One Day in December

One Day in December
by Josie Silver
Release Date:  October 16, 2018
Publisher:  Broadway books
Standalone
Number of pages:  394
Kindle Edition
Source: MCL
Contemporary Romance M/F
Rating: PG-13
Read 11/28/19 to 11/30/19

 

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.

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.

4 stars