The Twelve Days Of Dash And Lily

The Twelve Days Of Dash And Lily by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
Release Date - October 18, 2016

Publisher Website - Penguin Random House
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 272 pages
My Rating - 4/5
**received from publisher for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

New York Times bestselling authors Rachel Cohn and David Levithan are back with a life-affirming Christmas romance starring Dash and Lily.

Dash and Lily have had a tough year since readers first watched the couple fall in love. Lily’s beloved grandfather suffered a heart attack, and his difficult road to recovery has taken a major toll on her typically sunny disposition.

With only twelve days left until Christmas—Lily’s favorite time of the year—Dash, Lily’s brother Langston, and their closest friends take Manhattan by storm to help Lily recapture the holiday magic of New York City in December.

Told in alternating chapters, The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily reunites two beloved characters and is bound to be a Christmas favorite, season after season. 

The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily is, at its heart, a holiday story. It captures the essence of the holidays but is also so much more. It's a story of finding yourself after you've been lost. It's about the vulnerability of letting someone in. It's about not having all the answers, but having a little faith in the face of that uncertainty. It's about reclaiming a little of that Christmas magic, even when you feel like it might be permanently lost.

This co-write, like Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, is seamless. The characters voices are so strong and unique that they stand out on their own while still complimenting each other. This creates one cohesive story, which sometimes doesn't happen when more than one writer is involved in creating a novel. The chapters flow into each other, and the pacing remains steady throughout.

The secondary characters have a charm all their own. Some of the are larger than life characters that demand to be noticed, others are the quiet support Dash and Lily need through the ups and downs they are experiencing. It's a quirky, interesting cast of characters that add a little something extra to this already wonderful book.

The humour adds an additional touch to this story. There are plenty of heartwarming moments to be found within these pages, but the humour is really what makes this story work. The more outlandish parts of the story are the ones that shine the brightest and help breathe life into the characters and the story.

The ups and downs of Lily and Dash's relationship are natural for the stage they are at. They felt organic to who the characters were and how they would have progressed. The simple act of communication is key to any relationship and that is certainly lacking between them. There may be moments where you want to scream at them for not opening up to each other, and for assuming things before talking them out, but this path is the one they have to take to get to where they need to be. It's messy, filled with uncertainty and that pretty much defines what love is, particularly in the beginning stages.

A holiday time read for those who are not looking for something sugary sweet, and who like a dose of humour with their holiday cheer. It's a holiday story for those who don't really want a holiday story. I think fans of Dash and Lily's Book Of Dares will be just as charmed by this sequel  and will hope for a third novel to turn these stories into a trilogy.