Sometimes I don't pay much attention to book blurbs. I thought, because of the title, that One Day in December was a Christmas romance. It is a really heartwarming and entertaining romance, but not a Christmas book.

One day (in December) Laurie is on a bus and makes eye contact with a cute guy at a bus stop and there is some electricity between them. But the bus drives away. Laurie spends more than a year (along with her roommate Sarah's help) looking for this mystery man. Sarah isn't just a roommate, she and Laurie are best friends and would do anything for each other. Laurie never finds the guy...until...Sarah introduces Laurie to her new boyfriend, who she has fallen head-over-heels for. It's Jack--the guy at the bus stop.

Laurie can't tell Sarah because Sarah is so happy. Jack doesn't say anything, so Laurie assumes he doesn't remember her. The reader gets Jack's perspective though, so we know he does remember her.

Life goes on for Laurie, Jack, and Sarah. They are happy, most of the time. Relationships end and begin. I won't go into details, but I found it difficult to know what to wish for.

One Day in December kept me entertained and it was a quick, cute read. The characters were well described and the situation seemed a bit hopeless. They do get their "happily ever after" though, so we get nice closure.

If you are in the mood for an intriguing romance that is heartfelt and a bit complicated, check out One Day in December.

Laurie locks eyes with Jack while on a double-decker bus in London and they instantly connect. Jack can’t manage to get onto the bus in time and Laurie can’t get off. Instead she spends the next year of her life searching for him only to end up meeting him a year later as he is introduced as her best friend’s boyfriend. The ups and downs of their friendship and relationships follow over the next ten years.

Oh. My. God. Did I love this!! This gave me “One Day” by David Nichols and “Blind Kiss” by Renee Carlino vibes and I lived for those books. I love the holiday atmosphere even though there are scenes told throughout other seasons of the year. I could have done without the insta-love “eyes locking” moment, but it is pivotal to the plot of the story, so I let that slide. This book was something that I couldn’t put down and stayed up late to get further. I love stories that are told this way because there really isn’t any non-essential storytelling moments. Each time jump is integral to the story and you find yourself just wanting to read more and more. I also really appreciated that this was romantic without the full on raunchy sex scenes.

Five stars: An emotional and captivating romance that will steal your heart and leave you in tears. Loved this!

Laurie and Jack’s story starts back in December 2008 when Laurie and Jack are in their twenties. Laurie is on the way home after a hard day. When she glances out the bus window, she catches sight of a handsome boy reading a book. He immediately steals her heart, and then he sees her and magic happens. She motions for him to get on the bus, he jumps up, and then misses the bus. Neither believed in love at first sight until that moment. Laurie immediately vows to find the busboy, and for months she and her best friend, Sarah look for the mysterious young man. Laurie finally finds him, but it happens when Sarah introduces him as her boyfriend. What follows is ten years of friendship, heartache, missed chances and all the ups and downs of life. Does destiny and true love really exist?

What I Loved:
*I wish I could just say in this review, this book is fantastic go read it, the end. However, I am sure you want to know more. This book was amazing. It had so many feels. There were times when it took my breath away, and other parts where my heart broke. I loved the realistic nature of the story, the characters, the ups and downs of life and how this book had me in tears. It was magical!
*I loved that this book felt so realistic. It starts with that magical moment when two people lock eyes and then miss their opportunity. What follows are ten years of watching the two become friends as they go through the ups and downs of life. There is happiness, heartbreak, love and loss all lumped into this ten year period. It was achingly beautiful and perfect.
*The romance is one that will drive you nuts and frustrate you to no end as the pair continue to deny feelings, miss opportunities and fail all the way around. Yet, there is that glimmer of hope throughout that somehow it will work. I won’t spoil it but I will say by the end, I had big fat tears rolling down my cheeks. So worth it!
*I liked that this book featured both Laurie and Jack’s view points. It was so nice to be able to get into both of their heads and see how they felt about each other.
*This book is so much more than a romance it is a book about growing up, finding your family and cultivating friendships. There are high points and low points. Parts that shattered my heart, and then scenes that mended it. I loved that friendships, especially the one between Laurie and Sarah, were such an important part of the story.
*I appreciated that this book takes place over a ten year time span. It was interesting to see the characters grow up and tackle careers, love and relationships, heartbreak and loss. It was a joy to watch the characters grow and evolve.
*The writing is wonderful. There were many times when the author’s words resonated with me and took my breath away. I was so impressed, and even more so when I found out this was Josie Silver’s debut. I will absolutely be reading more from this author as I was so impressed with this novel. She knocked it out of the park.
*The ending was absolute perfection. I want to say so much more, but I can’t. It grabbed hold of my heartstrings and made me sob. I loved it. This is a book that I will thinking about for days to come.
*I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Eleanor Tomlinson and Charlie Anson. Both of these narrators were outstanding. I especially thought Ms. Tomlinson did an outstanding job capturing Laurie’s voice. The depth of emotion conveyed by the narrator was superb. Listen to the audio if you can!!
And The Not So Much:
*I have to admit that Jack frustrated me so much at times. I liked him much better early on in the book when he is a supportive friend. Then something happens to him, and I struggled mightily with his character. He drove me nuts. I wish he had been more grown up and handled certain things better.
*Even though I loved the ending, I wish there had been just a little more, like an Epilogue.
One Day in December is a book that grabbed a hold of my heart and emotions and kept them captive until the final page. This is a romance based on fate and destiny as well as missed opportunities, friendship and time. I loved the realism of the story, the characters and the story. This book was amazing. It made me smile, it made me cry, it made me feel. Read it!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

