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hannahglenn's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Infertility and Infidelity
Minor: Fatphobia
rosalie362819's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Favourite quotes:
"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."
"All it took was one bottle of wine to lower my guard; for one unwittingly misjudged comment to make me crumble like an abandoned sandcastle when the evening tide comes in."
"Despite the fairy-tale snowstorm out there, this isn't Narnia. This is London, real life, where hearts get kicked and bruised and broken, but somehow they still keep beating."
"There's something about living in a different place that allows you to be whoever you want to be."
"I think we're both living in denial, completely unprepared and unwilling to return to the world we belong to. But who's to say that you have to belong to somewhere forever, anyway? Why do I have to belong to England, when everything there is grey and confusing and difficult?"
"I find myself wondering again whether I'd even have spoken to him if I'd met him anywhere other than on a beach, where all bodies are more or less equal."
"There comes a point where you have to make the choice to be happy, because being sad for too long is exhausting. And that one day, you'll look back, and you'll not be able to remember exactly what it was you loved about that person... But I also said that sometimes, rarely, people can come back into your life. And if that happens, you should keep those people close to you forever."
"You tread lightly through life, but you leave deep footprints that are hard for other people to fill."
"I'm treading water. In fact, that's how I'd sum up my whole life right now. It's strange-- you'd think that in the upheaval of separation, the stability of work would be welcome. It's actually had the opposite effect; it's made me want to throw all my cards up in the air and see where they land. I'm treading water, but what I want is to swim."
"It's strange but you never stop caring about someone, even if you don't want to be with them anymore."
"I jumped in feet first when I arrived and lost myself in the work and the women, and now at last I've surfaced and I'm sucking down fresh, sweet air into my lungs. At first it seemed that I was gasping for breath; it burned my chest. Now, though, I breathe easy and I sleep through the night. It's just me and, for now, I'm good with that."
"'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,'"
"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."
"All it took was one bottle of wine to lower my guard; for one unwittingly misjudged comment to make me crumble like an abandoned sandcastle when the evening tide comes in."
"Despite the fairy-tale snowstorm out there, this isn't Narnia. This is London, real life, where hearts get kicked and bruised and broken, but somehow they still keep beating."
"There's something about living in a different place that allows you to be whoever you want to be."
"I think we're both living in denial, completely unprepared and unwilling to return to the world we belong to. But who's to say that you have to belong to somewhere forever, anyway? Why do I have to belong to England, when everything there is grey and confusing and difficult?"
"I find myself wondering again whether I'd even have spoken to him if I'd met him anywhere other than on a beach, where all bodies are more or less equal."
"There comes a point where you have to make the choice to be happy, because being sad for too long is exhausting. And that one day, you'll look back, and you'll not be able to remember exactly what it was you loved about that person... But I also said that sometimes, rarely, people can come back into your life. And if that happens, you should keep those people close to you forever."
"You tread lightly through life, but you leave deep footprints that are hard for other people to fill."
"I'm treading water. In fact, that's how I'd sum up my whole life right now. It's strange-- you'd think that in the upheaval of separation, the stability of work would be welcome. It's actually had the opposite effect; it's made me want to throw all my cards up in the air and see where they land. I'm treading water, but what I want is to swim."
"It's strange but you never stop caring about someone, even if you don't want to be with them anymore."
"I jumped in feet first when I arrived and lost myself in the work and the women, and now at last I've surfaced and I'm sucking down fresh, sweet air into my lungs. At first it seemed that I was gasping for breath; it burned my chest. Now, though, I breathe easy and I sleep through the night. It's just me and, for now, I'm good with that."
"'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,'"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Alcohol, and Infidelity
Moderate: Death of parent, Infertility, Car accident, and Child death
phippsmr's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
good lord. idk what i expected but this was gut wrenching.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Car accident, Alcoholism, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Infertility, and Toxic friendship
liciaaaaa's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Infertility
Minor: Pregnancy and Car accident
katsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
“There comes a point where you have to make the choice to be happy, because being sad for too long is exhausting.”
“Sometimes you just meet the right person at the wrong time.”
“It’s strange, but you never stop caring about someone, even if you don’t want to be with them any more.”
I have an incredible amount of mixed feelings about this book. The emotional infidelity is so real and it is literally the point of the book. I hate cheating and the feelings Jack and Laurie have for each other really turned me off. It didn't help that their entire romance hinged on one moment where they saw each other but never spoke. That being said, I get that the point was the idea of fate and true love but, I don't know, there were times when I just couldn't buy it. I will say that it made the mutual pining excellent and my heart broke a little every time another missed opportunity cropped up. I think the romantic side of me and the practical side of me are just at war over our feelings for this story 😂. I really enjoyed the relationship between Sarah and Laurie and their heart-to-heart scenes were definitely the most emotional to me. I also, weirdly, enjoyed Laurie's relationship with Oscar. It felt like it had more depth and nuance than her relationship with Jack. Ultimately, this is a solid winter romance and definitely an easy read if that's what your in the mode for.
