Prepare to fall head over heels. The perfect book for fans of Josie Silver, This Time Next Year, and anyone who ever fell in love with the wrong person… unlucky-in-love Jess is following her dream and moving to Notting Hill. On the first night in her new house-share she meets Alex, the guy in the room next door. They don’t kiss under the mistletoe, but there’s still a spark that leaves Jess imagining how they might spend the year together – never mind the house rule against dating…
But when Jess returns from her Christmas holiday, she finds Alex has started seeing Emma, who lives on the floor above them. Now Jess faces a year of bumping into the man of her dreams – and, apparently, the woman of his.
Jess is determined to move on and spend the year falling in love with London, not Alex – but what if her heart has other ideas?
Everyone is falling for We Met in December…
‘Bridget Jones meets Love Actually – the PERFECT Christmas story and I loved, loved, loved it’ Cathy Bramley
‘Like putting on your favourite Christmas jumper: cosy, heartwarming and gorgeously romantic’ Holly Martin
‘Effortlessly capturing the magic of Christmas, this brilliantly characterised and light-hearted read is the perfect choice to add a little romance into those dark winter days’ Woman’s Weekly
‘A perfect festive hug of a book. It’s packed with brilliant characters, beautiful settings, warm humour and a love story guaranteed to steal your heart. I absolutely adored this clever, wonderful story. Get ready to meet your new favourite author!’ Miranda Dickinson
‘Just what everyone needs right now – a gorgeously warm and uplifting story full of romance’ Alex Brown
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A feel good romance!
At the urging of her grandmother, Jess travels to London with the dream of starting a new phase of her life. When a college friend offers a flat in a grand old mansion in Notting Hill, she jumps at the chance and soon becomes enamored with roommate Alex.
Unfortunately, he’s interested in the girl living on the next floor and now Jess’s dream has turned into a nightmare.
This story started out slow for me, but it had some sweet moments that kept me turning the pages. The standout for me came with the author’s quaint, quirky descriptions of London. It made me want to go there for a visit!
I give We Met in December 4 lovely kisses- Not bad!
We Met in December is my first from Rosie Curtis and it is truly a very sweet read. Many have compared it to One Day in December by Josie Silver and yes it has some similarities but overall the story is much different. And I enjoyed it immensely.
Told in alternating POV’s, Alex and Jess are up and coming professionals, who have taken the jobs of their dreams which leaves them with not much money to spend on housing etc. Due to the generosity of their mutual friend Becky, each is now a housemate of hers on the tony Albany Road, outside of London proper. What ensues is a playful kind of friendship btw Alex and Jess, who fit really well together but seek out other romantic partners even as they crush on one another.
The banter between not only Jess and Alex, but btw the entire motley crew that makes up their house is great fun. I loved the scenes where all the housemates were together and would enjoy bottles of wine, watch Netflix and simply be the crazy, unassuming group they were. All have unique personalities and add the right touch to this book.
The oft-times frustrating, slow burn that is the romance between Jess and Alex surprisingly moves ahead a bit quickly with each chapter typically being another month later. The author does not bore us with the day to day, but sometimes I felt as if there wasn’t enough detail to know just what each character was truly feeling and/or thinking. I needed to dig a bit deeper as much felt left on the surface.
But I will say that their adventures through London with Alex as Jess’s tour guide were the highlights of this story as they find themselves simply loving this uncomplicated time they could spend together. Those walks became the foundation for their burgeoning attraction and clearly fueled the fire between them.
In addition, the secondary characters of Nanna Beth, Sophie, Gen and even Jess’s mom, were perfectly placed and increased the witty factor tenfold. Each were a necessary part of Jess’s life and gave her the perspective she often needed to sort out her complicated love life.
Overall, I’d say that We Met in December is a lovely little read about the trials and tribulations of being on your own and blazing a path to what and who you want, even if it seems impossible. Add to the mix, British humour which is a favorite of mine, and you have a great read for a lazy afternoon.
I’d certainly read more from this author and I wouldn’t even mind an update on this wonderfully loving crew.
4 solid stars
Living the single life in London; does it have to lead to heartbreak?!
September 10, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition
4.5stars
I loved the ending of this book, even though my heart cracked a bit every time romantic lead Jess hit another emotional stumbling block in her search for love and fulfillment in London. Jess is a true romantic; Richard Curtis movies are her fantasy life and comforts when the man she fancies appears impervious and unaware of her feelings. The supporting characters were well-drawn, some a lot more likable than others. Jess’s worry that she’s abandoning her beloved grandmother in Bournemouth to embrace her dream of a career in the London publishing world makes her a totally sympathetic and relatable heroine. I could not stop reading, I so wanted her choices to work out.
Housemate Alex was laudable in some ways but he is definitely not perfect and some of his ill-advised moves, usually fallen into while in an alcoholic haze or driven by an engrained sense of politeness, were hard for me to accept. Fortunately Jess is more forgiving of his frailties and, miscommunication and secret longings notwithstanding, their good times together are sublime!
If you are looking for a sweet, slow-burn romance that pays homage to the delights of London’s iconic neighborhoods, look no further!
Thanks to publisher Avon Books and NetGalley for providing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
When I read the summary of this book, I had high hopes for it. Unfortunately, the book did not meet my expectations. I especially like to read a friends to romantic couple story, so I thought this book definitely would be for my taste.
The story was drawn out and I felt like I was reading just to finish the book, instead of reading and being interested in what would happen.
