Very cute Christmas short stories. Definitely gives off the Hallmark vibes, but I just wasn't into it. First story is too insta-love and second I was just not into it. At least the second book wanted to tackled a couple of things but since it was a short story, I guess she didn't have time to develop it.

Thank you NetGalley for the audio-arc version of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

𝙎𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙮 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙗𝙮 𝙈𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙖 𝙁𝙪𝙧𝙜𝙪𝙨𝙤𝙣

This was a well done audiobook! The voice actors were great!

𝔻𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕋𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕟𝕠𝕨 🚂

Willow has just recently been abandoned by her boyfriend of 5 years for a woman he just met. She decides to go on a trip they planned together anyways. The trip is a 2 week train ride through beautiful scenery and Christmasy excursions and activities. Along the way she meets the train owner’s son and develops a friendship with both son and father. This story was really cute! I loved Willow’s relationship with Clarence, it was truly heartwarming. As a novella the story unfolds very quickly. Even with how quickly the story moves, I could definitely see the love between the characters! The one horse open slay was so cute!
Rating: 4⭐️

ℙ𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝔽𝕠𝕣 𝕐𝕠𝕦 🌲

Theo’s family owns a Christmas tree farm run and operated by Sky’s family. Theo and Sky were childhood loves until Theo and her drifted apart after an incident. Recently sky discovered that her father’s paychecks are hardly what would be considered a living wage. Knowing Theo is more than financially capable of properly paying her father, Sky begins to harbor a lot of animosity towards him. I did not enjoy Theo, his words and his actions did not match up. I do not appreciate the cheating trope. As a second change romance, I don’t understand how he can be in a happy relationship and just drop that individual after running into a childhood flame for 2 days.
Rating: 2⭐️

Two cute and sweet holiday novellas, easy to listen to and a good way to enjoy the holiday season. If you enjoy the Hallmark movie vibe then these are for you.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me an early read of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own, I do not accept money for reviews.

This was a cute, wintery, Christmas time read. I listened to the audiobook for these two stories, they were way to listen to, it was easy to zone out during, but the stories were sweet.

Of the two stories, I would say only the first one, Dashing Through the Snow, is a Christmas time story. I think in the second one, Pining for You, is just set in December, I didn’t remember any mention of anything Christmas other than just there’s seasonal help on a Christmas tree farm.

I don’t have anything profound to say on either story, but I do recommend these for getting in the Christmas time feels.

I really enjoyed the first story in this collection, but the second story was quite boring unfortunately (maybe I'm not a huge fan of second-chance romance).

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for an advanced listener copy (audiobook) in exchange for my honest opinion.

A collection of a two short stories. Holiday in theme. I enjoyed the first story the most. Holiday train, quirky characters, unexpected meet cute. Stories are short and sweet. They definitely could be expanded into a full novel. If you are looking for a few quick reads this collection is perfect to add to your TBR during the holidays.

These were my first Melissa Ferguson stories, and I am not mad to have experienced them.

Dashing Through the Snow was everything you want in a holiday romance.
A holiday themed romantic hotel on a train?
Sounds adorable.
Add in heartbreak, cuties on the train, a sweet old man who likes chess, some hilarity and a lot of fabulous writing and we have a winner! It really had all the feels you could want🥰

Pining for You was good, but not as good as the first story. Nothing overtly wrong with it, just struggled as an encore. Still a cute small town romance, I would just suggest reading it first instead🤷‍♀️
The narration for these was absolutely fantastic and I will definitely be looking for more from Talon David and Kayla Jackson, hopefully in cahoots with Melissa Ferguson.
Much love to NetGalley & Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Audio for my ALC.

Dashing Through the Snow

When Willow’s boyfriend of seven years dumps her on the eve of a romantic getaway, she decides to take the two-week train trip on The Christmas Express alone. Hurt as she feels, she can’t anticipate how the hilarious rebound ride with conductor Oliver, elf Ian, and aging world adventurer Clarence will heal her heart—and renew her sense of worth and holiday wonder.

Pining for You

Pining for You is a second Chance story involving Skye Fuller and Theo Watkins. When Skye’s dad Ralph, manager of Evergreen Farms Christmas tree farm, is injured as the tractor rolls on him, Theo returns to the farm, seeing Skye for the first time in almost 15 years. When the two went their separate ways it was not on a friendly basis and when they see each other again the same hard feelings seem to have remained. As Skye and Theo work together to put in the new evergreen seedlings, old times and old feelings arise and set about an unexpected series of events.

These are both fun holiday novellas just right for this time of year! I did enjoy them and do recommend them both.

Cute Christmas novellas. I liked the first one more than the second. Thank you UpLit Reads for providing an ALC through NetGalley

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Read if you like:
Sweet romance
Christmas romance

Perfect read to get you into the Christmas spirit. Book One was by far my favorite the story like and characters were wonderful and I couldn't help but cheer when the ex was pummeled with snow ball !

Esse foi meu segundo contato com a escrita de Melissa, e já em um outro formato, de áudio, que por si só foi uma experiência bacana, mas infelizmente, no todo, o livro ainda foi uma leitura bem maçante e distante. Por vezes até confusa.

Não vou falar muito das histórias em si porque são dois contos/noveletas, mas fica aqui minha decepção com a falta de envolvimento que tive com eles. A primeira história, centrada num trem, até que foi tranquila, quase me apeguei aos personagens, e curti a breve abordagem de cardápio alimentar adaptado para quem tem restrições, alergias e afins. A segunda, por outro lado, foi ainda mais distante pra mim, e ainda que eu tenha entendido um ou outro ponto dos personagens no final, ainda foi meio vaga demais.

