A cute romcom about former friends at home for the Christmas season. Books like this are very festive.

What sweet a cute holiday romance.Really enjoyed seeing journey from her break up to meeting and falling for Marco, but more importantly loved seeing her find herself all over again. Very well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an e-arc!

I was fortunate enough to get an e-arc of Holly Cassidy’s holiday novel last year, and I enjoyed this one just as much!

Callie is a bit of a bahumbug this holiday season, due to the relatively recent breakup she’s gone through. Callie loved everything about the holidays, but this year she’s having a blue Christmas. Not only did her ex boyfriend dump her after years together, but he’s already moved on with a beautiful tv news personality. Callie wants to lay low this holiday season, but her sister, Anita, won’t hear of it. In an effort to cheer Callie up and try to get her in the holiday spirit, Anita makes an advent calendar for Callie. Only, it’s not just any advent calendar- this one is filled with challenges and gifts, and she must complete every day. Along the way, Callie meets a very attractive baker who agrees to help her with the challenges if she will help him with the books/accounting for the business. As the two spend more time together and get cozy, sparks fly.

This was a super cute holiday romance!! I really enjoyed it and definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a holiday read. It reminded me of a Hallmark or Netflix movie- so fun, cute and entertaining!!

The Christmas Countdown by Holly Cassidy
PUB DAY: October 22nd, 2024
Thank you, NetGalley and publisher
5 ⭐️’s

Absolutely LOVED everything about this book so much! Loved all the characters overall, the advent calendar storyline, and so much more! Loved the budding storyline of Callie and Marco, thankful they got there happily ever after! It was fun reading about Callie and Marco connecting in a romantic way! Holly Cassidy has a way about her writing style that made me fall in love with the whole entire story in every aspect possible! I was overly engrossed from the beginning!

#NetGalley

his was a cute Christmas story. I loved the concept of the advent calendar made by Callie's sister Anita. Anita was able to get Callie back in the Christmas spirit and pull out of the funk she had been since a big breakup. I liked how sweet Marco was. He was willing to roll with what was thrown at him.

I felt like this book was more about finding yourself after the end of a long relationship. Callie learned who she was without Oliver. They had been together since highschool and she had to learn who she was without him. While the romance between Marco and Callie was sweet it just wasn't something I was excited about.

I definitely liked seeing what treats and tasks Anita had for Callie and seeing Callie find joy again.

This book felt a little...lame? The writing unfortunately fell flat for me and I found it to be immature. I have previously enjoyed the author's other festive books, but this novel's main character Callie truly annoyed me. The whole scene where she gets stuck on the roof chasing her sister's cat was just absurd (why was the window open in the middle of winter?!). I'm glad Callie did finally grow a spine by the end of this novel because she drove me crazy for most of the story.

Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review will be posted on 11/15/24

Callie is feeling really down this holiday season. Her ex-boyfriend, Oliver, dumped her and everyone thought they were destined to be together since they were little kids, including her mother. She doesn't want to return home this holiday season, because not only will she have to face things, Oliver is coming home and he lives next door. He is bringing his new girlfriend and this isn't something Callie wants to deal with. Enter Anita, Callie's overbearing and energetic sister who is determined to get Callie out of her holiday funk. She makes a homemade Advent calendar that gives her new activities and holiday challenges each day. Callie decides to give it a try and during one of the activities she meets a good looking baker, Marco. Cue the holiday magic! Holly Cassidy's The Christmas Countdown is a sweet holiday romance that will definitely get readers in the holiday spirit.

The Christmas Countdown is a sweet fluffy romance, so if that is your thing, definitely check it out this holiday season. If you want something light, not overly heavy, and filled with a lot of holiday details, this one is perfect. The addition of the Advent calendar was a lot of fun and felt very nostalgic. My only gripe was Callie's sister. I did get annoyed at her meddling as well as their mother's, but other than that, I felt like this was a heartwarming read that's perfect for fans of Jenny Bayliss.

The Christmas Countdown was a cute holiday read. Light on the romance but if you prefer a closed door romance then I would absolutely recommend this one. I enjoyed the sisterly relationship along with the romantic relationship in the book and small town settings always make for some fun so Fallbrook was great. It was truly like reading a sweet holiday hallmark movie. I would definitely say add this to your holiday tbr if you're looking for an easy read.

This is absolutely the definition of a feel-good christmas book. It was so nice to see supportive sister relationship, and the plot created the perfect avenue for tons of holiday feels. Definitely recommend!

