My first book by Kitty Wilson and I enjoyed it.

A christmas read too, I love Christmas so it was great.

This is a fun rom com
Belle loves December and all things Christmas
Rory hates it

Belle loses her job and income so is not having a fun time when you love December and can’t enjoy it with no money.
Rory is now back at home.

This is great for a cosy night in east and quick read.
Made me smile

I’m one of those people who loves Christmas so much, I can read a Christmas book every day of the year. So when I came across this book I knew this was a book I wanted to read. And I was really excited when I received an ARC to read this book.

In ‘Every Day in December’ we meet Belle Wilde. Belle loves Christmas and honestly believes Christmas brings something good to everyone. Rory hates December, and so also really doesn’t like Christmas. But when Belle and Rory meet again after years not having spoken to each other, they slowly grow closer. And when December comes to its end.. Belle may be able to prove to Rory that this is the best time of year.

This was my first book by Kitty Wilson, and I must say I definitely enjoyed it. It was my first ‘Christmas’ read of the year, and it definitely had that Christmassy vibe about it. I loved getting to know the two main characters Belle and Rory, and reading how they reconnected was definitely fun.

This book was filled with romance and family drama, and it definitely made for a very entertaining read. It didn’t have as much romance as I would have hoped. But the fun writing style made up for it. And at times I did think the book was a bit slow paced, which fortunately didn’t bother me too much. The characters where fun, which really made up for the slower moments.

Although ‘Every Day in December’ definitely had a Christmassy vibe about it, it wasn’t necessarily so much about Christmas. This didn’t bother me at all, but I don’t think this book necessarily needs to be seen as a Christmas romance.

‘Every Day in December’ definitely was a fun romantic read, I enjoyed.

I always feel August is a little early to read a Christmas book, especially as I was on holiday in thirty-five degree heat at the time. Actually, it was a brilliant way to cool down, so evocative were the descriptions of sledging on tin trays and making snow angels I actually felt cold!

Christmas, however, is just the backdrop to this heart-warming story and the characters are just wonderful. If I felt for Belle, and wanted to scream at her awful parents in anguish, I seriously fell in love with Rory; he too has heavy baggage to carry but it doesn’t follow him around like a thundercloud and you know from the start he is still capable of love and lightness.

Being Kitty Wilson, this is a funny book and will make you laugh out loud… Chardonnay and her pilot… Belle’s unusual ally when she has to play Christmas fairy… all beautifully crafted moments. But the love story takes centre stage; believable, real and flawed. I absolutely loved it.

This was a DNF for me. I really tried on this one but I found myself skimming like 8% in and I tried to make it to 25% at least to re-assess but at 20% I was doing the math on how much time I had left. I feel like if I had finished it I wouldn't have been able to give it a good review anyways seeing as I was skimming half of it already.

I was bummed because the premise seemed really interesting but it was a lot of showing and not telling and really long chunks of text that I had a hard time reading through.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review. All thoughts are my own.

I wished there was more to this book. It wasn't my favorite because it seemed to be missing something. It was quite difficult to have my full attention while reading. It felt like it dragged on at first, but once you got to the halfway point, it became more entertaining to read. I don't like how abruptly it ends either.

Every Day in December - Kitty Wilson

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Two people. One month to fall in love.

Belle Wilde loves December. Yes, she’s just lost her job and Christmas is not a good time to find yourself ‘financially challenged’. And yes, her parents are still going on about the fact that she really should have it all together by now. But Belle believes that in December, magic can happen.

This wonderful read follows Belle and Rory as they teach each other about love, friendship and help each other get in the holiday spirit. Both characters seem to grow throughout the book and are good influences on each other.

Whilst writing this Kitty has managed to remind the reader that not everybody enjoys the holiday season, whilst also showing the ups and downs associated with grief. This would make a fantastic holiday read this season, with the heart-warming slow burn romance.

Rating 4/5

A fun book with each chapter being a day from 1 to 31st December. Belle loves Christmas and Rory hates it! When they are thrown together after many years it is lovely to watch their stories unfold. Definitely one to get you in the mood for Christmas as Belle takes Rory on fun winter adventures!

