Review: The Twelve Dates of Christmas
“A man is like an optional extra; you should only take one when it is beneficial to do so. It’s like refraining from the fourth plate at the all-you-can-eat curry buffet. Just because it’s there, doesn’t mean you have to have it.”
The Basics
Title: The Twelve Dates of Christmas
Author: Jenny Bayliss
Published: 2020
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons — Penguin Random House
Pages: 345
Format: Paperback
Genres: Fiction — Holiday, Contemporary fiction, Romance, Contemporary romance, Holiday romance
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Book Synopsis
Thirtysomething Kate Turner is content to be single. She has a job that she loves and lives in the quaint, picturesque village of Blexford near her father and two best friends, Laura and Matt. She has dated in the past to no avail and is ready to settle into spinsterhood when Laura convinces her to sign up for The Twelve Dates of Christmas, a dating service that offers twelve dates with twelve different men in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Will she find love with one of her twelve dates, or will she just provide fodder for the local gossip? Or perhaps she will find love where she least expects it.
My Review & Overall Thoughts
TLDR: A delightful, highly entertaining book featuring a charming love story and just enough holiday magic to get you in the spirit of the season.
The Twelve Dates of Christmas is the epitome of holiday fiction. It has just enough holiday elements to make it feel relevant to the season yet not so many that the holiday becomes the central focus of the story. Moreover, it features well-written characters, an entertaining plot, a charming setting, plenty of humorous scenes, and high-quality writing. It is a true gem of holiday reads.
The characters are this book’s no-so-secret weapon. Specifically, the men whom Kate meets on her twelve dates are quite the motley crew, and they create some laugh-out-loud moments. Her date with Michael, for instance, had me in near stitches. The other secondary characters, including Kate’s best friend, Laura, also contribute to the book’s enjoyability. Laura, in particular, is a great addition to the story, as she provides a steady stream of hilarious, witty remarks. Laura and her fellow supporting characters also avoid the fate of many ancillary characters: coming across as flat or worse, redundant. Each and every character has a purpose and adds true value to the story.
The book’s protagonist, Kate, is every bit as well written as the secondary characters. Actually, scratch that – she’s even more well written. Kate feels like a real person. When you read the book, you feel as though you are reading about someone you know. She has a voice and uses it to convey her inner struggles, and those internal monologues of hers are often highly entertaining. She’s also super relatable – who among us has not had to solider our way through a cringeworthy date?
And then there’s the book’s primary setting, Blexford. It’s everything you imagine when you think of an English village: quaint, quirky, and filled with lovable gossipmongers. Not to mention, it boasts cozy cafes and shops and has charming traditions, including caroling around town on Christmas Eve. If Blexford were an actual town, I’d live there.
Bayliss’ writing brings everything together. It is witty and engaging, and it is also easy to read, allowing you to read the book fairly quickly. I was quite impressed to learn that this book is the author’s first book – what a debut!
I would be remiss if I did not also touch upon the book’s ending. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just say that it put a smile on my face (and will likely put one on yours too).
The not so good
Parts of the plot are pretty predictable, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Personally, I prefer an element of predictability in a rom-com.
Overall
The Twelve Dates of Christmas is a sweet – not to mention funny – story. Although it’s set during the holiday season, the story lends itself to being enjoyed any time of year.
Have you read The Twelve Dates of Christmas? If so, let me know what you thought of the book in the comments section below!
