I’ve loved a number of books by Jo Thomas. Not only does she write gorgeous stories with wonderful characters, but she takes her readers on a taste sensation. Always packed full of delicious food, her books even have a few recipes amongst the pages. As this blog is all about escaping into a book, I have enjoyed travelling with Jo’s stories. If you’d like to read a couple of my previous reviews, you can follow these links: Celebrations at the Chateau and Summer at the Ice Cream Café.
I received a digital advance reading copy of this book from Penguin Random House, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review. You can read my thoughts below.
Synopsis
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 . . .
Review
Having previously lived in a Colorado ski resort, this book genuinely resonated with me. I understand and thoroughly enjoy small-town stories, but this town was exceptionally small. That said, it didn’t detract from the story, at all. Jo worked her magic to create a very special community, packed with an ensemble cast, comprised of some of the most relatable characters.
Chloe’s passage through the story is really rather special, and I loved the running theme created by the Advent Calendar created by her son, Ruben. Each day creates another challenge for her to rise to and some of them are quite simply guidance for a happy life.
The way in which Chloe was influenced by the change of pace created by life in Canada, gave me a wonderful feeling of warmth and joy. As she found her place within the small community and met some of the locals, I found myself fully invested in her journey and was hoping against hope for her to discover the joy that her life had been missing.
This is a very special story that made me reminisce about my time in Colorado. I was left feeling filled with the warmth of the festive season and wishing I could find an ice hockey game locally.
If you can still squeeze in another Christmas book, you won’t be sorry for choosing this one.
Author Bio
Jo Thomas worked for many years as a reporter and producer, including time at Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Radio 2’s The Steve Wright Show. Jo’s debut novel, The Oyster Catcher, was a runaway bestseller and won both the RNA Joan Hessayon Award and the Festival of Romance Best eBook Award. Her recent book, Escape to the French Farmhouse, was a #1 bestselling eBook and in every one of her novels Jo loves to explore new countries and discover the food produced there, both of which she thoroughly enjoys researching. Jo lives in Pembrokeshire with her husband and three children, where cooking and gathering around the kitchen table are a hugely important and fun part of their family life.
Social Media Links
Book Escapes with BabsW67 
One thought on “Review – Countdown to Christmas by Jo Thomas @jo_thomas01 @penguinrandom #ARCReview #ChristmasBook #CountdownToChristmas”