Skip to main content

Countdown to Christmas book review



 Countdown to Christmas by Jo Thomas is a 2023 Christmas release. I don’t think I have read a Jo Thomas Christmas book before now but I do have another on my TBR that I am now very excited to get to. I found the premise of this book really interesting but didn’t have super high hopes but I loved it and gave it an easy 4.5 stars. 

Countdown to Christmas follows Chloe whose son, Ruben, is spending Christmas away with his dad and is just ready for the season to be over and for him to be back. Then she gets a call to say she has inherited land in Canada so she makes the decision to go to Canada and see what it’s all about. 

I am a massive fan of festive romance books and this followed the structure you’d expect but wasn’t completely predictable and still let you not know exactly what was going to happen. There is a certain type of comfort that comes with these books and the reason why I read so many each year. The vibes are cosy, there are great characters and some great bonding. Also, the small town feels are fantastic. 

If you couldn’t already tell, I really loved this book but I did have some favourite things that stuck out to me. Quite a few of these things are associated with specific scenes so I won’t go into too much detail not to spoil it but I still need to talk about them. The change in Chloe between when she arrives at the town and the end of the book is massive and really positive. There are certain scenes where you can see those changes and while it means things don’t quite always go as she wishes she would she is so kind to everyone and I don’t quite know the words for what I’m trying to say but there’s a scene that comes to mind when she just wants to make sure no one gets hurt, no matter who it is. 

I loved the romance and while there was kind of a third act break-up there wasn’t any big miscommunication which I was so thankful for. Both characters in the relationship understood the situation and that it may not last forever but didn’t expect them to sacrifice their lives for each other which I was thankful for because they weren’t pushing in ways that hurt the other. The ending was perfect for every single character - no one was left behind and not fully included in the ending. 

The friendships that were built because of how small the town was were fantastic and I loved every character from the town, the ones who didn’t live in the town maybe not so much. Bea, Theo and Chloe are now some of my favourite festive book characters and the opinion of the advent calendar in the town was fantastic. Everyone was involved and it kept them going in a fantastic way. 

I will definitely be adding this to my list of go to Christmas recommendations and I highly recommend picking it up as we go into December over the next week.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Match book review

  Back in April I was recommended my first Sarah Adams book and really enjoyed it however it wasn’t my favourite type of romance book so when I saw this one had been rereleased and was 99p on Kindle I knew that I needed to read it.  The Match follows Evie who works for a company that trains service dogs to help people with all sorts of disabilities after her life was changed when she got a service dog to help with her epilepsy and when she meets Jacob when trying to convince him how much a service dog would help his daughter she begins to fall for him and his small family.  This was such a light brilliant romance that I just wanted to read and continue to be immersed in the story for as long as I could. I loved all of our major characters particularly Evie, Jacob and Sam (Jacob's daughter). Sam just added the best things to the story and the romance going on between Evie and Jacob. She was also a brilliant character on her own that you really felt for and you just underst...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Mistletoe Motive book review

  I discovered Chloe Liese for the first time this year and have since May read her entire backlist and loved all of them. The Mistletoe Motive was no exception to this and another one I read within 24 hours.  Over the course of The Mistletoe Motive we get to know Gabrielle and Jonathan who have worked together at Bailey’s Bookshop for about a year but don’t find themselves getting along. They have recently learned that the bookshop is at risk of closing though and set a challenge of whoever sells the least books in December has to resign and through this challenge Gabrielle meets a new side of Jonathan that she didn’t expect.  This is a novella of under 200 pages so while going in I knew I love Chloe Liese as an author I wasn’t sure what I would think of it with it being so short and having less time with the characters. However I was not at all let down by this book and absolutely loved reading it.  Gabrielle was a character I connected to from early on in the stor...
Post a Comment
Read more

It Only Happens in the Movies book review

  I have previously loved Holly Bourne books but found that I wasn’t the biggest fan of the one I read in 2024 so was a bit anxious going into It Only Happens in the Movies however I had no need for that anxiety because this book was exactly what I wanted and more.  It Only Happens in the Movies follows Audrey who is over romance after her parents divorce that has left her stuck in the middle, a tough break up and teenage friendship struggles. When she starts a new job and meets Harry, Audrey tries to stay away however she can’t help falling for him even if she knows she shouldn’t.  When I first started I was unsure about the book with the elements of romance however I was pleasantly surprised. Holly Bourne built up a character who I understood and felt relatable. The book had the expected message present in almost all Holly Bourne books which made the story more impactful and me wanting to keep reading to see how things worked out.  All the characters were well-deve...
Post a Comment
Read more