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.

I had a hard time rating this book because overall, I really enjoyed the story and how it played out over the course of a decade. We really got to know the characters and watched them change and evolve throughout the ten years. We experienced many highs and lows with them, and it was interesting to see what life threw at them and how they handled those experiences. I was intrigued the whole time and kept wanting to know what was going to happen next. However, I do not like the cheating trope and found it very problematic. 

With that being said, this is basically a love triangle between two girl best friends and a guy with many, many layers to sift through and uncover. This complex love story was much more than I expected, and it’s definitely not an insta-love romance, which I was thankful for because I hate that trope. 

I found Laurie a likable character, but she has questionable morals and values. However, I loved watching her with her best friend, Sarah. They are more than best friends; they are more like sisters. Their devotion and love for each other is so heartwarming and inspiring. They were always there for each other and supported one another. We also witness them growing up and maturing from college girls to young women starting careers and living their lives as adults. We also get to watch their friendship grow, develop, and mature through time, and how it affects each woman. Even though poor decisions were made by the characters, I still really enjoyed reading about their friendship. 

As for Jack, the main guy character, he was hard to like at first. I thought he was shallow and arrogant. He was the good-looking guy that women gushed over, but he didn’t have much depth to him. He was just a pretty face. But then, he starts to open himself up to Laurie over the course of their friendship, which evolves throughout the years. It did feel like Laurie was more into him than he was into her, but there was no denying their connection and chemistry together. It really came through the pages for me. I listened to the audiobook and loved the two narrators since this is a dual-POV story told by Laurie and Jack. I thought the narrators did an amazing job and highly recommend listening to this book. 

Overall, it was an addicting, angsty love story told over multiple years that takes your heart and emotions on quite a rollercoaster ride. I was completely immersed in the characters and their lives during these ten years. The ending was predictable, and I wish it were a little longer because it ends abruptly, but it was satisfying.