A sweet romance a woman who meets and falls hard for her roommate,a group of friends friendship romances a charming reAd.A book to curl up with & enjoy.#netgalley#willammorrowbooks

Going into the Christmas season, I always look forward to reading feel good love stories that help warm my heart as the weather gets colder. We Met in December does just this, following Jess and Alex as they become roommates and then friends. Following in the footsteps of many British romantic comedy this heartwarming tale follows the two main characters over the course of the year. Jess has just moved to London to start a new job and Alex is going back to college to become a nurse. I loved how both characters experienced personal growth throughout the story. If you loved Notting Hill or One Day you will love this story!

This book was a bit confusing to me. I love slow burn romances but this didn't really work as one for me. The romance definitely took its time to develop (if it ever really did) but so much more of the focus was on a large cast of secondary characters and the details of the new lives Jess and Alex are navigating in London. The amount of detail we get about a random brunch Jess spends with her friends is staggering. In comparison, Jess and Alex's interactions were never given a whole lot of depth. Jess just seemed to have a school girl crush on a clueless guy. The real love story on these pages is with the city of London. From the opening pages, I was ready to break out my passport and book a flight. I didn't dislike this book. It was a pleasant and diverting read. I am just not sure it succeeds at what it is trying to be and if I would ever recommend it to others.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This sweet love story follows the life of Jess and Alex throughout a year. They meet after becoming roommates with mutual friends but there is one rule NO RELATIONSHIPS. Jess is starting off in a new publishing job and Alex is having an early midlife crisis after his dad passes away he decides to change his career of being a lawyer to becoming a nurse which made his fiance leave him. Throughout the year Jess and Alex take walks throughout London and growing their friendship. However, they each want more. This story is extremely sweet however I feel there is a lot of sub-characters and lacks the depth in them.

I thought that "We met in December" by Rosie Curtis was an easy-going, fun read. I did not have the comparison issues (with another book along the same lines) that a lot of reviewers seemed to have reading this book so I was able to take it for face value.
We are introduced to Jess who is moving to the big city for a new job in publishing and leaving a cheating boyfriend in the dust. She's able to hook up with a room in a shared house in Notting Hill (not too shabby!) with 4 others around her age.
While the story touches upon her new job and the struggles she faces, it primarily focuses on the new friendship between Jess and her housemate Alex. The story alternates between Jess and Alex's point of view for the first year giving us a glimpse of how they are each feeling about their place in this world and about each other. While relationships are frowned upon in the house, Alex does end up sleeping with another housemate, Emma. Jess finds out and assumes that she has lost her shot with Alex.
I think the author did a good job of capturing the everyday development of the characters without it being boring and did a beautiful job of growing the relationship between Alex and Jess.
The relationship Jess had with her grandmother was very sweet and relatable but I was VERY unfond of Jess' mom- who was beyond unreal and obnoxious. I did find the whole Alex sleeping with a housemate but pining after Jess a little gross....I liked the idea that she had friends outside the house but a storyline revolving around one friend trying to get pregnant became distracting.
I don't think this necessarily as a Christmas book- even though it glazes over the holiday but it was a charming rom-com and would recommend it for anyone looking for a sweet light read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Title: We Met In December
Author: Rosie Curtis
Pub Date: Nov. 5th 2019
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley & @harpercollinsus for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are of my own.

“Two people. One house. A year that changes everything.
Twenty-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.”
—Amazon

Initially I thought this book was along the lines of a Hallmark Christmas movie, or at least some Christmas movie, but it was more of a rom com with a slight acknowledgement to Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, it was cute and a definite slow burn romance, but I expected different. It had a decent paced opening, introducing the characters and their stories. The middle was slow and had you wondering when, and if, the romance was even happening. It was the second-half that really flew by. I got the ending I hoped for and the writing was good. The perspectives were switched around and labeled in a less confusing, and actually enjoyable, manner. The time jumps were handled in the chapter headings which was nice. We weren’t left guessing or confused. The English lifestyle was definitely present. More than a few times I was highly confused by the slang and had no idea what was happening. But it didn’t interfere with reading ability or enjoyment. Sometimes I got quite a laugh out of it honestly. It was nice to read a book with characters that were lost, confused, or not exactly where they wished to be in life yet. At my age, and with my experience, I often feel I’m failing and not where I’m supposed to be. I felt a connection to basically every character. I loved all the movie references, especially Notting Hill, seeing as that’s one of my favorite classic romances.

