Many thanks to Crown Publishing and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this novel!
My Anglophile heart beats for British books every now and again, and I must admit to being drawn to this book by its stereotypical cute British cover. Once I read the blurb, I just had to have it. It sounds like the quintessential easy love story to get lost in for a few hours, similar to watching a ROM-COM like Notting Hill. Summer in Texas made me even more eager to read something set in December in London. If I can’t be out of the heat physically, by God, I will be mentally. I was pleasantly surprised to get more than I expected from One Day in December by debut author Josie Silver.
BLURB:
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.
Give me a good slow-burn Romance, great setting, likable characters and I am SET! This book was everything I was hoping for and so much more. There were moments I laughed out loud, cried, and felt gut-wrenching pain along with the characters. I fully invested in this story and didn’t want it to end. One of the most impressive things about this novel was the author’s ability to span a decade in one book without leaving out details or making the story feel jumpy. There was never a disconnect between the reader and the characters, despite the many years covered, which is a rare feat in my experience. I truly felt the passage of time, the way the years quickly stack upon one another faster than we expect them to, and the melancholy of nostalgia.
This book boils down to one thing: Timing. When the timing isn’t right in life, my goodness, it can cause some of the most soul-crushing heartbreak. Every part of your soul yearns for something, yet fate (God or the universe, whatever you believe) prevents everything you hope for from meshing together. It creates an invisible barrier and no matter how much you push, pull, kick and fight for the thing you want most, you still can’t have it. Ouch. When I began this story, I was worried this story was set up for an all-too-familiar trope, you know the one: guy meets girl, best friend steals guy, three-way Romance is in the works with lots of cheating, betrayed friendships, etc. etc. Thankfully, this book wasn’t the same ol’ thing I’ve read over and over again. It was a fresh look at the role fate plays and the unbreakable connections we develop to specific people in our lifetimes.
I’m giving this beautiful story four stars though I could easily teeter towards five. I felt the story slow slightly at certain times and wished for a little more excitement during those moments. However, everything ended up working in the conclusion, with the ending completely exceeding my expectations. Lucky for everyone, One Day in December is releasing on October 16, so there’s no waiting for a snowy day to read this sweet tale! If you’d rather, save it on the shelf to keep you warm and cozy for the Christmas holidays.
Ashes Books & Bobs 