I read this together with a friend and unfortunately I didn’t care for it. I liked the part at the beginning when Josie and Max Met but I wasn’t rooting for them enough to really be invested in their stories. I was annoyed at the lack of communication on Max’s part and hated that he never was able to tell Josie. I did like the ending and how Josie was living her dream. But it wasn’ t enough to make me like the book.

I received an eARC of Always, in December by Emily Stone from Random House Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
4 stars! If you plan on reading this book, be aware it isn't a HEA. Josie meets Max in London. Then over a period of time, they meet randomly. The book was heartbreaking, heartwarming, and well written. It wouldn't hurt to have tissues on hand.

I chose this book thinking it would be a holiday romance type of story with angst and unrequited love and eventually a sappy ending that warms your heart. Well…not so much. There were some common tropes including boy meets girl. Girl falls in love with boy after spending a week together. Boy ghosts girl. Girl feels sad and abandoned by boy but moves on with her life. Boy and girl’s lives keep intersecting over the course of the next year. The big question is will they eventually get it together and communicate and live happily ever after together???

In the spirit of not giving anything away, I will just say that this book was not what I was expecting when I picked it up although it became predictably clear what was going to happen about midway through. I will also say, other authors like jojo moyes and Josie silver have succeeded in pulling off this type of women’s fiction. I just thought this book lacked heart. I didn’t really bond with the main characters. The romance part started off nicely but stalled. The plot focused too much on the MC’s memo, aunt Helen, and best friend. The love story development was sparse and lacked any real attachment. It rang hollow.
I wish it had focused more on the love triangle aspect between the MC, Oliver and Max.

The ending was just meh for me although I can see other readers reaching for tissues. I bumped it up to a 3 star because I was drawn in during the first half. Just didn’t like where the plot went in the second half.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. My heart is torn into a million little pieces, shattered by this amazing story. And here I thought it was going to be a cute, lighthearted Christmas romance.
I’m not sure I’ve ever rooted for 2 main characters more than I did for Max and Josie. They’re connection was so real, but so were their challenges. They were relatable and likable. And the whole book left me wanting more.
Thank you, Emily, for a brilliant and wonderful story.

Josie has always disliked Christmas but this year's traditional letter is interrupted on delivery. This story is told through the eyes of Max and Josie and how their story intertwines over the year and was a good read. It was festive, fun, and a good read!

I wasn't really sure how to rate this story. A story about missed love, finding yourself, growing with your grief not being stuck with it this is wonderful. However a romance it is a miss. This story takes place over a year (with a follow up year for the main character's resolution) with barely 10 days of interactions between the two characters.

SPOILER AHEAD

Max has plenty of time to tell Josie what is going on and he chooses not to. How can the author say he loves her and just blindsided her with his death. He knew how much it hurt her to not be able to say goodbye to her parents and yet he again took that chance away from her.

3.5 stars.

Not going to SUPER spoil this for anyone but you should know going in that this isn't a warm-and-fuzzy cozy Christmas read. If that's what you're looking for you may want to skip it.

Overall I felt the story was good but the gut punches hurt extra for me since I also lost a parent on Christmas. THAT WAS A SIGN I SHOULD HAVE ABORTED but nope, I rolled forward.

The characters are well done and I really thought the romance was sweet. I want to be Josie's friend.

Overall it's a good book but don't fall for the hype of it being a sweet Christmas book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Every year since her parents were gone Josie sends a letter on Christmas signed, “Missing you, always.” This year on her way to drop her letter she gets in a bicycle collision with a handsome stranger.
Turns out this stranger is looking to avoid Christmas as much as she is. Somehow Josie and Max keep meeting each other. As fate would have it they can’t seem to avoid each other or their feelings.
.
This one gave me all the feelings. Beautifully written and heartbreaking this one will stick with you long after the pages are done turning.
.
Thank you #randomhouse and #NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book had the potential to be as good as Meet Me In Paradise (not the same author but a similar kind of story), but the execution fell short for me. ⭐️⭐️💫

Honestly, at the halfway point I had already done lot of skimming to get there. I found myself pretty bored most of the book. It just really did not grab me. I wanted to know what happened, but I didn’t care about all the little details in between. I think the book was about 200 pages too long.