Book: The Christmas Countdown
Author: Holly Cassidy
Rating: 4/5 stars

The Christmas Countdown was such a cute holiday romance! It got me into the holiday spirit early this year, and the Advent calendar challenge in the story was such a fun and unique touch! The Advent calendar challenge is created by the main character Callie's sister, Anita. Anita comes up with the idea after Callie is dumped by her long-time boyfriend and refuses to go home for the holidays. All Callie wants for the holidays is to not celebrate. The challenge was inspired by their childhood traditions and is designed to push Callie out of her comfort zone - and to hopefully restore her Christmas spirit.

The storyline was super sweet, and the addition of the local baker, Marco, joining in on the challenges with Callie was an even sweeter element! I was rooting for them throughout the book, and their storyline was engaging and fun. I enjoyed reading along with their adventures and started planning in my head what I wanted to do this holiday season!
I had also found myself laughing out loud more than once with the puns that were throughout the story. It ended up being a feel-good and heartwarming read.

I would recommend The Christmas Countdown to anyone who is looking to read a sweet and cozy holiday novel.

Thank you to Putnam Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of The Christmas Countdown.

3.5 ⭐️ Marco & Callie had a meet cute at a Christmas tree farm and then found themselves seeing more of each other. They were both nursing broken hearts from earlier in the year breakups. I enjoyed their story and how it wasn’t rushed in the beginning but once it turned it went fast. There was a lot of focus on the exes (especially hers).

There was a touch of mystery with Marco and his business and I gasped at the plot twist even though the signed were there looking back. I wasn’t expecting it.

Mostly I was happy for Callie and her stepping out of her comfort zone and becoming her authentic self. Her and Marco were corny and a good match. And the grand gesture by Marco was swoony.

I remember really liking last years holiday story by this author and was pleased she released another. Hopefully it’s a yearly thing for her.

Many thanks to the author and publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review early.

All I want for Christmas is a holiday novel that delivers all of the holly jolly vibes … and The Christmas Countdown is THAT BOOK! Holly Cassidy (AKA Hannah Mary McKinnon for all of you suspense readers out there) has made my Christmas wish come true with her new festive rom-com. If you are like me and are tired of picking up purported holiday novels just to discover that they are actually Christmas-lite, look no further than The Christmas Countdown!

To call Callie a Grinch would be an understatement. Usually a lover of the holiday season, Callie just cannot be merry and bright this year. See, she has had one love in her life, and he recently dumped her after a decade of dating. To make matters worse, Callie moved cities for this man, and they both work in the same office and have to see each other every day. Where Callie does NOT want to see him is at her parents’ home for the holidays, but if she returns to their hometown, see him she will because his parents live next door to hers and their moms are best friends. Talk about a nightmare before Christmas. Bah humbug!

Anita, Callie’s roommate and sister, hopes to spark some Christmas spirit in her forlorn sibling, so she stages a holiday intervention using an advent calendar tradition from their childhood. Throughout the month of December, Callie will receive a new present to open every day. Some will involve a task, some will contain a treat. Can sledding down snowy hills, baking Christmas cookies, going on a caroling expedition, and plunging into a frigid creek really renew Callie’s love for the holidays? And if Anita’s advent calendar plot can’t do the trick, maybe a swoony pastry chef named Marco can?

The Christmas Countdown is the perfect book to kick off your holiday season reading marathon! This book does Christmas right, bringing in family, tradition, and love in all of the right places to create an insightful, heartwarming novel that is also so much fun. After all, who doesn’t love an advent calendar, especially one that takes you on Christmas adventures?!

Holly Cassidy’s characters are vibrant, well-rounded, and authentic, and her writing feels fun and fresh. I was happy to discover that this novel is steeped in Swiss tradition and culture, and that Cassidy writes without an agenda. This book is festive and wholesome (with the exception of a brief closed door bedroom scene that frankly felt out of place), and exactly what I expect from a holiday novel!

This was a cute holiday romance. I loved the advent calendar aspect to it. It gave it a different flair to other holiday romance books.
I wasn’t a fan of the third act breakup but the cute ending made up for it. This put me in a holiday mood!

Thanks to @bookloversthebuzz and @hannahmarymckinnon for allowing me to be a part of this tour!
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Perfect holiday read to spark your holiday spirit. Callie isn’t feeling the holiday spirit for a number of reasons. Her sister creates an advent calendar similar to ones from their childhood to try to boost her spirit. It was so thoughtful and fun. And got even more fun when a gentleman (or two!) join in.
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Also the puns were top notch!

Callie is in full blown recovery mode after her 10 year relationship with her childhood neighbor comes to an end. She’s in the recovery stage “AVOID Christmas cheer at all costs. Including, but not limited to,traveling home for Christmas and running into childhood neighbor” - I think it’s stage 4?

