Unfortunately I found this story a little slow for my liking. It didn’t grab me as I’d hoped nor did it tick my boxes. It just didn’t work for me.

The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss is a diverting, light-hearted Christmas read.
If you like light-hearted seasonal romance then this is the ideal read.
Kate lived in a charming village in the south of England. Her best friend Laura encourages her to join a "Twelve Dates of Christmas" dating programme partially hosted in the local hall. Kate reluctantly decides to give it a go. Her other best friend Matt, is slightly more dubious about the wisdom of this idea, but Kate has decided it's time to at least try and meet someone.
After a shaky start she meets a variety of elligible bachelors, connecting more with some than others. Along the way she makes a realisation but how will she decide what to do?
The outcome of the story was fairly predictable but it was delivered in a slightly unusual way. I enjoyed the characters and the setting of Kate's little village. There was lots of Christmassy detail and snowy winter scenes.
The perfect cosy read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan McMillan for kindly providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.
As many other reviewers of this book have stated, the ending of this book was lit up by every kind of Christmas light to show you the way, from the very beginning. The conclusion really didn’t hold any surprises for me, but it was kind of comforting and rewarding still as the romance definitely was a slow burn, friends to lovers theme.
It is a contemporary romance, but reading it at Christmas 2020, after the lock down and restricted year we’ve had- it actually made me feel quite nostalgic. I often found myself thinking things like “oh, yeah I remember what it was like to be able to go to Christmas markets and baking classes”. Yep, the things that happen in this book just definitely weren’t possible this year! But if you’re hankering to remember what it was like when it was so easy to mix with a whole bunch of people and 12 dates with different people wasn’t just a social distancing nightmare- I totally recommend this book.
I think the characters were well written and the book I’m just flew by for me. Very enjoyable.

A contemporary Christmas romance is just what I needed and this book worked perfectly for me :)

I have to admit that I found it very relatable and if the 12 dates of Christmas were actually a thing, I would most probably be taking part... and would have as many failed dates as our main character!
This book is an easy read that will help you take your mind off things if needed and just appreciate Christmas time. The atmosphere is very festive thanks to great descriptions of the decorations, festive activities and also all the food!
The characters are all endearing in their own way and you find yourself wishing for the best for them.

In a few words, this read is festive, cute, emotional, fresh and full of hope.

However, it is only a 3 stars for me as I found it slightly too long and predictable.

Kate has a wonderful life living back in her childhood home, a stellar career and wonderful friends. The only thing missing is a man to complete the picture. Since her last relationship, Kate's love life has been stale and she allows her friends to convince her to sign up for 'The Twelve Dates of Christmas' - 12 blind dates scattered throughout December. What could go wrong?

"Kate had to admit that her regime of pyjamas, toast and telly by 7:30 every night was not conducive to establishing a satisfying sex life. And as much as she'd like to meet someone, she was a bit too happy in her own company. Kate had become her own best date."

This book is incredibly well-written, and was such a joy to read. It delivered not only some Christmas spirit and beautiful images of a snowy village but also some laugh out loud moments during the first dates, as well as some relatable content because most of us have been on a first date or two and when they go bad, they can go really bad.

I really liked Kate as a character - I loved that she had such a great history and she felt like a really thought-out, fleshed -out character, as did everyone in this book to be honest. I love how she had really had a great life so far - she had been educated, she had travelled the world, and she now had a great job with WFH flexibility and a beautiful home. She was content but also 100% ready for the next chapter in her life - love, marriage and babies. And it was just really nice not to follow a character whose life was a ginormous mess, which can often be the case for a contemporary!

Also side note but I love that it was stated that Kate was a size 14 (UK size) as while this is an average size for women, too often it feels like female characters in contemporaries are a tiny size 8. Kate had some boob and bum and I loved it.

It was 100% obvious from the start where the story was going to go, and at first I wasn't happy but the relationship did eventually charm me, and win me over so by the end I was happy. I was partial to the hot fireman though.

