The Christmas Countdown is a cozy, festive read that captures the magic of the holidays. This book is perfect for Hallmark Christmas Movie fans. The Advent calendar theme was such a fun and creative way to structure the story, and I loved how each daily challenge brought a mix of heartwarming moments and holiday cheer. The holiday spirit in this book is infectious. From the festive activities to the warm, small-town charm, it’s impossible not to feel the holiday spirit. While there were a few predictable moments, the overall warmth and charm more than made up for it. This is a light, feel good holiday read that’s perfect for curling up with by the fire.

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

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Callie is not looking forward to Christmas after being dumped by her long-term boyfriend earlier in the year and she plans to spend the holidays hibernating at home. But her sister has other plans and designs an elaborate advent calendar for Callie designed to get her in the holiday spirit through a series of gifts and tasks. As Callie embarks upon an adventure, she meets Marco, a chef who ends up helping Callie tackle several of her tasks.

This was a cute, wholesome, clean Christmas romance. Very strong Hallmark Christmas movie vibes, although it did end up being a little too cheesy for me at times. The characters were solid but I would have liked to see more depth to the secondary characters who all felt a little one-dimensional.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Overall: 3.5/5, rounded down
Spice: 0.5/3 (read this on vacation so I don't remember 100%, but I know it was closed door/clean)

What a beautiful story to read at Christmas time.
Main character, Callie, is having a rough time this Christmas season. Her childhood boyfriend has broken up with her. It has been 7 months since the breakup and Callie is still not having anything to do with holiday spirit in any way.
Callie’s sister decides to challenge Callie to a Advent calendar adventure to bring her into the holiday spirit.
I loved the Advent calendar challenge! It is full of challenges, tasks and treats!
Callie meets Marco as she is trying to accomplish on of the advent challenges.
What follows is a sweet Christmas romance journey for the two of them.
The Christmas Countdown is a sweet, closed-door Christmas romance that will definitely pull you into the holiday spirit.
Author, Holly Cassidy, writes in a way that has you feeling all the feels the characters are experiencing.
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

What a fun, festive book!

Callie is a few months post breakup. Her and her boyfriend were together 10 years and broke up less than a year ago. She’s mostly doing ok but 1) they work together 2)she moved to a new town for him before he dumped her for someone else 3)their parents are best friends and 4)he will be next door, at his parents and new girlfriend if she goes home for the holidays.

Callie’s sister has seen her sister lose her spark. She decides to renew a childhood tradition: an advent calendar with both a task and a treat every day.
She plans to complete the tasks with Callie but gets pulled out of town.

Just as the season is starting, Callie meets Marco while picking out a tree with her sister. He winds up filling her sister’s spot with the advent tasks.

While they barely knew each other when it started, they get pulled into a bunch of fun seasonal activities. Callie finds herself having more fun with Marco than she had with her ex.

Add in a cute cat and lots of holiday sweets and what’d not to love? This isn’t just a love story, it’s also about a woman trying to figure out who she is without her relationship. And it’s about family too. Callie’s sister might be pushy sometimes but it has to feel good for her to be so loved by her sister that she’d go through all the time and expense to make the adventure calendar. I’d recommend this to anyone who wants a lot of festive vibes and fuzzy feelings. I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley. Thank you!’

A sweet holiday read. I really enjoyed the tasks and treats Advent calendar concept which brings the main female and male characters together.

Such a cute, feel-good holiday book. There is nothing going right in Callie's life that makes her excited for the holidays. After being dumped by her childhood sweetheart, she just wanted to stay inside and DEFINETLY not return home, where her ex lives right next to her parents. Her sister has other plans though. She creates an advent calendar full of Christmas activities. Callie agrees thinking her sister will be the one to complete them with her but after she has to go out of town someone new may be her new partner for the countdown as well as forever.

The Christmas Countdown by Holly Cassidy is a fun and easy Christmas Rom-Com.

Callie has given up on Christmas. Ever since her fiance broke up with her, she has been depressed and lonely. Her sister, Anita, has decided enough is enough and stages an intervention. Anita has crated a Christmas Advent calendar of gifts and challenges for Callie. Initially, Anita has planned to do the challenges with Callie but then is unexpectedly called out of town and Callie has to find someone else to do the challenges with her. Cue in Marco.

The book is predictable but fun. It is fast paced so the predictability doesn't get in the way.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️

A sweet holiday romance. Very cheesy, very Hallmark. As long as you go into it with that expectation, you will be satisfied. Did the characters have a ton of depth? Absolutely not. Did they go on lots of fun, Christmasy adventures? Yes! Sledding, baking, caroling, skating...it's all here. I had a good time, but this is not a book I would reread.

"The Christmas Countdown " was a cute holiday romance. The plot revolves around Callie, a recently broken-hearted woman, who with the help of her sister tackles her insecurities of being good enough in the eyes of those she loves, work relationships and romance . Anita, Callie's sister, devises a plan for Callie to participate in a holiday advent adventure. It is while doing the advent challenges that Callie finds her voice and love. Thanks to Netgalley and .P. Putnam's Sons Publishing for sending the ebook.
From the auth‹
ecently

The Christmas Countdown is SUCH a fun and unique concept. I loved the advent calendar idea and I feel like it was the perfect way to fit in so many really fun and festive activities without feeling forced or "too full". I also loved Marco, although I was more naturally drawn to Callie. This book also does a great job of crossing the cheesy threshold, where it gets to be too much. Great holiday romance!

The Christmas Countdown features Callie who is living with her sister and her grumpy cat. Callie usually loves Christmas but this year, her heart was broken by her long time boyfriend who she followed to the small town they now live in. Callie has to contend with seeing her ex every day as they work for the same company. Callie's sister hopes to get her out of the holiday funk by setting up an Advent calendar countdown which includes treats and tasks. Along the way, Callie meets baker Marco who ends up going along for the calendar adventures. Could Callie's grinchy like heart melt this Christmas season?

