My mom and I both read this book - she gave it three stars because the protagonist is extremely codependent. I am giving it five stars because I loved it, although I agree with her assessment.

Poppy's boyfriend of five years decides she is too "needy" and breaks up with her a month before Christmas. She has labeled him the family she never had (truly, after winding up in the foster system at 2 years old) and is determined that they are meant to be together and has to save the relationship. So she is determined to make herself more busy. She winds up making several new friends, volunteering at a community center and singing in a choir. Along the way she discovers herself and what she really wants out of life and it is not being instagrammable and shallow. If her wish comes true, is it now truly what she wants is the boyfriend and the insta life?

Poppy is indeed codependent in the story but when the reader finally gets her backstory it makes more sense. However, I found her boyfriend to be quite self-absorbed and totally off-putting. She clearly has rose-colored glasses with thick lenses. The real Poppy, or Popstar, to her friends at the community center is a lovable, giving, passionate person and she has completely lost that in her relationship.

This is a charming Christmas story that would be right at home as a Hallmark movie. While the plot was predictable, I still enjoyed the story and Poppy's journey of self-discovery.

Dumped one month before Christmas is not the situation Poppy could have foreseen for herself. “Too needy” George had called her. When she felt she was just being a good, attentive girlfriend. She won’t let him go without a fight though, and she has twelve days to save her Christmas with him. Poppy throws herself into volunteering, joining a local choir, and liking things that George is interested in (like running— bleh). As she spends time apart from George, Poppy realizes that perhaps there is more to life than devoting herself to him.

This was the perfect wintertime read with the typical Christmas messages of selflessness and the true meaning of love. I was rooting for Poppy and hoping that she would come to realize that there is always another option, even if you had never considered it before. This book is heavier than the cover and description let on. This is a must read for any romance readers in the month of December!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an unbiased review!

Twelve Days to Save Christmas
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Elizabeth Neep
Genre: Women’s Fiction/Romance
Clean Read: No (some mention of sex - not graphic, and language)
Content Warning: References to foster care, alcoholism

The reader meets Poppy and George who have been together for 5 years and unbeknownst to Poppy, are about to break up. She spends the month of December trying to convince him they’re meant to be, by challenging herself to be less available so that he can miss her and see what he would be losing and what life would be life without her around. During this process, she really rediscovers or maybe truly finds herself for the first time. I loved the story of self-discovery.

I did not like how completely dependent and wrapped up in George she was (who is a selfish prick, btw), but I understand why it would be necessary for the purpose of the character arc in the story. I would have liked less attention on George and more on Poppy’s family story and the supporting characters.

Overall, this book was so much more than I expected it to be. It seems to be about a young woman trying to save her long-term relationship, but what it is REALLY about, is family. The messy history that is ever present, how it shapes us, who we learn to lean on, wanting to belong, and growing up. It’s a beautiful tale of connection and hope for finding one’s place in the world.

I really wanted/needed an epilogue to wrap it up and give us readers some more closure and reassurance for Poppy, Church Street, Theo, and the whole cast of characters they’re linked to. I hope we get a glimpse or conclusion in another future story.

The lead up to Christmas has always been the best time of year. It used to be Poppys, except a month before Christmas her boyfriend decides to break up with her. Now Poppy has just twelve days to win him back.

Twelve days to save Christmas while may be a festive jolly read, however it isn’t the sole focus on the entire book. This book hints at more serious and real problems within the world, Poppy learns how to become who she was, to who she wants to be and to who she is. So yes while it’s festive and fun and happy, it’s also sad and touching on the best ways!

4.5* it made me laugh, cry and smile so big but mostly it made me thoughtful about what other people go through around Christmas. How just because I might have the best time it doesn’t mean everyone else is. And that other people are facing their own battles.

Take risks and reach out.

Thank you to Netgallery and Elizabeth Neep for the ARC.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4284610603

Poppy has found in George, her boyfriend of five years, all the family she needs. When he breaks up with her a month before Christmas, she has to do everything she can to save the relationship and the only family she has known.

Although with assumption we assume it will be a festive and light read,but this story covers some deeper mental health topics. I liked the development of the main character, and as with all Elizabeth Neep's books, I love that the main point of the story is not finding love but finding your true self (and love may or may not come after that).

