Review – The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by Lizzie Shane

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by Lizzie Shane
Narrator: Alastair Haynesbridge, Greyson Ash
Series: Pine Hollow #1
Published by Forever, Hachette Audio on September 29, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Holiday
Length: 8 hours 45 minutes
Format: Audiobook, Paperback
Source: Publisher, Purchased
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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.

I had a good time with this book! After reading and enjoying the third book in this series, To All the Dogs I’ve Loved Before, I was eager to go back and read the first book in this series. This book was just as enjoyable as I had hoped it would be with tons of small-town charm and a whole shelter full of adorable dogs. This was the holiday romance that I didn’t know I needed.

Ally is in Pine Hollow to visit with her grandparents while helping them out with their shelter. When she literally runs into Ben, things don’t go well and that is before he casts the deciding vote to close the shelter. Ben wants to help find homes for all the dogs before the shelter closes just after the holidays so he works with Ally to help feature the dogs in the local newsletter and a few local events. Ben is raising his niece, Astrid, who happens to be determined to have a dog of her own.

I really liked the characters in this book. Ally was easy to like. She was very thoughtful and just wanted to find a place where she felt like she belonged. Ben was determined to be everything he believed his niece needed him to be. He had a very hard time asking anyone for help and tended to shut down anyone who offered. Ben and Ally had fantastic chemistry and I thought that they were very good for each other. There was a lot of growth for both of them over the course of this story. The supporting cast of characters was also a delight and added a lot to the story.

I decided to listen to the audiobook and I thought that Alastair Haynesbridge and Greyson Ash did a great job with the narration. I thought that the voices that they used for each of the characters helped to bring the story to life. I believe that this was the first time that I have listened to either narrator and I would definitely want to listen to more of their work.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a wonderful small-town romance with just the right amount of holiday cheer and enough furry friends to keep things interesting. I cannot wait to read more of this fantastic series.

I received a review copy of this book from Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and purchased a copy of the audiobook.

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