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What it argues
Laurie spots a man through the window of a London bus in December and feels an immediate, overwhelming certainty that she knows him — that he is, in some uncomplicated way, meant for her. She tries to find him, fails, and resigns herself to the memory. Then her best friend Sarah brings home a new boyfriend at Christmas: the man from the bus. Laurie says nothing. The novel covers the next decade of their overlapping lives.
This is a book about what you do when what you want and what loyalty demands are the same thing in different directions. Laurie and Jack are aware of each other from the start, and the story's engine is the slow, patient accumulation of their mutual recognition against the constraint of Sarah's friendship. Silver handles the moral complexity more carefully than the premise might suggest — Sarah is not a convenient obstacle but a fully drawn character, and the question of whether Laurie and Jack are star-crossed or simply selfish is kept genuinely open.
What it gets right
- 1.
The novel takes the 'right person, wrong time' premise and asks whether timing is fate or choice — and whether that distinction matters.
- 2.
Loyalty between women is treated as a real moral claim, not a plot obstacle. Sarah's friendship complicates the romance in ways the narrative takes seriously.
- 3.
The diary-style structure, with chapters spread over years, creates a particular emotional texture: you feel the weight of time passing rather than just watching it skip.
What it covers
Who wrote it
Josie Silver is a British author who worked in marketing before turning to fiction. One Day in December was her debut novel and became an international bestseller, launching a career in what publishers call "big-hearted contemporary romance." Her subsequent novels include Second First Impressions and The Two Lives of Lydia Bird. She lives in the English Midlands. Her books are known for emotional intelligence, warm humor, and an honest treatment of the moral complexity within romantic plots.
