Member Reviews

First I want to thank Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Audio for providing me a copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This is an audiobook of two novellas, the first is about Willow who gets dumped right before a two week trip on The Christmas Express. Even though the trip is meant for couples, she decides to go alone and has the Christmas experience of a lifetime including getting to know a lovely old man Clarence and his grandson Oliver. The second is a second chance romance where Skye returns to her Virginia tree farm to help out her parents. When she runs into Theo, her lost love and current owner of the farm, she is forced to deal with her feelings for Theo.

What I loved:
- Audiobook quality, I read/listen to audiobooks at around 2X speed and I’m always impressed when the quality of the narration isn’t distorted by the increased speed and this audiobook delivered
- Dual POV/narration, the narration throughout both of these novellas were great they really did a good job with embodying the characters and were enjoyable to listen to
- Novellas, it was so fun to read a book that was two cute short holiday stories in one. I kind of feel like novellas are “cheating” when adding to the read list but having two in one made me feel better about it.
- The Christmas Express, this is a two week train experience that hits all of the best Christmas type places across the country and I with and hope this is real. I would LOVE to do something like this cause it would make my little Hallmark Christmas movies loving heart so happy
- Tractor, after Skye’s father is hurt on the farm Skye needs Theo’s help to finish items before the holiday season and I laughed out loud reading how Theo struggled with the concept of driving a tractor

If you are looking for quick sweet stories with holiday themes I would absolutely recommend you pick this novella series. It was a quick read/listen with high quality narration and overall storytelling.

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I listened to the audiobook, Snowy Serendipity by Melissa Ferguson. It is a short collection of two sweet love stories with no steam. The first is about a woman whose boyfriend of seven years dumps her on the eve of a Christmas train across the country. Her experience on the train solo opened her up to new experiences and better options for her future. The second was about the owner of a Christmas tree farm and the woman who got away years before when he made a horrible mistake. I enjoyed both of these wholesome stories and the narrators did a good job. The entire audiobook was approximately four hours and is a great palate cleanse after a particularly heavy book. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy a clean contemporary romance novel. I am voluntarily submitting this review after listening from an advanced complementary copy of this audiobook thanks to Netgalley, Thomas Nelson Fiction, and Zondervan Audio.

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This audiobook was my attempt to listen to a festive holiday romance on a long wintery drive, but I ended up wishing it was over before I made it halfway through. Although I did power through, hoping the second story would grab my interest more than the first, ultimately this set of novellas didn't work for me. Although I really can't find a lot of negative things to point out, they just didn't have anything exciting or interesting going for them. They were very evenly paced and toned. I found myself hoping for a problem or miscommunication of substance to shake things up. They were just too calm and bland for my taste. The narrator and audiobook quality was fine, and couldn't do anything more to help the story.

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I was lucky to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook via NetGalley. This book has two short seasonal stories that make for quick reads while prepping for the holidays. The first story features Willow, a recently-dumped woman who sets off solo on a festive train ride and interacts with an elf (staff actor), a conductor and a fellow passenger as she gets over her ex and finds a new love connection. This was my favorite of the two stories though it was a bit silly at times and was more of a cast of characters than a believable plot. The second novella was set on a farm and didn’t feel as Christmasy to me- was also pretty forgettable.

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I really enjoyed this 2 part novella! This was my only my second audio to ever listen to and it has the perfect HALLMARK holiday vibes to both storylines.

I throughly enjoyed each story and the characters were very loveable. I would highly recommend for a sweet clean holiday read.

I was give this audio arc by NetGalley in return for my honest review.

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.What a delightful duet of books! The Christmas setting was special, and the tales were filled with interesting twists! The first was a trip on the Christmas Express train, wanting me to be there on that delightful trip! Willow makes the trip alone when her serious boyfriend unexpectedly dumps her, but she finds good company there. The second story finds Skye returning to her home and interacting with her former childhood best friend, Yet there are secrets she does not know. This book could be enjoyed any times of the year, but since it is December, it was the perfect time for me! I really enjoyed it!
I appreciate having an advance copy available to me. The thoughts expressed are my own.

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Two short stories - the first about a girl who had a recent breakup and goes on a holiday train ride alone. On the ride she meets some characters and finds love. The second is winter second chance romance, no Christmas theme. The narration was nice and they were sweet short stories.

