Twelve Days of Christmas by Debbie Macomber
Published by: Ballantine Books (an imprint of Penguin RandomHouse) October 4, 2016
Genre: Holiday, Romance, Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 288 (hardcover book)
Price: $20.00
Source: borrowed from library
From Penguin RandomHouse:
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Continuing in a festive annual tradition, Debbie Macomber returns with a new original holiday novel full of romance and cheer—and the magical prospect of finding love in the most unexpected places.
Friendly and bubbly, Julia Padden likes nearly everyone, but her standoffish neighbor, Cain Maddox, presents a particular challenge. No matter how hard she’s tried to be nice, Cain rudely rebuffs her at every turn, preferring to keep to himself. But when Julia catches Cain stealing her newspaper from the lobby of their apartment building, that’s the last straw. She’s going to break through Cain’s Scrooge-like exterior the only way she knows how: by killing him with kindness.
To track her progress, Julia starts a blog called The Twelve Days of Christmas. Her first attempts to humanize Cain are far from successful. Julia brings him homemade Christmas treats and the disagreeable grinch won’t even accept them. Meanwhile, Julie’s blog becomes an online sensation, as an astonishing number of people start following her adventures. Julia continues to find ways to express kindness and, little by little, chips away at Cain’s gruff façade to reveal the caring man underneath. Unbelievably, Julia feels herself falling for Cain—and she suspects that he may be falling for her as well. But as the popularity of her blog continues to grow, Julia must decide if telling Cain the truth about having chronicled their relationship to the rest of the world is worth risking their chance at love.
Review:
I am an avid reader of Debbie Macomber and have read most of her Blossom Street Series as well as the Cedar Cove series. I believe that Macomber writes an annual Christmas themed book as well, which I’ve read many of. She is the perfect author to read when you’re looking for a feel-good story with wholesome characters.
I find her Christmas books to be especially sappy and Twelve Days of Christmas didn’t disappoint. What intrigued me most about this book was reading about Julia’s blog and her kindness experiment, since I haven’t read many books focused on a blogger. The blogging parts were my favorite parts of the book.
Julia was a likeable enough character, although a bit perky and perfect-like. I liked her determination in trying to land her dream job and putting in the long hours of retail employment to pay the bills until she gets there. Cain’s past relationship that ended badly and his unusual childhood upbringing has made him very guarded and reluctant to enter a new relationship. I found the romance between Julia and Cain to be a bit unrealistic in regards to how quickly they end up falling in love with one another.
I recommend this book if you’re looking for a heartwarming, seasonal romance book.
Overall Verdict: Optional Read
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