Skip to main content

One Day In December by Josie Silver Review

Hello Bookish Friends :)


I hope you're all doing well, and I want to thank you all for joining me for another book review here on The Preppy Book Princess.


I'm going to be continuing on today with reviews for the holiday themed reads I read during the Christmas in July readathon I participated in this week.

Unfortunately, the title I'm going to be reviewing on my blog today was not only the worst book I read during the readathon, but it's safe to say that it's also easily one of the worst books I've read this entire year.


Are you curious as to why that is? Well then keep reading on and I'll tell you all about why this particular title was such a disappointment for me.


One Day In December by Josie Silver:



Source: Library

Publisher: Broadway Books

Publication Date: October 16th, 2018

Genre: Women's Fiction


Synopsis:

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.


(synopsis from goodreads)


My Review:

After finishing One Day In December, I have to honestly state that I don't understand all the glowing reviews. If you're expecting a lovely holiday romance that will leave you with a smile on your face and an extra appreciation for love and friendship, then this title is probably not what you're looking for. If however, you want to read an almost four hundred page, nine year journey about two extremely selfish and juvenile characters who make nothing but bad decisions, hurt everyone around them, and still try and make everyone else out to be the bad guy, then go ahead and give Josie Silver's holiday themed read a chance.

I went into this one having heard nothing but great things, and I'm sorry to say that my experience was not nearly that positive. Jack and Laurie were both characters that grated on my nerves throughout the entire story, and in my opinion, by the end, neither character has really shown any character growth in the slightest. Instead, the various side characters, like Sarah, Oscar and Amanda, who fail to understand the great love that exists between them are made out to be cruel and horrible human beings who should never have dared to call Laurie and Jack out on their issues.

Secondly, I'm not a fan of romance novels that promote cheating, and that's exactly what this one does. Jack leads two women on at the exact same time, and seems to see nothing wrong with doing so. Emotional and physical cheating are both pulled into play, and yet he doesn't seem to want to make a decision between one or the either. Laurie is definitely not an innocent victim throughout it all either, as even when she commits to a serious relationship with Oscar, she continues to pine away for Jack, and then the reader is lead through a series of situations where Oscar is meant to be the bad guy so we'll all support her still wanting to be with Jack.

I can't remember the last time a book annoyed me as much as this one has, and I really struggled with even wanting to finish it. It heavily reminded me of Happily Ever After by Harriet Evans and One Day by David Nicholls, both of which I also couldn't stand. The cheating, the characters, the repetitive plot line, all of that was annoying enough, but I also couldn't understand where this "great relationship" between Jack and Laurie emerged from in the first place. Their "love at first sight moment" lasts less than a couple of minutes, and then Laurie spends an entire year searching for him. When she's introduced to him as her best friend's new boyfriend, the two barely have any interactions together for the next year and a half or so, and yet throughout the later parts of the story their great friendship keeps being referenced. It would have been nice if the reader had been given more of the interactions between the two of them to truly understand why they were as drawn to one another as they were.

All in all, this one just didn't work for me, and I was left highly disappointed. I also find it a little strange that this has been marketed as a holiday novel, when really, no part of it ever even takes place at Christmas.



Final Rating: 1/5


I will most definitely not be recommending this one.



Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day!


This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

First Line Friday: Carolina Breeze

Happy Friday Everyone :) I hope you're all having a great week! Mine has actually been pretty good. We've had some really nice days, and my husband and I were finally able to put our garden in, and various flowers and the like. We've also had a couple of lovely, rainy days as well, and I love how green everything is looking in our yard right now. For today's post, I'm excited to once again be linking up with the lovely Hoarding Books  for another edition of First Line Friday. This fun weekly meme simply consists of sharing the first line of the book you're currently reading. For this week's first line, I'm going to be sharing from Denise Hunter's recently released title that I ended up absolutely loving. Carolina Breeze by Denise Hunter: About The Book: A jilted bride. A struggling innkeeper. And a romantic mountain getaway that changes everything. Rising Hollywood star Mia Emerson is looking for a safe place to land in the wake of a public breakup a

First Line Friday: Just As I Am

Happy Friday Everyone :) I hope you're all having a great week, and looking forward to the weekend. Since it is Friday, it's time once again for First Line Friday, which is hosted over at Hoarding Books. For today's first line, I'm going to be featuring a recent debut novel that I had the opportunity to read and review. About The Book: Adeline Rhodes has spent years locked away in a New Orleans apartment controlled by her criminal boyfriend. After a daring escape, she realizes just how far she has grown from the things in which she once believed. Declan King has lived a life of solitude and duty for the U.S. Army. When the deaths of his grandparents bring him home to his family farm, he is forced into contact with people who know too much about his past to simply leave him alone. When Adeline’s past catches up to her, the two strangers find themselves thrust into a fake relationship to protect Adeline from her vengeful ex. As their chance meeting begin

First Line Friday: Courting Mr. Emerson

Happy Friday Everyone :) Since it is Friday, I'll once again be participating in First Line Friday which is hosted by Hoarding Books .  For this week, I'm going to be sharing the first line from Melody Carlson's newest book, Courting Mr. Emerson. About The Book: When the fun-loving and spontaneous artist Willow West meets buttoned-up, retired English teacher George Emerson, it's not exactly love at first sight. Though she does find the obsessive-compulsive man intriguing. Making it her mission to get him to loosen up and embrace life, she embarks on what seems like a lost cause--and finds herself falling for him in the process. A confirmed bachelor, George vacillates between irritation and attraction whenever Willow is around--which to him seems like all too often. He's not interested in expanding his horizons or making new friends; it just hurts too much when you lose them. But as the summer progresses, George feels his defenses crumbling. The quest