Review - 'One Day in December' by Josie Silver

One Day in December originally caught my eye because of its intriguing premise. The idea that two people would see each other through a bus window and know instantly that it was love at first sight is soo romantic. It totally appealed to the sentimental mush in me. Besides, I'm always up for squeezing in a seasonally appropriate read this time of the year.

There is a lot I liked in here. Laurie and Sarah's heartwarming friendship is a real highlight, coming alive off of the pages with their joy and mutual devotion to each other. Laurie's growth as a character is well-done, showing how she matured through the years, evolving from a starry-eyed fresh grad into a confident and caring young woman. I also enjoyed the depiction of Laurie and Oscar's relationship, filled with so much love and happiness along with all of its struggles.

But for me, the real disappointment is Jack. He is mean and childish through most of this story. The parts from his perspective focuses on him thinking about how hot women are and how he wants to get with them. When Laurie starts dating Oscar, Jack refuses to be nice and essentially takes the attitude that Laurie shouldn't have a boyfriend even though he himself has a girlfriend. To be honest, I'm not sure why anyone would want to be with him. I just don't buy the book's premise that someone sweet and kind like Laurie would fall in love with a negative man-child like Jack.

I think the other thing that rubbed me the wrong way is that while this is supposed to be two people in love with each other equally, it came across as Laurie pining so hard for Jack while he hardly cared. He went from one woman to another, but there was never a feeling that he wanted to be with Laurie until the very end. It's just such a cliché to read about a woman longing for a man while he happily enjoys a succession of women, all the while stringing her along by saying how he would love her if only circumstances were different.

In the end, there is nothing I liked about Jack, which is a real bummer since this is a romance. Still, I found all the relationships other than the main one to be poignant and heartwarming, and for that, I'm glad I picked up the book.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars