Unfortunately I found this book pretty boring and uncomfortable. The FMC and MMC “banter” was so cheesy and awkward. And the stuff in between just wasn’t entertaining.

I thought the idea of the book was cute. And it def had Christmas spirit but that’s about it.

This is the Christmas heartwarming tale with this charming holiday rom-com. Holly Cassidy delivers another charming tale filled with laughter, love, and a whole lot of holiday cheer. Callie's grumpy demeanor is balanced perfectly by the charming baker, creating a delightful dynamic that will keep you smiling from beginning to end

While the story is predictable at times, it's still a delightful read that will leave you feeling cozy and festive. Fans of holiday romances will appreciate the familiar tropes and heartwarming ending

I thought this was such a cute story!!! I usually don’t care for holiday novels because they can be super cheesy but this one was different for me. I loved the characters & the storyline. I have loved advent calendars since I was a kid so this really made me nostalgic. I thought this was cute & definitely would recommend this to readers.

This one was cute and I binged it in a few hours. Easy to read. Loved the sister story. Callie wasn’t feeling festive and her sister, Anita wanted to cheer her up by making her an advent calendar to get her out of her comfort zone.

Publish date: October 22, 2024

Thanks to Netgalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for my advanced e copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was the most adorable holiday read! The MC Callie is still in a funk after getting dumped by her long term boyfriend, so her sister decides to break her out of her shell by organizing an advent calendar full of holiday tasks for her to complete. After a chance encounter with Marco, a tall dark and handsome baker, they decide to complete the tasks together.

Marco and Callie were too cute, they were both a lil nerdy and shared a love of puns. The character and relationship development were great, and all of the Christmas themed activities will definitely get you into the holiday spirit. I was a little bummed about the third act breakup in this one, but there was of course a very sweet HEA to make up for it. I would highly recommend reading this closer to the holidays!

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Callie has lost her Christmas spirit; her boyfriend of ten years has dumped her out of the blue, then became engaged to someone else. And to make matters worse, they work at the same company! Callie's sister creates an advent calendar for Callie to complete in hopes that she find her spirit once again.
Such a heartwarming book for the holidays! This book proves that a christmas advent calendar can always mend a broken heart! Thank to @NetGalley and the publisher for providing me the E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam and Holly Cassidy for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about Callie finding her spark again. Callie was with her childhood neighbor and high school boyfriend for 10yrs and recently moved out of state with him but he broke up with her just weeks after. She’s been struggling the last few months dealing with the breakup, especially since they work at the same company. She normally loves Christmas and spending it at home with her family and close community but is not in the mood for any of it this year.

Her sister (and post breakup roommate) puts together an advent calendar of gifts and tasks hoping to remind her of her love of Christmas and push her to go home for the holiday even if her ex will be right next door.

Unexpectedly, task one brings Callie and Marcus together and their punny banter cannot be denied!

The book was an easy read and fun. The idea of the advent calendar was really unique and clever, I enjoyed those gifts/clues and how the activities pushed/motivated Callie.

I love getting an epilogue but this one was not my favorite. The email to her sister covered a lot but felt very forced and an awkward way to recap everything that happened since last year.

Overall a cute story I think many would enjoy, 3.5 rounded up.

Closed door.

The holiday's are looming and Callie just wants to curl into a ball and sleep through it all. Her parents want her to go back home for the holiday and her sister is not helping that discussion at all. Wanting to just stay in the city and work her way through a hard breakup, Callie would rather just be alone. Christmas was such a big deal in their family that Anita hatches a plan to try and get Callie back into the holiday spirit. She decides to give Callie a gift each day until Christmas. But some of these come with stipulations and Callie must follow through completely with all things in these carefully arranged 24 boxes. Will this boost Callie back into the holiday spirit or only reminder her of what she has lost? I really enjoyed this holiday read and thought it was brilliant how Callie had to do a physical advent calendar leading up to Christmas. This was a cozy Christmas read! Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ebook. The Buzz is getting into the holiday season with this one! This review is of my own opinion and accord.

This story is heartwarming and will bring on the Christmas cheer. Callie Meyer just wants to skip Christmas this year. She moved to a new town with her now ex boyfriend and now he is engaged to someone else. Her sister Anita insists on helping her get the Christmas spirit and Callie agrees to do an Advent calendar for December. Anita cleverly creates activities for Callie to do in addition to getting treats. Along the way she makes friends with Marco who helps her on her advent adventures. He is a baker and enjoys a good pun.

I really like the idea of a an activity oriented Advent calendar. The tasks are fun and include baking, sledding, singing and more. It helps Callie, who is an under appreciated accountant, become more outgoing and find some zest in her life. It is really her journey almost more than the friendship and romance (closed door) with Marco. I found the story sweet and the characters likable. I will say my Christmas books are starting to blur a little as I’ve read several recently that are being released soon. I did read the author’s previous book, ‘The Christmas Wager’ (Sept 2023). Maybe her books will become an annual tradition. (3.5 Stars)

Katherine Center may have said it best when she said a rom com end is not suppose to be a surprise, it’s built for a happy ending.

