One Day in December by Josie Silver

on

 

💔✨ One Day in December Review — 4.5 ⭐ (This Shouldn’t Work… But It Absolutely Does)

🚨 Trigger Warnings

  • Infidelity / emotional cheating

  • Complicated friendships

  • Marriage struggles / divorce

  • Grief and loss

  • Long-term pining / unresolved feelings

⚠️ Spoiler Warning

This review contains FULL spoilers, including the ending. Enter at your own emotional risk 😌

📖 Initial Thoughts (aka: I Immediately Had Questions)

So we’re starting with:

You lock eyes with a man through a bus window and instantly think:
👉 “That’s the love of my life.”
👉 “And he definitely feels the same.”

I’m sorry… what?? 😂

Listen, I get it. We’ve all had a fleeting “wait… was that something?” moment. But to jump straight to mutual, life-altering love at first sight requires a level of confidence I personally do not possess.

But okay. This is a romance novel, so I accepted the premise and kept going 🚎💘

🤯 Plot Summary (Full Spoilers — Let’s Talk About It)

Laurie James is navigating her twenties in London when she locks eyes with a man (Jack) through a bus window. The moment is brief but electric, and she spends an entire year trying to find him again.

Then fate decides to be absolutely unhinged:

👉 Her best friend Sarah introduces her new boyfriend
👉 And it’s HIM
👉 BUS STOP GUY
👉 JACK

The odds??? Astronomical 😭

Now here’s where I started spiraling:

Laurie says NOTHING.

And I simply cannot relate.

If that’s my best friend, I’m immediately like:

“Hey, funny story — I had a weird main-character moment with your boyfriend once 😂”

We laugh. We move on. End of story.

But no — Laurie keeps it to herself… for YEARS.

💔 The Slow Burn of Questionable Decisions™

Laurie and Jack grow close over time (because of course they do), while he’s still with Sarah.

They:

  • Build a deep emotional connection 😬

  • Share lingering looks and charged moments

  • Eventually cross the line and kiss 🚩

Cue guilt, tension, and a whole lot of “this is a bad idea.”

Laurie removes herself from the situation and goes to Thailand, where she meets Oscar, a genuinely kind, stable man.

She:

  • Falls in love ❤️

  • Gets married 💍

  • Tries to build a life that makes sense

Meanwhile:

  • Jack and Sarah break up

  • Jack moves away

  • Everyone continues to make emotionally complicated choices

🤨 The Logic Issue I Cannot Ignore

We are supposed to believe that:

👉 Jack has the willpower to not tell Laurie he remembers her from the bus stop
BUT
👉 Does not have the willpower to not kiss her while in a committed relationship

I’m sorry, but… what are we doing here 😭

Let’s break it down:

Saying:
“I remember you from the bus stop.”

  • Not cheating

  • Not inappropriate

  • Literally just honesty

Kissing her while dating her best friend:

  • VERY inappropriate 🚩

  • Emotional betrayal

  • Creates long-term damage

And he chooses… silence + kissing???

Make it make sense.

I would argue it takes WAY more restraint to:
✔️ NOT tell the truth
❌ Than it does to simply not cheat

So the idea that he could keep that secret locked down for YEARS, but couldn’t stop himself from crossing a physical line?

That’s where the logic breaks a little.

This is very much a case of romance logic > real-life logic — the secret exists because the story needs tension, not because it fully makes sense for the character.

😬 Secrets Explode (At the Worst Possible Time)

Right before Laurie’s wedding (excellent timing 🙃), she finally tells Sarah the truth.

Sarah is understandably furious and doesn’t attend the wedding. Their friendship fractures 💔

Jack ends up giving a speech, and it’s one of those moments where everyone can feel there’s something deeper going on.

💔 Marriage, Distance, and Reality

Laurie’s marriage to Oscar slowly falls apart:

  • Distance

  • Emotional disconnect

  • That lingering “what if”

They eventually divorce.

At the same time:

  • Laurie and Sarah begin repairing their friendship

  • Jack is single

  • Laurie is single

And we all know what that means 😏

📻 The Grand Gesture (And Yes, I Fell for It)

Laurie calls into Jack’s radio show and confesses everything.

Jack finally admits:
👉 He knew it was her from the bus stop THE WHOLE TIME

Sir. You had YEARS 😭

✨ The Ending

Laurie goes to Edinburgh.
They reunite.
They kiss.
They finally get their happily ever after 💕

And somehow… it works.

😂 Final Thoughts

This book is:

  • A little ridiculous

  • Emotionally messy

  • Built on questionable decisions

And yet…

✔️ The slow burn is addictive
✔️ The longing feels real
✔️ The ending is genuinely moving

I spent half the book like:

“This makes no sense.”

And the other half like:

“Wait… why am I emotional??” 😭

Am I slightly embarrassed by how much I loved it?
Yes.

Would I still recommend it?
Also yes 😌

⭐ Rating: 4.5 Stars

📚 If You Liked This, Try These:

  • The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

  • Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

  • November 9 by Colleen Hoover

  • One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

  • Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Sometimes a story doesn’t need to be perfectly logical… it just needs to make you feel something.

And against all odds, this one absolutely does 😭💘

Comments

Post a Comment