3.5/5

This was a quick fun read. I really loved the Hallmark vibes. It was such a cute Christmas book!

Basically the FMC Callie gets dumped by her childhood sweetheart just before the holidays. Christmas is normally her favorite Holiday, but she’s just not into this year due to the circumstances. Cue meddling big sister who creates an advent present full of gifts and tasks she has to open/perform each day. The hopes are to help her little sister find not just her Christmas spirit, but find herself as well.

In the midst of all this she meets a cute guy who is just as quirky as her. The romance was sweet, and I liked the themes of being up front and honest with your partner.

I would definitely recommend for a cute holiday vibe read!


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Holly Cassidy is great! My second book by her and I enjoyed it just like that last one. Christmas time is my favorite and add in some romance and I am so happy. I love the advent calendar idea so much. Callie was really down this Christmas and her sister found the perfect way to lift her spirits with the advent calendar. Finding love along the way was just a sweet bonus! An uplifting Christmas story!

I've been reading so much horror and thrillers lately and this Christmas romcom was the perfect palate cleanser. The Advent calendar challenge that Callie's sister made for her was so fun. There were all the fun winter activites you can think of- sledding, hot chocolate, christmas cookies, you name it. This is a closed door romance and it was so sweet. If you're looking for a fun Hallmark movie vibe Christmas romcom about finding happiness again, this is it!

I am not a huge Christmas/holiday novel reader but I am so happy that as a member of Book Lovers The Buzz, I was given the opportunity to read this novel by the amazing Hannah Mary McKinnon writing as Holly Cassidy.

I loved this book - it was so warm-hearted and I felt like I was wrapped in a soft blanket as I read it. I loved Callie and her relationship not only with Marcos (such great chemistry!) but also with her sister, Anita, another great character. And Dazey, Anita’s cat, was so adorable!

I felt like I was in the story with the characters with the descriptive writing - I could picture the Christmas/winter setting, the colorful Christmas trees with family-made ornaments, caroling, ugly Christmas sweaters and advent calendars. I liked that the story was a mix of romance, humor, family relationships, and finding oneself.

I was pulled into the story from the very beginning and I was beaming all the time that I was reading it. I so enjoyed my escape into the lovely world of this novel. A Christmas read to definitely pick up!

Thanks to the publisher for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Putnam and PRH Audio for the gifted eARC and ALC.

The Christmas Countdown is The Comeback Summer (Ali Brady) meets Christmas and I adored it!

It’s a really solid Christmas read that’s super festival while still feeling unique. It feels weird to call a Christmas book a comfort read, but that’s what it feels like. There’s a sweet romance with a hot baker hero (Marco) and a smart girl boss heroine (Callie). We see a real depiction of sisterhood, where you’d do anything for them but also they ate the last cookie and now they’re dead to you. It’s not fluff, there’s meaningful conflict, but it’s not so angsty that it hurts to read. I love the premise of an advent calendar counting down to Christmas, with alternating treats and tasks to get Callie out of her comfort zone — it reminded me of Ali Brady’s The Comeback Summer but at Christmas in the BEST way.

Overall ratings
Exact star rating: 4.5
5-pt star rating: 5

Attribute ratings
Characters: 3.5
Atmosphere/Setting: 5
Writing Style: 4
Plot/Pacing: 4.5
Intrigue: 4.5
Logic: 4.5
Enjoyment: 5

🎅Ho Ho Ho all the little elves @bookloversthebuzz #gpputnamssons #partner have been singing praises about this one! It’s adorable!

I know it’s spooky season but you know you’re going to blink your eyes and it’s going to be Christmastime! Thankfully you don’t need to wait long because this one pubs this month and you should be grabbing it to add to your holiday stack! In this charming book we follow Callie who was recently broken up with by her ex and she just wants to be left alone. She’s sad, feeling lonely and a little bit sorry for herself. She is anything BUT in the Christmas spirit….until her sister talks her into completing a Christmas advent challenge in hopes it will snap her out of her funk and helps her move past her breakup. She agrees to play along and as fate will have it, she meets a sweet and thoughtful baker. They agree to complete the challenges together and in the end it helps both of them in ways they were expecting!

Not only do I love Hannah Mary McKinnon thrillers, I now can happily say I love Holly Cassidy romcoms! This story will make you want to light a fire, bake some cookies and cozy up with someone you love. Simply put, this book was fun, entertaining and heartwarming! I enjoyed this book with all the fun games, ugly sweaters, ornaments and Christmas cookies. The characters were easy to love and I found myself rooting for them the whole way through. I liked the sister relationship of this story too and really could appreciate the root of their relationship being love and friendship. Even though sometimes it came across pushy, intentions were coming from the right place. This book is perfect for the holiday season so grab your hot cocoa and a copy of this book!

