Review: “One Night with Frankie” by Mimi Flood

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Release Date: July 5th, 2021

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Ah, an age gap novella with all the steam you can enjoy. I think Mimi Flood knows what gets me going, because this novella was a quick read and steamy. But, it was also filled with feels and heart and two characters who capture your attention from the moment they step onto the page.

“They were two broken souls, both needing something they didn’t feel worthy of.”

Henry Camden has gone through quite a bit in his life – losing his job, losing his wife and losing all respect. All the things that transpired to turn him into a grumpy man were not true, but there was only so much he could do to prove his innocence and that left him coming back to his small hometown of Oakwhite Bay to take over the family business – an ice cream shop. Frankie Ashford is on the run following another scandal that had her being talked about all over the internet. And the only place she can go is the town where she spent summers as a child – Oakwhite Bay. But when she gets there, and her actions catch up with her, she becomes an emotional mess and lands up on the doorstep of the ice cream shop she loved as a kid.

I love damaged characters, because when you meet them and they’re struggling, it shows you that they’re going to uplift each other and get better by the time you reach the end of the book. Both Henry and Frankie have endured a lot and they know that their lives are not always going to be bad, but right now, it’s just not good. And that’s affecting them in more ways than they even want to admit to themselves. Coming together, colliding in a way that spells what could be disaster, they both realise that they’re not living their full lives. Something has always been missing and now, they have a chance to figure that out one step at a time and do it together. 

As it is a novella, the feelings and emotions are moving faster than you might be used to, but Mimi does a great job at bringing all of that together. Henry is hesitant at first, he’s been down this road before, but Frankie is slowly chipping away at his walls and his heart and worming her way in with or without him along for the ride. Every time Henry holds Frankie away, she finds a way to get back into his space and make him see that they could really enjoy this and they could be so much more than what he’s afraid of. I also loved how while Henry is the older person in the relationship, Frankie is the one who is teaching him things about himself, about the world and about life. Despite being younger than him and being the daughter of a billionaire, Frankie is very self-aware and looking to make a difference in the world. 

“Like a moth to a flame, he drew her in. And though that moth had broken wings, it still wanted to make its way into that bright white flame of his, unconcerned with what pain it might cause them both.”

I enjoyed watching their relationship develop through sex. Frankie is definitely the more experienced when it comes to matters of the body and pleasure, but she makes sure that Henry wants what she wants before she jumps into his arms and has her wicked way with him. We need more of that – a woman asking a man for consent, giving him the option to walk away. That really heightens their relationship in a way you don’t expect and that’s what makes them so special together too. And yes, One Night With Frankie is HAWT. Turn up your fan or your AC, because you are going to need something to cool you down. Everything in the book leads up to that moment, so you’ve got all this pent up desire and want that finally pushes them over the edge and it’s glorious. 

One Night with Frankie was an absolute treat and I love how much we got of these characters in such a short amount of time, and how attached I became when I finally finished Frankie and Henry’s story. Can we get more, Mimi?

Thanks to Mimi Flood for generously providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.