Callie’s world is turned upside down when her childhood sweetheart and boyfriend of ten years moves her to a new state, only to dump her within a month and start dating the local TV reporter. Stuck at the talent acquisition firm where they both work—albeit in different departments—Callie tries to maintain her distance. But when restructuring forces them to share a workspace, and she learns he’s engaged less than six months after their breakup, Callie decides to cancel Christmas. She’s done with festive cheer this year.

Enter Callie’s well-meaning sister, who convinces her to take on a series of advent gifts and tasks designed to pull her out of her funk. Reluctantly, Callie agrees. As December progresses, she begins to find joy in unexpected places—gaining new friends, building a sense of community, and slowly rediscovering herself.

This was such a cute holiday day read. Enjoyed both Callie and Marco, and even their nicknames for one another. I however wish this was a dual pov to get more of a perspective from Marcos point of view.

4.5 stars


I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was everything I want from a Christmas RomCom. It was sweet and funny I loved all the characters in this book. Would definitely recommend.

This one gets five stars because it's a great Christmas read. It's light, but still has heart. Hopefully, it'll get you excited about the season as well!

Callie's childhood sweetheart and boyfriend of ten years moves her to a new state. And, he promptly dumps her within a month of the move and begins to date the hot local television reporter.

Callie's stuck it out at the talent acquisition firm that she and her ex work at--they are in different departments and don't really see each other. When restructuring has them sharing a work space at the same time it's announced that he is engaged less than six months after their breakup, Callie goes full grinch mode. No Christmas this year.

When Callie's sister meddles and puts her up to a set of advent gifts/tasks in order to bolster her spirit and get her out of her shell, she begrudgingly acquiesces. As the month of December moves on, Callie sees that she is gaining community, friends and moving on.

This one is heart warming, fun and so cute! Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Son for an advanced reader copy of The Christmas Countdown.

This was a quick and fun holiday read. It is a cozy love story about learning about oneself, how to let go of things, understanding why things happen and finding new ones.
Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam- G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Christmas Countdown by Holly Cassidy is a joyful romcom full of Christmas cheer! I absolutely adore Holly’s Christmas books. They immediately transport me to the holiday season. Truly a Hallmark movie in book form.

The Christmas Countdown is about Callie who recently got out of a ten year relationship. To help cheer her up, her sister Anita plans an advent calendar countdown for the month of December to reignite her love for the season.

When looking for a light book to bring me joy, Holly Cassidy is one of my favorites. I’ve loved her past Christmas book too! I can’t wait to see what she writes next, because I know I will love it!

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s and Sons for an advanced copy of this book!

3.5/5

This was a quick fun read. I really loved the Hallmark vibes. It was such a cute Christmas book!

Basically the FMC Callie gets dumped by her childhood sweetheart just before the holidays. Christmas is normally her favorite Holiday, but she’s just not into this year due to the circumstances. Cue meddling big sister who creates an advent present full of gifts and tasks she has to open/perform each day. The hopes are to help her little sister find not just her Christmas spirit, but find herself as well.

In the midst of all this she meets a cute guy who is just as quirky as her. The romance was sweet, and I liked the themes of being up front and honest with your partner.

I would definitely recommend for a cute holiday vibe read!


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Holly Cassidy is great! My second book by her and I enjoyed it just like that last one. Christmas time is my favorite and add in some romance and I am so happy. I love the advent calendar idea so much. Callie was really down this Christmas and her sister found the perfect way to lift her spirits with the advent calendar. Finding love along the way was just a sweet bonus! An uplifting Christmas story!

I've been reading so much horror and thrillers lately and this Christmas romcom was the perfect palate cleanser. The Advent calendar challenge that Callie's sister made for her was so fun. There were all the fun winter activites you can think of- sledding, hot chocolate, christmas cookies, you name it. This is a closed door romance and it was so sweet. If you're looking for a fun Hallmark movie vibe Christmas romcom about finding happiness again, this is it!

I am not a huge Christmas/holiday novel reader but I am so happy that as a member of Book Lovers The Buzz, I was given the opportunity to read this novel by the amazing Hannah Mary McKinnon writing as Holly Cassidy.

