One Day In December by Josie Silver

As an author myself, I look for three things in a book in order to earn five stars. Well-written prose, great character arcs and a story that surprises me. I will still honour the author with a solid 3.5 or 4 stars if they've written their tale well even if the storyline or genre doesn't appeal to me personally - but I needn't have worried with this fabulous debut as Josie has knocked it out of the park. So much so that I wondered if this tale was inspired by true life events - it's that realistic. What would you do if your best friend fell in love with the love of your life?

I thought I'd figured out how the tale would unravel by the end of the first chapter, so it was refreshing that she managed to twist and turn the story over a 10year period before unleashing the happy ever after - which although inevitable (and by then you were secretly rooting for) I had no clue how she would tie all the loose ends together until all came good.

As many others have said - Richard Curtis needs to option this film. It's got all the hallmarks of a feel-good romcom that we'll all be watching every Christmas for years to come.

Some people don't like novels that jump time-frames and alternate from different POVs, but that's the exact style I write in, so I loved it and gobbled it up in two days.

Highly recommended.