The Night We Met

4.5 stars The Night We Met is the fourteenth stand-alone novel by American author, Tara Taylor Quinn. Eliza Crowley is attending college, living in a Catholic convent and just weeks away from becoming a postulant nun when she meets Nate Grady in a pub. He's much older, 32 to her 19, divorced, and her path in life is already set. But meeting Nate throws all her plans awry. She is stunned by her own reply when he writes her a letter proposing marriage. It is 1968, so her decision means rejection by the Church and being disowned by her family. Both believe their love is strong enough to survive this isolation.

What is fascinating about this novel is that it is inspired by the author's parents, and based loosely on their marriage. It is a first person narrative, from Eliza's perspective, told plainly, and is no standard Happily Ever After tale. There are plenty of ups and downs in the forty years they spend together, happiness and heartbreak. This is a very moving read.