I absolutely loved this book!!! It’s a great holiday read (or anytime of the year really). Callie is in a rut when her sister plans a special advent calendar for her filled with treats and tasks that are designed to take her out of her comfort zone. I couldn’t read this book fast enough. I loved the characters (and the many many puns)! Callie is an amazing character and I would I love to have someone like her in my real life. If you want a cozy feel good book, this is the perfect choice.

Such a warm and cozy read for the holidays!!! I absolutely adored this book and think Holly Cassidy knocked it out of the park. It's literally a Hallmark movie in book form.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and GP Putnam Penguin Group for the arc!!! <3

The Christmas Countdown was a super cute rom-com with relatable characters and storyline to match! So much about these characters was enjoyable that I couldn’t help but root for them to find what they were looking for to be happy. The daily task/treat Advent calendar between the sisters was so fun and clever that it made wish my sister and I did this sort of thing. Loved this book!

Charming 🎄Lighthearted 🎄 Heartwarming

I absolutely adore Holly Cassidy’s cast of characters. Anita (Callie’s sister) wisely reinvents the advent calendar to help Callie get out of her funk and into the holiday spirit! I love how Callie quietly rebels yet secretly loves the advent gifts/challenges. For example, she's tasked with finding a Christmas tree and comes home with one like Charlie Brown Christmas. The gifts and challenges involve every holiday activity - sledding, making Christmas cookies, caroling, toy drives, etc. And it's through these challenges that Callie loses her grinchy tendencies and discovers what she truly wants.

In tackling the tree challenge, Callie crosses paths with Marco. Their blossoming friendship to lovers' romance is incredibly swoon-worthy, adorable, and filled with laughter. These two effortlessly throw around the wittiest puns! Plus, who can resist a man with exceptional baking skills?

If you read only one holiday romance each season, read this! Holly Cassidy beautifully captures the magic of the holiday season, filling your heart with joy as you root for Callie to find happiness. Highly recommended!

Other highlights: Swiss tidbits, sister relationship, self-assertiveness, pop culture, closed-door romance

What a punny book - when you read it you will get it! I loved this book, it was predictable in the absolute best holiday way. Its low drama and lots of heartwarming love, which in my opinion makes for the best book. The chapters felt very much like a movie with an "end scene" and all closed door spice, which I appreciated in a Christmas book. I loved the premise of this book that features two sisters and an Advent countdown to Christmas calendar of treats and tasks. I loved it so much I will be doing one for my kiddos this year. I felt the magic and spirit of the holidays through this book and was so sad when I finished it.

While I am not quite ready for cold weather this story had me wishing for falling snow when reading. This was such an adorable and funny story. I laughed a lot while wishing for a sister like Anita. A homemade advent calendar with festive activities! Yes, please! Include Marco, the charming baker, as your sidekick and let’s go! Callie and Marco had so much in common that them meeting seemed almost too god to be true! She deserved a good man, and I was rooting for him, and booing her ex the entire time.
If you’re looking for a book to put you in a festive mood with a side of romance, then this is the perfect book for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for the ARC of The Christmas Countdown. This was a cute closed-door holiday romance, but also a story filled with sisterly love, finding your own voice/path, and moving on. A cute, quick, festive read!

To be honest I didn’t love the characters as much as I expected to but was a huge fan of the advent calendar concept. A classic cozy holiday romance, with minimal conflict

This was holiday centric! I loved the sledding, hot cocoa, cookies, and carols! Definitely hallmark appropriate and a quality closed door romance.

Sisters are always so special…especially when one can help pull the other out of a funk caused by an ex, just by the use of an imaginative Advent calendar! A new treat or task every day, and a “helper” who happily gets involved with each one.

I’m so sad to say I DNF this one around the 40% mark. The concept is adorable, two sisters recreating their holiday tradition of tasks and treats. I just couldn’t get into the writing style, wasn’t for me. I can see others loving this one and it makes as the perfect holiday read but just didn’t work for me.

****Publishing October 22, 2024****

Callie is not in the Christmas spirit after being dumped by her childhood friend, Oliver! Callie moves in with her sister, Anita. Anita created an Advent Calendar challenge like their mother used to do for them. The point was to get Callie out of the house and living life again. Callie is touched and skeptical by this, but agrees to do it. What will Callie discover? Where will it lead her? Will this get Callie in the Christmas mood?

