Review: Always, in December by Emily Stone

ALWAYS, IN DECEMBER

Emily Stone

Publication date: October 12, 2021

Genres: Fiction, Women's Fiction
Format: eARC
Source: Random House/Dell
4.5 STARS

It started with a letter. It ended with a love story.

A chance encounter during the holiday season brings two people together as quickly as it tears them apart--until fate intervenes again (and again) in this romantic debut novel in the tradition of One Day in December.

Every December, Josie posts a letter from her home in London to the parents she lost on Christmas night many years ago. Each year, she writes the same three words: Missing you, always. But this year, her annual trip to the postbox is knocked off course by a bicycle collision with a handsome stranger--a stranger who will change the course of Josie's life.

Josie always thought she was the only one who avoided the Christmas season, but this year, Max has his own reasons for doing the same—and coincidence leads them to spending the holiday together. Aglow with new love, Josie thinks this might be the start of something special.

Only for Max to disappear without saying goodbye.

Over the course of the next year, Max and Josie will find that fate continues to bring them together in places they'd never expect. New York City. Edinburgh. The quiet English countryside. And it turns out, Max had every reason to leave and every reason to stay. But what does fate hold for Josie and Max as Christmas approaches again?

A devastating, romantic, life-affirming love story, Always, in December will stay with readers long after they've finished the last page.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY

Let me start by saying that Always, in December is not a romance novel. I fear that it is being marketed as such, or at least labeled as romance by Goodreads users, and that will lead to some damning (and unfair) reviews. Calling it a romance will garner certain expectations (I’m being purposely vague here) and I’d hate to see that because Always, in December deserves all the love.

"I never thought I’d see you again, but I’m so happy that our paths were destined to intertwine."

Josie is at a crossroads. She’s just broken up with her boyfriend and she’s being laid off from her job (or given the option to take a less-than-desirable lateral move). To make matters worse, it’s Christmas, the season Josie dreads every year because while everyone else is bustling about, shopping, filled with merriment, Josie is filled with memories of her parents who were killed in an accident on Christmas Eve. While out mailing a letter to her beloved parents, her Christmas tradition, she quite literally runs into Max. And that collision, that chance encounter, sets into motion a series of events that will change both their lives.

I fell in love with both Josie and Max’s stories – because this is so much more than their story together – from the very start. Right away I had the feeling that I would come to love these characters and I wasn’t wrong. From their first meeting in London, and those magical few days spent together that seemed so promising, to a chance encounter months later in New York City, to a reunion of sorts in Scotland, Josie and Max’s paths continued to cross fleetingly before circumstances separated them again.

While Josie’s issues were more outwardly obvious – grief that she has carried into adulthood, career dissatisfaction, a cheating boyfriend – Max’s were less so and I appreciated the way Stone doled out small bits of information along the way. The more that is revealed, the more his past behavior makes sense. I savored every page as their stories – both separately and together – played out. Their interactions over the course of the year never felt contrived, but more serendipitous.

The secondary characters felt purposeful and Josie’s doting grandparents, in particular, were delightful. (I adored Memo and Grandad!) They all added a richness to the story, a bit of comic relief, and at least one of them truly surprised me.

Josie was a heroine who was easy to love, to relate to, and want the absolute best for. She had been shaped by loss in her childhood and Stone did an incredible job of showing how that resonated in Josie’s adult life. Her journey presented her with options that pushed her out of her comfort zone, if only she was brave enough to take them.

Let me reiterate that Always, in December is not a romance novel, but it is a love story. One that was poignant and engaged my every emotion. Always, in December was a remarkable debut novel and I can’t wait to read what comes from Emily Stone next.