I loved this book - it was so warm-hearted and I felt like I was wrapped in a soft blanket as I read it. I loved Callie and her relationship not only with Marcos (such great chemistry!) but also with her sister, Anita, another great character. And Dazey, Anita’s cat, was so adorable!

I felt like I was in the story with the characters with the descriptive writing - I could picture the Christmas/winter setting, the colorful Christmas trees with family-made ornaments, caroling, ugly Christmas sweaters and advent calendars. I liked that the story was a mix of romance, humor, family relationships, and finding oneself.

I was pulled into the story from the very beginning and I was beaming all the time that I was reading it. I so enjoyed my escape into the lovely world of this novel. A Christmas read to definitely pick up!

Thanks to the publisher for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Putnam and PRH Audio for the gifted eARC and ALC.

The Christmas Countdown is The Comeback Summer (Ali Brady) meets Christmas and I adored it!

It’s a really solid Christmas read that’s super festival while still feeling unique. It feels weird to call a Christmas book a comfort read, but that’s what it feels like. There’s a sweet romance with a hot baker hero (Marco) and a smart girl boss heroine (Callie). We see a real depiction of sisterhood, where you’d do anything for them but also they ate the last cookie and now they’re dead to you. It’s not fluff, there’s meaningful conflict, but it’s not so angsty that it hurts to read. I love the premise of an advent calendar counting down to Christmas, with alternating treats and tasks to get Callie out of her comfort zone — it reminded me of Ali Brady’s The Comeback Summer but at Christmas in the BEST way.

Overall ratings
Exact star rating: 4.5
5-pt star rating: 5

Attribute ratings
Characters: 3.5
Atmosphere/Setting: 5
Writing Style: 4
Plot/Pacing: 4.5
Intrigue: 4.5
Logic: 4.5
Enjoyment: 5

🎅Ho Ho Ho all the little elves @bookloversthebuzz #gpputnamssons #partner have been singing praises about this one! It’s adorable!

I know it’s spooky season but you know you’re going to blink your eyes and it’s going to be Christmastime! Thankfully you don’t need to wait long because this one pubs this month and you should be grabbing it to add to your holiday stack! In this charming book we follow Callie who was recently broken up with by her ex and she just wants to be left alone. She’s sad, feeling lonely and a little bit sorry for herself. She is anything BUT in the Christmas spirit….until her sister talks her into completing a Christmas advent challenge in hopes it will snap her out of her funk and helps her move past her breakup. She agrees to play along and as fate will have it, she meets a sweet and thoughtful baker. They agree to complete the challenges together and in the end it helps both of them in ways they were expecting!

Not only do I love Hannah Mary McKinnon thrillers, I now can happily say I love Holly Cassidy romcoms! This story will make you want to light a fire, bake some cookies and cozy up with someone you love. Simply put, this book was fun, entertaining and heartwarming! I enjoyed this book with all the fun games, ugly sweaters, ornaments and Christmas cookies. The characters were easy to love and I found myself rooting for them the whole way through. I liked the sister relationship of this story too and really could appreciate the root of their relationship being love and friendship. Even though sometimes it came across pushy, intentions were coming from the right place. This book is perfect for the holiday season so grab your hot cocoa and a copy of this book!

After reading and loving The Christmas Wager I was so excited when I heard Holly Cassidy (aka Hannah Mary Mckinnon) had another holiday romance coming out!

As children Callie and Anita used to do advent calendars that alternate between treat and task days. Anita is now reviving that tradition in attempts to get Callie out of her funk and into the holiday spirit. When I saw that synopsis, I was completely sold. The idea is just so cute and watching it play out was so fun. So much so I’ll be stealing the idea to do with my little one! Plus as a sister I loved seeing the sibling/sisters dynamics, I could definitely relate to a lot of it!

Like most romance lovers I’m all for a meet cute but I am especially a sucker for when a meet cute is more a meet funny/awkward mess 😂 Callie and Marco were so stinking cute together from their chance encounter to a growing friendship that turned into a perfect match was perfect.

Full of puns, holiday fun, a fluffy cat, sibling love, and a sweet romance there is something for everyone. This book is a warm cozy hug that’ll get you in the holiday feels!