I would like to start by saying a huge thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC!
This book was overall a pretty good book and I found it quite enjoyable for the most part! It definitely got me into the Christmas spirit. I really liked the idea of doing the chapters by the day in December, although I do think that it did result in some parts of the book being pretty slow paced. I did find that the plot also wasn’t the strongest, although it was still there it just didn’t really seem to be that well developed or deep. I don’t have too much of an issue with this though because the book I don’t think is meant to have a super complex plot to it. It’s just a nice light read about Christmas to help get you in the spirit. This book is definitely very character driven, because the plot is a lot about the characters themselves. Most of the plot points and story revolves around the characters or their interests. This is not always a bad thing, I just found at some points it was a little bit of a slower pace, which made it difficult to get through. Overall, this is a good book, especially a good one to read around Christmas time. It’s perfect for getting you into that Christmas spirit.

I really liked the premise of the book, but didn't like the actual book. It was a very slow read, lots of clunky, uninspired dialogue and long-winded monologues; where's the witty banter that you'd expect between 30-somethings who've gone through uni together?

This book has lots of 4 and 5 star reviews, so I suppose it just wasn't for me.

I can describe this novel in one word: ADORABLE. But there are many other words I could use to: lovely, romantic, soul-wrenching, beautiful, wonderful. I just loved it, and even though I read it in August - I will definitely read this again in December. What a wonderful christmas gift this would make!

This was a sweet Christmas book and once that I was just not ready to read in July.

I liked it, but maybe I just wasn't in the holiday spirit? I plan on re-reading this one closer to the holidays.

I will admit that I struggled with the first chapter but then I was hooked. This turned out to be an enjoyable read, the characters were well written and the story flowed very well. |Dual characters and dual cities making this interesting and well worth reading. I am giving this 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgally and publisher for this eARC

My first Christmas book for 2021 and also my first book by this author. Belle and Rory glance each other in a hospital waiting room, five years later they see each other again at Heathrow Airport, hence begins Every Day in December.

The book feels like a real life story because it isn't all lovey dovey and happy go lucky. It was a cute read for the most part though, and I liked that because...Christmas! I was cheering Belle and Rory on right from the beginning, I mean who doesn't like a good friends to lovers story? I liked how it was slow to get going at first, letting the characters take their time, especially Rory. I had the feeling of will they or won't they and that added to my enjoyment.

I really loved the calendar format, like peeking into a journal or diary for the entire month, and I liked getting both Rory and Belle's point of view. My only little niggle was the ending felt a little rushed. Maybe there will be a book II? One can only hope because I'd love to visit with this cast of characters again.

I really wanted to like Every Day in December. The premise sounded like fun and overall, I did like the characters. My problem with the book? It was so boring. There was nothing in the story that made me want to keep reading and not put the book down at bedtime. Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Every Day in December is a heartwarming read following Belle and her never ending love of Christmas. It’s the beginning of December and Belle has just lost her job. With Christmas around the corner, it’s not the best time to be struggling for cash and it doesn’t help that her parents feel she should have got her life together by now. At 31 she can’t really disagree with them. But Belle believes in Christmas magic. Rory however, hated everything about Christmas especially considering what happened five years ago. Back from Australia he’s convinced this will be a Christmas to endure with his family rather than enjoy but can Belle’s belief in magic and Christmas spirit change that? With 31 days until the end of the year, can Belle find what she really wants under the mistletoe? A beautifully written book that will certainly get you into the Christmas spirit. Thank you to NetGalley, One More Chapter and the author for the chance to review.

Mein Leseerlebnis

Das Buch hörte sich nach einer schönen Liebesgeschichte an, die in der Vorweihnachtszeit spielt, und da ich solche Romane mag, auch schon im August, habe ich der Geschichte eine Chance gegeben.

Ich fand den Schreibstil der Autorin ruhig und angenehm. Ich konnte der Geschichte zudem gut folgen und auch in einen guten Lesefluss kommen. Die Dialoge wirkten auf mich teils etwas holprig, teils aber auch flüssig.

Die Charaktere haben mir da schon ein paar mehr Probleme bereitet. Ich fand die beiden Hauptcharaktere durchaus sympathisch, so richtig konnten sie mein Interesse aber nicht wecken. Dazu wirkten sie auf mich nicht echt genug und teils auch zu passiv. Im Leben von beiden passiert im Buch sehr viel, packen konnte mich davon leider nichts.