Overall, it was unfortunately a tad boring and I really had to work at reaching the second half. I don’t give three stars often, but this book just didn’t click with me enough to really like it. One of my biggest issues was how different the title was from the actual book. I expected a holiday romance and got something closer to “A life in the year of...”.

Thank you @Netgalley and @HarperCollins for the ARC of We Met In December. I'm so happy and excited about this book. It was a feel good holiday read with a story that is actually super relatable. How many of us fall for someone you think you have a connection with only for them to start seeing someone else? This was a wild ride of a year in her life dealing with this. Loved this book!

We Met in December- We Met in December is a light hearted romance following a year in the lives of the main characters-- Jess and Alex as they navigate the ups and downs of starting over in every sense of the word. All the characters are lucky enough the share a house in an expensive neighborhood in London, while trying to live their “adult” lives. There are a number of supporting people that help the main romance blossom and nudge each other along. What I liked about the novel was that most of the people living in the house were trying their hand at a new career, job, and life calling. This obviously caused some real struggles financially and emotionally; which I think the author did a good job conveying in the story. I also liked that even though Jess liked Alex right away, she didn’t let that determine her behavior and who she would date. She did put herself out there (via a horrendous funny Tinder date) and never gave up trying to find romance for herself. I do wish we could have seen Jess and Alex as a couple more, but the book wrapped up nicely. If you are looking for a fast holiday read, you will enjoy We Met in December.

We Met in December has definitely been my favorite holiday read of the year so far! Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing company for the copy! I’ll be posting a more in depth review closer to the release date in my Instagram (@bookishabigail) and my blog (www.bookishabigail.com).

We Met in December was a fun, quirky story of missed changes amidst a cozy group of friends. The build-up drove me crazy in a very cute way and I appreciated the pure hearts of the main characters. It was so easy to fall in love with London and want nothing more than to spend a month (or year) strolling the beautiful streets and venturing into the cute cafes. I loved this book!

Thank you Netgalley for sending me this arc. I will be reviewing this book in the near future with an honest rating and review.

The title and cover of this book so closely resemble One Day in December by Josie Silver that I had to do a double take thinking this was book two by the same author. Maybe because of that, instead of being able to approach this as it's own creation, I went into this book with an expectation of similarities. I mean, they even both have similar plots: Two people meet in December and then spend the next year pining for each other as they date other people while feeling like they missed their only real opportunity at love until finally they get their happily ever after. So reading this felt like a huge disappointment at the differences. The book was slow, repetitive and the timeline was sometimes confusing with time jumps and plot holes. Overall, the premise of this book had a lot of potential but ended up falling short for me. I didn't hate it, at all. There were some cute moments. But I won't remember much about it, and I can't say I'd recommend it to others.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute, quick read. Nothing too earth shattering that stood out to me though. Nothing that I really, really hated and nothing that I absolutely loved. A nice potion to pick up for a dreary afternoon on the couch.

“Christmas and London are a match made in heaven. There’s a man on the street corner selling hot chestnuts by the bag, filling the air with the smell of cinnamon and vanilla. The ornate wooden windows of Liberty are glittering with lights and decorations. I stop to look at a huge tree swathed in ribbons and hung with a million dancing fairy lights and – “Watch out!”

Jess is new to London and absolutely thrilled to be living there temporarily. Everything is a wonder to her from the sights, the culture, the lovely people and her home in Nottinghill.

Alex and Jess are roommates. They like each other, they develop a secret crush on one another, then the predictable coupling happens. Alex helps Jess find her way around London, showing her the sights and taking us along for the walk.

This is a lighthearted, Hallmarkesque kinda book. I wanted to be immersed in Nottinghill, read about snow and London culture in a passive easy read. This is an easy read you can finish up in a day or two.

Much thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. Publication date is November 5, 2019. If you enjoy a light romantic chick lit kinda book, you will like this story.

We Met in December wasn't a total hit for me. I love the premise: two people who are pining for each other, living together, cannot seem to get their timing right. Maybe it just dragged on too long, but it just didn't click for me.

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

I was immediately pulled into this book based off of that line. What could happen in a year that would change everything? A year is a long time but also goes by in the blink of an eye. As the story begins we meet Jess, a single 29 year woman who is a big season of change in her life. She’s moving to a new city and into a house shared by a lot of other people she doesn’t know all to start a new and exciting job in the field of her dreams. Great right?

