#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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More than just another Christmas romance, this story has some depth and enough events to keep you involved. The exploration of the different forms friendship is well done. The fact that it has a happy ending makes this a comfy December read.
I kept seeing this book on other book blogs so added it to my TBR list. It sounded like something that was right up my alley. I even went a step further than just putting it on a list, I actually went on a waiting list at my online library. I was very busy and actually had only days left before this book was due back and I knew I’d be stuck on the waiting list for months again once it went back. But I knew I could fit it in, and I’m glad I did.
This story isn’t your typical love story, but it’s definitely a love story. There is so much angst through the middle section of this story that it was actually difficult for me to read. As much as I wanted to know what was going to happen, as much as I wanted to see some kind of HEA for every character in this story, I just couldn’t see it and it made my gut hurt. Not only do I love Laurie and Jack, but Sarah is a wonderful person as well. Which is part of what hurt so much about this story.
The way Laurie and Jack “meet” is beyond amazing. Once their meeting doesn’t actually happen, I realized what was going to happen and really, really didn’t want to be right. The author does such an amazing job with the twists and turns and keeping loyalties split between the three main characters also making them all have real problems that I could totally understand and sympathize with. Sure, I was always rooting for a Laurie/Jack pairing, but I never wanted anyone else to get hurt in the process.
While I was a fan of all three characters, Jack would sometimes get under my skin. He definitely was not good at handling certain situations. But the same could be said for Laurie. So many times I wanted her to just speak up, but she let things go for far too long. The funny thing is, Sarah is the only one who truly didn’t ever do anything wrong (unless being oblivious to her best friend’s feelings is wrong, which I guess it is in a way) yet I was starting to root against her at one point. Which, later, made me feel terrible. Sarah really is a one of a kind friend who anyone would be lucky to have in their corner.
If you’re like me and have a hard time with these gut wrenching stories, it’s worth every angsty page to read this one. Through the highs and the lows, you have to read it all. The author really writes well-rounded characters. I’ll be keeping my eye on this author in the future.
https://allingoodtimeblog.wordpress.com/2019/12/05/one-day-in-december/
London at Christmas time. A moving love story. This one definitely goes in my ‘to read again’ pile.
One of the few books ever to make me cry.
One Day in December is an amazing and gripping story of friendship, family, and love that spans ten years. Once I started this book, I couldn’t put down this story about twenty-somethings, Laurie, Jack and Sarah, facing all the life threw at them.
The story is told in dual POV from Laurie and Jack’s perspectives (mostly Laurie’s). Sarah’s character development and story is learned only through the eyes of the narrators. I loved the story layout with chapters starting with the date (diary style) to denote the passage of time. Additionally, I thought it a nice touch to add Laurie’s annual New Year Resolutions as a way to note a new year and the changes in her life. The tension and angst run high throughout this entire book. My stomach was in knots over love found, destiny thwarted, and roads untaken.
I adored Sarah; she is kind, enthusiastic and caring despite the fact that her good looks, charm and obvious luck could have made her into a self-centered princess. Readers sense that Sarah is a good person and a fabulously loyal friend through Laurie’s love and devotion to her best friend.
I vacillate between thinking Jack is lovable, loyal and trying to do the right thing to thinking of him as a jerk. I know his post-Sarah girlfriends are just placeholders because he lost his girl and the woman he wanted to be his girl. I don’t know if my feelings about this character are due to his lack of acknowledgment of Laurie or that he comes off as a bit of a player at times.
I saved the best for last. Laurie is a delight. My heart was with her for every twist and turn her life took. I adored this charming character who loves hard, idolizes her flat-mate, and denies herself to ensure her best friend’s happiness. While traveling in the south Pacific, she meets a handsome fellow Brit who catches her eye and her heart. I melted when he called her his “starfish girl”. When Laurie and Oscar eventually return to real life back in London, the dreamy perfection of their vacation-love shifts slightly. I loved and hated this relationship. I wish I could rant and rave about the details, but that would spoil the read.