Große Probleme hatte ich mit Belles Eltern, vor allem ihrem Vater. Diesen fand ich unerträglich. Ohne ihn hätte mir die Geschichte wesentlich besser gefallen. Ich konnte beim Lesen nicht verstehen, warum Belle überhaupt Zeit mit ihren Eltern verbracht hat und warum ich als Leserin ihnen ausgesetzt war.

Die Liebesgeschichte fand ich ganz nett, aber auch sie konnte mich nicht so richtig packen.

Vor dem Lesen von “Every day in December” hatte ich erwartet, dass das Buch sehr nett und gefällig sein würde. Diese Voreinschätzung hat nicht zugetroffen. Vielmehr hat das Buch einen ganz eigenen “Charme”, der sich mir nicht voll erschließen konnte. 🖤🖤1/2

Für wen?

Wer britische Liebesromane mit einem recht eigenen Charme und eher gemächlichem Tempo mag, sollte sich das Buch mal näher anschauen.

I had high hopes going into this book and was ecstatic when I got approved for an ARC for it. I knew it was something that I had to really savour, and the cover and blurb themselves definitely were contenders for favourite holiday book this year. Safe to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the story itself.

I've definitely never read a Kitty Wilson novel before, and honestly I find diving into rookie authors' writings is a bit of a hit or miss. I'm the type of person who cannot read writing that's poorly edited or doesn't flow well. I definitely didn't have any trouble with this book (thankfully)! Incredible start.

I loved the dynamic between the two main characters - Belle is an energetic, enthusiastic and positive heroine while Rory is more of a gloomy doomy life sucks type. I absolutely. adore opposites attract romances as I find that it allows the two to find a really good balance between their crazy dynamics. Belle is hilarious and I love that she's trying so hard to make her own way in life (and not depending on her parents' money). She sets off on a mission to find the most cost-appropriate gifts she can find and along the way enlists the help of the recently widowed, holiday-hating Rory. I found him, while slightly depressing, to be such a sweetheart to Belle and loved their slow (very slow) burn. Although towards the end of the book, I definitely just wanted them to get together already.

If you're a fan of any of these tropes below, I guarantee that you'll enjoy the book!
- slow burn
- holiday read
- opposites attract
- friends to strangers to lovers

All in all, a solid 3.5 from me!

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review of the book!

A great pre Christmas/ Christmas read but tbh was welcome now in August,good characters ,well told ,loved the locations and enjoyed the slow burn leading to romance
The only minus point for me was Belle’s family who were just horrible and I was frustrated she couldn’t just bin them,that aside a good read

2.5 Stars. My favorite thing about this book is the setting. I love both Bristol and Bath and would love to see both cities in the winter. Unfortunately, I struggled with pretty much everything else. I was looking forward to this one because I usually really like grumpy / sunshine romances but both Belle and Rory were just blah to me.

For a 380ish page ebook it felt much much longer. There were large sections of long paragraphs which just tiresome and then the dialog was just boring. There was no humor or banter or anything to keep me engaged. By about half way through I was so bored I literally fell asleep and only finished the book after I woke up because I didn’t want to DNF another book. I know I’ve mentioned this in reviews before but why does every heroine in British books have horrible families. Because seriously, I feel like in 90% of the British contemporary romances I read the heroine has a horrible family. Maybe I just need to find better books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC.

This was a beautifully crafted story about a woman and man, each with their own insecurities and losses, but with so much to give to the world, and possibly each other, if they could be brave enough to chance it.
The story is presented in a day by day format in December, when Belle and Rory meet again. They already knew each other from uni, but were not close friends. Rory is visiting his mother who's been diagnosed with breast cancer, and Belle has just been let go from her job and is trying to survive the holiday season. The story was pretty cute and I liked the friends to lovers plot. Belle is a fun character who keeps a positive attitude even when things aren't going well for her. She's great with kids and her enthusiasm is infectious. Rory is a bit of a downer, but he's a nice guy and tries to help Belle with getting her dream job started. They're playful together and have some sweet moments and I liked seeing Rory open up.