I thoroughly enjoyed this story of 12 women meeting and exchanging Christmas cookies and sharing about how their year went. The recipes are delicious and the book is worth getting for those alone. 8 women and their stories would have done me nicely, I found 12 a bit confusing at times and it took up space I would have preferred to be used on developing the other characters a bit more deeply. There is also information on various ingredients which didn't grip me all that much even though it is quite interesting. If you are into baking or know someone who is, the book is a great gift.