Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I didn't know what to expect going into this book- I love both dogs and Christmas, but I didn't get that immediate feeling from the cover/description. However, was I thrilled to be wrong- this is one of my new favourite holiday books!! Ally and Ben are lovable characters, but both have moments that leave you wanting to shake them. (As any good well-rounded character should!) All of the supporting characters play their roles perfectly- foiling when needed and moving things along. And of course- the dogs! The dogs are present throughout but aren't distracting from the main plot.

This would make the perfect Hallmark Christmas movie (the highest compliment I can give)! There is a spark, a holiday spirit that Shane has written perfectly without shifting into corny or cliched. I literally could not put this book down, and read it in one sitting. If you are looking to get into the holiday spirit, this is your book!

Loved reading this book. Can't wait for the 2nd book in the series. Christmas themed books are 1 of my favorites

What a sweet Christmas book! We have a single parent romance where he is raising his niece after her parents died in a car crash. He's trying to do everything for everyone else, at the sacrifice to himself.
Ally is searching for a place where she can call home. She comes to help her grandparents at their dog shelter, but it is losing its funding and 12 dogs need to be placed in new homes by January 1.
Ally and Ben team up. She helps him become less of a Grinch, and he helps her with the dogs. It's sweet, adorable, and all too loveable!

I try very hard to not pick a book by its cover or title. That can get you into trouble big time. So often good books have bad covers and bad books, have good ones. But every once in awhile a cover or title draws you in and you have no choice. That's what happened with this book. I just loved the title so much I had to try it.

Plus, I'm always looking for new to me authors so it was a win-win situation.

You have to admit the title is great. The cover is okay. I haven't yet tried Lizzie Shane so I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I was thrilled to be starting a new small-town romance because those are really my jam right now.

I enjoyed both Ally and Ben. I had to work a little harder to warm up to Ben. At times he drove me crazy but by the end of the book, I totally understood. You feel for him and his situation. His life is tough but he's making it tougher on himself. No one is doing that other than him.

I also later in the book felt for Ally and was really pissed at her grandparent for a minute or two. I won't explain more because you need to read it for yourself to truly understand it. She's a really great person who I think really and truly needed friends. It's almost like she doesn't know how to act around them when she starts to get them.

As a whole, this is a wonderful Christmas story that you'll enjoy at the holidays. I will say that when the author introduces Ben's friends the story got much better. They help to sell the whole small-town, grew up together feel. She needed to have them all interact sooner. I think it would have made for an even better story.

Even with that small issue, I thought it was a wonderful, heartwarming story that will bring you holiday cheer. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one if you read it. Any of you read her?

This came highly recommended by a good friend and she was not wrong. I really enjoyed Twelve Dogs of Christmas. The dogs weren't the main focus, but provided such good side characters in this small town Christmas romance. I love that it's so well set up for a series and I hope that is what we get. Twelve dogs is a heartwarming and fun story about two people finding themselves and what they want and then each other. If you love Hallmark Christmas movies and warm love stories, this is one you don't want to miss.

Saving puppies for Christmas? You cannot go wrong. This is my favorite holiday read of the year so far, and I will be raving about it even after we ring in the new year.

Obsessed. Pine Hollow, I’m moving in ASAP. This town is the exact way I imagine small town stories, and it was painted so beautifully by Lizzie Shane. the landscape, the people, the community, the joy of Christmas, this is what my romance dreams are made of and this is what Lizzie Shane has brought to life.

PS I’d like to adopt Partridge.


Our MC, Ally, is feisty and I love her. She’s a true city girl and I enjoy the way she carries herself. I think she takes after her grandma 😉 Ally and Ben’s chemistry was so natural. I was gushing over here as they were starting to be friends. Ben was hilarious to me how clumsily goofy he was. I caught myself laughing out loud as he interacted with the dogs. He had such a realistic and caring relationship with Astrid that I definitely found myself cheering for him. Deenie and Elinor were also amazing support characters. I didn’t want to like Deenie at first because I was worried she was Ben’s ex, then I out loud did a sigh of relief when he did his ex was Isabelle (yes!) I loved Elinor being the voice of reason and was so wise.

Also, can I just thank Lizzie Shane for painting pit bulls in such a good light? I have 2 mixes, and people think they’re scary. Y’all. They are scared of everything and are my favorite cuddle monsters. I held my breath waiting for a pibble to be mentioned, and Jelly was perfect. Like, y’all have no idea how much that means to me. 🐶

This is for the dog lovers, those who believe in the magic of Christmas, love the big city moved to the small towns, and those who like a good laugh whether it’s friends to lovers or enemies to lovers, this has it all.

