published: 10-08-2020
On a Night Like This is the 1st book in the Callaways Series by Barbara Freethy.
Remember that this series is about the Callaway family, all 8 kids!!
Book Details
This is the beginning of a series about a large family.
But the telling of these stories is not in birth order at all. They are randomly shared.
This is Aidan Callaway’s and Sara Davidson’s story.
They were not high school sweethearts but she did have a huge crush on him when they were teenagers.
Now she’s come back to face her father and runs into Aidan.
I found another book cover for this book, published in 2012, but this on was for paperback editions.
This book is based in San Francisco with all of the members living in and around there.
This is an easy read, with no complicated plotline.
You’ll find that it’s classified as a contemporary romance but also a romantic suspense as well. I think it’s called a suspense novel because of the parts about Emma and Max and the case that they have to solve.
There’s one scene that you need to be aware of.
Aidan Callaway is a smoke jumper and just prior to the story, he loses his best friend and colleague to a fire. But his best friend’s death has left him reeling and lost.
He goes home to his family home in San Fran to hopefully recoup and to heal.
Meanwhile, his next door neighbor, Sara Davidson, has come back home to surprise her father on his birthday. Now being a bit estranged makes this interesting.
Sara’s father has always hated her and always driven her to be the best, do the best.
Even though she’s made it as a lawyer, she’s always felt like there’s something missing.
And coming home, she’s hoping to be able to reconnect with her father.
Now she’s always had a crush on Aidan Callaway and was surprised to see him during the exact time that she comes home.
But it gives them a chance to reconnect and see what they have is worth fighting for.
So while it’s not a “one that got away” story or a “high school sweethearts” story, it is a reconnecting type of story.
Sara had a massive crush on Aidan when they were teenagers. Ten years later, she’s made a name for herself and Aidan is a success firefighter and smokejumper.
Sara and Aidan reconnect again and find that they are exactly what the other needs. Aidan is a daredevil and risk taker, while Sara is methodical and a planner!!
Needless to say, theirs is a combustible combination!
And an endearing one as they support each other during this difficult time and push each other to find the answers that they both need.
You see, Aidan wants to know what happened the night his friend died. He needs answers. And Sara finds out things about her father that changes the way that she looks at the world.
And they help each other make sense of things.
Yes, they do solve the who and why and what-fores for their issues and yes, it does end happy.
What you’ll also find is story loops into the next story that happens to be about Max and Emma. They first meet and start their interactions with scenes in this story. And then finish when they get to their book, book 2, So this is Love.
Conclusion
This story is a typical romance story with the characters coming together to solve something and then their friendship turns to love as time goes on!!
I enjoyed the dynamics of the characters but felt that the ending was way too fast and they changed too quickly to actual personality changes.
The story follows not only what’s happens with Aidan and Sara but also Max and Emma and several other family members.
I will admit it’s a cute story. A satisfying story where the characters realize what they should be doing and come to the same conclusions and then do that.
This is a great beginning to a great series.