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What an enjoyable novel! It follows the lives of three young people and their friends from after college to their late twenties. And, for the most part, these are really nice people and I rooted for all of them to find happiness.

The core of the story revolves around Laurie an aspiring magazine journalist, her best friend and flat mate Sarah, and late-nite radio host Jack. One cold December night Laurie is on a London bus when she glances out the window and makes eye contact with a guy waiting at a bus stop. She feels an instant jolt, as close to love-at-first-sight as described in romance novels. She feels bereft when the bus pulls away. Sarah, who is beginning a career in TV broadcasting, is charmed by Laurie’s account and for the next year the girls make a game of searching the crowds in pubs, theaters, and parties to spot Laurie’s soul-mate. Laurie rationally knows her dream-man is just a dream and she and Sarah carry on with their social lives and generally have fun. Still…..there is that lingering part of Laurie that feels something is missing in her life.

That missing piece shows up one year later. The only problem is that he is Sarah’s date and she is obviously very smitten with him and he with her! So begins Laurie’s bittersweet relationship with Jack. He is as nice a person as she imagined and he genuinely loves Sarah. Jack evolves into Laurie’s second best friend and Laurie meets and falls in love with Oliver, a really great guy she meets on vacation. As they all pursue their careers in the years that follow, the relationships change as they mature.

I found myself liking all these people. They do the right thing, even when it hurts. When the inevitable tragedies of life happen, they are there for each other. Friends can become lovers and lovers can be friends.

A warm and, at times very funny, read.

As a thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced readers copy I shall give an honest review of this novel. Coming into One Day in December , I believed it was going to be a lighthearted tale of romance and serendipity. I later found those qualities but much more. The story centers around a brief encounter where our protagonist Laurie experiences love at first sight via a bus-stop. Unluckily for her the bus speeds away and the character is forelorn wondering what could have been. This experience impacts our character to follow the possibility of meeting him again. Unbeknownst to her he has become engaged in her life but not what she’d expect. After nearly a year from when Laurie first saw this mystery man does she meet him again when introduced by her roommate and best friend Sarah as her boyfriend (Jack).The novel follows these characters along a ten year period and examines different types of love. I enjoyed this novel as it kept me intrigued across the period of three days it took me to read. It was slow building, but is something that added to the success of this novel. By having a slow build up did the novel have a believable platform where the possibility for these characters to interact and come together across the many years and relationships possible. The novel was passionate at times, but slowly neglected primary relationships that the protagonist had and was functional by. For example the relational lens as I understood it was how Laurie interacted with the men in her life. If the relational lens included herself may I have been more open to believing she made progress concerning self-growth. Overall, I enjoyed this novel for what it is and that is an enjoyable read featuring a well-rounded cast of characters similar to those found in romantic comedies. As an homage to romantic comedies do I feel this novel did them just and made my reading experience one to remember. I give this novel 4 out of 5 stars..

I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When winter hits, I always crave a fun holiday read and One Day in December fit the bill perfectly. If you are looking for a fun romantic read around the holidays, I would DEFINITELY snag this one (Pssstttt- it is one of the BOTM selections this month!!)

Laurie never believed in love at first sight, but one snowy day in December, she sees a man that she just knows is THE ONE. Unfortunately, the bus takes off before she can do any of the romantic things she has dreamt of wayyyy after her chance has passed her by.

