I feel like such a Scrooge for not loving this book, but I can’t help it. When I review a book, I always love checking if anyone else had the same thoughts and I see so many rave reviews about this one already.

I want to say this book was cooked according to a recipe. It has all the ingredients of a decent romance novel – old friendships, broken relationships, broken hearts, loss, a health scare, family, community, Christmas, good food, shared passions… the recipe was followed to a T. However, as such the story was predictable, it lacked the Oomph, that spice you weren’t expecting but that completes the dish.

Ok, I’ll leave it with the food puns now, but this is all very accurate. I actually liked the food part – the female protagonist is a chef another main character runs a deli, so the food aspect was well woven into the story. I’m a vegetarian so it wasn’t always for me personally, but I loved the concept. Our heroine, Freya, returns from Paris to her native England after ten years. It’s funny as I have moved to my home country after nine years abroad fairly recently as well, but my experience was fairly different as I kept in touch with friends and family. Nonetheless, I was surprised there was not more of a “culture shock” for Freya. I would have loved a little bit more of that. How does someone cope with many English quirks after living on their own in Paris for ten years?

But perhaps I am asking for too much as Freya already has to deal with loss and trauma as it is. I don’t want to give away too much about the story that unfolds after. It’s not bad at all, but it’s also not great as I found it extremely predicable. It’ll make a fluffy holiday read for many though.

While I am super grateful for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this book, I just have to say something about the formatting and odd “copyrighting” of the eArc and I am surprised that so far only one other reviewer seemed bothered by it. The book is obviously published by a publisher called “Orion”. As a weird copyrighting measure the three words “ORION”, “PUBLISHING” and “GROUP” are inserted into the text at random – yes, in all capital letters and always into the middle of a sentence. Every time this is done part of the page is written in a larger and bold font and there are some erratic spacing issues. I do understand the concept of protecting your work but this does impact on reading experience (but not on my final rating of the book).

This book is set in the fictional village of Middlemass, the location of one of Poppy Alexander's previous books. Some of the previous characters feature in this book. The protagonist in this book is Freya, who is a new character.
Freya cooks up the Twelge Days of Christmas to help her with her grief. I loved hearing about the food that she was cooking and I was delighted to find some of the recipes in this book. I will definitely be cooking some of them nearer to Christmas.
This is a lovely heartwarming read and I enjoyed it a lot. Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC.

While this story was a bit predictable I thoroughly enjoyed every minute and it appealed to the chef in me especially when I found the recipes at the end, genius!

A beautiful, sad and warm book. Freya travels home to see her mother for the last time, and meets an old school friend Finn and together they experience the 12 days of Christmas, Freya by cooking, Finn by eating. .
Beautiful descriptions of the food make your mouth water and as a bonus the recipes are at the back of the book.
A well crafted, enjoyable, funny and warm story, with endearing characters. I enjoyed every minute reading this book, even if it did make me hungry!

Thank You to Netgalley and the Publishers for the ARC copy of this book.

Unfortunately not for me at the moment. The formatting on the kindle option made it incredibly hard to read so I stopped

A wonderful Christmas read filled with the trauma of returning to her childhood home, realising that everything has changed in the 10 years she’s been away and the biggest change is knowing that her mother will not be there. Returning from France to see he mother for one last time, opens up a vault of emotions for Freya, mostly of regret. A chance encounter with a friend from her past sees her with a roof over her head and a friendly face, with a listening ear. However Freya cannot cope with doing nothing and cooking is her ‘happy place’. With an abundance of beautiful fresh food downstairs in the shop she decides to cook up the 12 days of Christmas. Not only is this book filled with loss, love, friendships, forgiveness but will have your mouth watering at the delights of the food she makes. An to top it all off the recipes are at the back of the book for us all to try, a win win for me.

I received an advance copy of, The 12 Days of Christmas, by Poppy Alexander. What a delightful story. Freya and Finn are great characters. Losing her mother is a huge loss for Freya. Going back home for the funeral is very difficult, but she reconnects with old friends.

I absolutely adored this festive read from Poppy Alexander. It’s sad, sweet, romantic, hunger inducing (from all the gorgeous, Christmas themed food) , and very festive. It’ll certainly get you in the mood for Christmas and give inspiration for a spell in the kitchen - you can almost smell the delicious aromas described so beautifully.
A real treat to revisit the residents, both new and old, of Portneath and Middlemass over the twelve days of Christmas. I hope that we will read more about this gorgeous village again! Highly recommended Christmas treat!

A lovely Christmassy story although there is sadness as the main characters mum has passed away. I was sucked in right from the start and thoroughly enjoyed it. A lovely way to spend a horrid wet afternoon

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Freya, a chef, has spent the last ten years in Paris. Now she’s back in Middlemass to see her Mom, who’s not got long left, and the first person she meets is Finn, the person she had a crush on in high school, and now neither are looking for a relationship.

So, Freya, in order to put her focus into something else, she decides to do a 12 days of Christmas cooking challenge, cooking has always been her go to thing, and with what’s happened recently and as a distraction from Finn, she thinks this will help.

The recipes she creates make your mouth water with her special touches and the smells of Christmas.

Feeling guilty for not being back to be there for her mother, making a life for herself in Paris, the story highlights how a community and friends unite in times of need.

The older characters were lovely and their relationships with the younger characters.

The book is a lovely but emotional read. The extra bonus at the back, are recipes included in the story.

Highly Recommend This Book.

This was a quick, easy and adorable read that I read in one sitting. I loved the story and the characters were so relatable and endearing. A perfect festive feelgood read. I loved it

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end.

Middlemass For Christmas…
Will the festive season bring joy for Freya, back in the village of Middlemass for Christmas? Amidst her own personal heartache she sets herself a challenge… A festive romance for the festive season with a well drawn and likeable cast of characters.

Oh I loved this book! A perfect read for wrapping yourself up for the afternoon and losing yourself in a book. Warning though: it will make you hungry!

This book was really enjoyable. It had a very original storyline with endearing characters. Both the story and the romance were well constructed. Once started, I couldn’t put this book down. I’ll certainly be looking out for more books by Poppy Alexander

This book was literally one of my favourite reads this year!

For something that could’ve been traumatic and depressing this book lifted me up and gave me hope and encouragement.

Freya a talented chef has spent the last ten years away in Paris on her return she bumps into her high school crush Finn. The last thing either of them is looking for is a romantic encounter.

Determined to distract herself Freya throws herself into a 12 days of Christmas cooking challenge she develops with Finn. The recipes are mouthwatering and magical and really have you revelling in all the tastes and smells of Christmas with Freya’s special touch.

The book explores how family and community can come together especially in a time of need. I love the older characters in the book and the special bonds they have with the younger generations and the ease each has between each other.

This book was a wonderful read I can’t recommend it enough. There is also a special bonus at the end of the book to satisfy your taste buds which I absolutely adored!

Freya is back in her home village, just after losing both her mother and her job.
Old friend Finn sees she is struggling and lends her a hand. They are growing closer, but he has been clear he doesn't want a relationship, so where does that leave Freya?
Set in the run up to Christmas, knowing that cooking helps her, Finn challenges chef Freya to cook something to reflect the 12 days of Christmas.

A great festive read.