After reading and loving The Christmas Wager I was so excited when I heard Holly Cassidy (aka Hannah Mary Mckinnon) had another holiday romance coming out!

As children Callie and Anita used to do advent calendars that alternate between treat and task days. Anita is now reviving that tradition in attempts to get Callie out of her funk and into the holiday spirit. When I saw that synopsis, I was completely sold. The idea is just so cute and watching it play out was so fun. So much so I’ll be stealing the idea to do with my little one! Plus as a sister I loved seeing the sibling/sisters dynamics, I could definitely relate to a lot of it!

Like most romance lovers I’m all for a meet cute but I am especially a sucker for when a meet cute is more a meet funny/awkward mess 😂 Callie and Marco were so stinking cute together from their chance encounter to a growing friendship that turned into a perfect match was perfect.

Full of puns, holiday fun, a fluffy cat, sibling love, and a sweet romance there is something for everyone. This book is a warm cozy hug that’ll get you in the holiday feels!

Read if you love:
❤️ Chance encounters
😆 Puns
🍪 Baking
🎄 Christmas
🗓️ Advent calendars

Thank you Hannah, Penguin House, and Netgalley for my review copy!

The Christmas Countdown by Holly Cassidy is the perfect holiday read. Filled with sisterly antics, a charming baker, and a delightful journey of self-discovery, this book has it all! A must-read for the festive season.

After being dumped by her long term boyfriend, Callie wants nothing more than to hibernate in her sister's house. But her sister has a different idea, creating a gift and task advent calendar for Callie to complete by Christmas.

I adored this one! Here's what I loved:

The concept: The tasks Callie has to complete are perfect. I was invested right away in what she had to complete. Some of them were so much fun (game night?!?!) that I wanted to do them!

Marco: Hot baker who has such a good heart and is a bit geeky that met Callie pun for pun? Yes please, He was amazing and I loved everything about him.

Callie: She's such a good and strong character. I was yelling while reading wanting her to stand up for herself and once she does I was so happy. She didn't put up with anything, especially at work and I adored that.

The holiday spirit: This one was just like a Lifetime holiday movie!

All in all, a great holiday romance!

Thank you to the author and the publisher for the gifted copy!

received an ARC of this book and was eager to dive in, as I’ve loved the author’s other works. While I’m not typically a fan of holiday rom-coms, this one had a unique twist with the advent calendar setup, which I really enjoyed. The storyline was sweet and uplifting, perfect for a quick holiday read. Overall, it’s a fun and cozy read, ideal for fans of holiday romances!

OK this was a complete home run for me. Truly mean that. Holly hit it out of the ballpark with this one. From the first page to the next. There were moments when I was clutching my pearls because the AUDACITY of these dudes wanting to gaslight me thinking they knew my life or my feelings. I was in shock every time one of them opened their mouth cause how dare you call me a liar? Callie is better than me because 80% of the guys in this book sounded like they wanted a broken nose. And I wanted her to give it to them. Anyways I loved Marco. He really had me rooting for him throughout the whole book until that one small miscommunication. But other than that he really is one of the good ones.

Then we have Callie, oh boy she needed to grow up and better herself. I think that heartache that she went through was something she really needed so that she could learn her value, not only that but that she was worth so much more than just being with someone because of comfort or the whole “our parents wanted us to be together so we kind of have to” because love isn’t only being comfortable with someone or being with someone because of that playing it safe feeling. She had so much development and growth and she retreated back into her shell sometimes but knew how to dust herself off and come out of it. Be stronger and fight for her needs and wants. It showed something that a lot of people feel and need help with, it was very real and I could 100% relate to it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I cannot wait to reread this one. 10/10 recommend.

This book was sweet, but a bit too cheesy for even my liking. I also feel that a lot of this could've been chopped in half if the MCs stopped to communicate with each other. The best part was seeing callies growth throughout the book.

Callie’s childhood sweetheart dumped her and the last thing she wants is to return home for the holidays where he will be next door – with his new girlfriend. Callie’s sister, Anita, makes her a holiday advent calendar with fun activities to get her back in the Christmas spirit. When she meets a charming baker who agrees to do the activities with her, sparks fly.

Why Kirsten loves it
I loved the Advent calendar tasks within this story – it was such a fun premise! Callie and Marco’s slow-burn love story gave me the same feeling as drinking a warm cup of peppermint cocoa. You won’t want to miss this Christmas romance.

“Bright stars twinkled in the cloudless sky above, making me instinctively tuck my chin deep into the soft woolen folds of my scarf. ”
Here are reasons to read the Holiday Contemporary book:

Breakup - Even many months after Callie is suffering from a breakup from her ex, she is still reeling
Advent - so her sister creates an advent calendar with treats and tasks
Challenge - to challenge her to get outside of herself, and perhaps meet some new people
Renew - Will Cassie find a new life and a new start?

