#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Get ready to be swept up in a whirlwind romance. It absolutely charmed me.”—Reese Witherspoon (A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick) “The perfect book to get lost in . . . Josie Silver’s characters sneak their way into your heart and stay.”—Jill Santopolo, author of The Light We Lost Two people. Ten chances. One unforgettable love story.Laurie is pretty sure love at …
Two people. Ten chances. One unforgettable love story.
Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn’t exist anywhere but the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there’s a moment of pure magic…and then her bus drives away.
Certain they’re fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London for him. But she doesn’t find him, not when it matters anyway. Instead they “reunite” at a Christmas party, when her best friend Sarah giddily introduces her new boyfriend to Laurie. It’s Jack, the man from the bus. It would be.
What follows for Laurie, Sarah and Jack is ten years of friendship, heartbreak, missed opportunities, roads not taken, and destinies reconsidered. One Day in December is a joyous, heartwarming and immensely moving love story to escape into and a reminder that fate takes inexplicable turns along the route to happiness.
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I’m a little late reading this book but it was so worth the wait! Absolutely adored the story and characters – I laughed and cried!
Wonderful romance about two strangers passing in the night and the spark that lasts for years.
Another winner! I loved One Day in December. With the evening news such a slog on my tv each night, this book is a pure, well-written, entertaining escape.
The premise is simple. The bus on which a London woman is riding reaches a stop where a man is waiting for his connection. She is inside; he is outside. Their eyes meet. Something passes between them, an instant connection. She thinks of getting off; he thinks of getting on. Neither acts, and the moment is lost – but not forgotten. She spends the next year hunting for him; he spends the next year hunting for her. Then they finally see each other again in an untenable circumstance …
But I can’t say more without giving away the story, and why do that? It is beautifully written, with twists and turns enough to keep emotions running high. Call it a romance if you want; I prefer to think of it as a smartly-written slice of modern life. Compared to other books I’ve recently read and reviewed, it’s nowhere near as heavy as Paris in the Present Tense, as timely as Home Fire, or as culturally relevant as Becoming. But, boy, is it a pleasure to read.
Adding to the pleasure? Hugely? The readers of the Audible version, to which I listened. There were two, one female and one male. Both are truly skilled actors and give the story warmth and charm and flair. If you watch “Poldark” on PBS’s Masterpiece, you’ll recognize the female voice as that of Eleanor Tomlinson, who plays Demelza. She’s wonderful here.
One Day in December is billed as a Christmas love story. And fine, if you don’t believe in love at first sight, this book may not be for you. But if you’re feeling fanciful, and you want something to sweep you up and take you away at any time of year, why not give it a try?
Hugh Grant has nothing on Jack. Whimsical, romantic, and a great feel good read.
My 2018 Christmas Day read and the perfect choice. The three main characters are a delight; the story is poignant, funny, sweet, and filled with unexpected moments and true-to-life screw-ups; and you keep flipping pages, desperate to figure out how the story threads weave together. If you want a feel-good page-turner, this is it, y’all. (And yes, I believe in love at first sight, says the person who met her husband of 30 years in a crowded concourse at JFK airport.)
A delight of a novel, a perfect rom-com escape.
I loved, loved, LOVED this book. It grabbed me from the first page and I couldn’t wait to get done with the grownup part of my day so I could cozy up and read. Will be looking forward to more from this author!
This was such a beautiful book. I loved most of it. Laurie meets a guy she falls in love with as she stances in a crowded bus. He looks up and knows. They share a private moment. She looks for him until a year later, she finds him. Her best friends’ new boyfriend Jack. Over ten years, there’s a beautiful friendship but just the wrong time. He’s happy with Sarah but he knows he likes Laurie. He splits with Sarah, she’s getting married. She leaves Oscar and he’s with someone now. Ten long years till they find each other again. I hated that she left Oscar so easily but overall the author does a fantastic job of telling us Josie’s reasons for doing so. I think the editor was stellar here. Loved this book.
Listened to audio. Great narration.
Whicked good book. I really loved it. It’s so cute. Keep going.
Romantics of the world, here’s a lovely treat for you! A heart-tugging story filled with vivid characters that will have you racing through to the end with your heart in your throat, hoping. Hats off to Ms. Silver for taking two characters whom you will want to be together from the get-go and making an entire and credible story of why they’re not and cannot be. From a plotting standpoint, not an easy task, not one iota, making the reasons they’re apart for the better part of 400 pages believable and not defaulting to an easy plot twist to change that. If you’re a fan of movies like Love Actually or Notting Hill or such, this book is for you. I haven’t paid any attention to Reese Witherspoon’s book club, but I will after this–SO thrilled that there’s a book club that doesn’t require darkness and tragedy and dysfunction for a book to qualify to be included, that Ms. Witherspoon will allow us romantics a chance!
5*+ Heartfelt Loving Stars
I eventually found the time to read the paperback version of this fantastic book which has been begging for me to read it.
I am feeling so content and happy that I found the time to read this heartfelt, heart-warming story of Laurie and Jack and their very long and complicated road to love.
I enjoyed that the story was told from both their POV’s. The story flowed well and consumed me from beginning to end.
I highly recommend this wonderful read which was full of feels and will touch your heart and leave you happy.
I love this author so anything she puts out I’m going to read and just know I will adore it! This story was no different!
This book is funny, heartbreaking and fell good all at the same time. Be ready to have tissues at hand because you’ll need them. I immediately became engrossed in this book even though this type of thing is not my usual read. Judging by the other reviews on here I would say this book is marmite you’re either going to love it or hate it. Whether or not you’re still hopeful about finding the one or not this book will make you feel like it’s possible. Fantastic writing style.
Do you believe in love at first sight? One Day in December is a beautifully written story about love at first sight. But love at first sight doesn’t always mean happily ever after. Laurie makes eye contact with a man from her bus window and falls instantly in love. Later, her roommate, Sarah, introduces Laurie to her new boyfriend, Jack. Although Jack is the man from the bus window, Laurie refuses to hurt her best friend and fights her feelings for Jack. We follow the trio over 10 years of ups and downs, relationships and heartbreak. I do not normally read romance books but One Day in December tugged at my heartstrings! I would love to see this story on the big screen!
I stayed up until 3am reading this book and it was totally worth the 4 hours of sleep I ended up getting. I loved this so so much. Laurie, Sarah, Jack…all of them were incredible characters I was SO invested in getting their happily-ever-after.
ONE DAY IN DECEMBER takes place over an almost ten-year time span. The characters (in their 20s and 30s) are like people you know or have known, and you get to know them so well in the pages of this book that there are times when you want to say, “What’s the matter with you?” Or, “Pull your head out of your bum!” I was trying to outguess the author and had anticipated a different ending. I like the one author Josie Silver delivers much better! An enjoyable read.
Perfect holiday read! One Day meets Love Actually, set in my favorite city–London.
I am not a usual romance reader. But this was recommended so I decided to give it a try. I loved it. Perfect winter read.
This is one of those books that will have you sighing at the end. The characters are a bit unbelievable or, at least, no one I know can fall so deeply in love and have a long-term sexual relationship with a person and then become “best friends” in real life. But the book will keep you guessing about where the story is going and how the main characters will ever get together.