Read if you love:
❤️ Chance encounters
😆 Puns
🍪 Baking
🎄 Christmas
🗓️ Advent calendars

Thank you Hannah, Penguin House, and Netgalley for my review copy!

The Christmas Countdown by Holly Cassidy is the perfect holiday read. Filled with sisterly antics, a charming baker, and a delightful journey of self-discovery, this book has it all! A must-read for the festive season.

After being dumped by her long term boyfriend, Callie wants nothing more than to hibernate in her sister's house. But her sister has a different idea, creating a gift and task advent calendar for Callie to complete by Christmas.

I adored this one! Here's what I loved:

The concept: The tasks Callie has to complete are perfect. I was invested right away in what she had to complete. Some of them were so much fun (game night?!?!) that I wanted to do them!

Marco: Hot baker who has such a good heart and is a bit geeky that met Callie pun for pun? Yes please, He was amazing and I loved everything about him.

Callie: She's such a good and strong character. I was yelling while reading wanting her to stand up for herself and once she does I was so happy. She didn't put up with anything, especially at work and I adored that.

The holiday spirit: This one was just like a Lifetime holiday movie!

All in all, a great holiday romance!

Thank you to the author and the publisher for the gifted copy!

received an ARC of this book and was eager to dive in, as I’ve loved the author’s other works. While I’m not typically a fan of holiday rom-coms, this one had a unique twist with the advent calendar setup, which I really enjoyed. The storyline was sweet and uplifting, perfect for a quick holiday read. Overall, it’s a fun and cozy read, ideal for fans of holiday romances!

OK this was a complete home run for me. Truly mean that. Holly hit it out of the ballpark with this one. From the first page to the next. There were moments when I was clutching my pearls because the AUDACITY of these dudes wanting to gaslight me thinking they knew my life or my feelings. I was in shock every time one of them opened their mouth cause how dare you call me a liar? Callie is better than me because 80% of the guys in this book sounded like they wanted a broken nose. And I wanted her to give it to them. Anyways I loved Marco. He really had me rooting for him throughout the whole book until that one small miscommunication. But other than that he really is one of the good ones.

Then we have Callie, oh boy she needed to grow up and better herself. I think that heartache that she went through was something she really needed so that she could learn her value, not only that but that she was worth so much more than just being with someone because of comfort or the whole “our parents wanted us to be together so we kind of have to” because love isn’t only being comfortable with someone or being with someone because of that playing it safe feeling. She had so much development and growth and she retreated back into her shell sometimes but knew how to dust herself off and come out of it. Be stronger and fight for her needs and wants. It showed something that a lot of people feel and need help with, it was very real and I could 100% relate to it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I cannot wait to reread this one. 10/10 recommend.

This book was sweet, but a bit too cheesy for even my liking. I also feel that a lot of this could've been chopped in half if the MCs stopped to communicate with each other. The best part was seeing callies growth throughout the book.

Callie’s childhood sweetheart dumped her and the last thing she wants is to return home for the holidays where he will be next door – with his new girlfriend. Callie’s sister, Anita, makes her a holiday advent calendar with fun activities to get her back in the Christmas spirit. When she meets a charming baker who agrees to do the activities with her, sparks fly.

Why Kirsten loves it
I loved the Advent calendar tasks within this story – it was such a fun premise! Callie and Marco’s slow-burn love story gave me the same feeling as drinking a warm cup of peppermint cocoa. You won’t want to miss this Christmas romance.

“Bright stars twinkled in the cloudless sky above, making me instinctively tuck my chin deep into the soft woolen folds of my scarf. ”
Here are reasons to read the Holiday Contemporary book:

Breakup - Even many months after Callie is suffering from a breakup from her ex, she is still reeling
Advent - so her sister creates an advent calendar with treats and tasks
Challenge - to challenge her to get outside of herself, and perhaps meet some new people
Renew - Will Cassie find a new life and a new start?

Last year I read The Christmas Wager by this author and I knew I had to pick up this one as well. This book ticks my boxes for what I look for in Romance right now. One is a fun circumstance, in this case an advent. Second is characters that you can root for or feel for. I really liked reading about Callie, and I found myself seeing a lot in common with her. Not only was I inspired for the holidays with some future tasks of my own, but I felt like it was telling me I needed to go outside my own comfort zone as well.