Countdown to Christmas by Jo Thomas

Chloe can't wait for Christmas . . . to be over! Her son Ruben is staying with his dad and Chloe is planning to ignore the holidays altogether. Her only festive touch is her son's advent calendar, to help count down the days till he's home again.

But a surprise call changes everything. Chloe might be the unexpected owner of some land in Canada! Surely, it's a scam. Or could it be just the escape she needs right now? Ruben's latest note in the advent calendar tells her to 'say yes!'

In a flash, Chloe's new countdown to Christmas involves a log cabin in the middle of a snowy forest, a community that's worried for its future, a gruff lumberjack who gives her butterflies and a lot of pancakes with maple syrup . . .

I do love books written by Jo Thomas as she really does have such a beautiful creative writing style with the ability to really bring the characters to life and the settings feel so vivid and her new release Countdown to Christmas is no exception.

Chloe’s Son Ruben is spending his first Christmas with his dad she wants to erase Christmas this year altogether. When a surprising phone call offers not only an opportunity to get away from it all but also a possibility of changing her and Ruben’s life for the better she takes the plunge and travels to Canada.

If like me you get to December and are still lacking in Christmas spirit and you turn to books to ignite that spark then let me save you the time of hunting through all of this years offerings and tell you this is 100% the book you need to read that will kick off that warm festive feeling. This isn’t one of those books we see every year with Christmas in the title and yet the book only containing a brief sprinkling of festivity, oh no, this is Christmas in its biggest and yet most natural and purest form. Set in the most idyllic location with its snowy backdrop and a small welcoming community. We join Chloe as she helps save the Winter traditions that this village usually creates. 

There has clearly been a lot of research into the process of tapping the trees for the production on maple syrup I almost feel like I could do it myself after reading this book! Maple Syrup is flowing through this book and it is the heart of this community too. As I have come to expect from a Jo Thomas book, there are so many delicious treats that are baked and they all contain the golden sugary treat. I sat reading this yesterday morning salivating at the maple syrup pancakes and finding myself with an overbearing craving! How does she do this to me every time!

Community spirit is a large part of this book and this little village and its occupants all lured me in and made this feel like the most welcoming and supportive place to live, I wanted to pack up my case and uproot right away! 

This was one of the most exciting Christmas books I have read in years it made feel like a child again, all warm and fuzzy with the magic of Christmas all ignited again after skiing away with Chloe to cut down a Christmas Tree, singing Christmas carols at the fair and opening advent calendars with the exciting anticipation if what is inside. This was such an atmospheric read and I can honestly say I feel as if I have been there to experience it all myself it really was so well written.

Ok so the ending is a little fairytale like and far fetched but do you know what I wouldn’t have wanted it to end any other way. This book has put the biggest smile on my face and has made me a little excited for Christmas this year which I haven't felt in a few years.