When Chloë's son, Ruben, sets off for New York on 1st December to spend a whole month with his dad, she thinks there's no point to Christmas without him. Then an heir hunter gets in touch with her about a plot of land in Québec and she decides to go there and take a look at it for herself. When she gets to the small town she learns that its livelihood is the production of maple syrup, using sap tapped from the maple trees in the forest. There's a wonderful cast of characters in this book. The story is told by Chloë and we witness her development from being a stranger in the town to a valued member of the community. There's romance in the form of Theo, a gentle bear of a man, there's friendship with Bea at the local diner, and it was lovely to see how Chloë started to slot in. Jo Thomas never fails to make me feel that I want to visit the location she's writing about. The town of Forêt des Esprits is very cold and yet so homely and welcoming and cosy. As always, there's a foodie element and here it's the maple syrup that is added to everything including pancakes at the diner and the new dishes that Chloë gets to work creating. Thomas is one of my favourite authors and I'd read anything she writes. I devoured this book like a plate of the maple syrup covered pancakes that Chloë serves up and I closed the book with a smile on my face and a tear in my eye. Countdown to Christmas is heartwarming and utterly delightful and it's the perfect read for the festive season.

Blog Tour Review The writing was light yet immersive. Every time I put it down I looked forward to picking it back up again. It was also quite informative. I haven't read about Maple syrup making before so that was something new for me! There were lots of different elements to this story, plus plenty of emotions which together made for a great read. The chapters were fairly long. It meant that you were able to get a good chunk of the story before moving on. I liked the way that some of the chapters were labelled, counting down to Christmas and the return of the main character's son. It kept you on track with what was happening and helped with the flow of the story. You always knew where you were without too much thinking involved! The characters were lovely. I enjoyed reading about the main character and her adventures. It really gave me something to think about. I like that added element to a story, it makes it stay with you. The supporting characters were also interesting and gave the story different layers and something for the reader to again think about. I loved the cooperative village life and how everyone worked together for the survival of the village as a whole. There were some emotional parts to the story which added depth and kept my interest. I wanted to see how everything worked out in the end! I wasn't disappointed. Lastly the settings. I loved being transported to a forest in Canada and learning about traditional village life in the Maple syrup industry. As I mentioned above, I haven't read about it before so it was nice to learn alongside the main character. Overall a fantastic story and one that I highly recommend you read this Christmas!

A wonderful Christmas feel good book! I loved every page of this brilliant book along with the wonderful cast of characters. I could not turn the pages fast enough and felt I was right in the story with them all.

I have seen Jo Thomas’s novels around for a while now and this festive delight is my first read by this author. After having finished it, I know now that it won’t be my last.  Despite the majority of the novel taking place in freezing temperatures in Canada, this book is full of so much warmth and joy that is perfect for Christmas. Perfect for the run up to the festive period. I loved Ruben’s (Chloe’s son) advent calendar and how each entry marked a fun activity for Chloe to do at home in Wales or away in Canada, allowing her to grow and flourish by the end of the novel. Theo is completely lush and the romance between him and Chloe was so lovely to see. 

Chloe is a single mother. Her son Ruben has gone to stay with his father, and his father's new family in New York. It's the first Christmas Chloe has spent without Ruben and all she wants is for it to be over. Then a mysterious heir hunter approaches Chloe, she may have inherited a tract of land in Canada which, if sold, would enable her to buy a home for her and Ruben. So Chloe travels to a small town in Canada, miles away from any cities and is overjoyed to discover that they too seem to be avoiding Christmas this year. The truth is somewhat more prosaic, Bea the owner of the town's café/restaurant is heavily pregnant with twins, since she is the one who organises all the Christmas festivities nothing has been done. Soon, despite her 'Bah Humbug' feelings, Chloe is wooed by the townspeople, she quickly starts to take over Bea's duties in the diner, particularly after she is ordered to go on bed rest until the babies are born, and the townsfolk get invested in her homemade advent calendar which Ruben prepared for her. Chloe discovers that her land is crucial for the own's maple syrup cooperative, without it they wouldn't be able to distill the raw syrup they tap from the trees. But just when it looks like Chloe could be getting her very own Hallmark Christmas it seems that she might not be the only heir - and he has no intention of selling to anyone except the highest bidder. I love a schmaltzy Christmas film/romance as much as the next woman but this just felt too sugary, without enough grit to make it real. All the characters felt like stock romance characters, just there for one-dimensional purposes, including the obligatory grasping ex-wife. I feel blasphemous writing this, but it felt a bit lazy. And the ending ... ridiculous what about red tape? Also the idea that you can chop and change transatlantic flights that close to Christmas is laughable - most flights are sold out months in advance at Christmas. Not one of Jo Thomas' better novels for me. I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.