A Flashback Already - We Met in December Review

TITLE: We Met in December
AUTHOR: Rosie Curtis
PUBLISHER: Harper Collings/William Morrow Paperbacks
PUBLISHING DATE: November 5, 2019

FROM GOODREADS: 

Two people. One house. A year that changes everything. 

wenty-nine-year-old Jess is following her dream and moving to London. It’s December, and she’s taking a room in a crumbling, but grand, Notting Hill house-share with four virtual strangers. On her first night, Jess meets Alex, the guy sharing her floor, at a Christmas dinner hosted by her landlord. They don’t kiss, but as far as Jess is concerned the connection is clear. She starts planning how they will knock down the wall between them to spend more time together. 

But when Jess returns from a two-week Christmas holiday, she finds Alex has started dating someone else—beautiful Emma, who lives on the floor above them. Now Jess faces a year of bumping into (hell, sharing a bathroom with) the man of her dreams…and the woman of his. 

But look closely…because there are truths and there are lies, and then there is everything that really happened.  

MY THOUGHTS: I basically read this over New Year's as my last holiday hurrah and to be honest, I didn't really need to save it for that time of year because despite the title, it really doesn't have much of a Christmas feel - and I think that's a good thing.

We Met in December is a year long tale of Jess and Alex.  Jess has left her home and is trying a new career in London.  Alex has left his job as an attorney and is becoming a registered nurse.  They meet because they both know a the same woman who has just inherited a London flat - one who is willing to rent out rooms cheaply.  So Jess and Alex meet one night and then she leaves for a 2 week holiday.  Even though there is a spark between them, when she returns, he has started a new relationship. 

Over the course of the next year Jess and Alex become friends.  Yes, I pretty much knew where the novel was headed but the author had some really interesting plot points to help me get there.  I really enjoyed the side characters and especially loved Jess' interaction with her Grandmother. who basically raised her when she was a child.

I thought We Met in December was a cute romance which showed fairly realistic relationships.  One of Jess' best friends is a budding actress and the other is trying desperately to get pregnant and they both add some comedic relief as well as a dose of sanity from time to time.  And the flatmates each had their own tales which also held my interest and I would be interested in seeing stories about them in the future (which I have no clue if the author plans).

So overall, We Met in December was the perfect holiday read that turned out not to be so holiday-ish.   It was also a great book to read while suffering by puppy-lag because I was able to set it down for short periods of time and then pick it right back up and quickly become fully immersed again.  I recommend this to anyone who enjoys British romances as this one definitely puts me in mind of Bridget Jones and last year's One Day in December. 

I received this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

RATING: 4 PAWS