The Twelve Dates of Christmas came out a few years ago and caught my eye. It has just enough holiday cheer wrapped up in a sweet and lighthearted romance. I enjoyed the dating events and found myself grinning at the humor. It’s a fun read.

Kate lives in a small town outside of London and has her dream job as a designer for Liberty Fabrics. She also bakes desserts that she delivers to her childhood friend’s, Matt, café. There aren’t many eligible bachelors in her village and she hasn’t dated in a while so when her best friend, Laura, suggests she sign up for The Twelve Dates of Christmas with a dating agency, she decides to give it a try. She hopes to meet someone that will rock her world. The agency matches her with twelve dates and they meet at twelve different locations. These dates are a lot of fun for the reader.  Kate goes to a wine tasting, cooking class, ice skating, an escape room and more. There are some dating disasters that made me laugh and a few dates who are still in love with their exes. There was one that was matched incorrectly because he’s gay but they have a great time dancing and become friends. I was able to guess where the story was going early on and who she would end up with, but I enjoyed the journey to get there.

Her father lives in town and Kate’s close to him. Her mother is flighty and took off with their real estate agent to Spain and she adds humor to the story. She sends Kate self-help books and fancy lingerie to help her prepare for her twelve dates. The story reminded me a little of Bridget Jones Diary, a book I like. Kate’s friend Laura also brings humor to the story. She is happily married with a new baby and cooks at a beautiful Manor in town.

One of the things I enjoyed most in the novel were the sights and sounds of the holidays. There are trees dripping with lights, hot chocolate, holiday sweaters, mulled wine, snowmen, actual partridges in a pear tree and maybe even a Christmas miracle! I really enjoyed Kate and reading about her creative designs with Liberty along with the delicious mince pies and baked goods she made for the cafe. The men in the story felt very real, some nice and some not so much, but I won’t reveal more so I don’t give away spoilers. When Kate realizes who she is falling for, she has to decide if she’s ready to take a chance on love.

After about nine or ten dates, I was ready for Kate to get together with the one meant for her and wasn’t as interested to see her go on the last few dates, but the story had the sweetest grand gesture at the end.

I recommend this to readers looking for a sweet holiday romance with dating humor in a small English village.