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

This was pretty cute! It really reminded me of a Hallmark movie. It's a cute cozy read by the fireplace!

This book was interesting. Although separating the conversation from the main character's self-talk was a little confusing at first, I did get accustomed to it quickly and appreciated knowing what was going on in her head. Many times, I wanted to shout out to her to tell others what you are thinking, the truth is always the best, but in the end, I realize why she didn't. Differences in backgrounds shouldn't matter this much that someone would have to hide their past and not be who they really are. This might have a lot to do with the different cultures.

The main character is a very likable person and I am glad that she was able to make real friends that care about her. I feel that the ending was good, with many good feels but I also wish for a sequel. I'd like to see more of the main character and her friends.

This was a lovely light hearted Christmas book, with a focus on charity which was a lovely change for a book of this sort. The main Nara fees were interesting, the plot flowed beautifully and I read the book in two sittings. An interesting take on the many Christmas romance books available at the moment and I would recommend it.

I am in two minds about this book. It was highly entertaining, incredibly well-written, and I couldn't stop reading it. Poppy is a kick-ass protagonist and my only qualm with her is that I wish we had been able to "see" her at work a bit more. The main love interest, George, is about as mediocre and terrible as they come, but it also works for the book. (And I feel like we've all known someone like this...)
On the other hand, it's not really a Christmas novel. Yes, it takes place right around Christmas, and there is a Christmas jumper and Christmas plans, but Christmas isn't what is being saved here. Still an entertaining book, but I would say has a misleading title.

This was a really cute read for Christmas time! I love Poppys journey of losing her boyfriend and trying to win him back but changing herself for the better without even realizing it within twelve days before Christmas. All the characters were so lovable and relatable in some sort of way. Definitely a feel good book perfect for this upcoming holiday season.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very well written and the plot kept me interested the entire time.

Poppy loves Christmas more than any other day of the year. And Poppy loves George. But while trying to fit him into a couples sweater with her in November, he breaks up with her. After calculating that she only has twelve days with him at home before they go their separate ways, she plans to use those days to get George back. She stumbles into her local Community Center accidentally and volunteers. She goes on a date. She joins a choir. All in an attempt to make George see that she can stand on her own. She thinks she's doing good by helping people along the way, but she doesn't realize how much they end up helping her.

This book truly touched me. I truly felt the author understood how Poppy felt. Having grown up without much family of my own, and now just having my husband and children, she truly captured how Poppy felt leaving George. He wasn't just her boyfriend, he was her whole world. While it may have taken her a bit to realize just how much of a difference her and George shared, it was a well crafted beautiful story of a woman finding her true self and finally accepting who she is. Scars and all. This is a perfect blend of Christmas joy, female empowerment, and a sweet growing love story in the background. Release date is October 19.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

Thank you to Elizabeth Neep, Bookouture, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Here is a great romantic holiday feel-good book! Easy to read and great with a cup of mulled wine or hot cocoa.

It wasn’t always true, but now Christmas is Poppy’s favorite time of year, now that she’s been with George with 5 years. George and Poppy are just that – GeorgeandPoppy! Except that George has decided that he wants to breakup one month before Christmas as he finds Poppy to “needy”. Poppy has always put George first and tried to support her dreams and become the type of woman that George wants. Devastated, she decides she has 12 days to prove just how wrong George is and how right they are together. Poppy seeks to show George how be very independent she can be. First Poppy is drawn to a 12-piece choir where she is befriended by Marie and Aran. Then Poppy accidentally stumbles on a community center where in volunteering, Poppy discovers she has a lot in common with the people at Church Street Community Center. Poppy discovers more about herself than she realizes as she strives to find her true love.

One can’t but help to root for Poppy throughout this story and see what a self-centered person her ex-boyfriend is. I love how Poppy blooms and discovers that she is far better than the person she created, how she discovers her worth. This book is not necessarily about finding Christmas but about finding your true self, celebrating the good in people, and learning what real love is. The play on the “Twelve Days of Christmas” song is prevalent throughout and weaves itself in and out of the story.

This is a delightful story to read this holiday season and anytime that you want a pick me up feel good book. Well written and the characters well-developed, I’ll be sure to find other books by Elizabeth Neep to read.