In any case, this story hit all of the things. Callie is struggling in a work place where she is under appreciated AND she has to work with her ex-boyfriend, Oliver. An ex of a 10 year relationship who was also her neighbor growing up, the holidays are coming and she has decided not to go home to avoid Oliver and his new life. Enter her sister - she creates an advent of treats and activities she hopes will lead Callie to come home for Christmas. Needless to say the advent is creative and full of fun ideas to get Callie out into the world where she meets Marco and many others who color her holiday world. I appreciated that the story had some depth, with the typical indirect route to happiness of a rom com. This was a great early start to my seasonal romance era this year.

Callie’s childhood sweetheart, and boyfriend of 10 years, broke up with her 7 months ago, right after they uprooted their lives and moved to a new town. This year, she just doesn’t have it in her to feel jolly about Christmas. So her sister/roommate surprises her with an Advent calendar challenge, just like the ones they used to do as children, hoping it’ll help pull her out of her funk.

Was this chock full of holiday cheer? You betcha! Were there plentiful heartwarming moments between the characters? Oh, yeah! Did it get a bit cheesy at times? Definitely. But I still had a fun time reading this cute little holiday romcom.

I enjoyed Callie opening up, growing in confidence, and finding more of herself a long the way. I thought the romance was cute, with some swoony moments. And I really appreciated the focus on open and honest communication in their developing relationship. (Always a favorite of mine in a romance!)

If you’re looking for a light-hearted, cheesy, holiday read, with strong hallmark movie vibes, this book will definitely be right up your alley.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and @netgalley for for providing me an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

What this book is giving:
✅ Holiday Romcom
✅ Advent Calendar Challenge
✅ Small Town
✅ Terrible Puns
✅ Hallmark Movie-esque
✅ Closed Door

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
🌶️ / 5

Callie has no plans to celebrate Christmas since she’s been recently dumped. Her sister plans a series of gifts and experiences to get Callie in the spirit. During one experience, Callie meets Marco and he ends up joining her for them. This is a fun read with a lot of character growth by the FMC. I highly recommend this holiday read.

This is a perfect holiday romance read. This book had me laughing out loud, cheering for Callie, and crying happy tears for the main characters. I loved the idea of an Advent calendar with tasks & treats. The romance was 🚫🌶️ closed door and a wonderful read. I enjoyed it immensely.

Callie has given up on love and Christmas. After being dumped by her high school sweetheart, all she wants to do is hibernate. She is officially in Grinch mode but her sister, Anita, won't let her give up. Inspired by their childhood family traditions, Anita sets up an Advent calendar full of surprises to get Callie back in the holiday spirit. Callie meets a cute baker who helps her with some of the Advent activities. Will he be the missing link to her holiday happiness? This is such a sweet love story. I really enjoyed this book. Thanks to @NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This was a cute holiday romance. I wasn't blown away by it and I didn't hate it. It was just okay. I think it's cute of the sister to create an advent calendar to sheer her sister up. It's something my sister would do for me. Like overall it was cute, just didn't stick out for me a lot.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was the holiday romance of my dreams! What fireplace could you possibly need when you have got this cozy, warm, and sweet romance?

This is so festive and fun that it will certainly get you in the holiday spirit!
A sister creates an advent calendar for her sister that is full of treats and activities to get her out there and find herself. Such a cozy Christmas romance that I could totally see as a hallmark movie. I definitely recommend this for your holiday TBR!

thank you netgalley for the e-arc. i loved the christmas wager and couldnt wait to start her second book. it was just as good! i don't find the the framing of a sister relationship isn't explored as much as romantic relationships and there really should be more available. i really love the author's way with words and the way she creates the story around her characters with meaning.

This was a sweet holiday romance. Both main characters had been burned in previous relationships. Callie, especially had a hard time trusting again. Callie's sister, Anita, had the great idea to send Callie on different outings to bring her back out of her shell through an advent calendar. It was fun to see what adventure would be next. I could see this becoming a Hallmark movie. Definitely, a nice holiday read.

Loved this Christmas story. Callie is not feeling Christmas this year and has decided not to go home for a family Christmas this year as her boyfriend of 10 years just dumped her and her family and his family are friends and neighbors and this year he will be taking his fiancee. Anita, Callie's sister has decided to do an Advent Challenge to bring Callie out of her shell with tasks to do together. Anita then gets called by her job to go to Florida until a few days before Christmas so she plans everything and finds someone to do tasks with Callie, Marco, the chef that they went to a cooking bake for the fire department. Follow Callie and journey to see how things turn out.. Will she come out of her Grinch role. A VERY GOOD Christmas Read,