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How Different The Dating World Is
The 12 Bad Dates Before Christmas centers on a hardworking single architect whose demanding mother issues her an ultimatum: go on 12 dates before Christmas or allow the church cupids. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration for the story came from my daughter, who uses dating apps and has endured her fair share of bad dates. She often shares her experiences—and some of the messages she receives—with me, and I couldn’t help but be entertained by the challenges of modern dating. It made me realize how different the dating world is today compared to when I was dating in the 1980s. Back then, we met people at bars, not by swiping through profiles on an app. The contrast between those two worlds sparked the idea for The 12 Bad Dates Before Christmas and all the hilarious, awkward, and heartwarming situations that followed.
Why did you choose St. Augustine as the setting for this holiday romance?
I chose St. Augustine as the setting because I live just fifteen minutes from its historic downtown and spend a lot of time shopping, dining, and exploring the area. There’s something magical about the city’s charm, rich history, and welcoming atmosphere that draws people in year-round. During the holidays, it becomes even more enchanting, making it the perfect backdrop for a heartwarming Christmas romance.
Which of Evie’s “bad dates” was your favorite to write—and which one made you laugh the most?
My favorite was the catfishing date in Chapter 9. Even though the date wasn’t what she expected, it led to an unexpected friendship. Steven was a sweet, lonely older man who was simply looking for someone to talk to. The best part was seeing her connect him with friends from her mom’s church, turning a disappointing date into something truly heartwarming.
Beneath the humor, the book explores fulfillment, vulnerability, and readiness for love. What message do you hope readers take away?
I hope readers walk away believing that love is worth the risk. It can be messy, awkward, and unpredictable, but it can also be the greatest adventure of all. Sometimes, while we’re searching for love in all the wrong places, we discover it has been quietly waiting for us where we least expected it.
Author Links: Facebook | nldideo.com
Evie Holliday has everything she thought she wanted—a thriving career as an architect in the charming town of St. Augustine, her sweet but spirited cat, Raven, and her ever-faithful best friend and roommate, Lanie. But when her well-meaning mother delivers a holiday ultimatum—go on twelve dates before Christmas or let the “Church Cupids” take over—Evie agrees to prove she can find love on her own terms.
Twelve dates. What could go wrong?
Between awkward encounters and unexpected mishaps, Evie begins to wonder if love is worth the chaos… until she meets Ryan McCormick at Peace, Love and Little Donuts. Kind, steady, and devoted to his teenage daughter, Ryan isn’t part of her plan—but he might be exactly what her heart needs.
Ryan McCormick has always put his family and his job as a police officer first. Falling for Evie wasn’t in his plans—but neither was watching her walk into one bad date after another. The more their paths cross, the harder it becomes to ignore what’s growing between them.
With Christmas approaching and time running out, Evie must decide if she’ll stick to her plan… or take a chance on a love that feels like it was meant to be all along.
The 12 Bad Dates Before Christmas
The 12 (Bad) Dates Before Christmas, by N.L. DiDeo, follows Evie Holliday, a hardworking architect whose quiet single life is upended when her mother issues a holiday ultimatum: go on twelve dates before Christmas or surrender her romantic future to the “Church Cupids.” What begins as a parade of dating-app calamities becomes something warmer and more surprising when Evie repeatedly crosses paths with Ryan, a charming police officer and single father whose presence feels less like a rescue and more like a well-timed miracle. Set against the festive sparkle of St. Augustine, this clean holiday romance turns bad dates, meddling family, and emotional-support donuts into the scaffolding for a sweet love story.
I had fun with this book because it understands the comic misery of dating without becoming sour about love. Evie’s voice is chatty, self-protective, and genuinely funny, especially when she is cataloging each romantic disaster like evidence at a crime scene. The book’s humor works best when it lets ordinary humiliations swell into operatic little catastrophes: garlic rolls withheld like sacred relics, a karaoke ambush, a mother treating a dating profile like a surveillance operation. There is a buoyant absurdity to the premise, but the story stays grounded through Evie’s affection for her family, her friendship with Lanie, and her growing recognition that being busy is not the same as being fulfilled.
Ryan gives the romance its steadier pulse. I appreciated that he is not written as a flawless fantasy dropped into Evie’s life to solve everything; he comes with responsibilities, a daughter he adores, and enough patience to meet Evie’s chaos with warmth rather than swagger. The relationship develops with a light touch, and the closed-door approach keeps the focus on banter, trust, family integration, and the small rituals that make two lives begin to rhyme. Some of the setups are broad, and the bad dates lean deliberately cartoonish, but that theatrical quality feels baked into the charm. The book is not trying to be austere. It is a frosted sugar cookie with a surprisingly sturdy center.
The target audience is readers who enjoy clean romance, holiday romance, small-town romance, romantic comedy, and Christmas fiction. Fans of Debbie Macomber’s cozy seasonal stories or Jenny Hale’s Christmas romances will likely feel at home here, though N.L. DiDeo brings a more antic, sitcom-bright dating-app energy to the familiar holiday-love framework. This is a cheerful, low-angst read for anyone who wants family meddling, festive settings, sweet chemistry, and a love story that believes embarrassment can be a doorway. The 12 (Bad) Dates Before Christmas is a merry reminder that the road to forever may begin with one truly terrible first date.
Pages: 295 | ASIN : B0GX2YLJJQ