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*3.5⭐️
This was a nice, short listen. Both stories were short stories that end in a HEA, feeling like an average Hallmark movie. I’m going to discuss each story individually:

Dashing Through the Snow:
I liked how the story started, wihh the a girl about to go on a journey of self-discovery. I think the things I didn’t like were the fact that she had two different love interest, one of which she spent a lot of time making fun of. I also think this story was too short for two love interests, which left not a lot of time for the full development of the second relationship.

Pining For You:
Initially, I liked this book better than the first. There felt like there was a lot more romance. However, the book became confusing. For a straightforward plot, the book became confusing, since we weren’t fully told things like that here dad farmed his family’s land. We had to slowly piece things like that together, and for a two hour story, it shouldn’t be that complicated. I also thought nothing was resolved from their first relationship. The thing that confused me the most was: WHY WAS THIS SET IN MAY?!? For a CHRISTMAS romance, there needs to be more CHRISTMAS than being set on a Christmas Tree Farm…

I also really liked the narrators. Each narrator made each respective story feel unique.

Overall, these short stories were a little weird and confusing, but made for an easy read.

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If you're looking for cute, cosy, festive-themed reads then look no further! Snowy Serendipity brings you 2 novella's from Ferguson that tick all those boxes. Personally, I loved the "Dashing Through the Snow" storyline - especially as the Willow's heartbreak occured before the story started so you just got to enjoy seeing a selfless and loving character brought back to life by those around her.

"Pining For You" had a bit of a disjointed start for me, and I didn't particularly gel with any of the characters - and therefore didn't really mind what happened to them. It's a classic miscommunication style too, which isn't my favourite trope.

Thank you NetGalley and Melissa Ferguson for a chance to read an ARC of this book.

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Looking for that little dose of Christmas in your day - a novella to listen to while baking cookies, folding laundry or commuting? This audio delivers. It's a combination of two Christmas-themed novellas into one audio - one has a Christmas train setting, the other a Christmas tree farm and both have that distinct Hallmark Christmas romance feeling that can be both heartwarming and fun.

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Thank you Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for sending me a review audiobook copy of this short story collection. All opinions are my own.
Dashing Through the Snow - 4.5 Stars
I loved this short story so much. This follows Willow whose boyfriend dumps her before they go on a Christmas train trip together for two weeks. Determined to make the most of it, Willow decides to go by herself and finds magic along the tracks.
I loved this short story. I thought this was equal parts hilarious and adorable. I absolutely loved the train idea and the fact that this short story just screamed Christmas. I thought that Willow's friendship and relationship that was developed in this book was so well done and this was such a well written and rounded story from beginning to end. This story put me in such a Christmas mood and it made me wish this train was a real thing.
Pining for You - 4 Stars
This short story follows Theo who is a Christmas tree farm owner who finds out that the woman he dated, and might still be in love with, is back in town. Now he's determined to prove to Skye that he has changed.
I thought this story wasn't as strong as the first one but that simply might be because the author was trying to do a bit too much in one story. There was really one storyline I cared about which was Skye and Theo's relationship but I feel like this tried to focus on that, Skye's art career and Skye's dad's problem more than just focusing on one thing. Too many things were shoved into this story that needed resolving and while I think Melissa did a fantastic job wrapping this story up, I would have liked to see this be a full length book so all those storylines could be in there.
Overall, I thought this was such a sweet and fast short story collection to listen to. I listened to it over the course of two days and really enjoyed my time with it. If the premise of this sounds interesting, I highly recommend picking it up.

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This audiobook is a collection of two novellas, Dashing Through the Snow and Pining For You.

I enjoyed Dashing Through the Snow! A two week train ride on The Christmas Express sounds like an amazing experience!

Pining For You was a bit boring for me and I did not enjoy it as much.

The narrators for both novella were fantastic and really brought the stories together.

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This was such a sweet and cozy little novella. It has all the Hallmark vibes you want this time of year! My only complaint is that I wanted more! I would have loved these to be full length! I enjoyed the characters so much!!

Thank you for my audiobook! I loved the narrator!

Read/Listen if you love:
❄️Second-chance love
❄️Found family
❄️Christmas tree farm
❄️Christmas train (very Polar Express-like)
❄️Short-form stories
❄️Available in Digital and Audio

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Snowy Serendipity is two Christmas novellas in one and I really enjoyed these festive and quick stories. 'Dashing Through the Snow' was my favorite. It was the cutest Christmas train romance story. It was adorable and put me in the holiday mood. The second story, 'Pining for You' was harder to get into. Probably because I enjoyed the first so much.

