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!

Loved! The storyline was sweet & perfect! I got a little agitated with Anita for the same reason as Callie but loved how she'd stand up to her...gently. Love the advent calendar style & plot. And Marco...dreamy.

Another holiday hit from Holly Cassidy! Her books always have a unique Christmasy plot and this one was no exception!

Sisterly love forces Callie into a ridiculous set of Advent countdown challenges since her sister, Anita thinks it's just what she needs to get over her recent breakup. Anita comes up with a series of tasks that Callie must complete to lift her spirits and get her in the holiday mood.

When Callie runs into the local baker, he agrees to complete the challenges with her, opening up all sorts of new possibilities that Callie just wants to shut down. The connection between them is undeniable though!

I'm a huge advent calendar fan, so this twist on the traditional opening of gifts was delightful. I loved seeing what Anita came up with and how it forced Callie to explore new adventures and open up her heart.

I highly recommend this!

I loved this delightfully fun book! Holly Cassidy has written the perfect story to read by the fire with a cup of cocoa. I loved the characters and the daily countdown was so clever. Thanks #NetGalley #PenguinGroup #Putnam

I love holiday reading but they can be hit or miss. Too cheesy and I feel like I should’ve just watched a hallmark movie. Too much depth (usually around grief or loss or some sadnes) and I’m like can we get on to the cheer. This one is just right! I enjoyed the advent calendar theme and plot. The characters and dilemma were perfectly written. I only read 2-3 if that in the holiday pre season so I’m glad this was one of them! Thank you for the e-arc!

THE CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN was such a fun + cute story to get in the holiday spirit 🎄

Read if you like:
-Hallmark movies with a little steam
-quaint small towns
-Advent calendars
-food puns
-alll the Christmas activities
-finding your voice

I’ve always loved Advent calendars and this was such a fun take on the idea. Some of the side characters were a bit annoying to me, but I really enjoyed the MCs sweet relationship.

My first & definitely won’t be the last book that I will read by Holly Cassidy. A cute holiday romance that was beyond adorable!

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

3.5 stars
This was a charming, sweet and lighthearted holiday read. It was a little slow, but I did really enjoy the closed door romance.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

After being dumped, Callie is boycotting Christmas, but her meddling sister, Anita, won't let her turn into a Grinch that easily. Anita creates a homemade Advent calendar challenge to help push Callie out of her comfort zone and get her back into the Christmas spirit.

Not wanting to disappoint her sister, Callie plays a long and meets Marco, a sweet and charming baker who is willing to help her knock out her sister's challenges. As the two get closer and sparks fly between them, and I really rooted for these two to get their happily ever after.

The Christmas Countdown was super fun and adorable! I absolutely loved the advent calendar concept, and thought this was all around a wonderful holiday read!

Small town romance, meet cute, advent calendar which was a super cute idea! Callie and her sister Anita go on a hunt for a Christmas tree when she runs in to Marco. They don’t see each other again until Anita does some sleuthing and doesn’t tell her sister they are going to a cooking class Marco is teaching.