One Day in December by Josie Silver

 

Summary (from the publisher): A love story about what happens after you meet, or rather, don't meet the one.

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.

Review: One day when Laurie is riding the bus home from work, she has a moment of connection and attraction with a stranger she spots from the bus window. But her bus drives away before she can get off, and for months afterwards she talks to her best friend and roommate Sarah about the mysterious Bus Boy, the love of her life. Until one day, when Sarah brings her home her new boyfriend Jack, who just so happens to be the mystery guy from the bus. Laurie doesn't want to crush Sarah's enthusiasm for her new love, so she keeps it to herself. For the next ten years, Sarah and Jack are connected and drawn to one another, yet not together, in a moving love story of missed opportunity. 

This was a really cute love story that gave me Serendipity vibes. There are some December scenes, but it is not overly Christmas-y. I loved Laurie and Sarah's friendship and Laurie's love for her friend that ultimately leads to her not telling her about who her boyfriend is. I also liked the pull between Jack and Sarah; their attraction, even when they try to deny it and are in relationships with others, is undeniable. 

I am not a huge fan of miscommunication tropes and really feel like so much could have been avoided if Laurie had told Sarah immediately that her new boyfriend was the very same boy she had been dreaming of for months. Laurie makes the mistake to withhold information and also be dishonest with Sarah multiple times in this book. She is overall a good friend, but I do understand why Sarah would be very angry upon learning the truth. 

There is just also a lot of buildup and back and forth. Jack says some very unkind things to Laurie at some points in this book and is dishonest to his girlfriend Sarah at multiple points and I found it fairly unforgivable. An intense attraction and/or belief you are meant to be with someone does not give you a blank slate to treat others badly. 

A cute book about imperfect people who handle an awkward situation imperfectly. I liked it, but not nearly as much as I had hoped. 

Stars: 3