The Twelve Dates of Christmas

By: Jenny Bayliss

Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden

Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

'Tis the season for finding romance in this hilarious and uplifting holiday listen.

When it comes to relationships, 34-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 12 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....

This audiobook includes a PDF of recipes.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Jenny Bayliss (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Charming. . . This slow-burn rom-com set in a small British village at Christmas will be the perfect cup of tea for fans of Marian Keyes or Helen Fielding.”—Library Journal

“Bayliss delivers delightful holiday atmosphere and believable romantic tension in her cute and cozy debut. . . By turns tender and hilarious, this adorable rom-com is sure to satisfy.”—Publishers Weekly

“[A] nice cozy rom-com novel, one with a bit of an edge, a larger meaning, and a satisfying ending.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

Love for the holidays

Gosh, I’ve listened to this story a few times and I just love it. Funny sweet and well written. I’m a sucker for anything written in the English country side. Also love how the author describes winter, the village and paints a picture of life there.

Good but long…

A lot of details that could have been left out. The story was good but could be draggy at times. I still enjoyed it though.

Fun romance & adventure.

Excellent narration & fun, light story. enjoyed the detailed description of the characters art work. Creative & entertaining.

Entertaining, but predictable.

I like the premise of the story. The main character is very likable, but who she ends up with, although very predictable, is not. But it is a fun story, and easy listen, and the narrator is great with her beautiful British accent. So overall, I enjoyed the audiobook.

12 dates with 12 different men-what could go wrong

I don’t normally read holiday theme books, but I so enjoyed A Season for Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss I thought I would give her debut novel The Twelve Dates of Christmas a go.

Kate Turner is back living in the little town Blexford, England where she grew up in. While she has a great career as a textile designer Liberty Fabrics, she bakes part-time for the local café owned by an old old friend and ex-boyfriend Matt. But at the age of thirty-four, she is ready to give up on any relationship – you see this town is not overflowing with lots of eligible men. Her best friend Laura has different plans for Kate – she signs Kate up with a dating agency for a program called the ‘The Twelve Dates of Christmas’ - twelve dates with twelve different men and maybe just maybe Kate would find her soulmate. With each new date comes with its challenges and disappointments. What Kate does not realize that sometime the most obvious is right under your nose.

3 ½ stars for this solid debut novel and get you in a little holiday spirit. While I found the story charming and sweet it was predictable – but I was okay with that. I loved the idea of all the different date – they were fun and inventive. More enjoyable was the narrator Elizabeth Knowelden – she had a lovely English accent.

What a fantastic Christmas story!!

This author is brilliant! her descriptors were so awesome. I could not listen to it around my children, but other than that, it was freaking awesome, I could hardly wait to get back to listening to this book when I had to take breaks from it. Facebook was so satisfying to listen to, being read by a British person!! it was funny, and I even listened to a chapter more than once just to laugh so hard at it again. This book also made me cry, so that was satisfying! ❤️😊😭😂

Like a Hallmark Movie in a book

I may have seen where it was headed but it was still so satisfying when it got there.

Fine

The book is fine, even better to get you into the holiday spirit.

But don’t ever believe you need another person to be whole. That rankles me like nothing else.

Super fun & sweet read

The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss was a super cute and fun listen. I bought this with the intention of listening in early December, but somehow missed it and decided to take a chance that it would still be good in January and I am so happy that I did. This is the story of Kate Turner, age 34 and unlucky in love. At the (heavy) prompting of her best friend she signs up for a dating service that matches participants for twelve different guided dates throughout the month of December. I had a good idea of what was going to happen fairly early on in the book, but I enjoyed it all the same. The story was entertaining, the dates were amusing and/or cringy, and Kate was lovable. I did listen to the book and found the narrator to excellent, I loved her accent, and she enunciated the words well.

Fun Christmas Tale!

Creative! Love the idea of this organized 12 dates of Christmas.. communities should mirror it. ha!!