She shares about this moment with her best friend, Sarah, and each of them keeps hoping that Laurie is going to run into him again so Laurie can be with the guy of her dreams.

As the holidays approach again, the two host a holiday party and Sarah couldn’t be more thrilled to bring together her boyfriend and Laurie for the first time. Wouldn’t you just know it that Sarah has found the guy of HER dreams and it is THE ONE that Laurie has been waiting for.

The story follows the three over the course of ten years as they navigate these muddy waters.

Although it was light, it has some surprisingly deep moments that make it both fun and compelling.

If, “Love Actually,” is your favorite holiday movie too, you are going to adore this read.

Ok folks, this book has been getting so much buzz, with links to “for lovers of Nora Ephron” and that cover. I loved the meet cute, but soooo much turmoil happens for the nine year period from opening to ending.... that I kept asking myself where is this going.

Really iconic scenery, who wouldn’t want to visit Rydell High, and Thailand. 66% in and I was screaming mad. All in all the ending made up for the hiccups in the storyline. 3.5/5

Quick read/Christmas/Romance/Love Triangle

"It’s a look of Hello you, and Oh my God, it’s you, and I can’t believe how good it is to see you, all in one."

This was a funny, bittersweet and totally delightful novel! Perfect for a holiday read. I loved the British humor and Josie Silver's breezy writing style. And when I realized that she also writes under name of Kat French, I loved this book even more!

Laurie is a young, ambitious, hard-working woman, searching for her dream job when, after a particularly rough day, spots a handsome man though her bus window. He sees her, too, but misses the bus. This sounds cliche but the moment worked and served as the launching point for the story.

"For onlookers, it must have been an Oscar-worthy sixty-second silent movie. From now on, if anyone asks me if I’ve ever fallen in love at first sight, I shall say yes, for one glorious minute on 21 December 2008."

Laurie and her best friend Sarah spend months searching for her dream man. But Jack turns up in Laurie's life in the most unexpected way. This book is not a love triangle and the central relationship to me was actually between Laurie and Sarah. They are loyal friends and both were extremely likable and relateable characters.

The story unfolds over several years and is a lovely tale missed chances, love and friendship. New relationships come and go and Laurie realizes she must get on with her own life and put her fantasy of her dream man behind her. Josie Silver created a wonderful book about real people and real friendships, mixed in with lots of humor and romance. I loved how loyal Laurie was to her best friend Sarah. Yes there are unexpected twists in this book but it was a wonderfully poignant and bittersweet story.

"Sarah is my best friend in the entire world, and however much and for however long it kills me, I’ll never silently, secretly hold up signs to tell Jack O’Mara, without hope or agenda, that to me he is perfect, and that my wasted heart will always love him."

'One Day in December' is a light, unexpectedly warm-hearted novel that ends on a perfectly romantic note. I love stories about "what might have been" and this was beautiful.

‘Sometimes you just meet the right person at the wrong time,’ I say softly.

‘Yeah,’ he says. ‘And then you spend every day afterwards wishing that time could be rearranged.’

On a cold December evening Laurie looks out the bus window and spots Jack sitting on a bus bench reading a book , they both make eye contact and in an instant they know they were meant for each other. Before either of them can make a move the bus drives away. Even though she’s certain that “Bus Boy” May never enter her life again she spends a year looking for him at every bus stop , shop, bar and everywhere she goes. As she gives up hope shes finally reunited with him the only problem is he’s on the arm of her best friend and roommate Sarah! Yes Sarah’s new boyfriend is Jack and she’s fallen head over heels for him . Part of Laurie wants to tell Sarah the truth that Jack is “bus boy” but when Jack acts like he doesn’t recognize her she lets it go and tries to hide her feelings . Sarah doesn’t make it easy for Laurie when she wants all three of them to hang out. What Laurie doesn’t know is Jack really does recognize her and he can’t believe that his new girlfriends best friend is the girl he had been searching for as well... One day in December follows Laurie , Jack and Sarah through ten years of heartaches, passion, anger , misconnections, misunderstandings and secrets. The book bounces back and forth between Laurie and Jacks point of views and I loved it! This has now moved up my list of books that I have loved every minute of that was published this year. I could not put this book down I had to know what was going to happen with Laurie and Jack I soaked in every minute of this story my heart broke with each of them and at the same time rooted for them. If you need to get lost in a wonderful story full of heartache and love this book is for you! I give this book five huge wonderful stars!

