Hello there, bookworms! It’s been a little bit since I’ve checked in here. I fully blame NaNoWriMo. I got a late start to my writing challenge because of all the family shenanigans I’ve discussed in previous posts (plus trying to work full-time), but before I got back to my novel, I thought I’d pop on here and bring you a super long and super overdo book review! Tonight, I’m getting everyone in the holiday spirit with One Day in December by Josie Silver.

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.

I feel like I have a long journey with this story and I can’t believe I’m finally getting to my full review of this story. Don’t hate me too much.

I received this book the spring of 2018 (if I remember correctly) when it was being passed out by literary agents at Book Expo. As much as I love Book Expo, it’s rare that I come across a solid romance novel there (even though I read many different genres), so for me, this felt like finding a needle in a haystack and I gladly took an offered copy. After reading the summary, I knew I would make it my December Book Club pick. Turns out, Reese Witherspoon and I had the same idea, because she did the same thing. Now, almost a year later, I’m finally getting to reviewing it. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve had Hallmark movies playing non-stop on my tv since a week before Halloween, but it’s never too early to get your holly jolly’s on, right?

I digress..

This novel was one hell of a rollercoaster with all the festivities of the holiday season and plenty of snowy days set as the backdrop for years of chaos. What starts with Laurie seeing Jack by chance during a commute becomes years of chances not taken and missed opportunities that will drive you cuckoo as you wait for that serendipitous moment of “FINALLY” to arrive. Laurie and Jack will make you scream and the pages and make you want to throw the book against the wall a time or two, but in the end, it will give you all the warm and fuzzy feelings that accompany a wonderful romance.

These two are meant to be, but they keep meeting at the wrong time and at the wrong points in their life, so all they manage to do is cause heartache and heartbreak in one another, and severe angst for the reader.

Totally Christmassy, right?

This book is a slow burn through a decade of Laurie and Sarah, their close friendship, and Jack, the mysterious stranger from the street outside a London bus window who could tear the two friends apart if the truth and all of Laurie’s suppressed hopes, dreams, and fantasies are revealed. It’s a delicate balance that goes fairly undisturbed for far too long. However, you won’t be able to stop turning the pages of this one to find out how it all comes to its crazy ending.

Is true love and soulmates something you believe in? Is it worth fighting for because it’s that perfect, once-in-a-lifetime adventure? There’s a niggling feeling buried deep within these characters that seems to think so.

This book has it all. Whether it’s the joy and magic of the holiday season, undying love, chance meetings, tension, awkward encounters, broken hearts, serendipity, angst, life events, romance, stolen kisses, and more. This book will make you laugh, tear up, want to rip your hair out in frustration, and swoon all at once. If you’re ready for the adventure and all of the emotions that comes with the ups and downs of love, this is the book for you! It’s perfect company while you sit fireside with a cup of cocoa.

Until next time, bookworms, happy reading!