This book had a clever premise that made it so fun and entertaining! I loved how this story is heartwarming with a satisfying ending! The humor, the drama, and the entertainment definitely check all the boxes for a fun holiday read! A great book to add to your holiday TBR list!

Thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam (G.P. Putnam's Sons), I was provided an ARC of The Christmas Countdown by Holly Cassidy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3 Stars - This book reminds me of a Hallmark Christmas movie. It was an easy, fun read to put you on the Holiday spirit.

Callie is a Grinch this Christmas. Her long term (years!) boyfriend broke up with her shortly after they moved together to New York state, taking jobs at the same company. That was months ago. Callie now lives with her sister and is still getting over her ex. Her sister wants to help her move along so she devised a task and treat Advent calendar to take Callie through December. Does it work? This is a fun book. Last year I read The Christmas Wager by this author and enjoyed it. I liked this one even more.

After her childhood sweetheart dumped her, Callie isn't exactly in the Christmas spirit this year. In fact, she's turned into a complete grinch and is refusing to go home where she will run into said ex and his new girlfriend because his parents live next door to hers. Callie's sister Anita is determined to bring back Callie's Christmas spirit. Anita has resurrected their childhood Advent calendar tradition, and Callie agrees to play along. Along the way, she meets Marco, a handsome baker, who may be just what Callie needs to get her into the holiday spirit. When Callie and Marco come up with a deal that has Marco completing the calendar activities with her holiday fun ensues. Will Callie's grinch heart grow two sizes this Christmas season?

The Christmas Countdown is a fun, festive read that's guaranteed to get even the grumpiest grinches into the Christmas spirit. It's full of fun puns that will have you laughing your socks off. There's Callie's meddling sister Anita, who starts out with the intention of bringing Christmas spirit and happiness back to Callie, but then manages to set up Callie with Marco. Marco is a hot baker who is just as quick witted as Callie and rivals in her pun making. Their chemistry is instant the first time they meet and continues to grow as they complete all the fun Advent calendar challenges that Anita has put together. This was such a cozy Christmas read with Hallmark vibes. It was my first holiday read of the year, and it's going to be hard to top.

The Christmas Countdown is a very sweet Christmas romance, and Callie and Marco are a delightful couple! I loved that Callie was forced to come out of her shell as she completes the Christmas challenges her sister gave her to get her through what might have been a very sad and lonely holiday. This book is filled with Christmas joy, as well as humor, warmth, and love. I received an advance reader copy of this book through Net Galley.

This book is full to the brim with Christmas-themed cuteness and yet avoids becoming too cloying or mawkish. (Quite the accomplishment, as far as Christmas-themed rom-coms go.) I enjoyed the structure of the advent calendar as a backdrop to both Ellie’s personal growth and her relationship with Marco.

I wish I had more to add. I can’t point to any one thing and go ‘This is my issue with the book’, but at the same time, it didn’t resonate with me on a deeper level. 3.5 stars, rounded to 4, for the sake of the rating system.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the advanced reader copy of this book, provided in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Loved this Christmas book! I was so excited to find out what Callie was getting in her Advent calendar every day and how her relationships would evolve throughout the book. Loved the sister relationship in this one too. And all the great traditions.

This is a really sweet holiday romance. We meet Callie who is 6 months post break up from her decade-long relationship with her childhood sweetheart, who she also works with. She's living with her sister and in a very routine funk. Her sister notices and tasks her with a Christmas countdown advent calendar that she must complete. She meets Marco, a handsome chef, who helps her with her tasks.

It's a story of realizing what you want out of life and going after it. This is a festive & fun romantic comedy - I think the second half was more action-packed and had me more invested than the first but overall, this is a really cute holiday read. Hallmark would approve.

🎄 Holiday Romance
❣️ Rom-Com
🏡 Small Town
🌶️ Brief Closed Door Spice
☝🏻 FMC 1st Person POV

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was such a cute read with very Hallmark vibes and put me in the spirit of Christmas this early. Loved seeing the FMC, and Callie realizing her worth throughout the story, and also loved the sweet romance with Marco. In all, this book was sweet


*closed door romance*