12 Dates of Christmas

A charming contemporary romance about family pressure, algorithmic matchmaking, and discovering that real love often arrives when you're not searching for it.

Margaret Chen has built an impressive career as a successful thirty-one-year-old marketing executive—she's strategic, resourceful, and respected in her field. But professional achievements don't silence the expectations of her ninety-two-year-old grandmother, Ba Ba, who views Margaret's unmarried status as a personal failure. Despite Margaret's independence and accomplishments, she feels the constant weight of her grandmother's disapproval and her family's traditional insistence that she marry and continue the family line.

Burned by past relationships marked by fundamental incompatibilities and misaligned values, Margaret has grown cautious about romance. She refuses to settle for a partner simply to appease family pressure, even as Ba Ba's concerns intensify with each passing year. The tension reaches a breaking point when Ba Ba, drawing on nine decades of life experience and wisdom, devises an unconventional solution: twelve blind dates scheduled over twelve consecutive months, with Ba Ba personally curating matches based on her intuitive understanding of what Margaret needs.

Skeptical but emotionally exhausted by the conflict, Margaret reluctantly agrees to her grandmother's matchmaking experiment, convinced that Ba Ba's well-intentioned but chaotic approach will ultimately prove futile.

What Margaret doesn't know is that Ba Ba has enlisted help: Jonathan Kessler, a brilliant software engineer and their tech-savvy neighbor, has been recruited to organize and systematically vet each potential match. What begins as a simple logistical arrangement evolves into something far more complex. As Jonathan meticulously gathers data about Margaret—analyzing her preferences, personality patterns, relationship history, and behavioral indicators—he begins developing an idealized image of her, one shaped by algorithms and analytics rather than genuine human connection.

As Margaret progresses through the carefully orchestrated dates, she notices something uncanny: an improbable level of compatibility with each suitor, an almost supernatural alignment of interests, values, and life goals. Each date feels precisely calibrated, as if someone has engineered perfect matches rather than trusting chance or fate. Her investigative instincts—honed by years in marketing—kick in, and Margaret begins to suspect that her grandmother's supposedly random matchmaking conceals a far more calculated approach.

When Margaret uncovers the truth—that Jonathan has been systematically analyzing data to construct her ideal romantic scenarios—the revelation forces both of them to confront uncomfortable questions about love, agency, and authenticity. Did Jonathan's algorithmic intervention undermine Margaret's autonomy? Can connection genuinely blossom from data-driven engineering? And perhaps most troublingly: if the architect of her romantic destiny has been watching, calculating, and carefully constructing her love life all along, could he actually be the one she's truly meant to be with?

What unfolds is a nuanced exploration of modern romance, where family traditions collide with technological innovation, where the line between serendipity and manipulation blurs, and where two people must decide whether genuine love can emerge from an orchestrated beginning.

Perfect for readers who love contemporary romance with:

Holiday charm and family drama woven throughout the narrative framework

The intersection of technology and traditional human connection—exploring how algorithms both connect and isolate us

Cultural richness and representation—celebrating Chinese-American family dynamics and intergenerational relationships

Smart, emotionally intelligent protagonists who challenge each other intellectually and romantically

Themes of authenticity and vulnerability in an increasingly data-driven world

Forced proximity romance with genuine emotional stakes and character complexity

Romantic tension balanced with humor, heartbreak, and self-discovery