I wasn’t truly invested in Josie and Max as a couple. The miscommunication (or lack thereof) drove me insane!

** WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD**

I teared up when reading Max’s letter to Josie but that's it. I understand his reasoning for not telling Josie about being sick ... I mean he has the right to die how he wants to die ... but, I didn't think it was "okay." If they had a connection that true then the year together would have been so worth it.

Josie's ending was nice for sure. I liked how Max encouraged and inspired her to live outside the box of her norm. But I think it would’ve been so much more impactful if they would’ve had it even more of a connection throughout the year before he passed.

|| 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖

Always, In December
Emily Stone
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

|| 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒:
It starts and ends with a letter. Josie is going through a lot, and her life seems to be one disaster after another including running over a man with her bike. She never saw Max coming in more ways than one.

|| 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄:
•Emotional reads (I cried, seriously)
•The Movies: PS I Love You, and Me Before You type emotional reads/movies

|| 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒:
I’ve gotten teary eyed before in books, but I’ve never been trying to read the epilogue and had to stop because tears wer falling down my face and I couldn’t even read it. This is not a sweet holiday romance. This is a love story, a sad story, a finding yourself story, a friendship story, and a family story. It really hit me in my feels (obviously) and even going in knowing it was “sad” didn’t prepare me personally. This is a beautiful story and I’m so happy I’m ending my year with this one. I don’t think I’ll be finishing another one this year while I process this one.

Thank you to randomhouse and netgalley for an e-ARc in exchange for an honest review.

Review - Always, in December by @emstonewrites - thank you @penguinrandomhouse for the gifted copy of this book.

Nothing has gutted me in this way in a long time. I am a sobbing mess. I knew this book would destroy me, but damn, that ending killed me. While this book does have romance, it doesn’t classify as romance.

The way the author was able to intertwine love, loss, and grief left me absolutely wrecked. This is a beautiful story about loss at different stages in your life and grief throughout your life. Not only grief for the folks we’ve lost, but grief for certain aspects of our life that you’ve lost throughout the years. The romance that blooms in the span of a year will definitely leave you wrecked.

I thoroughly enjoyed this (in the way one enjoys books that destroys them) and would recommend for anyone who loves “in a different life in a different place we could have been great” type books.

CW - loss of parents, grief, loss of job, death, heart attack

I'm a sucker for a holiday book, and even though this one seemed like it would be a tearjerker, I was excited to give it a read. It follows the story of Josie, who lost her parents when she was young. Now, as an adult, she writes and mails a letter to them every Christmas Eve. It's a form of therapy for her, to put her words to them out in the universe, even though she knows it likely sits in some box in the post office, unable to be delivered. Then she meets Max in a sort of meet-cute. They keep crossing paths over the course of the year and help each other heal. The thing to mention is that this may look like a holiday romance because of the pastel cover and cute title, but it's really not a light-hearted holiday rom-com. It's an emotional read, and there isn't a lot of humor. It's a story of love and loss and moving on and letting go. But it's not really a holiday romance. It is written well and has a powerful message, but I wouldn't put it in the same category as the usually holiday romance.

This is a heartwarming story that will tug at your hearts, Josie meets Max in the most awkward of ways - she accidentally plows him over while riding her bicycle right before Christmas. After a whirlwind few days of romance together, it all seemed to be good to be true - and it was… he disappeared before she awoke on Boxing Day with no note and no way to reach him. Over the next year, she ends up running into him several times - will they rekindle their romance? Was it meant to be?

Strong start, but faded fast. By the time I hit the twist, I was already over it (and frankly, a little angered by it all). Wish I could've liked the characters a little better, and a Christmas story this really is not.