Mas o problema maior mesmo é o romance. A proposta do livro é ser uma leitura leve e fofa mas, infelizmente, os casais do livro não me convenceram à esse ponto, principalmente no segundo conto, em que tudo pareceu até meio forçado. No primeiro ainda deu pra curtir eles individualmente, mas no segundo os protagonistas me deram sono. Fora que a narração, em especial nesse segundo, me confundiu um pouco no início, por usar a mesma narradora, feminina, para os pontos de vista tanto da Skye quanto do Theo.

Uma decepção literária, é o veredito final. Talvez, possa funcionar melhor por escrita mesmo, ainda que eu já tenha aproveitado muito outros audiobooks antes desse, mas acontecem exceções, fazer o que?

Two really cute stories that are perfect for any time of year. If you enjoy a clean romance with a little eye roll, these are for you!

This is my second read by Melissa Ferguson (FAMOUS FOR A LIVING) and this novella was really cute and a nice little intro to the holiday season. I know were still deep into spooky season, but this was gifted to me by NetGalley and I had to read it ASAP.

So this novella has two stories: Dashing Through the Snow and Pining for You. I absolutely LOVED DTTS. It was Christmas-ey and fun and really creative and original. If this was the only story in this novella, I’d have given this novella 5 stars. It was perfect and actually got me excited for the holiday season (YES! before Spooky Season is even over! I know. Shocking!)

The second story was not as fulfilling for me. The biggest issue for me wasn’t even the story itself but that the “snow theme” was not very present; at least not enough for me to feel like “Snowy Serendipity” to be a valid title. Overall I would have given this a 3 star.

Finally, I just wanted to note that this was gifted to my as an audiobook, and I did not enjoy the narrator at all. It felt super flat and often times I would have to go back and relisten to entire chapters because their voice was so blah that I would loose focus on the story.

Overall good read if youre looking for something light for the holiday season, but i do not recommend the audiobook.

This is a duet of Christmas novellas. The first one was cheesy but cute. However, I DNFed on the second story. It opens with a man contemplating proposing to his current girlfriend, who then rushes to the aid of his first loves family at the farm he owns. I decided to abandon ship when we learned that this guy is not even paying her family a living wage. Naw, I can't fucks with greedy, asshole bosses

Two cozy novellas make for one delightful afternoon filled with holiday charm.

In Dashing Through the Snow, we find recently dumped Willow embarking on a two-week train trip on The Christmas Express. Along the journey, we meet a sweet cast of characters that make for a fun holiday listen that had me longing for a little train adventure myself!

The other novella, Pining For You, features a second-chance love story between Sky and Theo on the family Christmas tree farm after miscommunications and missteps led them astray.

This was a charming, light-hearted listen that got me in the spirit to deck the halls for the holidays – and it’s only October!

Thank you to Melissa Ferguson, Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Audio, and NetGalley for the advance audiobook for an honest review.

Two cozy novellas to take you into the holiday spirit!

These were both quick and light holiday reads. The first novella, Dashing Through The Snow, finds Willow, recently dumped by her boyfriend, left to embark on a two week train trip on The Christmas Express alone. The characters were relatable and loveable. There was enough Christmas fun and romance to make you want to hop on The Christmas Express yourself! 4 stars.

Pining For You didn't hit the mark for me. I found the characters hard to relate to and connect with. There was less Christmas vibes in this one, but still a cute second chance romance. 2.5 stars.

Thank you Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Audio, as well as NetGalley for this advance audiobook for my honest review.

I was only able to get to 8% as it continued to crash each time restarting it. I restarted my system and it did nothing to help out I would love to try again when the systems are fixed and it can play continuously

Edit***** I was able to listen with no issues and book 1 was fantastic should have left it there not included book 2. The narrator was flat and uninteresting to listen to. Would have liked book 1 expanded a bit as it was done so well. Hope a full book comes from teaser of book 1.

The audiobook of Snowy Serendipity is comprised of two novellas, in total 4 hour 47 minutes.

Sometimes you just need a bit of Christmas. In the first novella, we are immersed in Christmas spirit on a cross-country Christmas train ride. The protagonist was to go with her boyfriend, but she went solo.

In the second novella, there is a Christmas tree farm and the owners daughter comes back home where to run in with her ex-boyfriend from her youth.

I did like one novella quite a bit more than the other.

Nice and Christmas-y, around 3 1/2 stars. Rounding up.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the advance listen copy of Snowy Serendipity in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Audio for approving my NetGalley request.

The snow is falling softly; the kids are snug in their beds; there are dishes to wash and laundry to fold. Who wouldn’t enjoy a fun sweet Christmas romance to listen to as you deck the halls…or just clean them?
If you’re someone who enjoys those lighthearted and serendipitous (albeit predictable) holiday movies, these two short stories will be right up your alley! Leave reality behind for a bit and climb aboard the sleigh destined for charm, a bit of wit, and happy endings.

Story 1 Dashing Through the Snow
Definitely the WAY more Christmassy of the two, this story features a jilted lead character, a supportive best friend, an elderly “Santa-like” character, and a family-business-running male lead. Cocoa, cookies, and Christmas activities abound as the two quickly fall in love.

Story 2 Pining for You
Think less Christmassy and more mountainside forest-y, this story features a second-chance long-lost love story between two people who have the chance to try again - if they can communicate truthfully to make it happen.

Clean (no language or sex).
No faith elements.

These were two cute holiday stories. I enjoyed the first one much more - the story of a woman who was recently dumped but still went on the trip planned by her ex. The trip was a Christmas Express train where she met such a wonderful cast of characters. The second story was the story of a man who had a chance to drop everything for one weekend to return home to his family farm and woo his childhood best friend. Both were sweet and cozy happily ever afters.