One Day is a lovely little novel by David Nicholls, a basic look into a long, long…loooong love story. It would be hard to really review this book, to cover all I loved and all I hated without really giving away the ending–which I hated.

First things first: Throughout my read, I found myself debating which of the two protagonists I hated more. Was it needy, self-deprecating, and, frankly, stupid Emma who had no gumption to speak of? Or what it perhaps arrogant and selfish Dexter who spins wildly out of control for the majority of the book?

Many have praised the writing and storytelling, and while the tone and rhythm I did enjoy, I–you guessed it–hated the method behind the story plotting. Nicholls allows a peek into one day of each year in the lives of Dex and Em. At first I thought, “What a brilliant idea.” But after a few chapters, though he did broadly fill in most of the gaps, I felt Nicholls really short-changed me on a whole lot of the juicy details.

But now that I’ve ripped the book to shreds and you’re thinking you’ll never read it, I must say that despite all its shortcomings, I honestly couldn’t put it down. And when I had to put it down–read, sleep–I had dreams about these characters. To watch their lives over the course of 20 years and to gain such intimate access to even their nastiest traits, I felt very invested in the relationship and its outcome. After all, who doesn’t love to soak up a bit of drama? This book has plenty.

A little added bonus, One Day is being turned into a movie. And while I hated Dexter while reading along, Jim Sturgess I love.