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 have had this book on my radar since its release in 2018. I finally added it to a recent Book of the Month box so I would at least have a copy of it. I decided to add it to this year’s holiday TBR, and while I wouldn’t exactly call it a Christmas or even a holiday book, it mostly fits the season in that there are a lot of chapters set in December. 🙂

The book focuses on two people – Laurie and Jack. When the book begins, Laurie works a ho-hum job and is kind of a cranky pants about love – especially when it comes to the matter of love at first sight. But then, during a commute home from work one December day, she sees a man through a bus window who captures her attention. Their eyes meet, tingly sensations are felt, and they share a moment with what feels like an instant connection. The bus pulls away before either of them can actually talk, but Laurie is determined to find him again, scouring London with her best friend, Sarah, in hopes of reuniting.

Things take a weird turn when, the following December, Laurie is set to connect with Sarah and meet her new boyfriend, Jack – who just so happens to be the very guy that Laurie has been looking for all year. Sarah has no idea this is the guy she has been helping Laurie search for all year, and even Jack doesn’t seem to recognize Laurie. Except, we, the reader, know that isn’t true. Jack totally recognizes her, but at first, he wonders if Laurie recognizes him.

Over the next ten years, friendships develop and dissolve, and feelings ebb and flow, but the one thing that doesn’t change is the connection that Laurie and Jack feel for each other – the question is, will they ever get together?

This is a beautifully written novel that captures the essence of love, friendship, and the unpredictability of life. Much like Laurie in the book, I don’t exactly believe in love at first sight so much as I believe in “I was really attracted to them when I first saw them, which made me fantasize about how perfect we would be together, and then they really disappointed me because they ended up being stupid.” But after reading this book, I really want to believe in it.

Silver’s writing is engaging and immersive and pulled me into the lives of these characters as if they were my friends. I totally connected with all of them in a way that had me conflicted over whether I wanted Jack and Laurie to finally get together, only because it would mean breaking Sarah’s heart (and I really liked Sarah).

The alternating viewpoints between Jack and Laurie really made the book work, and I never felt that either of them was being unreasonable or making stupid decisions. I felt every move they made (except for one mistake that I won’t spoil) was pretty selfless – even after they both admitted to being attracted to one another. I was also worried when I read that this takes place over multiple years that I would get bored and that things would feel repetitive – but that never happened. I was fully engaged the entire time. I think my only complaint was that the ending was pretty predictable. Since the rest of the book surprised me when it struck down my trope-based predictions, I was kind of hoping it would do the same at the end, but it didn’t. Still, I wasn’t mad at it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one, and a lot of that had to do with how much I loved the characters. This is a must-read for anyone looking for a feel-good love story with a touch of fate and a lot of heart. While not exactly a holiday book, it’s an excellent choice for this time of year. If you’ve not yet read it, romance lovers should definitely add it to their TBR.

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