The dates were fun to read about, and one of the only unrealistic things was that they were all so good-looking - and three of them ended up still in love with their exes (a theme in this book). But I love that it was clear Kate could still be sexually attracted to her dates but it didn't necessarily mean a happy ever after.

My favourite thing about this book was the village - it was so wonderful, and honestly, I wish it was real so I could either just live there or spend Christmas there. An idyllic setting with The Pear Tree cafe, the group of Knitting Sex Kittens (I NEED one of their Christmas jumpers pronto) and local farm produce. And not too far from London either - what a dream! I wanted to dive into the pages and plop headfirst into the village of Blexington.

This book would make a fantastic movie, but it's also a fantastic book. I definitely recommend!

Rural Christmas idyll, delicious sounding food, family intrigue, what more could you want from a cosy Christmas read? This absolutely ticked all the boxes, a very enjoyable read. Thanks NetGalley!

Fun and enjoyable festive read, perfect for this time of year. It was a welcome break from my usual morbid crime fiction.

A cute and engaging British chick-lit with a sprinkle of Christmas. What more could you want?!

I loved this book from the random dates to the typical small English village vibes to the cutsie romance that ensues. Truly adorable and perfect for the Christmas season!

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Pan Macmillan in exchange for an honest review.
It is no secret by this point that I like my romance setups as ridiculous and as needlessly convoluted as possible. I adored the idea of someone going on 12 dates over the festive period having been matched up with people on an app, and on that front this book didn't really disappoint. I also quite liked the protagonist and thought she was both relatable and likeable. It was refreshing to see her having quite open and relaxed romantic attitudes towards dating several people (well, for a romance book anyway) and I like that she didn't get punished by the narrative for these views.

Sadly, that's most of the praise I can give this book. From the start, it is painfully obvious what direction this book is going to go. Even with the attempts at misdirection, I knew almost instantly who the protagonist would end up with and I was right. This takes away a lot of the fun and potential suspense from the dates and the story as a result. There is a lot of good Christmas imagery and events which happen here, but the dates themselves take a backseat to the other things going on in the main character's life and that was a shame.

My other main criticism was the writing. It did settle down but initially every character is described in semi-flowery detail and it really bothered me. Love interests should absolutely be described in an attractive or interesting way, but it was extended to every person she met pretty much, at least in the initial quarter or so. It did decrease which helped but it almost made me put the book down which is not a good sign.

Overall, there isn't anything major wrong with this book but I didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much as I'd hoped to. The predictable plot and subsequent lack of tension just made me switch off whilst reading it. Romance books don't need suspense to keep me interested but then I want time devoted to the actual romance, rather than a last-minute obvious hookup. If you want a light Christmas read then this won't do any harm but there are also better ones out there.

Overall Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Loved this book. A cosy romance just right for curling up with in front of the fire . Kate is persuaded by her friend to sign up to The 12 Dates of Christmas dating event in order to widen her horizons and maybe find love. Each date is different kind of event, some indoors and some outside.
I found that the characters were well rounded and I connected with them and cared about them. The side characters were great too. Hopefully Jenny Bayliss will return to the village another time.
Recommended.

This was an okay book but it wasn't really anything new or exciting. Parts were quite slow and I didn't connect with the writing as much as I expected to. The characters were fairly decent but the plot was crazily obvious and nothing surprised me.

An enjoyable book full of Christmas cheer, friendship and disastrous dates.
Interesting & fun characters that you warm to and a great storyline all set with the magic of Christmas make this book a great read over the festive period.
I did see (and hope for) the ending coming right from the start, but that didn’t stop me enjoying lead character Kate’s calamitous dates as she endeavours to find ‘the one’ by signing up to a dating agency’s 12 dates of Christmas venture, when all she seems to find is the one that belongs to someone else or the one to avoid at all costs.
A good read for Christmas & one to ask Santa for.

