Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Book Review: 12 Daves of Christmas...plus an e-book giveaway

By Melissa Amster

Abby Solomon may write happy-ever-afters for a living, but doesn’t believe she’ll have her own. But then a surprise visit from her grandmother’s ghost sets her off on a journey she’ll never forget.
Grandma Charlotte wants to find her first love, Dave, who she mistakenly thought had died in World War II. A quick trawl through the Yellow Pages yields a list of twelve possibilities, and Abby and Charlotte set off on a Christmas road trip — twelve Daves over twelve days along the sun-drenched east coast of Australia.


With just over a week to make the meeting happen, Abby has to meet a dozen Daves — some sweet, some quirky, some downright dangerous — while trying to honour her book deadline and enduring the awkward challenges of having a ghost as a travelling companion.


But when she comes across a young doctor who looks like the hero in one of her novels, Abby has the chance to discover that true love transcends time and space, and that happy endings aren’t only to be found between the pages of a book.


Normally, I'm not into Christmas novels, but will sometimes make an exception if a favorite author writes one. I'm glad I had the opportunity to read 12 Daves of Christmas, as it was a delightful story from beginning to end. At a little over 60 pages, it's a quick read; perfect to fit in between all the holiday preparations. And since it's light and humorous, it's even easier to breeze through as it never drags. It didn't really carry a Christmas feel other than some song references and one scene involving Santa Claus. The main point of the story was for Abby to help her deceased grandmother find a loved one. Along the way, readers can pick up some important advice about love and living life to its fullest. Ironically enough, I liked the "realistic" aspect of a ghost not being able to touch things. I thoroughly enjoyed 12 Daves of Christmas from beginning to end and laughed out loud a bunch of times (or just sat there with a goofy grin on my face)! As for casting (which I know Juliet also loves doing), I'd suggest Betty White as Grandma Charlotte's ghost, Dave (!!!) Franco as McHotty, and if I want to go authentically Australian for Abby, I'd pick Eliza Taylor. Otherwise, Candice Accola would be good in the role. I could definitely see it as a cute, romantic, made-for-TV holiday movie.

Thanks to Escape Publishing for the book in exchange for an honest review. Juliet is giving away an e-book of one of her previous titles (winner's choice) to a lucky reader anywhere in the world! (TEN bonus points if you buy an e-book of "12 Daves".)

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here.

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Worldwide. Giveaway ends December 15th at midnight EST.

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11 comments:

Janine said...

The first Dave that comes to mind was an uncle. He was a fireman and him and his wife always treated me really good even though they were family of a step-father. He passed away many years ago but my aunt is still alive. She always reminded me of Lucille Ball.

Unknown said...

Wow. All of the Daves I have known have been peripheral. My first husband had a friend Dave, never really knew him well. One of my friends in school had a brother named Dave. Again, did not know him well. I have been searching the memory bank and can't come up with a Dave I knew!!! That is strange. Never even worked with a Dave. Well, after writing that, I just realized I have a cousin named David. Maybe it's because no one calls him Dave and I had that in my head? Anyhow, awesome cousin, but David. Not Dave.

Melissa Seng said...

SO...let me tell you about MY Dave...lol Long story short, he decided to break up with me, for absolutely no reason that I know of (since he STILL hasn't told me), via text message TO MY MOTHER, while i was in the hospital. The next day while my parents were visiting me, he dropped my housekey off in an envelope to my parents house...no note, nothing. Just a text to my mom saying, "I'm done. Sorry."

Ruth Lyons Mazur said...

I don't know many Daves. My niece is married to a Dave, her father's name is David and she named her son after her husband, but calls him Mac. And a friend I went to high school with married a Dave. That's it! Sorry I don't have any exciting stories about the Daves in my life.

Jessica said...

My favorite Dave ever is named Dave Fox. He used to own the gym I go to and he was the best spinning instructor ever. His classes were so popular that people would have to call in at 5am to sign up for class. He had so much energy and played such good music. I was so sad when he moved out West. I miss him!

Arielle Joy said...

My favorite celebrity named David would have to be David Beckham. No need to explain that, I think ;)

Viv V. said...

Dave was my first crush. I couldn't believe he liked me too. We went on a school bus trip one weekend. Things just kind of fizzled after that. Then, I started working with his brother (we were about 14 or 15) and guess who started liking each other. I never heard the end about "going with" brothers!

Geralyn Corcillo said...

Melissa Seng - wow! That is the start of a chick lit book right there!!!! Sorry for the bummer of an experience. My all time favorite Dave? - David Addison from the eighties detective comedy TV show Moonlighting. Played by a young and saucy Bruce Willis to Cybill Shepherd's ice queen Maddie. Mmmmmm. Dave and Maddie- the couple that fueled my adolescent idea of romance!

susieqlaw said...

My dear friend Dave who passed away this year. He truly loved life and accomplished his dreams.

Mary Preston said...

I have a BIL named David. He was born in Israel.

bn100 said...

David Copperfield