I enjoyed this Christmas book, got me right into the Christmas spirit! I loved the advent calendar idea for Holly to find out who she is again after her twin stole her boyfriend. I’m not sure I would have been as forgiving in the end. I loved Beth’s character with Ava and Tom. A predictable romancy ending with Finn the pub landlord. I’d look out for Donna’s next book. Thank you for accepting my request.

I have read all the books by Donna Ashcroft and have loved every single one of them but this one has to be the best for me. Maybe it's because I adore Christmas or adore cats but this story seemed to stand out. I was swept away with Holly's trauma, trepidation and delight as she went through her home made Advent calendar, giving her a task for each day to help her find the woman she used to be before she fell into her twin sisters shadow.

Another lovely book by this author that leaves you with a warm cosy feeling. The characters are great, there is plenty of humour and I loved the advent calendar tasks making it a perfect read to get you in the mood for Christmas

This was a cute story in a quick and cozy romance novel. The advent calendar was so cute and I loved the characters. I would definitely recommend this to Hallmark Christmas Movie addicts like myself!

Sadly this wasn’t the book for me. Nothing wrong with it as such but I didn’t really enjoy it and never found the time to finish it

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a good story and excellent main characters. I would definately recommend this book.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

I really loved this book! another great heartwarming, holiday story! this will be a book I reread during Christmas to get myself all ready for Christmas!

A wonderful cozy Christmas story that was hard to put down. When Holly catches her boyfriend and twin sister in a romantic embrace, at the company party, she decides she needs a break. She heads to her aunt's house on the island, and gets accepted into her aunt's group of women for help. They organize a calendar countdown for Christmas, with a different task each day. Meeting hunky bar owner Finn adds a nice touch, and her make over begins. Really liked this one, and highly recommend it. A good story as well as a nice Christmas romance. What more can you ask for?

What a great start to my festive reading! This author is a new discovery for me, and I will definitely be reading more of her books.

I instantly liked the setting of Sunflower Island, but what I loved the most was the fabulous characters. They really make the book. Clara and her friends are wonderful, all such fun, but so caring. Holly is so likeable and really deserves a new start in her life. Finn appears so casual and easy-going, but there’s so much more under the surface.

The advent calendar idea is great, the daily challenges aren’t outrageous, they’re so well thought out to be exactly what Holly needs.

While it’s true that this is a lovely, cosy, enjoyable, Christmas read, it’s so much more than that. It’s about a journey of self-discovery, and about finding the real you, and moving on from the past.

Highly recommended, grab a hot chocolate and a spot by the fire, and enjoy this lovely book.

The Christmas Countdown was a fab book. A lovely festive story that hooked me in from the beginning to the end. Can’t wait to read Donna’s next book.

Iorgot to take notes while I was reading so this review will be short and sweet.

The Christmas Countdown was a fun novel about finding love during the holidays and remembering the good times. It was an enjoyable read and I would definitely add this to any Christmasty TBR book list!

I enjoyed this book. First one by this author, but for sure it will not be the last. Great book to return too at the end of the day.

The plot of this book was great and really loved the advent calendar idea. All the characters were very well developed and i loved them all

This was a really fun read with a good twist. The characters were all well developed and the idea of the advent calendar was brilliant. The supportive nature of the relationship between our main character and her aunt was beautiful and exactly what everybody needs in their lives. A really nice Christmas read which will stick out in my mind.

Right from the first few pages of Donna Ashcroft's new book The Christmas Countdown I felt instantly at home and enveloped within the story. It was such a welcome return to Sunflower Island and I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of the time I spent reading this wonderful book and yes as the line on the cover suggests this really is the perfect cosy feel good romance and it doesn't disappoint in anyway. Don't worry this isn't a follow on from The Little Guesthouse of New Beginnings and is easily read as a stand alone book. This time our attention turns to a new character Holly Devine - although people we have met in the previous book do make the odd appearance - who has arrived on her Aunt Clara's doorstep in the hopes she can stay with her on the island until at least Christmas.

Holly is fleeing from an embarrassing and indescribable hurt and she hopes time away from a traumatic situation will give her the clarity she needs in order to assess what happened and see how she can move forward with her life. She never realised a family member could cause such heartache. I mean your own flesh and blood are meant to stand with you through thick and think but it seems twin sister Lucinda is callous and self centred and gave scant regard to Holly rather preferring to satisfy her own needs. Lucinda always wants what Holly has and she craves attention. When their mother died they stopped being equals and Holly was pushed aside and there in lies the problem. Holly knows that Clara will provide her with a shoulder to cry on but little does she expect to go on a journey encouraged by Clara and her friends and all because the women who like to gather in Clara's Gin Palace got some inspiration and knew the best way to get Holly back on her feet again.

