The Twelve Dogs of Christmas is guaranteed to make you smile and put you in a Christmas mood. Professional photographer Ally has come from New York to assist her grandparents with their dog shelter. Ben is the guardian of his young niece. When he inherited Astrid, he also “inherited” his late brother’s city council seat and his sister in law’s position on the PTA. Ben is swamped by all his responsibilities and when he learns that his council vote is also why the shelter will be unfunded after Christmas he just has to do his part to help Ally get the dogs adopted, especially once his niece learns what is coming. Lizzie Shane has created wonderful characters...human and canine to inhabit her story and situations and dialogue that are completely believable. The book is sweet, clean and totally wonderful. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Most highly recommend.

A cup of hot chocolate. Cozy blanket. Roaring fire. Christmas lights in the dark. Soft, white snow. A warm hug. This book is basically ALL the warm fuzzies and holiday cheer you could ever wish for!

Ally heads to her grandparent's home in Pine Hallow for a much-needed break from city life. She figures she'll stick around for the holidays, take a break from her photography career, and help her grandparents out at their animal shelter. She didn't expect for the shelter to lose it's funding or for the Grinch who shut them down to be so darn attractive! But with a few short weeks until Christmas to find new homes for the dogs, maybe someone's heart will grow a few sizes in that time...

This book is if a Hallmark movie were put into written form. It's adorable, it's sweet, it has puppies (and I'm not even a dog person!) and plenty of Christmas spirit! Fans of Gilmore Girls will love its small town charm and gossip grapevine (doesn't hurt that the town is called Pine HALLOW and the main character's last name is GILMORE...). Nothing in this book is super surprising--in fact, The Big Hurdle(TM) is that our male lead is being a bit too typical male (think refusing to ask for help, sending mixed signals, not knowing what he wants... sound familiar to anyone?) and not anything groundbreaking. But sometimes (especially around the holidays), you won't want a thriller, you just want a cozy romance and a cup of cocoa and HAPPINESS. Why NOT choose happiness?

I loved this book! It is well written and hooks you on the first page. It's a sweet small town romance that will put you in the Christmas spirit. This is the perfect book to curl up with and forget all your troubles for a while. I highly recommend this book. 5 stars all the way!!

This is a fun Christmas story that gets you in the holiday spirit. Ally is at a crossroads in her life and has come to help out her grandparents with their animal shelter after her grandmother gets hurt while walking a big dog. Ben is stressed out over all the responsibilities he took on two years ago after his sister and her husband died in a car accident, leaving him guardian of his niece. You will want to want to read this story that includes the matchmaking ten year old niece and a shelter full of dogs looking for a new home.

Lizzie Shane is a new author to me and now I will be looking for more books of hers to read.

I received a copy of this book to review through NetGalley from the publisher Forever and thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is an absolutely delightful offering from Lizzie Shane. 'The Twelve Dogs of Christmas' addresses the lives of two engaging people who need enormous introspection to learn and be free for love. At times I felt like I'd like to get them in a room and force them to face the obstacles they continually put in each other's way. All pf this is wrapped up in the cuteness of puppies and Christmas. I can see the opportunity for more about Ally's friends Elinor and Deenie, and I for one can't wait.

O received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This book was holiday romance at its best! The romance, the small town, and the cozy community, were all perfection. With most of the events in the story centered around Christmas festivities, I was feeling the holiday joy from the start.

I might be a bit biased about the book's theme since I had just adopted a shelter pup a week before reading this, but I think the Furry Friends rescue and the Gilmore family would capture any reader's heart. Ally and her grandparents are in a race against time to get 13 dogs (and a few soon-to-arrive puppies!) adopted before the shelter is closed at the end of the year, and they receive unexpected help from city councilman Ben.

Ben is the guardian of his niece Astrid and I couldn't help but cheer him on as he navigated the ups and downs of parenthood and overcame his fear of asking for help and letting others in. His loyalty and devotion to Astrid guided all of his decisions, for better or worse.

I thought this book would have an enemies to lovers trope after Ben and Ally's first meeting, but the enemy part resolved itself quickly and the book settled into a friends to lovers story. I loved the growing tension between the friends as they worked together to get the dogs adopted. This isn't a steamy romance, but rather a sweet, feel-good, small-town romance.

The secondary characters enhanced the story and gave the reader more insight into the struggles of the main characters. I loved Ally's grandparents, Rita and Hal, and the mayor, Delia.

The town and community of Pine Hollow are the perfect backdrop for the holiday festivities in the story and this book has me excited for December and Christmas already!! This book will be on my gift lists for the animal lovers in my life!

This book is what it would be like if Gilmore Girls and a Hallmark Christmas movie got together and had a batch of puppies. This is the sweetest, cutest, more festive book I've read in a while. It's just perfection!

Ben and Ally are both great characters. They're written with warmth, understanding, and the perfect mix of being well-developed from the beginning but also having room to grow as they get to know each other and learn a few things about themselves. I was genuinely rooting for them as a couple and as individuals from the beginning. I just wanted them to be happy!

The other characters in Ben and Ally's lives and in town are fantastic too. I adored Astrid and Deenie and Elinor. They're all so fun! I'm really hoping we see more Deenie soon! Ally's grandparents are also fantastic and are written as such loving and caring people.

And the dogs! They may be the best part of the book! Lizzie did such a great job writing about all the dogs, giving them their own personalities and fun quirks and really showing how the humans loved them and how dogs can bring people together.

This book is an instant holiday romance classic for me. I can definitely see this being one I return to next Christmas, and I'm sure I'll love it just as much then!

Holiday romance at it’s best: small town, single dad, saving family from a Christmas disaster, dogs, a grinch-like hero!

Pine Hollow really sines at Christmas, and there is no place Ally would like to be then right here, helping her grandparents at their dog shelter while her grandmother recoups from an injury. But soon the mission to help run the seller becomes a rescue mission as the town pulls thier funding for other demands. Now she needs to find a way to keep the seller afloat and find homes for twelve special dogs!

Guilt and responsibility fuel town councillor Ben into action to help find homes for the displaced shelter dogs… he is already up to his ears in responsibilities and doesn’t have time for this, but he can’t resist Ally and the dogs!

This story was absolutely adorable and totally had me immersed in the Christmas spirit! I kept expecting to look up from my book and see my living room all trussed up like a Christmas goose!

As I mentioned above, this book had everything needed to make a perfect Christmas romance. It’s a sweet treat, perfect to get you in the holiday spirit!

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by Lizzie Shane is scheduled to release September 29th, 2020.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Forever Publishing and NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Blog link: https://pinkcowlandreads.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-twelve-dogs-of-christmas.html

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I love love love this book! As someone who has had rescue dogs all of my life, I cannot resist a book about a dog shelter! I loved all of the dogs and their adoption stories and absolutely adore the cover!!