Many thanks to #netgalley #twelvedaystochristmas #elizabethneep #bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Elizabeth Neep for providing me with an ARC of Twelve Days to Save Christmas. I really enjoyed Poppy, and as someone who loves Christmas and the entire festive season, I resonated with a lot of her attitudes! My heart broke for her when George broke up with her after an incident with a festive jumper! However, my main concern was the normalisation of Poppy following George around (only once), but I just didn’t feel it was a necessary factor into the story! Having said that, this was an easy to read, Christmassy read that has already got me into the Christmas mood! I loved the hidden moral of the story - finding joy, comfort and love in places we don’t expect to. Life isn’t about materialistic things but rather what, or who can make us happy.

I enjoyed this book it's a solid story with brilliant characters that you cannot love and want to get together. Their and Poppy belong together ...Will we get a follow up book I really hope so.

One frustrating aspect of this book was the constant over and over mention of biological family. It became annoying as it was mentioned so many times. We know it didn't need to keep get mentioned, it's too much.

Otherwise loved it a good hearty warm and cozy Christmas read.

This was a delightful, holiday-themed read. While I enjoyed it, I became increasingly irritated with the characters. George was one of the most arrogant and self-centered persons in history, putting Poppy through the horrible ordeal only for his personal gain. As a result, I became enraged with Poppy, since she deserved SO MUCH MORE than George, but all she could think about was her future with him. While I enjoyed the conclusion, I was left wanting more. I also wanted to learn more about Avery and Theo's backgrounds. I understand that you can't fit everything into a short book, but here are some of the thoughts that came to me while I read.

THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING AND MORE!!
Christmas is one of my favourite holidays so I fell in love! I binged this in a day. It gave me all the Christmassy feels.
Poppy and George have been together for 5 years. 5 years down the drain when George breaks up with her a month before Christmas. She realises she only has 12 days. 12 days to try and win him back.
I absolutely loved Poppy’s character development throughout the book. The whole beginning on the book I felt sorry for her but then slowly realised she was thriving. It’s ended with such a good message at the end! I just loved seeing her journey and seeing her friendships with over characters evolve.
It was a Christmas story but it was also so much more. It touched on a lot of topics that are normally avoided around Christmas time.
I was tossing up on what to rate this honestly. As it was just a cute Christmas read not anything intense happened. But I don't have any faults of it. It made me feel happy and Christmassy so I ended up rating it 5 stars! It’s just a perfect holiday read.
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review

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

A feel-good, nice and very Christmas-sy book…

This is the first work by the author I’ve ever read, and I have to say I liked it a lot! The way she played around with the “Twelve Days of Christmas” song and the storyline was very well done. I went into the book expecting another romcom kinda story, but this was more. It’s about finding yourself and learning what loving someone really means. The main character could be exasperating sometimes, trying to hold onto a relationship that was clearly not working; but I get it was meant to be that way for the sake of the plot. What I liked the most about the book tho, were the side characters. Their background story was well developed and it added diversity to the book.

I wish we had gotten an epilogue to see it all wrapped up.

Poppy has found in George, her boyfriend of five years, all the family she needs. When he breaks up with her a month before Christmas, she has to do everything she can to save the relationship and the only family she has known.

Although the title and the cover suggest a festive and light read, the story also cover some deeper topics. I liked the development of the main character, and as with all Elizabeth Neep's books, I love that the main point of the story is not finding love but finding your true self (and love may or may not come after that).

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

As a great lover of festive books, this sounded right up my street. Unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations.

Whilst it was easy reading and not an unpleasant book to read, I found the main character of Poppy to be very desperate and I didn’t root for her. In fact, she annoyed me so much that I just couldn’t get into the story and enjoy it as much as I thought I would. She is whiny and complainy and desperate and a bit of a doormat. Her boyfriend George is also conniving and scummy and self-centered.

I know you shouldn’t necessarily judge a book’s quality on how you feel about the main character, especially if the author deliberately wrote them like that, but I couldn’t put my opinions on them to one side to enjoy the story. Even the background characters - whilst some had redeemable qualities - I felt they were definitely ‘background characters’, easily forgettable.

I hoped it would get better as things fell into place the further into the book I got, but for me, they didn’t. Sadly the characters’ flaws just took over too much and I couldn’t focus on the story enough to enjoy it. Not a book for me unfortunately.