The Twelve Dates Of Christmas follows Kate, a single 34 year old from a quiet little English town who's best friend signs her up for a dating event promising her twelve dates for twelve chances to find love before Christmas.
As you can probably guess from the premise, this was a really fun Christmas read. We have a genuine and loveable main character in Kate, who is perfectly happy with her life, her great job, and her two best friends. It was nice to read about a single woman who is satisfied with her life as it is and sees a relationship as something that could be a nice addition rather than a main goal. I loved reading about her small town life and the relationships she has with the people in the town, in particular her relationship with her father. It was all just very wholesome and heart-warming. I enjoyed the friendships Kate has, although found the 'big secret' from the past and the conflicts that created to be a bit blown out of proportion, I expected what happened in the past to be something more for the outcome it had.
The twelve dates aspect of the story was the most fun part for me. It was really enjoyable to read about some of the disastrous dates as well as the more successful ones. I did feel, though, that some of them were just kind of skimmed over and could have been more developed.
I did really enjoy this book for the most part, even thought it was quite predictable at times. However, I struggled with some of the decisions Kate makes at points and felt that some things could have been handled differently. I would also have liked the relationship to have been more developed, it was a sweet romance and I enjoyed it but it could have been done better.

A nice easy Christmas read. Personally, I saw the ending coming from fairly early on but there were a few giggles along the way. All in all a funny, feel good, festive novel, Perfect escapism for this time of year.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Kate Turner is a fabric designer for Liberty’s of London thought she’s not living in London – she’s back at the little village she grew up in, surrounded by her friends and being able to look after her father. She’s single and happy and has everything she needs. However, as her best friends Laura persuades her to join an online dating app sponsored by the firm she’s working for, Kate agrees – well, it’s The Twelve Dates of Christmas dates, twelve nights with a new potential boyfriend every time at lovely venues. What can go wrong, right? Psssst – almost everything!

So I really liked the synopsis, and the idea of the twelve dates was brilliant but, unfortunately, not delivered and it was hard to get into the story and to engage with it. To be honest I’ve already started to panic that the book will never end – and it’s a very new feeling for me. I really thought that it will be going for ever and ever – it dragged too much for my liking, and while I loved the idea of the dates they – sadly – felt too flat. They were original, that’s for sure, but they also felt forced and not as amusing as I’d like. The conflict between the two characters felt wooden and honestly, it didn’t add the expected tension to the story – it was simply too forced, especially the renewed conflict with this strange jealous rage.

The dates felt like a very, very long and very, very curvy way to reach a happy end by the main character. They lacked in sparkle and chemistry. I mean, it’s sure that the sparkles don’t fly immediately but the interactions simply felt so, so stilted. Even though every single candidate was handsome, rich and successful. Gah. The really interesting one was Drew probably.

It is really clear that the author likes words and writing – the book is filled with all kinds of descriptions, very detailed ones, of the town, Kate’s work and her projects (oh boy. Her projects. I appreciate her work. But I was so tired with her projects, really) and I eventually started to skim – read it without a feeling that I’m missing something.

A real winner of this book are the characters – not the background ones from the dates, but the main ones, especially Kate, her best friend Laura and Kate’s father. I really liked them, they were chatty and lovely and kind people. Kate was good – natured and positive, her life approach was so relaxed and I liked how she took things with a pinch of salt, not taking seriously things that weren’t worth it. OK, sometimes she should really act and do the things she was only thinking but really, other than that she was nice to read about.
I’m not sure if the heroes of the twelve dates added so much to the story except for making it feel too long. I mean, of course the author had to introduce them to us, and now think, there are twelve dates, so twelve additional characters that are, actually, not significant for the plot. Not at all. A brave move but, unfortunately, it didn’t work well in this story.