I loved Callie and Marco. Callie took all the challenges to heart and it helped her break out of her norm and live in the moment. Marco is definitely a golden retriever MMC. So sweet and fun to be around. All the characters in the book were fleshed out. Callie's sister really cares for her. I enjoyed reading in the author's notes that the bookstore owners and their store was taken from her real life town.

This book has very little heat. Behind doors, fade to black. This is the second book from Holly Cassidy but won't be my last.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the e-ARC. This review is my own opinion.

A great read for anyone looking for holiday feels, twists, and satisfying character growth.

Callie is down on her luck: stuck in a job where she's not appreciated and trying to navigate life after being dumped. Enter her sister Anita, who re-creates the Christmas advent calendar that she and Callie used to complete as children. The activities in the advent calendar give Callie a new sense of purpose, and introducing her to handsome chef Marco along the way. Soon Marco and Callie are completing tasks together and growing closer. But what happens when Callie discovers something that could ruin their budding relationship? You'll have to read to find out!

Last year I read Holly Cassidy's The Christmas Wager, and I ADORED it. I still count it as one of my favorite contemporary Christmas novels of ALL TIME! This story, unfortunately, didn't quite hit for me. The romance didn't feel believable enough. The Christmas tasks weren't always particularly interesting. The subplots of Callie's job and her awkward encounters with her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend weren't something I enjoyed. And there were twists towards the end that felt out of sync with the majority of the story.

I appreciated how the author attempted to give us a variety of experiences in her novel, but it didn't quite gel for me. I'm still a fan, though, and look forward to her next novel!

Trigger warnings: cheating, toxic work environment

I'd like to thank Penguin Group Putnam and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

In "The Christmas Countdown" by Holly Cassidy, Callie is heartbroken and ready to skip Christmas after being dumped by her childhood sweetheart. Her sister Anita, however, has other plans and creates an Advent calendar filled with cheerful tasks to reignite Callie's holiday spirit. Reluctantly, Callie agrees to the challenge and soon meets a charming baker who helps her complete the activities. As they spend more time together, Callie begins to question her strict rules on love and the holidays. The Advent calendar not only opens up Callie's heart but also brings unexpected romance into her life.

This book is a heartwarming and delightful holiday rom-com that will lift your spirits. Callie's journey from heartbreak to rediscovering the joy of Christmas is beautifully portrayed, and the Advent calendar challenge adds a fun and festive twist. The chemistry between Callie and the charming baker is sweet and genuine, making their budding romance a joy to read. Cassidy's writing is engaging and filled with holiday cheer, making this book a perfect read for anyone looking to get into the Christmas spirit. Highly recommended for fans of holiday romances and feel-good stories!

Thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putman's Sons for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved reading The Christmas Countdown. When our main character is still reeling from a bad breakup, her sister gives her an advent calendar with "calendar tasks" designed to get her out of the house and living again (and also home for Christmas). But when one of those tasks brings Callie and Marco together, things start to work out better than Anita ever planned!

This was a cute Christmas read, I loved the way Callie and Marco interact, and Anita is the kind of sister I wished I had looking out for me growing up. It's a sweet story without too much unneeded drama where Callies finds herself and her voice and most to of the time the characters do believable things. I fun quick read to get you in the mood for the holidays!

The Christmas Countdown is a fun and festive read by Holly Cassidy who wrote my favourite Christmas book last year The Christmas Wager. Holly Cassidy is better know to us as thriller writer Hannah Mary McKinnon.

In this book Callie had broken up with Oliver and was not in the Christmas spirit this year. She was not planning to go home for the holidays due to the break up. Her sister Anita decided to help bring back Callie’s Christmas spirit by assembling a Christmas Advent Calendar full of treats and tasks to complete. Callie meets Marco (a baker) who offers to help her complete the daily advent tasks!

This book is one that will bring your Christmas joy and spark memories of Christmas past. It’s a closed door romance that gives you a Hallmark movie kind of feel. I loved the mention of the local bookshop in Burlington name A Different Drummer bookstore!

I highly recommend adding The Christmas Countdown by Holly Cassidy aka @hannahmarymckinnon to your TBR this season!!

This was a fun, sweet Christmas read. The main premise of Callie doing advent calendar challenges to help her find herself again after a breakup was such a clever idea, and I thought the challenges were creative and brought out the best in her. Her romance with Marco was hallmark movie cute - they both love puns and are really perfect for each other.

But the main conflict was sort of shoved in at the end and resolved a little too quickly. The rest of the book all flowed well but the abrupt ending didn’t work for me as much.

What a delightful Christmas rom-com. The advent calendar that alternated treats and tasks was very clever and added a lot of creativity to the story. The big sis was awesome!

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC! This felt like I was reading a Hallmark movie, it was so cheesy and cute. The love interests all felt a little too good to be true, the dialogue was clunky, and some of the conflict was overdone, but overall a fun read. The letter to her sister at the end was weird, it came across like she and her sister hadn’t spoken in the last year with the way she’d summarized their last year? Doing an actual epilogue would’ve been less strange. Regardless this was a solid 3 star read for the holidays.

I throughly enjoyed this story! I loved the advent calendar that Callie's sister put together for her- all the fun things she got to do during the month of December. I loved watching her fall in love with Marco-and knowing that she would be okay on her own too. This was as much a story about growth and self love as it was a story about falling in love.

Thanks to NetGalley and The PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the opportunity to read The Christmas Countdown by Holly Cassidy which was the perfect holiday escape; joyful and caring. I loved the Advent Calendar events.