The big house rules is that you can’t date any of the other housemates.So what happens when Jess suddenly feels sparks with another housemate? She doesn’t act on them!

This whole time through this story I was internally screaming “JUST SAY SOMETHING ALREADY!!!!!” But like any good rom-com book, we go through a whole lot of other things while the chemistry between these two is the silent yet awkward elephant in the room.

Overall, I loved how attached I got to the characters, even the supporting ones. Curtis does a good job at pulling you through the story and making you experience everything Jess and Alex are feeling. Once I started reading this book, I did not want to put it down because I was hoping the next chapter something would be said or maybe the chapter after that but of course, like the characters, you have to experience all of the things they are going through to get to the happy ending.

A Big thank you to Net Galley and Harper Collins for the advanced egalley read.

I expected We Met in September to be a Hallmark-esque over that told the story of two London housemates who weren’t allowed to date because of the rules dictated in their house-share agreement. While that does remain the premise, it’s unfortunately not executed well. There’s too much and not enough going on that draws Alex and Jess together. It’s a very relationship-focused novel; readers get to explore mother-daughter relationships, relationships with exes, grandparents, co-workers, friends, etc. but it still feels like Curtis is only scratching the surface. Grab The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary if you’re looking for the story I thought this one was!

Cute, but much longer than it needs to be. I was expecting a a much easier and faster read, not over 40 chapters. I liked the idea of varying POV, but it wasn’t really giving me a lot of new insight.

I had every intention of reading this book from the moment my request was approved for it. I am glad I took my time diving in and letting the hype I had for it die down because honestly, it wasn't what I was expecting it to be.

This book starts out with her meeting her new roommates and then the following chapter is about her trip away and hanging with friends. Once she comes back, she stumbles upon her roommates, Alex and Emma, having a "fling". Of course, this is sort of mentioned in the synopsis except it makes it seem that they are dating. I wouldn't call it that and there really was no interaction between Alex and Emma for the most part. Due to the circumstances, it would also seem there should be some tension in the household but everything carries on like its no big deal even when relationships aren't to be formed in the house due to their rental agreement.

What I don't understand is why Jess thought that he was interested in her or that she had any claim to him when they had only met each other briefly. Unless something happened before she went off on her trip, but nothing was mentioned in the book. She also spent way more time than Emma with him outside of the house. It felt like they were more or less dating. Either way, the way she handled it was fine but it all just didn't make sense from the beginning.

Alex has his own PoV and honestly, he was just annoying. His first PoV is of him after talking to Emma about what they did. He tells himself he isn't a one night stand kind of guy and throughout the beginning is saying how he doesn't want a relationship because of his past. Here's the thing though, he basically becomes the one-night stand guy because he doesn't want to be with Emma and is always thinking about Jess. Even after he talks to Emma, he is thinking about Jess. I didn't like his character.

Emma is only mentioned a bit throughout the book and other than that she really takes the backseat when it comes to everything. The other minor characters are just the same and don't bring much to the table. Everyone felt a bit flat with little development. I can't say that I ever connected to the characters, not even Jess and definitely not Alex.

Overall, the relationship between Jess and Alex is a long grueling friendship that doesn't hit relationship status until the very end. There is no pay-off when it comes to it and this book just lacked in a lot of areas. Unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me and it definitely didn't live up to my expectations.

I loved the cover and description of the book. I love chick-lit books and how it said if you like Bridget Jones's Diary than you would like this book. I agree, this book doesn't have very many funny laugh-out-loud moments but I felt swept up like I was a Londoner.

Alex and Jess are strangers that meet in December and are housemates. Becky, the new house owner has made a rule - no house relationships. Alex and Jess both made huge life choices and are getting used to their new normal. Jess fancies Alex the moment she saw him. After one drunken night, Jess sees Alex hop off with their other housemate Emma. Life and some chances and misses span over the year.

The pacing was perfect. I worried that a whole year could take a while and be boring. The characters and side characters were perfect. I love the little nuances between friends of past instances, or how after some time has passed there wasn't a recap. Sometimes it left me wondering but I liked that not everything was followed up.

I hope there is a sequel because I loved all the characters! I received an ebook from Net Galley in exchange of an honest review.

I was very unfortunately disappointed by this book. I love winter set books but this just didn't do it for me