Book Club December 2025- 12 Dates of Christmas
By: Jenny Bayliss
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Pages: 320
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): When it comes to relationships, thirty-four-year-old Kate Turner is ready to say "Bah, humbug." The sleepy town of Blexford, England, isn't exactly brimming with prospects, and anyway, Kate's found fulfillment in her career as a designer, and in her delicious side job baking for her old friend Matt's neighborhood café. But then her best friend signs her up for a dating agency that promises to help singles find love before the holidays. Twenty-three days until Christmas. Twelve dates with twelve different men. The odds must finally be in her favor . . . right?
Yet with each new date more disastrous than the one before--and the whole town keeping tabs on her misadventures--Kate must remind herself that sometimes love, like mistletoe, shows up where it's least expected. And maybe, just maybe, it's been right under her nose all along. . . .
What I thought
Stephanie picked this book since she wanted a Christmas read and Hallmark has made a series this year based off of this book. We did read another book by Bayliss in 2022. I don’t remember much about it, but when I looked back I had only given it 2 stars, so I was a little nervous before starting this one.
Kate moved back to her small hometown in England about 4 years ago. Since living there, she has reconnected with friends and the community, but has yet to find love. Her friend Laura suggests she participate in a new program being put on called Twelve Dates of Christmas were between December 1st and the 23rd she will go on 12 blind dates in hopes of finding the one.
I did enjoy this book more than the previous one I read, but it wasn’t one of my favorites. I found it to be predictable within the first 5 pages. We meet Kate’s friend and café owner Matt and I thought it was pretty obvious that Kate and Matt would end up together. I was still excited to see how her dates played out though.
I feel like this is going to be one of those instances where I enjoy the show/movie more than I enjoy the book. I think it needs to be Hallmark-ified a little bit. Honestly, the horror of each of her dates was frustrating and disappointing. I got irritated by how at least half of these men were still in love with their exes. Also, she kind of slut shamed herself? Which, as someone who was in the online dating world feels weird. Like, she kisses two men and feels like she is a loose woman. I didn’t understand this because we’re in the 2020s and she had only been on one date with each of these men.
This book was a cute idea but the execution was meh. I also found her romance with Matt to be very underwhelming. There are definitely better Christmas romances out there, but after my last read it was nice to have one that was a little lighter and fluffier. I’m excited to see this play out as a show.
What Book Club Thought
I think book club enjoyed this a little more than I did. We had a lot of fun talking about it and the craziness of some of the dates. I was surprised we had as much to talk about as we did. We did all agree that it was predictable but it was interesting because some of the members felt this was the most warm Christmassy Christmas book that we have read. We usually read a holiday book in December, but some of them Christmas has been more of a background than a character and this book it really felt central to the story. We also talked about what we hoped Hallmark would change versus what we hope they keep the same. If your bookclub likes lighter Christmas reads, then you should pick this one up.