Last year I read The Christmas Wager by this author and I knew I had to pick up this one as well. This book ticks my boxes for what I look for in Romance right now. One is a fun circumstance, in this case an advent. Second is characters that you can root for or feel for. I really liked reading about Callie, and I found myself seeing a lot in common with her. Not only was I inspired for the holidays with some future tasks of my own, but I felt like it was telling me I needed to go outside my own comfort zone as well.

📚 BOOK TOUR PRE-PUBLICATION BOOK REVIEW 📚

The Christmas Countdown By Holly Cassidy
Publication Date: October 22, 2024
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚MY REVIEW:

Oh my goodness, I absolutely ADORED this book!! The Christmas Countdown is the PERFECT holiday rom-com to read when you're ready to get into the holiday spirit!! 🎄🎁

I loved everything about this book! The storyline was the cutest and coziest - our female MC, Callie, is struggling to find the joy in the upcoming Christmas season, which will be her first since the break-up of her long-term relationship with her high school boyfriend, Oliver. Callie's sister, Anita, brings back a Christmas family tradition with an Advent calendar of-sorts as a way to help little sister Callie reclaim joy in her life. Callie serendipitously bumps into Marco at a Christmas tree farm while completing one of the first tasks in Anita's Advent calendar.... And the foundation of the book's storyline is set.

Callie, Anita, Marco, and all of the characters in this book were so loveable, and the author created such warmth and personality for each of the characters so quickly. The setting in the small town of Fallbrook was the picturesque place for this story... And I'd by lying if I said I didn't want to live there. Each of the Christmas activities contained in Anita's Advent calendar had me nearly drooling in anticipation of the upcoming holiday season and I made a commitment in my mind, more than once, that I needed to find similar activities in my community this holiday season too. The love story of Callie and Marco was so cute and just made me smile from start to finish. The spice was minimal (like, close to zero) and this was definitely more of a cutesy rom-com.

I flew through this book, reading it all so fast because I was so in love with the story and all of its pieces. I was kinda sad when it was finished and I actually think I'll re-read it again as the Christmas holiday gets closer... And I've never before said I wanted to re-read a rom-com. So I think that says a lot about how much I loved it. ❤️

It was fun to see that Holly Cassidy is one and the same as Hannah Mary McKinnon, the author of Only One Survives, a fantastic thriller I read over the summer. Knowing this author can write different genres of books that I can be enthralled with so readily, leaves me with even greater respect for her masterful writing talents.

I can't say enough about this book and I absolutely recommend you add it to your holiday TBR list. This is easily a top rom-com of 2024 for me... And I think it'll be as loved by anyone who enjoys rom-com reads, too. A big thank you goes out to Book Lovers The Buzz and Holly Cassidy/Hannah Mary McKinnon for inviting me to be a part of this fun book tour! Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for this advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

#TheChristmasCountdown #HollyCassidy #GPPutnamsSons #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARC #bookreviews #bookrecommendations #bookrecs #romcomreads #booklover

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons, #partner, for an advanced copy of The Christmas Countdown in exchange for my honest review.

It’s not too often that I read Christmas books, especially not in the early fall, but when your favorite thriller writer writes another holiday romcom, you drop everything to read it…and I’m happy to say, she has delivered another enjoyable, entertaining and cute story!

As I don’t tend to read a lot of romcoms, I’m not up on all the tropes that one might have, but I can say that this story had what I love in those Hallmark/Netflix holiday movies I so enjoy watching. This would be the perfect book to get those dragging their feet about getting into the holiday spirit in the right mood! How could you not? With all those witty puns and that amazing countdown Advent Calendar that Callie’s sister creates for her with so many fun Christmasy activities – it even got me in the holiday mood and it’s only September!

This book is all kinds of fun. All the holiday baking had me wanting to get back into the kitchen. Baking around the holidays is my favorite and its been a while since I’ve really done any…maybe this is the year I change that! I also loved how much of the author’s own heritage she wove into the story – knowing the author as well as I do, I really appreciated this aspect of the story. It makes me want to go visit Switzerland even more than I already did before picking up this book!

A fun, festive read that is as entertaining as it is cute, I highly recommend adding this to your holiday reading list!

Okay, I’m obsessed with every character in this book! This one was full of charm and holiday magic. I had to resist putting my Christmas tree up while reading it. Callie is so easy to relate to and motivated me to make positive changes in my life this holiday season too. There’s not a lot of drama in this one so it’s a fun, light holiday read. Will be recommending to everyone!

The Christmas Countdown is a sweet holiday story that would make a great Hallmark movie. Love between sisters helps to capture all that is best at Christmas time.

Definitely full of all the Hallmark movie vibes, which is exactly what you want in a holiday book like this. The love between sisters was great and I love some good female characters.

Ok this was extremely adorable . I like how is about finding love again. And christmas who doesn’t want love in christmas. Loved the characters and I cant wait to get the physical