This contemporary short-story anthology gives you a chance to get to know twelve romance authors in bite-sized reading. If you particularly enjoy some of THE TWELVE LOVES OF CHRISTMAS, you can follow up by finding books by those writers. On the menu will be snow, cookies, and some hot young men.

A second-chance romance is pretty much my favourite, with an airport holiday of chaos described by Alexandria Bellefleur. The bomb cyclone strikes and all flights are off until morning. Hotels are full. The last remaining passengers agree to share a tiny space provided by the airport because they knew each other in another life. In high school, to be exact. Now, one is famous, and the other is part of high culture, but they still find plenty to discuss.

Christmas seems to be a time for reunions, as a tale by Jessica Joyce continues the theme. A tag-along to a large family gathering finds an unexpected fellow guest.

Some of the tales quickly turn personal. The 'brother's best friend' story by Alexis Daria is one, with the added charm of a Puerto Rican background, not that it matters when Christmas decorations are being hung. A tree is a tree. Another tale features two guys. I noticed that the adult scenes start quickly, although they don't previously know each other, unlike the boy-girl romances, which require some time of friendship or family connection first. Warning: those who believe Santa should be spared from any cheekiness ought to skip M.A. Wardell’s tale.

A charming walk around Stockholm by Olivia Dade provides a refreshing change of setting, with Sweden framing two potential lovers who meet in a museum. Back in the US, a missing cookie from a market stall becomes a big issue for the vendor, who lives in her tiny campervan home.

The stories all show people getting on with their lives despite weather, power cuts, demanding jobs, teaching requirements, family hassles. In some cases, it seemed Christmas was just another hurdle they didn’t need, full of expected visits and standards. In other tales, Christmas lets folks wind down and revisit their lives at the end of the year. THE TWELVE LOVES OF CHRISTMAS is intended to be read one tale at a time and doesn’t take itself too seriously.