One Day in December: A Novel

Josie Silver

Oct 2018 · Sold by Ballantine Books

About this ebook

#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 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.

Ratings and reviews

3.5 -4 stars Time is such a cruel mistress. Chance encounters and near misses happen every day. What if you left the house 1 minute earlier? A minute later? Withheld a truth to spare someone's feelings? Would any of these seemingly insignificant things be enough to alter the trajectory of your entire life? I asked myself many of these questions while reading One Day in December and found myself devouring this book so I could find out what happens when you meet the right person at the wrong time. As much as I enjoyed Laurie and Jack's story, I'm not sure if I truly loved it. It was well written (though a bit long) and poignant, but as much as I sympathized with the characters and their decisions, part of me wasn't sure if I truly wanted them to end up together. I'm not sure if it's because I didn't particularly feel the intense bond they shared or if so much "life" had happened over the span of this book. The story is told from both Jack and Laurie's POV, and illustrates just how different the perspectives of men and women can be. 10 years. 10 years of longing, tears, laughs, joys, ups, downs, distance, stolen moments, lovers, and heartbreaks. One issue I had with the time span was that I often had to check the date at the start of each chapter to determine how much time had passed for our characters. This broke up the flow of the book for me and was a bit distracting. The book actually reminded me a lot of Renee Carlino's Blind Kiss, except One Day in December didn't quite evoke such ragey feelings in me. The book isn't as light and heartwarming as the blurb and cover make it sound though. The author does attempt to keep things lighter at times with references to famous rom coms and the wonderful cast of secondary characters added to the story, but besides Sara, everyone else was just a plot device or passing fancy. I actually liked Oscar a lot and felt more between him and Laurie than her and Jack. Ultimately, the book could be boiled down to one question for me. In life and love, is close enough, enough? Something Sara said about love not being a constant effort and that you shouldn't have to be someone even slightly different to who you really are, truly struck a chord with me. Though I don't agree with all the decisions these characters made over the 10 year span of this book, I did feel most were necessary for their character to truly grow and come into their own. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed (after all that build-up), but I was satisfied as I turned the last page. Overall, One Day in December is a solid read that romantics at heart will adore. *I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book*

It's been a while since I've read a book where I've been so emotionally attached to the characters. They're relatable, complex and beautifully human. It was a fantastic book that I'll come back to time and time again.

Such a good love story. Enjoyed the depth to everything not happening right away. As wirhblife sometimes it takes time to get to your true love!! Such a good read. Finished in 3 days !!

About the author

JOSIE SILVER is an unashamed romantic who met her husband when she stepped on his foot on his twenty-first birthday. She lives with him, her two young sons, and their cats in a little town in England called Wolverhampton.