And apologies, but the book didn’t put me into festive mood. I mean, there is Christmas overloaded, with food, jumpers, trees, mince pies, mulled wine and no idea what more, but I. Didn’t. Feel. The. Christmas. Spark. I am not Scrooge. But I liked how snowy it was. There was a lot of snow. Like, Snowmaggedon. Yes, it helped to make the setting so lovely. Jenny Bayliss nailed this.

There was a bit of drama, some laughs and altogether it was an easy, enjoyable read that had its moments.

I loved this story.

Kate, not needing a man to complete her (at least on the surface), is talked into taking part in the Twelve Dates of Christmas by best friend Laura who works at one of the venues taking part. As entertaining as I found the dates, the community at Blexford and friends and family are just as important to the story. They all add a whirl of emotions.

There is a fabulous cast of characters who all add colour - Kate’s dad, Matt, Sarah, the Knitting Sex Kittens, Kate’s eccentric mum - spring immediately to mind. Kate and Laura have one of the best friendships I’ve ever come across in a story. I wanted to be their friend too :) Matt had me belly laughing at his reaction to the ‘zip’ incident. So much so that Pete asked me if I was ok … Kate had me laughing at some of her thoughts (Blexford Folly gave me the giggles). As well as the laughter, I cried. Not always because I was feeling sad though. The final scene was absolutely beautiful.

I’m not going to share what the 12 dates are but oh, there are some corkers. Each activity Kate has chosen is disastrous in some way and very entertaining. On the 8th date I had a realisation which was wrong although the truth was just as unpalatable. I wanted to shout at Kate to protect herself. The 10th date had me cheering for Kate’s actions. The 12th date was, of course, my favourite.

Kate’s creativity and her job is also a theme I very much enjoyed. It was healing to see the world through her eyes on her inspiration walks in nature.

The Twelve Dates of Christmas is the perfect read for the season. Highly recommended.

I absolutely loved this book. I was with Kate and Matt every minute of their journey and couldn't put the book down. Festive feelgood romance at it's best. This will certainly be gifted to friends this Christmas who I'm sure will love the book as much as I did.

After starting this book, I knew instantly what was going to happen but this didn't put me off the book at all. It was very predictable. Light hearted and a lovely romance to read for Christmas. The story itself is great, the characters were lovely and the story had me laughing at some of the one liners and some of the dates that Kate went on. Matt sounds like a sweet man too. All in all a good book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers and the author for the privilege to read this book for my honest opinion

Kate is in her thirties, single, and living in a tiny village where her chance of running into an eligible bachelor is basically zero. But she has her dad, her best friends Laura and Matt, and she is happy. Until Laura badgers her into signing up for Twelve Dates of Christmas, organised by an online dating service. In the run-up to Christmas, Kate will go on 12 dates with 12 men the service has paired her with. Her expectations are low, and she is not looking forward to the entire village poking its nose into her dating life. Romance might come easy during the Christmas season, but is Prince Charming really hanging around on an app?

This was the perfect Christmas romcom. Certain aspects of the story are very predictable, but that doesn't make it any less of a joy to read. Kate's dates are all very funny, although there were a lot of divorced men on parade. But that comes with the territory of dating in your thirties, right?

The little village of Blexford is described so beautifully, it's a shame it's not a real place (it's not, right? because if it is, I need to pack my bags immediately and go there). The whole Christmassy atmosphere was there, from the decorations inside and outside people's homes to the food. So many scenes involving food, it was hard to not give into cravings and start baking something devilishly delicious.

Lovely, feel-good festive story! Really enjoyed this. A great concept, where singleton Kate signs up for a dating experience with a difference - the 12 dates of Christmas! She has quite some events along the way - I was trying to come up with what might happen on the next date, but I can tell I'm a reader not a writer as I never conjured up what the author did! Although I had an inkling from fairly early on of where the story might end up, this did not spoil my enjoyment of the book or the journey along the way. It was just fun seeing how it actually got there!

If you would like a lovely cosy read, based around a wonderful community and village (I so want to live there!), you will not be disappointed with this book!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review, which is what I have given.