It's clear from the outset that Holy is lost, hurt and bewildered and she feels she can't make decisions for herself for fear of what the repercussions will be. For too long now since her mother died Holly has been the one keeping things together. She can be relied upon to fix anything that may be broken in her Dad's office or to organise appointments but she just seems to be taken for granted and is viewed as boring. Whereas her father dotes on Lucinda and is always so overprotective of her and can never see that she could do wrong especially when it comes to the latest scenario that lead to Holly fleeing to the island. Holly needs to decide what she wants in life, to no longer be the dogsbody but to do things for herself and to perhaps find someone who will love and treat her the way she deserves to be.

Holly has lost the confidence to push herself into the limelight and to figure out what she is good at and who she wants to be. In steps Clara and her fellow members of the Women's Institute with a very creative and kind idea, they make an Advent calendar of sorts which Holly must open each day. Inside are little tasks which encourage Holly to step outside of her comfort zone, to challenge herself and push herself that little bit further than she has done before. And so this forms the basis of the story as Holly sets about making changes to find herself and takes the step to emerge from Lucinda's shadow.

From asking a stranger on a date, having a makeover, to riding around the island on a motorbike and lots more besides. Each opening of the calendar provides activities which bring Holly out of the shell she had created for herself. I loved the whole concept of this and thought it added such a great, warm feel good atmosphere to the book. Which honestly was already there in abundance as Donna Ashcroft has again recreated that magical feeling about the island as she did with the previous book. There's a real community feeling where everyone looks out for each other but I suppose at the same time this can be a bit daunting in that everyone knows everyone else’s business. The book felt very Christmassy with such glorious descriptions of the snow, the decorations in the village and all the usual Christmas activities and thankfully this was the case because recently I have just been let down too many times with books claiming to be about Christmas and they weren't.

Of course we have to have some romance thrown in and this came in the form of Finn who runs one of the local pubs. Finn was one of the best male characters that I have read about in a long time. Similar to Holly he is experiencing his own aversion to love and romance and when the reason becomes apparent you can totally understand why. He is know as a ladies man and someone who will gladly entertain any woman that comes near but this is all a persona that he has built up and there no signs of any long term commitments and that's all because of what happened in the past. I thought Finn was very vulnerable and was terribly afraid of confronting and trying to get over what happened in the past. As he meets Holly one morning on the beach thanks to an incident with Bernard, Clara's St.Bernard, you can see the spark of attraction between the two and as a reader you would love to see it developing into something more but you just think have they both been too hurt in the past and recently to want to push their fears aside and make a go of it if at all possible?

Finn likes to keep busy and so he helps Holly with some of her tasks and activities. He feels if his mind and body are occupied he won't have time to think about the painful past. I really just wanted Finn to open up and express how he was feeling and why. I'm sure Holly would have offered a shoulder to cry on but Finn has become to used to keep things hidden deep below the surface. He has blocked out his real emotions for too long and created a fake persona but as the Christmas countdown continues will Finn open up and will the boring predictable Holly disappear making way for someone who is ready for excitement and romance?

From start to finish The Christmas Countdown was a joy to read and I really do hope that Donna Ashcroft continues to write books with Sunflower Island as the main setting. There was no messing around setting up the story, with endless pages which told us little or nothing. No, instead we were straight down to business and anything we needed to know we learnt along the way in a paragraph or two which was more than sufficient. Every character, activity, scene and setting was utilised to perfection and the reader easily finds themselves caring deeply for the outcome for the main characters. I think everyone will see a little bit of themselves in Holly but its the way she attempts to claw back her confidence with the support and love of others that really makes this an inspiring, comforting, life affirming and enjoyable read. More like this please Donna Ashcroft as when I want an entertaining, nice, uplifting read with a picturesque and idyllic setting you always deliver.

What a wonderfully adorable book! I loved everything about this book - it's definitely a delightful christmas read. This book centers around Holly who runs away to escape her awful sister and ex-boyfriend who she found together at her family's business Christmas party (so much mortification right there). She goes to her aunt's house to learn who she is again and hopefully step out of her sister's shadow. Her awesome aunt and friends give her an advent calendar full of challenges to help her find herself. And they all are fun and sweet and the perfect way to learn who you are and what it is you want out of life. I really enjoyed reading about the characters and their growth and I want to move to this island too! Definitely a good read for someone who needs something sweet and lovely.

I received this arc from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've read the castle cove series by this author so I had high hopes for this one. I must say I was not disappointed. A really nice feel good christmassy read with a happy ending.

A feel good festive read from Donna Ashcroft. It had lots of humour as well as an interesting storyline and likeable characters.

I feel like I should have enjoyed this book a bit more than i did, but unfortunately it was very similar to a book I had read just before that I hadn’t particularly enjoyed. I shouldn’t compare them as they are by two different authors but that’s easier said than done! I had read a book by Donna Ashcroft before that I did enjoy so I know this isn’t a true reflection of her writing. It’s a nice Christmas story with some great friendships within it.