Emily Stone lives and works in the UK. She wrote her first novel, Always, in December, in an old Victorian manor house with an impressive literary heritage. You can find Emily on Twitter @EmStoneWrites.
Every December, Josie mails a letter from her home in London to the parents she lost on Christmas night many years ago. Every time, she writers the same three words: Missing you, always. But one year, her annual trip to the mailbox is knocked off course when her bicycle collides with a handsome stranger—a stranger who will change 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. But then Max disappears without saying goodbye. Over the next year, Max and Josie find that fate continues to unite them in places they'd never expected: New York City, Edinburgh, the quiet English countryside. And it turns out that Max has as many reasons to stay as he had to leave. But what does destiny 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.
The biggest thing I kept thinking throughout the novel is the way stone just captured the cadence of life. This was achieved by a few different factors, the first being how we see the main characters Josie and Max at different points in their lives (time-wise, as the novel spans a year), but we still have a full sense of continuity as far as who they are versus who they were in the previous section. This demonstrates Stone's ability to character develop "off-the-page"—since months pass between each few-days-long sections, Stone is able to make, say, Josie recognizable from December to April, while also showing the subtle but different ways she's grown over time. The second way Stone achieves this cadence is through the way in which grief is explored. Several types are incorporated into the story, including death of loved ones that happened years and years ago; the grieving of life while one is still living; and the grief one has over someone has most recently died. I believe these are all very different emotions housed under the same umbrella term, and Stone does each of them justice within the novel.
This book reminds me of both Josie Silver's books, yet this one has a quality to it that makes me like it even more. It's a little difficult to articulate, but I will try—I have read a few books that can be categorized as "brit chick lit" and a lot of the times, I just can't relate to the voice of the main character. This isn't because of the British slang, but rather just the different ways people are, that I can't find myself relating to. However, I didn't struggle at all to relate to Josie's voice, and thus her journey, even though I had never been through anything as emotionally devastating as losing my parents at Christmas as a child. I believe it was easy to connect with Josie because, despite being overwhelmed by her grief, her voice was still clearly an adult's, and she was still concerned with all her adult pursuits, even though she was taken back to a very vulnerable point in her life. While the text is overly concerned with exploring grief and loss, Josie's voice wasn't overwhelmed with those feelings, which made this novel one of my favorite "brit chick lit" novels I've read. While there were some things I didn't always quite buy into—why Josie avoided her family home so hard, despite having family members that love her, as the biggest thing—I think my respect for Josie's voice, and the development thereof, made me excuse these small inconsistencies.
This novel engages with several other popular and relevant romance stories in the telling of its own. Sure, it takes its biggest plot reveal/conceit from Jojo Moyes's Me Before You, but I also noted elements of Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and so much more. Not just because Josie and her family quote famous lines from some of this media, but because some elements of those stories are embeded throughout the story. I see the way fate plays out across different points in time as reminiscent of Four Weddings and a Funeral (even though there's only one wedding in this one) and the written down declaration of love from Love Actually. This novel also takes into account the importance of other relationships—most notably, Josie's relationship with Oliver is important in understanding Josie, and Max's relationship with Erin and his sister. While we only get one part of the novel from Max's point of view, we note how important those relationships are, even though we don't exactly know what's going on with him at that point. While the general holiday cheer of the novel helps to keep things light, the incorporation of these other popular rom com staples helps to balance out some of those grief-filled themes.
Lots of folks have themselves in a tizzy in the Goodreads review section, claiming that this book technically shouldn't be categorized as a "romance" due to its lack of a fully happy ending. I would argue quite the opposite, and that's mostly because I don't mind playing devil's advocate with haters on Goodreads. My first point against these reviewers in that "romance" is actually not defined by a happily ever after, but by "a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love." And I do believe Max did give Josie a run for her money on both the excitement and mystery counts at the beginning, and love at the ending. Thus, there is a romance in the novel. Now, by book publishing standards, romance is a bit different (there are tropes and other things to keep in mind), some of which this book has (fated meetings, general cheer, the bright cover) and other which it doesn't (the happily ever after associated with the romantic interest). Which, I suppose I could argue that Josie's happily ever after for now only comes as a result of Max's actions, so I rest my case on that point as well. Lastly, if you want a holiday romance, not entirely sure why one would have picked up with the words Me Before You in the marketing—we all know how that ends, at you are just honestly angry at yourself for not picking it up.
Please do not blame the author for the marketing of the novel. Most likely, Emily Stone is not to blame for the way the book was marketed as a romance. Publishers are still businesses, and they are grateful to be profiting from your belief in this being a holiday romance. Emily Stone just wants to write, and keep writing, and touching people's lives. Do not blame her for something out of her control. If the story touched you, not sure why you wouldn't be reviewing about that—especially if you read far enough into the book to see how it ended. Enough said on that.
The only question I have is who did Max light his candle for? Emily, please spill the tea!
As Emily Stone's debut, Always, in December is a beautiful testament of Stone's emotional storytelling. I do hope she continues to write and publish novels in the future. You can find Emily on Twitter @EmStoneWrites in the meantime!
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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