Reviews with content warning for Child death - One Day in December

it ends exactly how you expect it to, but is way more drawn out than it needs to be. it’s a classic hallmark c movie but less enjoyable in my opinion.

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rachelrisseeuw's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

One Day in December really exceeded my expectations. I went into this book thinking it was going to be a Christmas romance. It was so much more than that. This is a right person wrong time story line and the way it was written is fantastic.

The fact that they included the best friend, the tragic death of a parent, infidelity, and gaslighting makes this story one that really makes you root for the two to end up together.

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sunnyrees's review

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

i was skeptical about reading holiday romance books because they’re usually very cheesy and predictable (don’t get me wrong, i loveee cheesy and predictable but i just wasn’t in that mood)… but this was exactly the kind of book i wanted to read!

it was def hard to get into the first few chapters and i felt like it dragged on a bit at times. but i do understand that the story had to be that way to end how it did. that ending was so worth it given the journey the characters went throuvh

i’m also not the biggest fan of insta-love… but this book definitely executed it very well. i loved that it not only explored love, but also navigating friendships, dealing with loss and grief, and the reality of growing up.

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toni7tess's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

The romance didn't work for me and - honestly - Jack is a real asshole for most of the book. Rude to everyone for no reason and very unlikeable. I have no idea why we should be expected to root for him and Laurie. I'm Team Oscar all the way; had the book ended halfway through, it would have been the perfect love story. The stars this book is getting from me are for the writing style which I mostly enjoyed (apart from when the internal monologuing got a bit much) and the very last bit of the book - the ending was cute! But other than that there wasn't really a love story between the two main characters and what little there was was cheating on their respective partners, so that's not fun. Plus, what was clearly marketed as a Christmas Romance has too little actual Christmas in it.

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emilywemily6's review

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This one is hard to rate. I think this is not the romance for me. The bus stop moment at the very beginning and the very last scene both made my heart melt, but I didn’t really enjoy anything in the middle. It did not feel like a romance to me because the book spanned across 9-10 years and basically showcased defining moments in the lives of these characters. It felt more like a general fiction with a romance subplot. But even then, I did NOT like Jack as a person. He’s honestly terrible. And I wasn’t really a fan of Laurie either. This book felt like I was reading about realistic, messy people, but I didn’t care about these characters or connect with them. The tropes of fated mates/soul mates is not one I am on board with personally when it comes to romance. I didn’t see the chemistry between the characters either. Others have mentioned that there is a lot of emotional cheating and putting a toe across the boundary line and I was not ok with that. Jack was way worse at it than Laurie, who actually tried to build a life even though it was clear that Oscar and her were not living in the same world. This book had almost nothing I like in a romance. I also feel like it was lacking in holiday/December vibes. While I liked how everything was split up into years and dates, it made it hard to keep track of where we were in the timeline (i.e. how long so-and-so had been engaged, how many years it had been since the bus stop meeting, etc.)

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