A review by girlreading
The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
4.0
Adorable, Christmassy and all in all, a really enjoyable read.
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares is one of my favourite contemporaries, so I was both extremely excited and slightly apprehensive when I heard it was getting a sequel. This wasn't what I was expecting from a Dash and Lily sequel, it wasn't all sparkles and Christmas magic and honestly, I loved that. I really appreciated that this focused on a side of the holiday season that often gets brushed over, the fact that for a lot of people, it's extremely difficult, emotionally and physically. I really appreciated that we got to see Lily, someone known for her pure love for Christmas, not knowing how to be happy or magically forget all her troubles simply because of the festive season. This so easily could have been a story about someone who was sad, 'getting over it' because of Christmas, but it wasn't and I really appreciated that about it. It still has its adorable Dash and Lily moments and it still gave me all the Christmassy feels but it was also a lot more than that. Book of Dares is still one of my favourites and I do think I prefer it slightly over this one but to me, they're different books. One that delivers all of my Christmas (and essentially life) goals and dreams through its pages, and another that resonated with me in other ways and gave me something I needed to read at exactly the right time. They both now have a sentimental value to them and I'm sure I will continue to read them for many holiday seasons to come.
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares is one of my favourite contemporaries, so I was both extremely excited and slightly apprehensive when I heard it was getting a sequel. This wasn't what I was expecting from a Dash and Lily sequel, it wasn't all sparkles and Christmas magic and honestly, I loved that. I really appreciated that this focused on a side of the holiday season that often gets brushed over, the fact that for a lot of people, it's extremely difficult, emotionally and physically. I really appreciated that we got to see Lily, someone known for her pure love for Christmas, not knowing how to be happy or magically forget all her troubles simply because of the festive season. This so easily could have been a story about someone who was sad, 'getting over it' because of Christmas, but it wasn't and I really appreciated that about it. It still has its adorable Dash and Lily moments and it still gave me all the Christmassy feels but it was also a lot more than that. Book of Dares is still one of my favourites and I do think I prefer it slightly over this one but to me, they're different books. One that delivers all of my Christmas (and essentially life) goals and dreams through its pages, and another that resonated with me in other ways and gave me something I needed to read at exactly the right time. They both now have a sentimental value to them and I'm sure I will continue to read them for many holiday seasons to come.