Book Review: "The Christmas Countdown" by Holly Cassidy

It’s almost Christmas, but Callie can’t seem to find the spirit this year. Even though it’s been seven months since Oliver, her childhood sweetheart and longtime boyfriend, broke up with her, she’s not feeling the holidays. And she’s certainly not going home to visit her family, given that Oliver’s family lives next door.

Callie’s sister Anita is never one to pass up the chance to meddle. She wants Callie to get her joy and sense of fun back, so she creates an Advent calendar challenge for her. Every other day, she’ll be challenged to do something out of her comfort zone (and she’ll get treats on the alternate dates). The plan is for Callie and Anita to accomplish the challenges as a pair.

On the first day of the challenge, Callie meets Marco, a handsome chef and baker. She’s immediately charmed by him, but her heart is too heavily guarded to think of Marco as anything but a friend. Yet the more time they spend together, the more her feelings start to get muddled. And when he steps in to replace Anita as Callie’s challenge partner, sparks really start flying.

At the same time that Callie is being challenged to recapture her holiday joie de vivre, things at work are becoming more stressful. She’s been able to tolerate still working at the same company as Oliver, but a new supervisor really causes chaos, and refuses to take any responsibility for the tension.

Can Callie and Marco complete the advent calendar challenge with their holiday spirit intact? Can two people who are trying to protect themselves from getting hurt actually let love in? Will Anita stop meddling and let things be?

This was such a fun and sweet read. I loved the whole concept of the book and the terrifically warm characters. And all of the descriptions of desserts made me hungry!! Holly Cassidy is the pen name of Hannah Mary McKinnon, and now I love books written by both.