From Goodreads: A delightful holiday
romance about a small-town single dad and an animal rescue owner as
they try to find forever homes for a dozen lovable pups before
Christmas.
Pine Hollow has everything Ally Gilmore could wish for in a
holiday break: gently falling snow in a charming small town and time
with her family. Then she learns some Grinch has pulled the funding for
her family's rescue shelter, and now she has only four weeks to find new
homes for a dozen dogs! But when she confronts her Scroogey councilman
nemesis, Ally finds he's far more reasonable -- and handsome -- than she
ever expected.
As the guardian of his dog-obsessed
ten-year-old niece, Ben West doesn't have time to build a cuddly
reputation. But he does feel guilty about the shelter closing. So he
proposes a truce with Ally, agreeing to help her adopt out the pups. As
the two spend more time together, the town's gossip is spreading faster
than Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. And soon Ben is hoping he can
convince Ally that Pine Hollow is her home for the holidays. . . and the
whole year through.
My Thoughts: 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!
The Twelve Dogs of Christmas comes out September 29th!
I received a review copy from the publisher but all opinions are my own.
