Claudia is thirty and fearing her romance with long-term love Seth has lost its spark. Determined to rediscover the magic they once had, Claudia and Seth go on their first date in a very long time. But when the night ends in disaster, Claudia suddenly finds herself facing life - and Christmas - alone.
But being alone doesn't mean she has to be miserable. Familiarising herself with long-forgotten exercise regimes and ill-advised sexy underwear, Claudia decides to fill up her Christmas with dates. And with best friends Penny and Nick at her side, a surplus of festive markets, mulled wine and Christmas tunes, Claudia feels ready to face anything life can throw at her. One thing's for sure, this year Christmas is going to be very different . . .
Review: This is an impressive debut which explores a world I didn't know very much about-the world of the professional ballet dancer. I loved being in London at Christmas time and the premise behind this book of 12 dates of Christmas is just inspired, this has all the key ingredients of a unique festive romance.
It was great to get to meet Claudia, even if she is a little clueless with her love life. I feel like I could relate to her from when I was her age. What I loved most about Claudia was the fact that she really championed herself. She has self-respect and really tries her best to lead with that self-respect even though it isn't easy. Best friends Nick and Penny really do help Claudia in this department and it was wonderful seeing that grow over the course of the novel.
I loved getting to meet Nick and Penny and I really enjoyed the relationship that these 3 friends had. I think that the London setting really helped to cement their bond because you don't always have family nearby so you have to make your own. Despite the fact that we also get to meet their families their bond was still as strong as family.
Let's talk romance. I loved the main 'will they/won't they?' of this storyline. It was wonderfully frustrating. Then add in all the individual dates, each of them more festive than the last. I particularly loved the Starbucks date but then I am wholly biased there as that is always my date spot of choice.
I listened to the audiobook of this novel. In terms of the narration, the tone wasn't great but it really didn't take away from the story overall and so I did really enjoy reading this. The level of festiveness is spot on and it really filled that gap between Halloween and Thanksgiving with the festive mood.
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