#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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This one was recommended to me by a reader and I’m so glad she told me to buy. One Day in December is original and fresh British chick lit with the HEA romance that I crave. So fun with lots of emotion. This one has all the right feels!
One Day in December is an absolutely wonderful story. Laurie’s story is so realistic. Life throws curve balls and kinks, different paths are taken, truths are spoken or even realized. Every part of this story screamed real life. I felt I grew up with Laurie. I went through her highs and lows. I battled heartache and love with her. Through every twist, bump, turn, plummet, and soar Jack was there. I am so happy I have read One Day in December!!
What do you do when your best friend and roommate brings home the man you’ve been searching for all year? After catching Jack’s eye at a bus stop Lori searches for him because in that one moment she fell in love. When Sarah brings him home Lori doesn’t say anything and life goes on for all three.
All three characters are likeable, funny, and complicated. Each one deserves happiness, but the reader is taken for a wild ride as their lives change and grow. You can’t help but feel their joys and sorrows, as the author weaves an excellent tale.
I decided to read this book as it was quite famous a couple of years I go but never read it, until now. I wanted to get in the Christmas mood, and this book looked perfect for it. And it sort of gives you that Christmas feeling. BUT. I’m quite confused about my feelings for this book.
It started perfectly. Amazing actually. Quite engaging. I loved Laurie, she was fun and kind of relatable. But then, it got a bit slow. I found it had so many filling words and little story.
Also, I just didn’t connect with the main characters love story. At times, yes, but I think the narrative lacked that ability to connect with the reader. I didn’t feel their love story. And I have to say, I just hated Jack. But honestly, I think he’s such a jerk. I don’t know how Laurie was so into him. Rather, I don’t understand all the big fuss about him.
I did like how the story developed. But I think the book was too long for what it is. And the end, honestly, it killed all the love I had for the book. So the end was as it should have been. It was sweet and fun. BUT. Too short for such a long book! There’s should have been an epilogue at least.
Yet, I think it was a fun book. I loved Laurie (partly TBH. I don’t think she valued Oscar as he should have. He was way better than Jack) I loved Sarah and her story. The only one I didn’t like was Jack, to be honest. He ruined a big part of the book to me. However, it does give you that Christmas feeling. But I wouldn’t read it again. Ever. But maybe I could watch a movie about it.
Just finished listening to this book and thought it was fantastic. Sophie Cousens does a great job of examining the characters throughout their lives, at different stages of maturity and situations. I loved how I wanted to shake the characters for not saying what was on their mind, but all the while admiring how it was realistic that people in that age range/situation would do just what they were doing. Great listen/read.
slow burn but worth
I loved this book!
Love the romance between the best friends. The story was tender and sweet!
I read this book on a recommendation; and, upon completion, immediately thanked the person who suggested it. The author did such a wonderful job of showing how one thought, one hesitation, one accident, can change lives. It was so utterly realistic, and totally absorbing. I finished it in one day, eating packaged food and ignoring the phone.
Loved this story! Bought her second book but not as good as this one!
This cute story is about love at first sight, friendships, relationships, and so much more. As the title says it starts one day in December as Laurie is on the bus on her way home from work. She sees a “boy” through the window and is instantly attracted to him, but before either of them can do anything the bus leaves the stop and they are separated with no way of finding each other. She looks for him everywhere that she goes with her best friend Sarah, but with no luck until one day she meets him again but it is not how she imagined it would be. The story goes from there and I won’t give anything away, except to say that I was rooting for all of the characters in the book to get their happily ever after.
An emotional journey of missed chances. This has been the hardest book for me to a) finish and b) rate. The overall story is cute, but it dragged quite a bit (almost reminiscent of Groundhog’s Day.) The first part of the book is funny and charming, but once you find yourself in a scenario where you’re ashamed to root for the main characters, it all went downhill from there for me.
Eventually, I started to accept Laurie’s new relationship and altered my initial HEA scenario, only for the entire structure to be destroyed. Personally, I’m not a fan of books that take the ENTIRE story for the characters to get a happy ending (I’m okay if they’re at least friends throughout), and that literally only happened in the last 2% of the book.
My heart still hurts just thinking about all of the characters in this story, as it was focused on more than just Laurie and Jack. I forced myself to finish it on the eve of my birthday, so I could move on to a happier read. I’m still in a funk over it and it’s been 2 weeks. Maybe it the fact that I listened to the audiobook, so it seemed more real and heart-wrenching to me? I enjoyed the authors story-telling and will definitely read more of her books, but this one should come with wine and chocolate.
I’ll explain my rating in more detail, as technically it’s two different ratings:
The writing was great, and the concept of the “love at first sight” was a charming idea.
Honestly, the storyline dragged on so long, I kept having to force myself to continue, just so I could have closure and know what happens.
Escapist romance to get lost in. Dropped one star because it took a while to get going. I was wondering how Jack and Laurie would be kept apart for ten years but the author pulled it off. The story was highly addictive and enjoyable. Loved the characters. And the ending deserves to be one of those rom-com movie moments to remember.
Enjoyed getting to know these characters. Well written. During pandemic looking for more books that I can escape into, this book fit the bill.
This was rather an intense love story. I enjoyed the book but thought it was a bit long. It seemed to take forever to get where it was going.
I would still recommend this book
This is my third time reading/listening to this book. It is amazing every single time. How can you not read a book like this every December? I feel for Lori every time, the pain she goes through so that her best friend is happy, yet all for nothing once her friend knows the truth. I really need to read more by this author, she is quite brilliant.
This book captured my heart the moment I read the back cover! The characters had me torn on what I wanted the outcome to be. It was hard not falling in love with all of the characters. I never get emotional about books, but this one had me grabbing for the tissues because sometimes it hit too close to home. It kept me up at night worried about what was going to happen next, I couldn’t sleep until I had finished it! I wish I could read this book for the first time again and experience it all over again. I would definitely read it again later!
Laurie is on a bus home when she locks eyes with a stranger and experiences, love at first sight. He feels it too and tries to get on the bus before it leaves but he’s too late. Laurie searches for this man for a long time and as she’s getting ready to give up she meets him. What follows is a lot of feelings that they can’t share with each other, a friendship that they want to be more but it can’t, and a love that is right but at the wrong time.
We follow the ups and downs of their lives, their relationships, etc. It’s a whirlwind and the ending is amazing! At one point I was sure I knew how it would end and I was wrong. Which I should have known. Lol. This story was truly lovely and at certain points made me tear up. I fell in love with the characters and everyone needs a friend like Sar!
A definite must read!
A fun romantic read. Good weekend/beach read.
The story line is a little predictable.