“Sometimes you just meet the right person at the wrong time.”
“It’s strange, but you never stop caring about someone, even if you don’t want to be with them any more.”
I have an incredible amount of mixed feelings about this book. The emotional infidelity is so real and it is literally the point of the book. I hate cheating and the feelings Jack and Laurie have for each other really turned me off. It didn't help that their entire romance hinged on one moment where they saw each other but never spoke. That being said, I get that the point was the idea of fate and true love but, I don't know, there were times when I just couldn't buy it. I will say that it made the mutual pining excellent and my heart broke a little every time another missed opportunity cropped up. I think the romantic side of me and the practical side of me are just at war over our feelings for this story 😂. I really enjoyed the relationship between Sarah and Laurie and their heart-to-heart scenes were definitely the most emotional to me. I also, weirdly, enjoyed Laurie's relationship with Oscar. It felt like it had more depth and nuance than her relationship with Jack. Ultimately, this is a solid winter romance and definitely an easy read if that's what your in the mode for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, and Infidelity
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Child death
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Car accident, and Medical content
tearstoflowers's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-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? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Infidelity and Car accident
Minor: Sexual content
bookedupchick's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
4.0
“If anyone ever asks if I've ever fallen in love at first sight, I shall say yes. For one glorious moment on the 21st of December 2006.” 🚌♥️❄️
Laurie is on the bus on her way home from work, when she spots this man waiting at the bus stop. As soon as their eyes meet, ✨ sparks fly ✨and they both miss their chance to meet when the bus pulls away. Laurie and her best friend Sarah have been besties through college and roomies ever since. They decide to throw a Christmas party 🎄 and Sarah has invited her new boyfriend who she claims is the love of her life who Laurie has never met….and guess who that ends up being? You got it — BUS BOY… aka Jack…😱
Laurie and Jack’s story spans over a decade. You basically want to scream for Laurie and the struggle bus she is on 😫 This is a slow burn and I don’t feel it ended as epically as it could have (IMO it needed a little more 🔥), but I enjoyed it. And I would still very much recommend it!
Read this if you like ⤵️
🚌 Friends To Strangers To Lovers
🚌 Slow Burn Romance
🚌 Romantic Comedy
🚌 Closed Door
🚌 Soulmates
🚌 London Setting 🇬🇧
🚌 HEA 💖
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
One Day In December by Josie Silver
Laurie is on the bus on her way home from work, when she spots this man waiting at the bus stop. As soon as their eyes meet, ✨ sparks fly ✨and they both miss their chance to meet when the bus pulls away. Laurie and her best friend Sarah have been besties through college and roomies ever since. They decide to throw a Christmas party 🎄 and Sarah has invited her new boyfriend who she claims is the love of her life who Laurie has never met….and guess who that ends up being? You got it — BUS BOY… aka Jack…😱
Laurie and Jack’s story spans over a decade. You basically want to scream for Laurie and the struggle bus she is on 😫 This is a slow burn and I don’t feel it ended as epically as it could have (IMO it needed a little more 🔥), but I enjoyed it. And I would still very much recommend it!
Read this if you like ⤵️
🚌 Friends To Strangers To Lovers
🚌 Slow Burn Romance
🚌 Romantic Comedy
🚌 Closed Door
🚌 Soulmates
🚌 London Setting 🇬🇧
🚌 HEA 💖
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
One Day In December by Josie Silver
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol and Infertility
Minor: Child death
amandalorianxo's review
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I’m not entirely sure how I fully feel about this novel. The synopsis (to me) kind of made me feel as if the predictability about Laurie & Jack’s situation was obvious from the get go. I’m also not entirely sure what it was about Jack that had Laurie smitten. A lot of telling instead of showing when it came to describing personalities. I did like that Laurie stood up for herself at one point when it came to Brussels. Of course, life happens and plans don’t always go as we originally thought but everything seemed too… convenient. It’s a well written story but I’ve never been a fan of cheating, lying or miscommunication, both in real life and in fictional stories 🤷🏽♀️
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Infidelity, Infertility, Child death, and Death of parent
confusedmuse's review
emotional
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Infertility, and Infidelity
Moderate: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
Minor: Child death and Grief
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