Enter the cool big sister, Anita, who created a Christmas countdown for Callie to complete in the hopes the the holiday cheer can be found. And then enter … hot Eggnog Man 😏.

🗓️ 🎄 🐈 ❤️‍🩹 🗓️ 🎄 🐈 ❤️‍🩹

An absolute DELIGHT of a contemporary Christmas romance. I love Christmas, sibling relationships, a trip to get a 🎄,a corporate saddie-turned-baddie, and a good pun- and to get them in one book? It’s like Christmas came early 🥳

Thank you so much to @putnambooks and @prhaudio for the ALC and ARC of this fabulous holiday romance by Holly Cassidy (also known as Hannah Mary McKinnon!) @hannahmarymckinnon

If you are looking for a book to put you in the Christmas spirit this holiday season, look no further than The Christmas Countdown. I fell head over heels for this book. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Callie and Marco and I also really enjoyed the relationship Callie shared with her sister Anita. If you love cats, you will be happy to know that Callie’s sister has an adorable cat, that makes the story even more fun.

The audiobook was narrated by Amy Hall. I don’t believe I have listened to her narrate any audiobooks in the past, but I am certainly going to look for more books narrated by her in the future! She had a very cheerful, yet soothing voice in my opinion and was the perfect voice to bring Callie and the other characters to life.

Overall, I highly recommend this book this holiday season. Reading this was like being embraced in a big hug. I loved this book and I hope Hannah will continue to write more books under Holly Cassidy in the future!

The Christmas Wager was one of my favorite holiday reads last year so I was extremely excited to read Cassidy’s next Christmas book. It was just as cute, sweet and heartwarming as I was hoping it would be. I absolutely loved the characters, especially Callie and Anita. The advent calendar idea was so cool and I loved how it helped Callie gain her confidence back. I related to Callie in a lot of ways so watching her truly move on from a relationship that was no longer serving her to someone who thought she hung the moon was so wonderful. The Christmas and winter vibes are there and oh my goodness, it made me so excited for Christmas this year! I highly recommend this one on your holiday romance TBRs. Also, I would not mind a book on Hazel and Joel or Anita and Jenna next…

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this cute romance full of fun holiday adventures and lots of silly puns.

Callie is a self proclaimed grinch and her sister, Anita decides she’s going to change that! She comes up with the cutest advent calendar challenge! This is such a fun idea! I loved the gifts and fun adventures Callie went on because of the advent calendar. She meets desert guy, Marco along all the way and he joins her on her challenges! Swoon! I loved these two together. I now officially want to go on an advent calendar challenge and find a Marco for myself!!

I loved this holiday romance! It’s the perfect book to get readers in the holiday spirit! I definitely recommend picking it up!

A wonderfully jolly holiday romance with an extremely fun advent calendar concept where the main character isn't really feeling up the holiday spirit due to a recent break-up after a very long relationship, and is tasked by her sister to take on new holiday related tasks every day to try and get back to feeling the joys of the Christmas season. Every day in the story had a new concept that was all wonderfully tied together really well. Callie and Marco really were made for each other with their love for baking and their love for terrible puns. It was nice to see Callie come to a realization that her previous relationship paled in comparison to her relationship with Marco, and that she really did deserve better than what she got with her ex.

Anita is truly the best sister that anyone could have, and she really just wanted nothing but the best for Callie, and being the best wingwoman, being there when Callie needed advice or to vent, and just knowing what Callie truly needed, even when Callie didn't know it herself. I wish I had someone like Anita. I also liked Callie's office friend (I'm really sad that I can't remember her name right now), who was there to protect Callie from her ex, who worked in the same office space, and the same floor, as Callie. It made me sad that we didn't get to see more of her, especially once Callie quit her job and then her friend did the same. Such a wonderful and supportive character, that we just stopped hearing about after that.

One thing that did throw me off though, were the fade to black spicy scenes. In a book that was based around the Christmas season, and was mostly very wholesome, they just seemed a bit out of place. Especially when most of the book didn't have anything similar to these scenes, and then all of a sudden, BAM, let me throw a few of them at you within a chapter or two, and then nothing else really happens for the rest of the book. It seemed like the author just really wanted to throw them in there so that it could be called an "Adult" book, but I don't really think it was needed at all.

Callie is officially in Grinch mode. She wants nothing to do with the upcoming holidays. Her sister, Anita, stages a Christmas intervention in the form of an advent calendar challenge. Will the plan work?
I love anything small town so I was hooked right away. I also loved the idea of the advent calendar challenge. Callie would go around town doing things that brought her out of her comfort zone, but also helped the community. It was festive and fun!