Thank you to @netgalley @berkleypub and @putnambooks for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

"The Christmas Countdown" by Holly Cassidy is a heartwarming holiday romance that will leave you feeling cozy and cheerful. Recently heartbroken, Callie is determined to avoid the festive season. However, her determined sister has other plans, creating a series of festive challenges and treats to help Callie embrace the spirit of Christmas. When Callie finds herself struggling, the charming baker Marco steps in, offering his enthusiastic assistance.

As they navigate the countdown together, Callie and Marco find themselves drawn to each other, slowly learning to trust and open their hearts to love again. Cassidy delivers a delightful blend of Hallmark charm and subtle spice, creating a captivating and engaging read.

Highly recommended for fans of authors like Jenny Bayliss, "The Christmas Countdown" is the perfect holiday escape.

4 stars

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A cozy Christmas read! Perfect for that time of year. Holly Cassidy always creates the best little town settings.

3.5 stars.

Single POV, first person, closed door. Hallmark vibes.

A cute, quick romcom. I read this in one sitting. Callie’s sister revives their old holiday advent tradition of doing an activity and getting a treat in an effort to cheer her up after a bad breakup. Callie still works with her ex, and he moved on fast.
They run into Marco, our MMC, during one of these activities and the two have an instant connection. When Callie’s sister gets called away to work, she facilitates the opportunity for Marco to do the advent tasks in her absence. Each have a wholesome holiday theme.

The B Plot of Callie’s work having a shakeup was interesting, as was the wrench thrown in about Marco’s business.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my advanced digital copy!

This has such a fun premise, Callie’s sister makes an advent style calendar for her with treats and tasks to help get her more excited for the holidays after a breakup. There are so many festive happenings, constant Christmas cheer and it’s coupled with a sweet developing romance that I enjoyed. The narrator was delightful and did a great job!

If you’re looking for a closed door holiday romance then definitely give this one a try. Loved all the advent challenges and following along as Callie discovers who she is and who she wants to be.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC for my honest review!

Overall 3-3.5 star read for me. This was full of fluff and Christmas elements, a very Christmasy book which I did enjoy that aspect. I just felt that parts of this book fell flat for me, I wish there was more meddling (not normally something I want), and at times it felt slow. I was expecting to fly through this book but it took me quite some time, and I read several other books in between.

All in all, a fun holiday read, but not much that fully stood out to me or was very memorable.

(not shared outside of Goodreads due to lower rating)

This was so cute! I was hooked from the beginning and it was hard to put down. I loved the meet cute and how the story progressed. There is character development and a natural progression between pur main characters. This is the second book by this author that I have read and I have loved both so this will be an instant read author for me! The plot layout of advent challenges really made it hard to pause reading because you wanted to find out the next task and how our characters would interact. This is a closed door/fade to black, strangers to friends to lovers holiday romance. I can't wait for next Christmas and another book from this author.

Thank you to GP Putnam’s Sons and PRH Audio for the copies to review.

I rarely read romance, but I will read Holly Cassidy’s Christmas holiday romances, and this is my second one that I have read and loved. I love a good advent calendar and to incorporate one as part of the plot was fantastic and I listened to this in one sitting. Other than possibly including a murder (HA!), this was an amazing and lovely holiday read that I absolutely enjoyed. The audio was wonderful and I recommend reading it this way if you can.

Sooo very Hallmark movie, christmas edition. It's cute and I think a cool idea would be to read it like an adventure calendar during December. Tons of Christmas activities, and the story is a little predictable but eh, it's a Christmas romance so it kinda should be.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This novel wasn't great, but wasn't terrible either. I liked the idea of the older sister trying to get her younger sister into the holidays again by using the nostalgic advent calendar, but the romance portion was tiring. The writing made me not trust Vince from the beginning, and I was right in doing so. I wish there wouldn't have been any love mishaps in it, and more focused on her finding love with Marco while doing the Advent tasks.

A solid three stars for me, but I don't regret reading it. It was still a cozy holiday read, just not one I'd choose to re-read.

I loved the idea of the advent calendar from one sister to another, but the book was a bit too slow for me and I ended up DNFing it at 20%. The chemistry just wasn't there between the two main characters.

The Christmas Countdown is a charming Christmas rom-com. Callie is in a funk after breaking up with her childhood sweetheart boyfriend. Her sister Anita creates an advent calendar of gifts and challenges designed to get her back in the Christmas spirit. I loved the sweet romance that developed between Callie and Marco, as well as the sister relationship between Anita and Callie. The book was slightly cheesy in places (the puns became grating pretty quickly) but overall, this is a sweet lighthearted romance, perfect for the Hallmark movie lovers out there.

This was a cute hallmark christmas story. After 10 years Callies bf breaks up with her and her christmas spirit is gone. Her sister comes up with a plan for her to remember christmas past with an adventure calendar of sorts. This helps her find herself and maybe a cute man or 2.

This was a very "feel good" holiday book. I enjoyed the character development in the female main character. This one definitely got me in the Christmas mood! 4 stars!

This was such a cute read!! It has all of the heartwarming components we want in both the holidays and in romantic comedies. The characters were likable and easy to cheer for. The book explores the complex relationships of families, exes, and new romantic partners while also showing the difficulties of accepting changed dreams and life paths. It’s a fun book that I should have read long before now!

Callie is still reeling from a breakup as the holidays approach. When she learns her ex partner (and hometown neighbor) of ten years is now engaged just mere months after their split, Callie knows there is no way she can face her family or hometown for Christmas. To get her in the Christmas spirit and bring back an old tradition, her sister creates an advent calendar alternating treats and tasks.

I loved the advent calendar concept, the treats and tasks Anita came up with, and that Callie put herself out there to complete the activities and find her festive joy. The love interest(s) were great - if not a little too good to be true! - and the connections felt authentic. Callie was a good person and it was easy to root for her. I also appreciated that she had so much personal and professional growth during the book that took place outside the romantic interests.

If you’re looking for a clean romance to help you get in the holiday mood, I can’t recommend this one enough!

This book is so sweet! Callie wants to spend Christmas hiding in her bed after a bad breakup but her sister makes an advent calendar full of fun tasks and gifts to help get her in the Christmas spirit. Callie meets a local baker who vows to help her complete her tasks. Their relationship advances throughout the story and his gentle nature is my favorite part of this book! The advent calendar keeps things fun and this one was also easy to binge thanks to the audio and a great cast of characters!

The Christmas Countdown is a sweet romance with such a cozy vibe! Loved reading this one and highly recommend if you need a little cozy night in with a good book!The Christmas Countdown is a sweet romance with such a cozy vibe! Loved reading this one and highly recommend if you need a little cozy night in with a good book!

There wasn’t anything inherently wrong about this one; I just found it a little too slow for my liking. Still, if you’re looking for a story filled with Christmas activities, this one might hit the spot. Callie is encouraged by her sister to take part in an Advent calendar challenge, with each day bringing a festive activity or gift. It was such a sweet concept.

This book was the prefect quick paced holiday read that everyone needs. It was cozy and such a cute holiday romance.