Top Shelf: One Day in December by Josie Silver

If you're looking for a love story to enjoy this holiday season while snuggled under a warm blanket on a cold winter evening, One Day in December, by Josie Silver, is the perfect read for you!

This story is narrated in alternating points of view between main characters Laurie James and Jack O'Mara. Laurie and Jack experience a love at first sight moment from across the way at a bus stop on a cold London day in December. Before they can introduce themselves, Laurie's bus departs while Jack sits on a bench.

Laurie tells her best friend, Sarah, all about this shared magical moment between her and this man--she doesn't even know his name! Laurie searches for him over the next year, with Sarah at her side during her moments of misidentification of random men on the streets of London.

The next December, at Laurie and Sarah's Christmas party, Laurie finally runs into what feels like her long lost love. But, it's the worst of circumstances--he is Sarah's new boyfriend whom she has been raving about to Laurie for weeks prior.

From that point on, the reader is carried through the ups and downs of

the relationships between Laurie, Jack, Sarah and several other endearing characters, for the next 10 years. They navigate heartbreak, love, mourning, depression and joy as twenty-something, young professionals into their early 30s. The story is a testament to the strength of friendship and love--the kind that feels like family.

Silver's writing and dialogue are witty, thoughtful and flow effortlessly from page to page. Laurie and Jack's voices and points of view are distinctly different, but weave a beautiful story about the emotional complexity among a close-knit group of friends and finding true love. Even when we think we know where the story is headed at certain points in the book, Silver's careful plot development, including a creative series of events, keeps you engaged and turning pages. The book is charming while tugging at your heartstrings.

And the most significant aspect of the story may be the setting. Each December brings a new wave of challenges and opportunities for Laurie, Jack and Sarah. After all, it began on that one day...in December.