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heather_freshparchment's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Car accident, Infidelity, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Vomit, Pregnancy, and Infertility
Minor: Cancer
soundlysmitten's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
While I resonated deeply with this book’s portrayal of loss and grief, I did not so enjoy the romantic storyline. And that’s what I was looking for this time—romance and emotional pining, not loss and grief 😹 But part of me feels like I should’ve known better than to pick this one up… for one thing, I really don’t understand the concept of love at first sight. Infatuation at first sight, sure. But to me, love is an action that requires commitment. It isn’t a magical condition that just materializes. I mean, that heady 🥰 in love 🥰 feeling can absolutely spring up out of nowhere, but I think the action is what determines if something is truly love.
All the same, I was willing to go along with the love at first sight thing for the sake of the story. But while I wanted Laurie to be happy, I couldn’t bring myself to root for her and Jack. For the most part, I received Jack as selfish and emotionally stunted. Yes, he has a way with words at times, but he’s got a temper and a disrespectful tendency to patronize/brush people off. So even though I felt for his loss, I didn’t like him as a romantic partner. I didn’t particularly like Oscar either and definitely didn’t agree with Laurie assuring him he’s been a great husband as they’re splitting up.
I also didn’t think it was cool to have certain people quit on each other just cause things don’t feel like they used to and chalk it up to their love simply not being strong enough to last. As if two lovers don’t have the final say in how strong their love can be… (I’m glad they broke up, I just don’t like the message their reasoning sends. I would’ve rather read about them taking responsibility for the fact that they just don’t feel like trying anymore).
That said, I did mostly enjoy Laurie’s relationship with Sarah. And there were things I found heartwarming along with things that made me cry, especially the parts on caring for aging parents and feeling like you’re running out of time. The plot is suitably predictable, but I’d say it’s also well paced. And I’d agree that the writing is charming in a Bridget Jones’ Diary way—even if the author may have inserted three or four too many nods to said book. So I’m not saying don’t read One Day In December, just that it wasn’t love for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Infidelity
Minor: Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Infertility, and Injury/Injury detail
xx_coco's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I wanted a cute winter read, and after loving The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, I wanted to give this book by Josie Silver a chance too. I went into this one with high expectations and ended up a bit let down.
Laurie doesn't really believe in love at first sight, then one day as she's sitting on the bus home from work, she locks eyes with a handsome stranger at the bus stop outside. There's a momentary, inexplicable spark between them, and then the bus drives away. Laurie spends the next year scanning the streets of London in the hopes of finding her mystery man, but by an unfair turn of fate he ends up being her best friend Sarah's new boyfriend, Jack. What follows is ten years of friendship, growth, and plenty of ups and downs for the three friends as they navigate life in their twenties.
I'm all for far-fetched and fanciful romance, even the "fated soulmates" trope in contemporary love stories gets me right in the gut (can you tell I'm a romantic?). It was hard for me to connect with any of the characters in this story. It isn't that they were poorly written or awful people, well mostly they weren't, but I can't stand when characters make so many stupid decisions it gives you the desire to physically shake them. It's infuriating when missed opportunities are the product of two characters wanting to say something then refusing to do it over and over again. It felt like I should have been more sympathetic toward Laurie's pain when she finds out Sarah is dating Jack, but she literally knew nothing about him and was convinced they were meant to be together even after a year passes looking for him. All she needed to do was have one awkward conversation with Sarah about Jack being the same man from the bus stop and she would have saved herself a lot of trouble.
I felt like all of the characters were lying to themselves at many points throughout the book. None of them seemed overwhelmingly happy with their lives, maybe they were even a bit out of touch with themselves, and the dissatisfaction builds up to some crushing moments for Laurie, Sarah, and Jack. I commend this story for how it handles the loss of a loved one, relationships, and feeling adrift in your twenties. There's a lot of focus on the intricacies of relationships and how complicated it can be to maintain them. I wish this would have been more about Laurie and Sarah's friendship as they grow through their twenties together, instead of revolving around the brief interaction between Laurie and Jack at the beginning fo the story. There were too many plot points that felt forced, and this particular love triangle, if you want to call it that, wasn't thrilling or exciting. It just ended up hurting a lot of people.
This one was a miss for me. It had promise in the beginning, but I think the change in POV from chapter to chapter was a bit overwhelming and the love story didn't feel believable in the end.
Laurie doesn't really believe in love at first sight, then one day as she's sitting on the bus home from work, she locks eyes with a handsome stranger at the bus stop outside. There's a momentary, inexplicable spark between them, and then the bus drives away. Laurie spends the next year scanning the streets of London in the hopes of finding her mystery man, but by an unfair turn of fate he ends up being her best friend Sarah's new boyfriend, Jack. What follows is ten years of friendship, growth, and plenty of ups and downs for the three friends as they navigate life in their twenties.
I'm all for far-fetched and fanciful romance, even the "fated soulmates" trope in contemporary love stories gets me right in the gut (can you tell I'm a romantic?). It was hard for me to connect with any of the characters in this story. It isn't that they were poorly written or awful people, well mostly they weren't, but I can't stand when characters make so many stupid decisions it gives you the desire to physically shake them. It's infuriating when missed opportunities are the product of two characters wanting to say something then refusing to do it over and over again. It felt like I should have been more sympathetic toward Laurie's pain when she finds out Sarah is dating Jack, but she literally knew nothing about him and was convinced they were meant to be together even after a year passes looking for him. All she needed to do was have one awkward conversation with Sarah about Jack being the same man from the bus stop and she would have saved herself a lot of trouble.
I felt like all of the characters were lying to themselves at many points throughout the book. None of them seemed overwhelmingly happy with their lives, maybe they were even a bit out of touch with themselves, and the dissatisfaction builds up to some crushing moments for Laurie, Sarah, and Jack. I commend this story for how it handles the loss of a loved one, relationships, and feeling adrift in your twenties. There's a lot of focus on the intricacies of relationships and how complicated it can be to maintain them. I wish this would have been more about Laurie and Sarah's friendship as they grow through their twenties together, instead of revolving around the brief interaction between Laurie and Jack at the beginning fo the story. There were too many plot points that felt forced, and this particular love triangle, if you want to call it that, wasn't thrilling or exciting. It just ended up hurting a lot of people.
This one was a miss for me. It had promise in the beginning, but I think the change in POV from chapter to chapter was a bit overwhelming and the love story didn't feel believable in the end.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Death, Medical trauma, Child death, and Grief
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