The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by Lizzie ShaneMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Feeling restless and lonely, Ally decides that with a canceled photography gig and her apartment lease up, that now is the perfect time to leave New York and spend some time with her grandparents in small town Pine Hollow, Vermont. She loves helping out with their dog rescue shelter and is heartbroken when the city council decides to cut funding for the shelter.
After his sister and brother-in-law died in a car accident, Ben assumed responsibility for his niece, Astrid. Two years later and he still feels like his head is under water and he's not doing enough of a good job. Even though he has no time in his hectic schedule, he feels bad about being the deciding vote on the city council to defund the town dog shelter and agrees to help their twelve dogs find homes before the end of the year.
Ally's loving Pine Hollow's big holiday celebrations and Ben is nicknamed “Ebeneezer” but the more time they spend together, the more they want the New Year to include each other.
It was sort of adorable, the gruff man with the scruffy beard holding himself so stiffly aloof. Determined not to let the dogs into his heart.
The first in the Pine Hollow series, this introduces us to this holiday obsessed small town in Vermont. If looking for a festive read, this delivers with mistletoe, snow, and holiday celebrations. With more of a Hallmark than Lifetime movie feel, some kisses but that's the extent of the heat, this was leisurely and sweetly paced. Even with Ben's backstory of losing his sister and now caring for his niece, I would still call this very low angst. It was easy to feel for Ben, all the responsibilities he took on to try and be a mother and father to Astrid, while never cracking under the pressure so Astrid never thought he might resent or not want her. His walled up exterior and not wanting to accept help, thinking it was a sign of defeat or he couldn't hack it, made me want to shake him a time or two but overall, you're going to like this bearded gruff but softhearted guy.
Where they dating and she hadn't even known it?
Since Ben's story is so strong, Ally's character fades a bit but I liked how strong and willing to put herself out there for Ben, especially towards the end, she was. I wish we could have gotten even more scenes with her grandparents as I think that could have colored in her character more but I liked the women relationships she started to develop in Pine Hollow and how that gave us a look at different facets of her personality. For awhile, Ally thinks Ben is engaged, and I liked how that brought out conflicting emotions in Ally that in turn showed us how much she was starting to really like him.
“Look, you two! You're under the mistletoe!”
With the more leisure pace and low heat, Ben and Ally spend the majority of the story developing their friendship and I enjoyed the focus on this aspect of a relationship; I felt these two did have a lasting future together as they seemed to actually know one another. Ben has a circle of friends ranging from the town sheriff, a lawyer, and baker and with Ally's teacher and princess party organizer friends, the series future looks to be in good hands. If you're a dog person, you'll greatly enjoy the rescue shelter's residents, especially Partridge, who I'd let drool on my foot all day. If looking for a sweet romance with some doggies and festive cheer, this will be a holiday favorite.
She laughed, stepping out in the wintry softness of the night, and turned to face him, hooking one finger into the lapel of his coat. “You can pretend to be as curmudgeonly as you want. I see you, Ben West.”
He met her eyes---and that thing came alive again, that spark that always seemed to be lingering between them, waiting to be ignited. “I see you, too.”
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