This is a story about finding joy, personal strength and purpose through life's grief and heartache. And yes, that does mean it is a tear jerker. While it is set (partially) during December and the holidays, this is a book for any season. Often books with covers like this make me think there will be a lot of schmaltz. . .in this case the saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover" is so relevant. I enjoyed this book so much. Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC.

This book turned out to be a very different story form what I expected. In the end, it caught me off guard, surprised me and by the time I finished reading I had very big feelings about it. The plot felt a bit slow and I wished the moments of connection with Max had been more emphasized, a lot seemed to be about what happened in between, and I wanted more of the relationship of the attempts at. I felt lukewarm throughout most of the story and then ended with a huge emotional unraveling and left me, well, unraveled. I recommend this book with the caveat to keep an open mind, and not go in with any set expectations based on the cover or the type of book this seems to be.

Always, in December, by Emily Stone, begins with an accidental meeting when Josie crashes into Max's life. Not the most romantic meeting ever, but maybe it was meant to be, or not. They are from different places (in many ways) and throughout the story, their lives take them in different directions (even different continents) from each other, but they keep crossing paths. Always, in December is a story full of heartbreak and love that is easily devoured in one evening. Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ebook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Josie’s life will take some extreme turns as her boyfriend cheats on her and she is let go from her job. Her Christmas tradition is to mail a letter to her parents who died years ago on Christmas. On the way to mail the letter, she runs into Max, and an up and down relationship starts. At the same time, Josie is trying to find her place in the world, unhappy with her marketing job and looking to make changes. There are many themes, and the book is not just a light romance. There is friendship, grief, love, heartbreak and much more. I recommend this book and thank NetGalley for the ARC.

This month was my turn to pick the #literarylovelies monthly book, and I felt a lot of pressure to pick a good Christmas book! I chose Always, in December and while, it was sadder than expected, I do think it was a great discussion book!

This was an emotional book from the beginning and a welcome departure from the saccharine sweet holiday novels we all love. Josie and Max meet each other in a chance encounter and have a wonderful Christmas weekend together. He sneaks out and doesn’t leave any contact info. Over the year, they keep running into each other and they rekindle their relationship, but it has it‘a issues. I don’t want to give too much away because it’s one you should just trust.

Both Max and Josie make some bad decisions, but their characters were very real feeling to me. I loved both their families and especially Josie’s best friends, Laura and Bia. I was extremely impressed to find out this was the author’s debut novel. I’m really looking forward to reading more of Emily’s work!

5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @penguinrandomhouse and @emstonewrites for my copy. Always in December is available now.

It’s all TRUE.

Even though you have been warned by other reviewers that the ending requires tissues-you will be moved to tears anyway.

It is INEVITABLE.

Every December, Josie posts a letter to the parents she lost on Christmas night, when she was a young girl. She knows it cannot actually be delivered, but it brings her solace to write the words, anyway….MISSING YOU, ALWAYS

This DECEMBER, as she bicycles to the Post Box, she collides with a stranger-Max. Turns out, this Christmas is difficult for him as well, and they end up spending a few magical days together, indulging in traditions they would usually avoid. Could this be a new beginning for them both? Josie thinks so. But she wakes up on Boxing Day to find him gone, leaving her with no way to contact him.

Fate or destiny has other ideas, however and their paths will cross again in the most unexpected places.

Told in time jumps over the course of TWO years, and THREE Decembers-this book is about the people in your life who SUSTAIN you, and also those who will CHANGE your life!

It isn’t a cheerful, seasonal read- and it isn’t Chick Lit.
It IS both heartwarming and heartbreaking, and I am glad to have read it.

An impressive debut by author Emily Stone, who lost her own mother when she was just seven, and wanted a story which reflected that you always carry this grief with you long after the actual loss.

Always remember 💖

I received a gifted copy of this book, and it was my pleasure to offer a candid review!
AVAILABLE now.