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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
thebookteaseblog's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I think it goes without saying that here on bookstagram, the book marketing capital of the internet, we understand the importance of marketing. Which is why I don’t understand why One Day in December by Josie Silver has been pitched as a Christmas book. While the book begins right before Christmas, it takes place at various points in the characters lives over ten years (think One Day by David Nicholls). Laurie has a *moment* with a stranger at a bus stop that she can’t stop thinking about, only to discover that he’s her best friend’s new boyfriend. The three become fast friends and spend the intervening years orbiting each other’s lives and relationships.
Let’s start with the things I liked:
-the audiobook! It’s narrated by Eleanor Tomlinson (Demelza from Poldark) and Charlie Anson (Larry Grey on Downton Abbey) and 😍😍😍
-the character development! I was invested enough in these characters to follow them through all their terrible decisions 🤣
As for the things that didn’t really work for me:
-I wasn’t into the ‘keeping a secret from my best friend’ or ‘is it an affair if it’s emotional or we just kissed’ elements
While this book won’t be making my year end favorites, there’s no doubt that I was drawn in by this story, in large part because the narration was done so well. If you’re going to pick this up, I highly recommend the audio!
Let’s start with the things I liked:
-the audiobook! It’s narrated by Eleanor Tomlinson (Demelza from Poldark) and Charlie Anson (Larry Grey on Downton Abbey) and 😍😍😍
-the character development! I was invested enough in these characters to follow them through all their terrible decisions 🤣
As for the things that didn’t really work for me:
-I wasn’t into the ‘keeping a secret from my best friend’ or ‘is it an affair if it’s emotional or we just kissed’ elements
While this book won’t be making my year end favorites, there’s no doubt that I was drawn in by this story, in large part because the narration was done so well. If you’re going to pick this up, I highly recommend the audio!
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief
beccasbookcase's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, Grief, and Infertility
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