I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s a lovely and funny story, which instantly gives you a sense of Christmas. Kate as a character was fun to read about, to see how she develops and meets different people.

I really enjoyed this. I found it hard to put down and kept finding myself going back to it. Very good plot and well thought out with plenty of humour and a nice romance running through it!
Would definitely recommend

I enjoyed this book, it was warm, easy to read and lose yourself in. Not an instant Christmas classic but I would probably read again.

This book was an absolute joy to read!.
When Kate decides to sign up for 'Twelves Dates of Chistmas' she has no idea what she is letting herself in for. The characters she meets on the dates are all so quirky and watching how their personalities bounce off one another really did make me laugh out loud at times.
But, without a doubt, my favourite part of this book was the underlying love story of Kate and Matt... they have been best friends all of their lives, until an argument tears them apart for years. When they are reunited again, their friendship quickly picks up where it left off....but Kate realises she is in love with Matt.
This is a perfect festive read, I adored this book!.

What a lovely festive romance!
I really enjoyed this one. This novel tells the story of Kate, who is single in her mid 30s and is convinced by her best friend Laura to sign up for a dating experience, called the twelve dates of Christmas. Throughout December she will go on twelve dates with different men in a hope to find true love.

But, the course of true love never did run smooth and living in a small town means everyone knows her business. Her town is close knit and friendly and one she returned to when her parents divorced. Kate has a close relationship with her dad and I loved the scenes with them both. She also has her friend Matt who lives in the village, who was her best friend before falling out for 10 years. They have been friends again for a while and Matt is happy to mock and encourage Kate with her dating.

The setting of this book was beautiful and made me feel all festive and warm and fuzzy inside. It focuses on the difficulties of dating and of dealing with broken hearts. As the novel goes on, Kate isn’t sure if any of the twelve men will be right for her. Especially as she begins to suspect that she lost her heart to someone very close to her, a long time before. It was such a lovely read and one that I highly recommend for Christmas. The characters were great, the dating stories were funny and full of Christmas spirit. And, the romance was special and beautiful.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

(TW: grief, death of family members, adultery, divorce).

I absolutely loved the us book. It is well written, the characters are lovely and engaging and I wanted to meet them and see where they lived as I felt part of the story.
It’s a non traditional live story in that our heroine, Kate, newly home to her childhood village from the heady heights of London is looking for her forever man.
A friend suggests she try a new concept, The 12 dates of Christmas where she will meet suitable chaps on some winters themed dates, in a safe group environment.
Kate learns lots about herself and what her perfect match will be and although it was inevitable that she would find her one true love much closer to home I was delighted at how this worked out.
Great read for Christmas and for those looking for a light hearted great story.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. A five star read for me.

This book was lovely.
Kate has the best job ever, she worked as a freelance designer designing liberty fabric prints. She lives in the loveliest cottage in the loveliest village.

This is a Christmas romp.
Kates best friends are her longest suffering mates.
She has Laura who grounds her and Matt who by her own admission is her bete noir.
This follows Kate signing up to a dating service for 12 dates of Christmas. She has a lot of fun and makes some good friends along the way including fabulous Drew.

It’s a really lovely book and definitely made me feel very festive and Christmassy.

This arc copy was provided by netgalley free of charge for an honest review.

Absolutely loved this book. The main character felt like she could be one of my friends. I wanted to live in the village and go for cake in the cafe. A real feel good book that left me feeling festive

This was a nice, entertaining read about a woman who is sick of being harrassed to date, and signs up to have 12 dates before Christmas.

I didn't see where the story was going in regards to one or two characterd which was nice, as I thought I had it sussed from the start.

The only thing that's bumped it down is that it felt quite info-dumpy, when it's not something a contemporary needs. I didn't need to know just as much info as we were being told, and it took away from my enjoyment slightly.

All in all, a nice, entertaining, festive read.

This is the book to begin Christmas with. Who could resist the idea of going out with 12 eligible bachelors in the run up to Christmas in the hope of finding Mr Right? Kate willingly signs up to the dating agency as at 30 time might be running out. She has a good job, having moved back to the small village to be near her dad life seems to be good for her, apart from no man and the village where everyone knows what you have done almost before you have done it, also old friend Matt now runs the local cafe and Kate is busy baking for him.
What a wonderful idea for a dating agency, more should be like this! Dates don't always work out for Kate but she meets and makes friends along the way and has many surprises too. Kate can't quite shake off the feelings she has for Matt even if he isn't interested................

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I would have hoped and sort of expected. I'm all for a good Christmas rom-com story, but I found the whole story predictable and uncomfortable. I loved the idea of incorporating the twelve days of Christmas into the twelve dates of Christmas but, I found the story boring and I predicted the ending right from the start. Also, the romance between Matt and Kate didn't happen until the last 5% of the book. All in all, I think I would have liked this story more as a film, than as a book.

An entertaining, enjoyable and humorous story. I have to admit, it is slightly predictable but that said, its still worth a read.

