This was a delightful if predictable Christmas story. You could tell fairly early on what was going to happen but this story is so beautifully told that it keeps you involved until the end. The author has a wonderful ability to describe everything in detail from the scenery to the food and the outfits Kate wears. Kate lives in the village of Blexford on her own, but with family and friends close by. She works in London as a fabric designer for Liberty but helps out in the local café with Matt, the owner. Kate is looking for a partner in her life having been on her own for a while and signs up to a dating agency with a Christmas theme in the run up to the big day, where Kate is paired with a different man for twelve different events. The events themselves are really interesting and include wine tasting, an outdoor cinema, making a house out of gingerbread and even an Escape Room. Without giving too much away the dates all seem to have some sort of disaster even though Kate’s dates mostly seem quite eligible on the surface. It is a really easy read and the characters jump off the page. I loved hearing about the beautiful village which really sets the scene for Christmas. May read again next December! I read this in January and although a bit late for Christmas it is just perfect for lockdown. The descriptions of the Christmas scenes, food and decorations are lovely and set a beautiful scene that transports you to the pretty village of Blexford. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Festive read set in a picture perfect village, the twelve dates of Christmas is clearly signposted from the start so you won’t get a surprise at how it ends. There are some interesting situations before you get there though! It’s simple- but fun for a read at an incredibly busy time of year and the descriptions may give you a much needed boost to bake and decorate your way to your own magical Christmas..

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very cosy and cute Christmassy romance. Following Kate along on these dates, some of which more disastrous than others, was such a lovely way to spend the festive season.

I think right from the start, it was rather clear who Kate would end up with. That did take a little of the enjoyment and "suspense" away from the book for me, but it was still a very entertaining journey getting there.

There is, as to be expected, a huge cast of characters. Luckily, there's never any confusion as to who's who, and every character is written with a very distinctive voice and style.

However, I did find the book quite slow paced and difficult to get into. There were a few times at the beginning of the book I found it a slog, and I didn't find myself always reaching to read further.

This was a cute Christmas story, that whilst predictable was still fun and an exciting concept. I enjoyed the setting of the small town gossip fuelled village and the descriptions were always exciting and I often felt as though I was there in the moment too. Sadly I couldn't really get into many of the characters which meant I often wasn't that interested in picking the book back up, making it a pretty slow read.

Oh, I just love this one, my favourite Christmas book this year. Made me laugh out loud and also gave me a ‘lumpy’ throat. Great feel good reading and would definitely recommend. Don’t save it just for Christmas

A full filled Christmas romance about finding Mr Right before Santa arrives.
Enjoyable, if a bit predictable, but a nice light holiday read.

“A man is like an optional extra: you should only take one on when it’s beneficial to do so. It’s like refraining for the fourth plate at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Just because it’s there, doesn’t mean you have to have it.”

Why Did I Read This?

I was accepted to read an ARC of this book by NetGalley and I was thrilled because I had seen this book being posted about all over bookstagram so I knew I’d picked a good one. I requested this because as I’ve said in previous blog posts, Christmas-themed books are something I’ve never really read, and I wanted to try that out this year.

What Did I Think?

Well first things first, let me say if you’re wanting a great romantic, cheese-filled story…then The Twelve Dates of Christmas is one for you.

Love Actually. The Holiday. Who doesn’t love a good rom-com around Christmas time? The Twelve Dates of Christmas follows a young woman named Kate who has moved back to her hometown of Blexford, England from London. Following a recent break-up with a guy she had been with for over five years, Kate’s friend decides to sign her up to a dating agency that promises to help singles find love before the holidays. With twenty-three days until Christmas and twelve dates with twelve different men to go on, we follow Kate in her mission to find Mr. Right.

I told you it was cheesy! What I loved about this book was I warmed to Kate almost instantly and that allowed me to just sit back and relax into the story, enjoying and getting the chance to go on each date with her and imagine how cute and Christmassy it must have been. Without spoiling it for you, each date is…unique…in its own way and I loved watching every date unfold.

One thing that’s great when your single is the sheer amount of different dating experiences you get to ‘enjoy’ but now I’m in a committed, loving relationship, I could not imagine anything worse than having to go back out into the dating scene and deal with all the crap that comes with it. Fun as it may be, none of it compares to going on a date night with your partner.

I also loved Kate’s friendships and her amusing family. I loved how even though Kate had moved away from Blexford for quite some years, she was able to rekindle her old friendships and make them better than they ever were.

Although the storyline is completely obvious from reading about 30% of the book, I loved that it panned out the way it did, and it had such a cute and heart-warming end. Just what you need at Christmas time. A truly up-lifting read that has significantly improved my opinion of Christmas-related novels.

Charming, hilarious & heartwarming!

I loved the concept of this novel and the journey Bayliss takes you on it is just divine. She sweeps you off your feet and takes you on twelve dates each offering something special some doomed from the start, others taking unexpected turns to terrible town. I laugh, cried, and was left with that warm fuzzy feeling.

A fabulous debut! I can't wait to see what Bayliss comes up with next. 5⭐

Firstly, I would like to thank Pan Macmillan and the author, Jenny Bayliss, for the advanced copy I received through Netgalley.