While there are plenty of romantic relationships throughout One Day in December, this book felt more like contemporary fiction. For those who shun ‘women’s literature” and “contemporary fiction”, don’t let that description deter you from reading this book! Readers follow Laurie, Sarah and Jack as they deal with the ups and downs of adult life—bad dates, dreamy boyfriends, death and betrayal. The three muddle through and eventually find their destiny.
A great read for fans of Sleepless in Seattle and any John Hughes film. The perfect, misty-eye ending had me holding my breath to the last word.
The audiobook is charmingly narrated by Eleanor Tomlinson and Charlie Anson.
Good read until half way through it got slow, not a huge fan of the outcome of the book and where the characters end up. But hey, that’s Life and sort of the point of the story. Easy, funny, and romantic read.
Ok, can I tell you how much I loved this book? This is an honest account of how love doesn’t always follow the script. You’re supposed to have the meet-cute, go through all the things, then fall madly, deeply in love. For Laurie and Jack, that is not how it happens. Yes, there’s the meet-cute, then they lose each other, followed by the longing to be swept up in a whirlwind romance, only to find each other when Jack turns up as Laurie’s best friend/chosen sister’s boyfriend. Yikes is right. Except you get to go on their complicated, winding road back to each other with them. All I’m saying is be prepared to laugh out loud, bring tissues, and yell at a book and have people randomly look at you like a weirdo.
I loved this book! There was a lot of meat to the story, and it definitely keeps you nose-to-book. I highly recommend it!
I felt sorry for Laurie and Jack. They each remember seeing each other on December day when Laurie was on the bus and Jack was waiting at the stop.
It was hard for Laurie, especially when Jack became her best friend’s boyfriend.
Finished it in one day, couldn’t put it down!
I liked that the time span of this story was 10 years. That gave the book a more original and sentimental feeling. I took off two stars because it was still quite cheesy and cliche, very predictable as well.
Such an easy to read fun loving book!! I couldn’t put it down!
Love, love loved this book! I read it in 24 hours and would read it again in a second. The characters are all believably flawed and there are a few surprises thrown in for good measure.
One glorious Boxing Day two years ago Franck took the girls on a hike and I stayed home and read this newly gifted book from cover to cover in one sitting. It was a glorious read full of longing and romance and Christmas in England.
I’m emotionally spent in the best way. This book is very nearly perfect.
Agh! This book. Oh man. I’m a member of several FB romance reader groups and I don’t understand why NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT OR RECOMMENDING THIS BOOK!
The only thing I would change about it is that I wish it were longer! I really wish it had an epilogue so I could see how happy they are 10 years after it ends.
This story is heart wrenching at times, the separation between Jack and Laurie is tough sometimes. The best friend, Sarah, is a huge character and there’s so many feels in that relationship as well. It’s all so great!
There’s a couple partial sex scenes that fade out and a few other references to two characters having sex but then jumps to, “After we finished….”
There’s uses quite a few uses of the f- word and other curse words but I don’t think it was excessive or distracting.
Overall, I just SUPER enjoyed this book! I eagerly await Josie Silver’s next book!!! (And I really hope she writes a follow up to this book, even if it’s just a novella so I can know how their life turns out!)
I didn’t want to put this book down. The characters were relatable, funny, and lovable. If you’re looking for a story that will make you feel warm all over this is for you!
Not at all my usual choice but I enjoyed this book. The writing is lively and the characters are well-rounded. The coincidences in the plot were completely improbable and yet they didn’t really spoil my enjoyment of the story.
I absolutely loved the characters and could not put the book down! One of my all-time favorites!!
This was only my second audio book ever, but I absolutely loved it. The narrators (wonderfully British) did a fantastic job of bringing Laurie and Jack to life.
I was so incredibly invested in this story that I was freaking out to my friends this morning, worried I wasn’t going to get the outcome I wanted. I mean, we’ve all been there
This book is almost indescribable for me, with the perfection of it all.
I think my favorite part is how real his book felt. This could have happened to me, and that’s such a strange feeling. This book takes place over years (2008-2017 if I’m remembering correctly) and it’s so great to watch these characters grow and change!
I don’t think I have a single complaint about this book. I truly loved it all.