LOVED IT. It took me a little while to get into (I'm not a huge fan of pining after your friend's significant other), but this was such a good book.

If you treat yourself to one book this month, make it this one. It's a "everyday" epic love story about friendship, romantic love, and the swallowing ones own feelings to make these types of relationships work together. Josie Silver does an amazing job taking us through the 10 year journey cataloguing the romantic entanglements of the 3 central characters, Laurie, Sarah and Jack. I subscribe to the notion that drives the story line; Laurie and Jack make eye contact that they both feel to the core. When nothing comes of that moment and fate brings them back together, it happens in circumstances that will test all three. Whose to say what and how things are supposed to work out and why.

Driven from the perspective of a young woman, Laurie, as she experiences a soul crushing moment discovering your best friend has unwittingly begun dating a new man who happened to the same mystery man that the two of you spent a year searching for. The situation has angst written all over it and there is angst a plenty. We get both Laurie and Jacks view directly, but also Sarah's from the way these two perceive her. There's no bad guys here, just bad timing. I really love the journeys the individuals take and how their relationships are with each other show us the characters in different light(s).

I inhaled this story. Between the reading of it and the reflecting on it and how it made me feel, it took a few days of my gladly given time. This one is a true gem and I highly recommend it be read by contemporary romance and womens fiction reader enthusiasts. This is definitely a 2018 favorite and a book to consider a #mustread :-)

One Day in December absolutely has that Hallmark movie feel, and I went into it looking forward to a feel-good holiday romance, but was quickly uninterested and disappointed that I could not find a connect with the characters or feel the want to know what happens in the story. I found a mix of the protagonist's personality and the writing style to dampen my desire to continue reading even as much as I tried to push myself ahead.

This book is adorable. It’s the perfect winter read. If you liked Love, Rosie/Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern, this will be a great pick. This will be a great recommendation this winter!!

Addicting and adorable, One Day in December is one of those stories that you just don't want to end and leaves you thinking about the characters long after you're finished reading. I loved it!

I am so disappointed to say that this book was simply not for me. I love Christmas, and I love romance, so I was sure that any book called One Day in December would be everything I ever wanted. Unfortunately, this was not the case. I actually kind of hated it. I was about 25% of the way into the book when I realized this would never be a book I would enjoy. This is essentially a love story between two people who are in relationships with other people. The end. I really don't know what else to say about it at this point. I was wildly disappointed. This is very much a "love at first sight" story - as in... they never really even interacted, just made eye contact and fell instantly in obsession. yick.

This book was so much more emotional than I anticipated! I laughed, I cried, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time waiting to see what direction the author would take next. I loved this book!

This book is absolutely perfect for the cozy holidays looming ahead. This is a hallmark christmas movie wrapped in paper packaging. It’s delightful and fun - the perfect romantic story for winter reading by the fireplace. I can’t wait to see more people reading this one this holiday season.

I loved this book! It was a fun "chick-lit" read that was well-written and more thoughtful than a lot of books of the genre. Laurie sees a man sitting at a bus stop while she's on a bus and they have an instant connection.

Unfortunately, the bus pulls away before either of them can move. Laurie dreams about "bus boy" and doesn't see him again until he turns up as her roommate's new boyfriend. That begins years of unrequited love soul-searching.

A great book about love and friendship!

Thanks to Crown Publishing/BroadwayBooks for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very enjoyable read. It kept you on your toes, wondering where each character was going to end up (and with who). There were several times I thought it would go one way and it went the complete opposite direction. This page turner will make you believe in love at first sight. I would give this book 4 stars.

Every New Year's Laurie makes a few simple resolutions revolving around her love and work life. She loves her life at Delancey Street with her roommate and best friend, Sarah, but dreams of a proper job and some romantic prospects. One day in December (get it?), she locks eyes with Jack, handsome fellow as she rides the bus. Could it really be love at first sight? They'll never know, as their moment of hesitation means their paths aren't destined to cross. At least that's what they think, until one day Sarah brings home her new, wonderful boyfriend: Jack. As the years pass, Laurie, Sarah and Jack continue to be important to each other. But no matter how lovely things seem on the surface, the lingering effects of that first glance lurks just below. Can Laurie and Jack truly find happiness in others without letting go of what might of been? For fans of "Sliding Doors" and "One Day" by David Nicholls, Silver's novel is a treat to cozy up with this winter.