I am sorry, but this book was just “okay” to me. I think I am just too old for the plot of casual sex meaning nothing, while you long for another person that you think you might love.
I want to thank NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book. My review is my opinion not influenced by receiving the ARC.
We Met in December by Rosie Curtis a five-star read that will light you up like a Christmas tree. This blew me away, the emotions running through this story will have your heart in your mouth and then your stomach. All of the housemates play a part in the story, and at times I did want to shake one or two, telling them to grow up and admit how they felt, or just shake them and tell them to move out… Becky was a great all-round cheerleader for everyone, getting the party started when she needed to, as sometimes you can just be too much of a grown up. Rob is the more stable, dependable one making sure everyone eats properly (sourdough to melt your heart), there is also Emma, but I honestly don’t know what I feel about her even now a few days after I finished the story so Im’ma just gonna leave my words about her. Then we have Alex and Jess who are the main players of the story, its this pair that tell us the story, they show us the story not only from this amazing house, but from the city of London, with hints Bournemouth and Kent as well. It’s this pair that we follow through the ups and downs of their year, we follow them as they wander through London, Jess getting lost and Alex showing her the way, in more ways than one. This was such a great and compelling read, as it wasn’t that they meet, they fell in love and then live happily ever after, this was much more real, they meet, they like each other and then life happens, you get drunk make stupid mistakes and life goes on getting in the way. As a fellow lover of the great Richard Curtis and a good romcom I loved Jess, she just warmed me to the depth of my cold dark heart.
Cute romance in London.
WE MET IN DECEMBER by Rosie Curtis
I enjoyed this read very much for a sweet everyday type of a romance nothing explosive or titillating in every sense of the word. Yes, it did take some time to develop as it spanned an entire year; but a quick read of this slow burn romance. This is also not necessarily a Christmas read at all which was actually great. I enjoyed that the setting was in London – Nottinghill and I enjoyed reminiscing back walking along the city through this book – and that I really enjoyed very much! I love the characters in this book, with Jess working in publishing and Alex a nurse, along with the dialogue, and the funny interactions. Overall, this was a great read for me that was entertaining and truly delightful.
From the moment we meet Jess, I knew we were going to be besties. I mean, she’s this great combination of overly serious (regarding her own personal choices and reactions) and sweet that you really just can’t help yourself….you love her and you’re rooting for her from the start. The fact that her LIFE life and LOVE life are getting just a tad more complicated only makes you feel for her more because honestly, can anyone say they haven’t fallen for the wrong guy/girl at the wrong time? Exactly….she’s human, relatable, and when she’s not pining or wallowing in her personal pools of guilt (well, actually even then), she’s a great soul to be around.
All in all, it was a new(ish) take on a Contemporary Romance for my reading journey, but alls well that ends well in love and reading, right? There are moments to laugh at, times to cringe at the audacity of life, and things to unexpectedly celebrate with good friends.
**copy received for review; opinions are my own
Set in London, the story had charming locations for each turn in the book. The 2 main characters were funny and enjoyed the other members in the book. Very inviting
This was so so sweet, very much your typical romance where you know exactly how it will end but enjoy everything about it anyway and find yourself smiling throughout. If you don’t like steamy love scenes then you will appreciate this book as there are none.
Living the single life in London; does it have to lead to heartbreak?!
September 10, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition
4.5stars
I loved the ending of this book, even though my heart cracked a bit every time romantic lead Jess hit another emotional stumbling block in her search for love and fulfillment in London. Jess is a true romantic; Richard Curtis movies are her fantasy life and comforts when the man she fancies appears impervious and unaware of her feelings. The supporting characters were well-drawn, some a lot more likable than others. Jess’s worry that she’s abandoning her beloved grandmother in Bournemouth to embrace her dream of a career in the London publishing world makes her a totally sympathetic and relatable heroine. I could not stop reading, I so wanted her choices to work out.
Housemate Alex was laudable in some ways but he is definitely not perfect and some of his ill-advised moves, usually fallen into while in an alcoholic haze or driven by an engrained sense of politeness, were hard for me to accept. Fortunately Jess is more forgiving of his frailties and, miscommunication and secret longings notwithstanding, their good times together are sublime!
If you are looking for a sweet, slow-burn romance that pays homage to the delights of London’s iconic neighborhoods, look no further!
Thanks to publisher Avon Books and NetGalley for providing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
Alex and Jess are both starting their lives over in London. Alex has recently changed careers from corporate lawyer to nurse, wanting to make a difference in the world, and his engagement has just ended. Jess has moved away from her grandmother who raised her to take her dream job at a publishing house. Each renting a room from a mutual friend, they quickly bond over long walks through the city. With a no couples in rule in the house, they spend the year trying to ignore their feelings.
This was such a cute story. I adored London as the setting and it gave me a bit of wanderlust. Jess is a fantastic character, so relatable, I was cracking up while reading the Pilates class description. My heart hurt for her after bumping into Emma, and deciding that she just needed to figure out her feelings and move on. And Alex, I hate to say it, but I wanted to hate him a little in the beginning, and then a little more when James came into the picture. His statements about grief were dead on and made me miss the one’s I’ve lost. I really didn’t expect to feel so many emotions while reading this book. It was sweet, and little swoony, with some frustration, heartbreak, and a lot of a slow burn. I appreciated that this story felt real, the characters, their incomes, jobs, friendships, dating woes, overall this was a GREAT story. Highly recommend.
ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review