Review: 'Twelve Days of Christmas' by Debbie Macomber (2016)

Julia is infuriated by her grumpy neighbour, Cain, who can’t even be pleasant when they bump into each other.
So on the suggestion of her best friend, Cammie, Julia concocts a plan. She starts a blog in order to clinch her perfect job, and now she has a subject. Over the next twelve days, she is going to kill Cain with kindness – and Christmas cheer – and document it for all to read about.
But as the experiment goes on, Julia realises she underestimated the effect it would have on Cain, and on their relationship, and things take an unexpected turn…
I love books with guaranteed happy endings. Sometimes all we need is a good dose of positivity and no focus on everything that can go horribly wrong in life; just a warm-hearted novel that will make us smile, that's what I especially love to read around this time of year. One author who definitely won't let me down in that instance is Debbie Macomber. Over the past few years I've had the pleasure of reading several of her festive novels such as 'Starry Night' (click here to read my review) and 'Mr. Miracle', and I'm incredibly glad to once again have a review of a Debbie Macomber Christmas story to share with all of you. 'Twelve Days of Christmas' immediately sounded like the perfect holiday read and I already had a good feeling this book wouldn't let me down...
Julia prefers to look at the positive side of life, whenever possible. So it's no surprise that she and her grumpy neighbour Cain, who seems to complain about almost everything, do not exactly get along. When one day Julia discovers Cain stealing her newspaper, she's had enough. While complaining to her best friend, she's hit with an idea, namely to kill Cain with kindness. During the twelve days until Christmas Julia sees it as her mission to offer Cain as much kindness as she possibly can, and she records all of it on a blog on the Internet that could perhaps even lead to her getting her dream job. As the days pass, Julia gets to know Cain a bit better and also sees a different side of him, but what will happen when he discovers what she has been doing? Will this ruin or save this year's Christmas for both of them...?
I love Debbie Macomber, and every time I read one of her novels I wonder why it has taken me so long to once again pick up one of her stories. 'Twelve Days of Christmas' is a simply lovely Christmas romance and a read I thoroughly enjoyed from the first word until the very last. I really liked how there's a touch of the classic Christmas story of Ebenezer Scrooge in there, but transported to our modern day and age with a good dose of romance added to it. The story isn't complex with just a handful of characters, but characters that are interesting and easy to warm to such as leading lady Julia, Cain, and a special mention for Cain's lovely grandfather, who really stole my heart...!
I've read other reviews of this book and noticed that a number of people describe this book as being similar to a Hallmark film, and I understand that comparison. Debbie Macomber is one of those authors who really writes books from the heart and that shines through in her stories. In my opinion that's also what Christmas is all about, which is why I can recommend Debbie's novels for the whole year, but especially around the holidays. All in all, I thought 'Twelve Days of Christmas' is a feel-good festive romance I couldn't get enough of; a well-written and lovely novel that truly has that sparkling Christmas spirit at its core!

Rating:9,5/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.