Hey, you! 😊
One Day in December by Josie Silver initially caught my attention some time ago because of its interesting premise.
This is a love story about missed opportunities. One snowy December day, Laurie is on the bus on the way home when she meets the eye of Jack, who is sitting at the bus stop. There's a moment of pure magic between them. The bus stops, so does time for a few seconds, and then it's back to reality. Laurie then spends a year searching for Jack at every bus stop until one day .... her best friend and flatmate, Sarah introduces Jack to Laurie as her new boyfriend. What follows is 10 years of friendship, secrets, pain, unspoken words, and what-ifs.
Although I enjoyed reading this story (and I didn't find it boring), there were so many things wrong with it, particularly with the male main character Jack!
At first, I was rooting for Laurie and Jack, but that lasted one chapter. Jack was horrible. He dates Sarah for years while being well aware that he doesn't truly love her completely. He makes her believe in a future together while stringing along Laurie for years! A lot of scenes bothered me and I thought that he never took responsibility for his actions with either Sarah, Laurie, and any other girl he dated. He acted childish a lot of times, which made it hard to find him attractive.
And gosh, he was awful to Oscar when they first met! With that being said though, I also didn't like Oscar. Red flags all over!
I'm not against the second chance trope especially when a couple meets for the first time, something happens (or not) and then they see each other again a few years later. But this was not it. What bothered me was the proximity the two shared. Sarah is Laurie's best friend. Jack is in a relationship with Sarah. Laurie is in love with Jack. Jack is .... whatever. And Sarah has no idea this is all happening under her nose. And for years!!! I mean, come on, who needs enemies when you have a best friend and a boyfriend like this?? I personally would have hated to be in Sarah's shoes and I'm not surprised she didn't show up to Laurie's wedding. It's not just about the kiss - the level of betrayal goes way beyond that! They freaking took her for a fool! So no matter how the author tried to make me feel sad for Jack and Laurie, I just couldn't find any way to feel slightly bad for them. Forbidden romance can be hot and sexy, but this? Just icky!
This is the kind of book where I would think, "Oh, I would love to see the guy's perspective to understand him better." But the thing is, it does! It's told from both Jack and Laurie's perspective! And he was awful! Ten years and I didn't see any evolution or character development over time which is such a pity because there was room for it. I felt like Laurie was truly in love with him and longing for him, while he just didn't care. Or not enough. Heck, she was even the one to make the grand gesture at the end! Would it have killed him to go after her???
Anyways ...
Lesson learned after reading this - in wanting to not hurt anyone, you end up hurting everyone you love and worse. So just be honest about things.
Book Club Questions:
What did you think of the premise of the story?
Do you think Laurie and Jack had a meet cute?
Would you want to read another book by this author?
Did your opinion of the book change as you read it?
Do you think this book is overrated?
Did the book strike you as original?
Did you relate to any character?
What are your thoughts on the book's structure?
Did the plot proceed in a way that felt natural?
Are there any characters you'd like to deliver a lecture to? If so, who? What would you say?
Was the couple's connection believable?
What do you think happens to the leads after the ending?
Would you recommend this book to someone?
Did you highlight or bookmark any passages from the book?
How did you feel about the main couple’s chemistry and compatibility? Did you root for them or not?
What did you learn from this book?
What's your Christmas read this year? 🎄
xoxo Elodie
☀️ Amazon Links:
↳ One Day in December by Josie Silver: https://amzn.to/3Rii9ZE
↳ A Winter in New York by Josie Silver: https://amzn.to/4ab4D2J
↳ One Night on the Island by Josie Silver: https://amzn.to/41leLlt
↳ The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver: https://amzn.to/4aeTygW
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