PPS: I’m going to really need Pine Hollow to feature a story of Deenie & Connor. Speaking it into existence.

Thank you Forever for this amazing copy! I will probably rant about this one for quite some time. This one is out Sept 29th.

I have the sneaking suspicion that I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if I were a dog person. As it was, I feel like the book took a long time to get to where it was going. A charming romance with plenty of Christmas spirit (and more than one nod to Gilmore Girls -- Ally Gilmore? Pine Hollow? I'm pretty sure there's even a town gazebo), I recommend this to dog lovers and those wanting to curl up by the fire with a meandering Christmas romance. I can definitely see this as a Hallmark Christmas movie.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

It's 2020 and we can take all the joy we can get. The Twelve Dogs of Christmas provided that joy for me. I'm not normally a Christmas book person but that may be slowly changing. Thank you to Forever Pub and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

In Pine Hollow they're gearing up for a busy Christmas season. What is suppose to be a cheerful season is anything but for Ally Gilmore. She's returned to her grandparent's dog shelter learning the city is stopping their funding at the end of the year which means she, and her grandparents, need to find home for the twelve dogs in the shelter.

Ben West isn't a holiday person. In fact he considers himself to be the town Grinch. Heck he was the deciding vote to stop the funding for the local dog shelter. When he learns his niece, who he's guardian of, is volunteering at the shelter he decides to help them find shelter for the current dog occupants. Maybe working to help the shelter will help him shed his Grinch facade...

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas is a cute little Christmas novel. It felt like reading a Hallmark Christmas movie. One problem I have with some romances, and this one is included, is that if the characters communicate with each other it would resolve everything. It got frustrating reading about Ben and Ally's feeling go misunderstood when if they'd communicate it would all be solved. It isn't uncommon to read situations like this, especially in romance, but it can get irritating after awhile. Regardless of that small annoyance, The Twelve Dogs of Christmas hit the spot of a feel good book for 2020.

Thank you to Net Galley and Forever publishing for allowing me to review an eARC of this book!
3.5 stars. This was so cute and would make the perfect Hallmark movie! This book is about Ally and Ben. Ally lives in the city but goes back to her hometown to help her grandparents with their animal shelter. She let her lease run out on her apartment and she's a freelance photographer so she has nothing pulling her back to the city. When she gets there, she finds out the city council is cutting funding for the animal shelter because it needs to be allocated elsewhere so she tries to find a way to save the shelter. Ben was the swing vote on removing funding, so the 2 instantly have an adversarial relationship. He feels guilty so together they start a project where they take pictures and feature a dog every day (or week maybe?) in the local newspaper to try to get them adopted. The dogs also take part in a Christmas festival and they work to find the perfect match for each dog. I thought it was such a cute project and this is a MUST READ for a dog lover.
Ben is also a single "dad" to his niece Astrid. Because of this, he is very hesitant to start a relationship and my only real complaint in the book lies in the fact that Ally and Ben went so far out of their way to prove to the town that they weren't a couple-- it felt silly. I know how it is in small towns and a lot of times it does happen where everyone is in your business, but it just felt like a little much.
Overall I would recommend this book for a cute Christmas read.

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 is a super small town Christmas romance story! I can easily say that because it fits my top requirements for loving a Christmas story. Pine Harbor has a number of special events throughout the month of December and that's important to me because it makes the story very Christmasy. The characters all exude that special Christmas spirit, also important to me. The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by Lizzie Shane fulfills my #1 top requirement. This story gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling and made me smile a lot as I was reading. So, yes, this is definitely a winner in my opinion!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

This is such a fun Christmas story to get you in the holiday spirit.

Ally, has come from New York to help out at the animal shelter with her grandparents after her grandmother is injured whilst out dog-walking.

Stressed out over all the responsibilities that he took on, after his sister and brother-in-law died in a car accident, Ben is now the guardian of his niece.

Now, Ally has to find homes for all the cute, big, small, furry friends after the animal shelter is at risk of closure. Will she be able to do this and what part will Ben play in this?????

Will Ben learn that he doesn’t have to be the one to do everything and it’s ok to ask for help???

Ally is at a crossroads and unsure of whether she’s home or to go back to New York. Will Ben and his niece be the ones to help her make a decision???

Lizzie Shane is a new author to me. I will be looking forward to reading more books by her.

🐕🐩🐕‍🦺🦮

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.

I love dogs. And I love reading about dogs and omg this was just the cutest little Christmas story ever. I hope they write more because yes it’s so adorable.

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!!

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?

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.