This book is about a woman who is still single after her past relationships haven't worked out, so is convinced by her best friend to sign up for the new dating craze called 'The Twelve Dates of Christmas'. This scheme matches you with a different date twelve times before Christmas, doing different activities each time with a rep there in case anything goes wrong.

It is a busy plot with many different characters and intertwining storylines. I found the writing style very descriptive which I know some readers favour, however, I prefer fast paced reads personally. I also found the plot a little predictable, I had already guessed what was going to happen near the start of the book. Unfortunately, this book just didn't hook me in.

Overall, although this book isn't for me, we all have our own opinions and I'm sure many other people will really enjoy the writing style and plot!

I have posted this review on Instagram and Goodreads.

i thought this was a bit on the long side but the constantly changing cast of characters did keep me engaged

Snow, Christmas jumpers and romance...what’s not to like?!

Well, my initial though was - ‘this isn’t true to life at all’ - in my experience, internet dating doesn’t produce such hosts of eligible, handsome men! But then as I read further, I changed my mind - “yup! Completely true to life!”

Truly romantic, in every meaning of the word. I loved it.

Oh I adored this! I’ve read 12 festive books this December and this was by far the best. It would make the most amazing Christmas movie also. Our two main characters are so charming especially Kate.. I had some genuine laughs along the way too which for me is rare! Kate is so relatable and I loved all the secondary characters in her life. Her parents, friends and of course the dates. And I also want to move to this beautiful village where she lives which is straight out of my festive dreams. An absolute must-read over the Christmas period for anyone who wants to feel warm, cosy and comfort. Thank you to NetGalley for this wonderful read.

This book was super cute and super Christmassy - a perfect read for this time of year. I enjoyed it a lot. Of course it was incredibly predictable, but it’s made me want to live in a little cottage in a little village in the middle of Christmas always and forever... mission accomplished!

This is a very Christmassy book following a girl on her quest to find “the one”. She goes on twelve dates and ends up with someone who was in front of her. This book had a great Christmas feeling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I've got such mixed feelings about this book because I just really wanted to love it, as a light, heart warming Christmassy romance but I just wasn't hooked on it at all. I thought that the concept of the 12 dates of Christmas was a really fun idea, and introducing all these fun, unique men was a really nice touch. Yet, I just felt this book was so ridiculously predictable. Whilst, yes, most romance books are predictable it felt like the author was spelling out all of the potential "twists" before they happened, not clues but full blown obvious remarks.

Nonetheless, I did enjoy this cutesy Christmas read and I'm glad I got to read a festive book this season.

Twelve Dates of Christmas – the new dating app that’s taken singletons by storm ready to find their perfect match during the festive season. Enter Kate; a happily single fabric designer and resident of the small village of Blexford, begrudgingly getting roped into signing up, much to her dismay. Cue multiple dates, multiple guys and inevitably – multiple disasters! Just when she begins to think that her mistletoe match might not be under the tree this year, everything changes and it starts to look like her subconscious Christmas wishes might get answered after all!

What more can you want in the lead up to Christmas other than an easy to read, snuggle under the duvet in the cold kind of book?! Jenny Bayliss definitely delivers with her cosily simple Christmas romance. It’s a pretty standard plot that seems to dominate the romance novel world – a small village community, a girl who loves to bake and the local café being the central hub for the tight knit residents. I didn’t initially think when reading the blurb that it would follow the similar ‘romance book’ tropes based on the modern idea of the dating app – but it didn’t really do anything new or exciting; which was a bit of a shame! I felt myself wanting the story to dive more into the dates, craft a more modern female lead and go into less detail on the development of unnecessary background characters. Although it’s a small village – I didn’t need THAT much detail on the local knitting group! Although this book wasn’t what I was initially hoping for – it was a really easy, homely, predictable read that got you into the festive mood very quickly. The setting description was perfect, the romance factor was sprinkled throughout every page and the premise was really likeable.

I really enjoyed finding out what each date and suitor was like and although the whole story was easily predicted after the first couple of chapters it was really Christmassy. The end was a bit too quick, simple and perfect for me – after the excessive detail in previous chapters I was surprised that the end was as rushed as it seemed to be! But the outcome was as expected and you can’t help but finish the book with that fuzzy feeling.

The best advice I could give you is pour yourself a huge hot chocolate, chuck on some fairy lights, snuggle under a big blanket and get into the Christmas vibe with this book – you’ll be pulling out the mistletoe before you know it!

Thanks to NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for my advanced reader copy! 💕

An easy if very predictable Christmas read that doesn’t take too much concentration during what is usually a very busy month. I decided to read the days in the book on the actual day of this month as it was based on this year, which was fun but some days were quite a challenge as they were very long chapters. Overall not a bad debut novel and it was very festive. Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for letting me read and review this book.

The Twelve Dates of Christmas was exactly what you expect; a festive little light hearted holiday romance. Unfortunately I didn't find the story particularly gripping (I found myself trying to speed through chapters to get to the date section), and felt it was too predictable. I did however enjoy the variation of characters and then comedic value of the dates.

A very charming read, sweet, engaging, great characters, and a wonderful story that flowed wonderfully and kept me interested until the very end.

A really lovely read.

This novel was an absolute winner for me. It had an original storyline filled with interesting and relatable experiences with the perfect ending which is everything I want in a Christmas novel. Jenny Bayliss has a new fan and I am going to look for more of her novels to tuck away for reading when I need a boost.