* Thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the advance copy in exchange for this review

Set in Blexford, on the cusp of London, Kate Turner is a thirty-something singleton. Designing fabrics for Liberty, baking for her childhood friend Matt's cafe The Pear Tree and being close to her family and best friend Laura means she's kept busy, and there's been no real time for love. Laura ropes Kate into a 'Twelve Dates of Christmas' scheme, 12 festive dates with eligible bachelors from the local area and London - it essentially combines Kate's love of Christmas, with something she hasn't had time for; men. The premise is participants will choose from a selection of dates, including in Blexford Manor where Laura works, and be matched up with another lucky singleton in hopes of finding love for the festive season.

There's plenty of laugh out loud moments (I'm looking at you, weeping vegan), cringey date encounters (including an aptly name Richard, and Christmas cheer and the spirit of a close-knit community is captured completely. The characters and pacing was great, and it was a book I really felt comforted and cosy reading, which is exactly what you want in the run up to Christmas (even if I am writing this in July!).

Kate was a great protagonist - sharp witted, a take-no-prisoners attitude, ounces of camaraderie, she's independent, fiercely loyal and has the dependency and warmth you'd want from any friend. It was interesting to see her relationships with each of the characters, and the gossip-train of village life. I also liked the sometimes-hilarious, sometimes-awful experiences she had on the 'Twelve Dates of Christmas' or 'Twelve Days of Shagmas' as it gets dubbed.

It is a little predictable in parts but I did love the build up to see if my predictions were correct and the ending would be as heartwarming as I imagined (which, spoiler, it was).

What a festive treat this book is. I finished it with the biggest smile on my face and wanting to watch it's a wonderful life.
Kate is such a fantastic character. She's intelligent, well travelled, independent and has a brilliant career.
The dates were entertaining-the weeping vegan was a particular favourite of mine and haven't we all met a Jim at some stage?
I'll look forward to reading more books from Jenny Bayliss in the future.

A very well written book. First of all I didn't think I was going to enjoy it as I thought it was a little bit slow. However I actually think that was because I was reading a Christmas book in July. Once I'd settled into the idea of a Christmas book I can honestly say that I really enjoyed it. Maybe it was a bit predictable but that didn't matter.

If you sit in a your cosy home reading this in November it really will be a lovely heartwarming Christmas story.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

A very nice love story. I loved hearing the details of each of the dates.You did work out some of the men would be not what they seemed. I love reading about the baking. You did know how it would end

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

Another lovely book.

Christmas in July. As Kate’s dates progress, I was thinking who’d she’s end up with and who’d she’s not see again.

Some funny parts and the story was festive and adorable too.

It was good to read what had happened in the past. You kinda start to feel like you know where Kate’s coming from and why she’s not dated for a while.

Who will Kate choose???

Recommend it.

Kate Turner is happily single. Since returning to her hometown of Blexford, she has been busy with- catching up with her oldest friends Laura and Matt, a flourishing career as a fabric designer, and taking care of her beloved dad, so love hasn’t really had a look in.

But Kate does love Christmas. So when Laura insists she signs up to the Twelve Dates of Christmas, a brand new dating app service, she doesn’t need too much persuading. Twelve perfect festive dates with the area’s most eligible men – who could say no?

But with each date, Kate learns more about the men, and even more about herself. As the big day approaches, Kate’s left wondering – is it really the season for true love, or will this Christmas be the coldest yet

This was an extremely enjoyable read. I was immediately attracted to this book because of it's cover and premise and it did not disappoint!

There were so many things that I like in this book. Firstly, I loved the main character Kate- her attitude, her camaraderie and banter with her friends Matt & Laura were so hilarious and enjoyable. Her conversations with her mum were also funny.

It was interesting and exciting to read about each date. Each of the date was unique in their own way. I wish I could write about each of them but that would be impossible without revealing any spoilers. All I can say is that my favourite was Drew, he is just so adorable!

Even though I kind of guessed who she would finally end up with, I loved reading every part of this book to see if Kate would find the love of her life..

This book reminded me of all the things that I love about Christmas. It filled me with the festive spirit even though it's just July and Christmas is so far away.

This is the author Jenny Bayliss's debut novel and I can't wait to read more books by her.

Overall, a perfect book to ignite the festive spirit in you!! Highly Recommended!

Thank You to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC!!

There has always been something not quite right with Kate's love life. Whilst she's managed to have a few serious relationships in the past, she always manages to nitpick and find flaws in them. Finding herself back in the village that she grew up in after travelling the world and living in London. Country life is going well in the few years that she has been back. Managing to continue to work freelance for Liberty's as well as supplement her income with some baking for the local cafe.

Matt runs the local cafe and has known Kate since they were kids. Growing up together alongside Laura and Ben. Going their separate ways at university following a big fall out that saw them not on speaking terms for ten years. Thankfully they have put that all behind them and they are able to bicker and swap banter with each other at any given moment.

With Kate's love life not going anywhere, her friend Laura talks her into signing up for the 'Twelve Dates of Christmas' dating course. Something that Kate really isn't sure about but agrees that her love life needs a little rescuing. Matt thinks its both hilarious and dangerous for her to be heading out on twelve dates with strangers. The course of true love never did run smoothly as Kate finds out over the course of her December dates. Can she discover the love within her heart?

An interesting read that makes you want to find out what happens on the next date, with the undercurrent storyline between the friends making you want to knock their heads together to figure out what is happening in front of their eyes.

I loved this story and completely loved the character of Kate. As a Christmas read I think it will be one of the best of 2020! Will make you feel super festive!

I adored this beautifully written love story. The depiction of the characters felt real and their connection was magical. Highly recommended!

This was a sweet read with some genuinely funny moments. The premise of this dating service was actually quite interesting (made me wonder if anyone in the real world is offering that kind of dating service!) I enjoyed the many different dating experiences Kate had throughout the story. The author also did a good job of building the world around Kate with the supporting characters and the town where everyone knows everything about everyone. I had a good idea of who Kate would end up with but I did like the journey she made to get to that ending. A really nice festive read.