The narrators were great and I loved the cozy Christmas feelings these stories gave. It would be perfect to listen to next the fire with a cup of hot cocoa.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

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What a joyful treat this 2 novella collection was! I really enjoyed Famous for a Living earlier this year., so when I saw Ferguson had this available for Christmas reading season, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. I’m going to do a mini review for each novella below.

Dashing Through the Snow: I ADORED this cozy train setting! A two week holiday getaway on the Christmas Express sounds beyond ideal! Unfortunately Willow must embark on this romantic getaway alone after her boyfriend breaks up with her, but in a serendipitous turn of events, the man of her dreams happens to own and conduct the train! I had a bit of a hard time connecting with this audiobook narrator but that didn’t completely deter me from loving Willow and Oliver’s sweet holiday romance! (4 stars)

Pining for You: This was everything I needed in a holiday romance novella! I really fell for the small town, Christmas tree farm setting. Skye and Theo are childhood friends turned lovers with a fall out that turns into 14 years of not speaking, so when they get their second chance romance, I was positively swooning! I also really enjoyed this narrator in particular! I just adored everything about this heartwarming story and highly recommend! (4 stars)

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson publishing for this #gifted audiobook!

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Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook
two short stories in one, both have winter vibes not so much Christmas but still loved them
“Dashing Through the Snow” cross country couple trip turned solo trip which turned into new opportunities not just in love.
"Pining for you" second chance romance / rekindling a lost love,
I really loved both stories it was a quick listen but worth it and of course as a peloton fan loved the nod to them.

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These are delightful stories! Heartwarming and funny. Perfect to get you in the cozy holiday mood.

The audiobook production was well done - I highly recommend.
Thank you @tnzfiction and @tlcbooktours for the gifted audiobook.

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Bestselling author Melissa Ferguson offers up the gift of cozy joy and the grace of second chances in two sweet novellas for the holiday season.

𝘿𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙣𝙤𝙬 (also in 𝙊𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙨)

Dashing through the snow will give you cheesy Hallmark Polar Express vibes. Which I personally love, however, this one was just a tad off for me. It was hard to wrap my head around a woman falling in love with an elf who had very eccentric hobbies, cringe.

𝙋𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 (also in 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙)

As another reviewer stated, Pining for You is a complete 180 from the first story in this set. While taking place on a Christmas tree farm, it doesn’t have anything to do with Christmas. This story has heavy topics: gambling addiction, poverty, and cheating. I wouldn’t recommend this as a cheery Christmas read.

These two stories might work separately, but they didn’t work for me together.

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This book consists of two, unrelated novellas. I love holiday novellas and I did enjoy an other book by Melissa Ferguson, “Famous For a Living”. I thought this one would be perfect for the holiday season. Sadly, I only connected to the first of the two.

🚂𝗗𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗻𝗼𝘄: ✰✰✰✰

Willow gets dumped by her boyfriend right before they are to take a romantic, Christmas getaway on a polar-express like train. Despite her broken heart, she decides to take the trip alone.

The vibes of this one sold it for me. If you like The Polar Express, I believe you might love this one! This one exuded all the Christmas vibes and left me with a warm, content heart.

The characters were cute and quirky. The one thing that did confuse me is that Ferguson decided to kind of throw in a little love triangle aspect. Personally, I don’t think this novella was lengthy enough to develop both love interests well. That aside, this novella gave me all the good vibes and told a cute story. I would love to see this one as a full length novel.

🎄𝗣𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂: ✰✰

Theo is a top-notch rich guy who decides to go back to his roots and help his family with their Christmas Tree farm. Skye’s dad works for the farm and moved back to the farmlands to help out her family. The issue is that Theo and Skye were once an item. Will they heal their romantic wounds from the past?

If I didn’t already know this was a holiday novella, I would have never known. This one was not “in your face Christmas” like the first. I didn’t get those Christmas vibes at all.

Skye and Theo did not have much of a romantic connection. I feel like their chemistry died a long time ago. I also don’t enjoy books in which the MMC is in a relationship prior to reuniting/uniting with the FMC. Theo had a whole girlfriend! This boarders too close to cheating (with feelings only since these books are closed door) for me. Having feelings for someone else while in a relationship is still cheating imo. This left me with a sour feeling in my stomach.

Overall rating of Snowy Serendipity: ✰✰✰

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Unfortunately did not finish book #1 did not like the narrator. But i did find myself laughing a couple of times therefore i might need to read the books to give an honest review of the context.

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