One Day in December

by Josie Silver

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Hollywood romance meets Hallmark Christmas in this charming romp through the snowy London streets in search of a lost love at first sight.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Get ready to be swept up in a whirlwind romance. It absolutely charmed me.”—Reese Witherspoon (A Reese’s Book Club Pick)

“The perfect book to get lost in . . . Josie Silver’s characters sneak their way into your heart and stay.”—Jill Santopolo, author of The Light We Lost

Two people. Ten chances. One unforgettable love story.

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780525574682
Publisher:	Random House Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/16/2018
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	20,943
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

JOSIE SILVER is an unashamed romantic who met her husband when she stepped on his foot on his twenty-first birthday. She lives with him, her two young sons, and their cats in a little town in England called Wolverhampton.

Read an Excerpt

I’m three glasses of white in and definitely very relaxed when Sarah finds me and literally drags me from the kitchen by the hand.
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "One Day in December"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Josie Silver.
Excerpted by permission of Crown/Archetype.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Reading Group Guide

1. How would you describe the connection Laurie felt upon first seeing Jack? How do you think he perceived her when he saw her from the bus stop? Have you ever felt a similar connection with someone?

2. Why didn’t Laurie tell Sarah that Jack was the person she’d been looking for?

3. How similar are Laurie and Sarah? In what ways do their personalities differ? Which character do you identify with?

4. Why do you think Jack doesn’t admit to Laurie that he remembers her from the bus stop?

5. Should Sarah have noticed the tension between Laurie and Jack?

6. Is it realistic for Laurie and Jack to try to be friends considering their feelings for each other? Why do you think they try so hard to remain friendly?

7. How does Laurie’s relationship with Oscar compare to her relationship with Jack? Is it possible for her to love them both simultaneously?

8. On page 209 Laurie notes that she’s been conflicted about “how much information constitutes the truth, how much omission constitutes lying.” Do you think she’s lying to Oscar and/or Sarah considering what she hasn’t revealed to each of them?

9. Laurie describes the flowers Jack sends her as “lush and extravagant . . . but then in the shortest time they’re not very lovely at all. They wilt and they turn the water brown, and soon you can’t hold on to them any longer.” Do any of her relationships also fit this description?

10. How does Laurie cope with loss, in terms of family members, romantic interests, and friends?

11. By the end of the story both Laurie and Jack have grown and changed significantly. How do these changes affect their relationship?

12. How do Laurie’s New Year’s resolutions evolve through the years?

Editorial Reviews

07/02/2018
Silver’s lovely debut follows two young Londoners after a missed connection alters the course of their lives. Laurie, newly out of university, spots Jack while on the bus one December afternoon. Seated in the bus shelter along the sidewalk, Jack gazes back at Laurie and something electric happens. Over the next year, Laurie contemplates the moment, searching for Jack in vain until he shows up at her door for a holiday party—as her friend’s boyfriend. Laurie doesn’t mention anything, and neither does Jack. Silver, who is keenly aware of her influences (there is an immediate reference to the film Love Actually, and Laurie has a self-described love of Nora Ephron), divvies up chapters between Laurie and Jack. The story follows them through awkward dinners, double dates, and birthday celebrations that are full of highly flirtatious scenes where the two attempt to keep their mutual affection hidden. As they age, flaws also slowly rise to the surface, such as Jack’s cruel streak and Laurie’s problematic consumption of alcohol. Silver’s propulsive narrative is enjoyable, and the mix of tension and affection between Jack and Laurie is charming, addictive, and effective. Readers who like quirky love stories will be satisfied by this cinematic novel. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Get ready to be swept up in a whirlwind romance. Laurie falls in love at first sight with a stranger, and spends the next year looking for him. Fate brings them back together at Christmas, but not in the way anybody expects: turns out he’s dating her best friend. It absolutely charmed me.” —Reese Witherspoon

“Josie Silver writes with a warmth so palpable her characters sneak their way into your heart and stay for a long time. One Day in December is an exploration of love that reads like a thriller, filled with secrets and heart-aching betrayals. The perfect book to get lost in this holiday season.”
—Jill Santopolo, author of The Light We Lost

“Consider setting aside some time and prepare to be charmed as author Josie Silver takes readers on a captivating journey — where female friendship is as important as romantic love…One Day in December is an unmistakable winner.”
—USA Today

“One Day in December is the SWEETEST love story. It’s gorgeous, absolutely lovely. Readers are going to love it.”
—Marian Keyes

“A must-read. In Josie Silver’s charming rom-com, Laurie experiences love at first sight through her bus window… then the car pulls away… What follows is a decade of heartache, betrayal, and destiny.”
—US Weekly

“In Josie Silver’s One Day in December, a chance encounter on a London bus turns into a Bridget Jones-inspired romp.”
—Cosmopolitan, Best Month Ever

“Love at first sight! But he’s her BFF’s new BF. What to do? Do you really have to ask?” 
—Entertainment Weekly

“The pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic… Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“It’s never too early to get into the Christmas spirit. Pick up One Day in December for a heartwarming holiday romance about a love triangle that spans 10 years.”
—HelloGiggles
 
"For when you watch "Love Actually" on repeat in December...get all the holiday feels in your reads too."
—theSkimm 

“One Day in December will have you believing in love.”
—Refinery29

“The perfect cold weather rom-com.”
—Bustle
 
“One Day in December is a charming story about love and serendipity for the hopeless romantic in all of us.”
—PopSugar

“This poignant romance warmed my heart like a mug of cocoa on a snowy day!”
—First for Women 

“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.”
—Modern Mrs. Darcy

“If Love Actually met Sliding Doors and became a novel influenced by Jojo Myers, you’d have One Day in December. There’s just something about Christmas and the UK that’s a recipe for modern rom-coms that will have you running for the mistletoe.”
—Fodor's

"The novelistic equivalent to Love Actually."
—The Bookseller

“A holiday love triangle and the pursuit of new and unlikely romances make this new novel simply magical.”
—SheReads 

“Silver’s lovely debut follows two young Londoners after a missed connection alters the course of their lives… Silv­­er’s propulsive narrative is enjoyable, and the mix of tension and affection between Jack and Laurie is charming, addictive, and effective. Readers who like quirky love stories will be satisfied by this cinematic novel.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Silver writes with verve and charm in this debut, and readers will be pulling for Laurie and Jack as they detour through missteps and misunderstandings.”
—Booklist

"Readers who enjoy contemporary romance will root for Laurie and Jack as they work through laughter-through-tears experiences and toward a happily-ever-after worth fighting for."
—Library Journal

“I recently devoured this delicious novel, which follows a young woman who falls in love at first sight with someone who soon becomes her best friend’s long-term boyfriend. I finished it in one sitting — it was like candy.”
—Hannah Orenstein, author of Playing with Matches

From the Publisher

2018-07-31

True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.

On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie's hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah's happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she's the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other's arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack's inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There's no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.

Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.

Kirkus Reviews