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

One of my weaknesses is a good romantic comedy and to include Christmas in this it was a no brainer that I would love it! This is an enchanting story of searching for love during the festive period.

It made me laugh, smile and generally felt happy and relaxed reading this book. I would recommend if you want an easier read and some festive magic involved too. Now I just want to put my Christmas decorations up and watch some classic rom coms.

Firstly what a brilliant idea for a story - well done Jenny Bayliss. I loved how each of the chapters represented each of the twelve dates and the countdown to Christmas - it really did get me in the Chirstmassy mood. Christmas and romance lovers will enjoy this one

A really funny read that you can imagine being a slice of real life.
Happily single Kate is coerced into attending a dating event by her best friend- who wants her to be happily settled down with Mr Right. Set over 12 dates with 12 different "matches" Kate wearily sets off down the path of blind dating with reservations galore- only to be proven right when her first Mr Right stands her up on date 1.
ther are many flutters of romance, much kissing both under and not under the mistletoe and some serious soul searching as Kate meets many eligible men and many not quite so right men.
A great book to curl up with on a gloomy winters day to while away the hours.

*I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Pan Macmillan and Jenny Bayliss.*

Kate, who although is happily single signs up for the ‘Twelve Dates of Christmas’ after her best friend Laura convinces her. Living in a small town where everyone knows whats going on in your life, the village of Blexford are greatly invested in Kate’s love life. You join Kate on all twelve dates, some of which go better than others.

This was an extremely festive read. With all of the twinkling lights and festive baking, you could not forget for a moment that this is set at Christmas. I’m really loving all of these festive reads that are set in small villages, they’re so cosy and make me want to live in a small village at Christmastime.

Although the plot is what predictable I still really enjoyed joining Kate on all of her dates. Each activity was festive and fun and although some dates were disastrous it really makes you build hope for Kate to find ‘Mr Right’.

Now I won’t spoil what happens here however at a certain point near the middle it becomes quite clear how this will end. This isn’t a bad thing really, it was quite nice being able to read the book knowing that it will come to a pleasant resolution. I mean I am yet to read a Christmas themed book which doesn’t end happily, do these even exist?

I really liked most of the characters in The Twelve Dates of Christmas. It is often that the main character of romance books are insufferable and so intent on finding love that they don’t think about anything. However, Kate was a breath of fresh air. She was happy to be single and had already decided that she would have kids alone if needed, but she would like someone to be by her side. Finding true love was never her main goal and she instead focused on her family, friends and having fun during the Christmas period.

Kate wasn’t completely perfect though. She would, at times, take no notice of toxic behaviour from the men in her life. This is something that she works on throughout the book but is something that could have been better addressed.

Overall, The Twelve Dates of Christmas is a mostly lighthearted festive read which will leave you anticipating the cosy vibes of Christmas.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #PanMacmillan for giving me an ARC of #The TwelveDatesofChristmas by #JennyBayliss in exchange for my honest review.

Kate is happily single and loves Christmas. Her best friend Laura, who works for the village’s country estate, gets involved with helping a dating agency to run some of their events on the estate. Laura convinces Kate that she should sign up to The Twelve Dates of Christmas and after some persuasion she agrees.
We join Kate on her twelve dates and all the highs and lows that come along with dating during the festive season. Romance finds itself easy to find amongst the twinkling lights but are all of the men as they seem? And will Kate finally be able to settle down with her Mr Right?

5 Stars - *****

This book is absolutely everything that you want from a festive read! It is full of snow, Christmas decorations, Christmas markets, festive food, family, friendship and above all romance at the most magical time of the year. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this book, the characters were well written and extremely likeable. I really found myself wanting Kate to find her Mr Right. I loved the relationship between Kate and her father but also found myself laughing out loud at points when her mother came into the book. All in all, this is exactly the kind of book that I needed to read right now and is one that any Christmas lover will enjoy over a hot chocolate or mulled wine, in front of a log fire with a mince pie or two on the go. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

A great, light hearted Christmas read. The idea of a you g woman signing herself up for 12 dates before Christmas in the hope of finding true love. Predictable storyline but full of comedy. I really grew to like Kate as the MC and really felt for her as she had some horrendous dates. Matt and Laura had great supporting roles and the village they live sounds quaint and chocolate box perfect. A feel good read that I thoroughly enjoyed. Will definitely be looking out for more titles by this author.


thoroughly this book.

I love this book. Even though I guessed the end I didn’t know the full end and wanted to know how it got there. It is really well written and I could imagine where it all took place as well as the smells and tastes. I would recommend this to everyone.

A lighthearted book with a Christmassy feel. Lots of snow with a good sprinkling of humour, plenty of mulled wine and mince pies. Most of the characters are brilliant - even the more dreadful ones as Kate signs up for a slightly far-fetched idea of 12 dates before Christmas. It's as if all the dreadful dating disasters are gathered together in one book which is mostly fun along the way.. Certainly predictable in places but it's a light read so all the misunderstandings and fallings out just add to the humour. Certainly a book to cosy up with in the warm on the run up to Christmas