A great way to celebrate the holiday season is to read the two cute novellas in this book. Both are short and sweet and leave you with a smile.

The first story, Dashing Through the Snow, had a Polar Express vibe that made me want to get a hot cup of cocoa and settle in for a joyful holiday story. Willow was an easy character to like and hope she finds her magical happy ending. The setting of a train was whimsical and was the perfect journey for Willow to go on to find a new romantic start in her life.

The second story, Pining for You, was a sweet second chance romance. Theo and Skye were high school sweethearts but have not been in contact for many years. Now that Skye came home to be closer to her parents, she and Theo are being put into situations together that give them a chance to get reacquainted. The setting of a tree farm gives a fun holiday place that was easy to envision.

This is a wonderful audiobook that was superbly narrated and is just the right length to listen to in one day. A great book to listen to while decorating or to just give you warm feelings on a cold snowy day.

I am extremely grateful to Thomas Nelson, Zondervan Audio and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to an audiobook collection of these cheerful and heartwarming novellas in exchange for an honest review.

Snowy Serendipity by Melissa Ferguson
Narrated by Talon David & Kayla Jackson
Publisher: Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Audio, Thomas Nelson Fiction
Genre: Novellas & Short Stories | Romance | Women's Fiction
Published: September 26, 2023

Snowy Serendipity is a standalone novella by Melissa Ferguson. It contains two short holiday stories that were wonderful. This is a quick read (or listen) that is sure to make your holidays bright!

I loved the narration by Talon David & Kayla Jackson.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Did not realize this was two books at first. Really enjoyed the first book. A fun lighthearted holiday read. Second one was good but I enjoyed the first one more. Both very quick reads. Almost wish the first one was longer!

In this heartwarming collection, Ferguson brings us the gift this holiday of cozy joy in two (2) cheerful novellas.

* Perfect for lovers of sweet happily-ever-afters
* 🎧 4h 47 min

These whimsical Christmas stories were perfect to ring in snow flurries, winter coats and hot cocoa. The narrators simply brought the season alive in their respective reading of each novella.

What a sweet little find perfect for an afternoon of holiday romance magic. Broken into two separate novellas that completely embody the magic feeling and optimism of the holiday season.

Two quick reads. The firat, Dashing Through the Snow, was sweet and enjoyable. I liked hat it took place on a train but also that it wasn't all pure love story. The second, Pining For You, was kind of boring and just wanted it to end. There was, I felt, no chemistry between the main characters.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

If you like Hallmark Christmas movies, you'll likely enjoy these two short Christmas stories.

There's two stories - Dashing Through the Snow & Pining for You and my favourite of the two is the first one.

Dashing Through the Snow is set on a train and I've never travelled by train, so in my mind, it's terribly romantic. When I compare these to Hallmark Christmas movies, this is honestly something I could see playing on Hallmark in December.

The second story was a cute read, but, in my opinion, not quite as good as the first one.

These two stories really didn't work for me.

The first story simply spanned too much time to work as a novella. I think it would have been really cute as a full novel, and I very much would have enjoyed it. But so few page numbers (or minutes) does not work for a story that spans 2 weeks.

For the second story, the narration ruined it for me. This story was dual POV, but only a single, female narrator. No problem, except that the female narrator did not make any voice distinction or change when she was narrating for the male character. This made it very confusing to listen to. These two characters dated previously, years ago, but there were times when listening when I thought, "Wait, are they brother and sister?" Not a good experience.

Two incredible gems full of unique characters and scenarios. The first was a cozy romance that captures the magic on a Christmas Express train full of fun activities and elves.
The second is a girl who can work on a tractor with a wealthy fellow who is afraid of spiders. I love that she includes the male POV in the second story. Author Melissa breathed life into these full-of-humor Christmas novellas. I can't say enough about them.

well this was a miss for me. The first story, i was expecting some sweet hallmark story but it was just down right creepy and the second had potential but then the execution was just not it and ended too quickly. i feel like if it was a full novella Ferguson could have fleshed it out and it would have been good. this book was just not for me.

2 short novelas. First is a story on Chrustmas Express what is meant to happen will happen. Including break up or hook up. Second story is about boy giing so far to get a notice by a girl.

Dashing Through The Snow
- 5/5
- A very short, cute, and sweet Christmas romance that holds all the magic of the full length novels but none of the drawn out plot.

Pining For You
- DNF/5
- Sorry I just can't do novella that don't hook me quickly especially not Holiday Romances.

What better way to get into the season. This was indeed a cheerful and heartwarming stories. A very quick and light read.
Though I was not really blown away, it was still okay.
My favorite story was Dashing through the snow.

Thank you NetGalley & Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Audio for this Audiobook.

I loved the narrator for Pinning for You more than Dashing Through the Snow. Kayla Jackson’s did a fantastic job, her tone really brought the story together better.

~Dashing Through the Snow
A cute, simple Insta-love story Christmas story. This novella really gives off the Polar Express romance vibes! I really enjoyed it minus the narrator’s voice for some characters lol. The elf was creepy.


~Pining for You
I didn’t love this story. Theo just rubbed me the wrong way, I’m glad his character developed more at the end, but boy did it feel like it took forever. I really feel like this novella could have been better as a full book. It seems to have a lot of missing pieces and rushed.
Recommended to anyone that loves Christmas Hallmark movies!

I have enjoyed all of her books so I was excited for these three novellas. All of them were great holiday reads. I love a good romcom and during Christmas is perfect.

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.
I have read a handful of Mellissa Ferguson books, and I find they are hit or miss. Some I enjoy, and others are pretty low star ratings for me. This Christmas novella was a miss for me. I couldn't connect with Willow. She felt desperate for a relationship and was not very likable. It was also too insta-love for me.

Pining for You ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Christmas tree farm owner Theo Watkins III has the opportunity to drop everything for one weekend to play farmer in a cozy Virginia mountain town and potentially win back the heart of his childhood best friend, Skye Fuller There’s just one problem: he’s the kind of man who drives a Tesla, not a tractor.
This novella was much better. I'm a sucker for second chance romance ♥️ I also loved the setting of this story. Something about a tree farm just puts you in the Christmas spirit. Although this was a short story, it was a cute one!

Narration: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The narrator did a fantastic job and was very enjoyable. I felt she did a great job at bringing the stories and characters to life.

Thank you, #NetGalley and Thomas Nelson, for the opportunity to listen and review this advanced copy.

Book Review❄️
*
Tis the season for my mostly thriller horror content to switch to holiday romances 😂
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Summary: Dashing Through the Snow (also in On the Way to Christmas)

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.

Pining for You (also in This Time Around)

Christmas tree farm owner Theo Watkins III has the opportunity to drop everything for one weekend to play farmer in a cozy Virginia mountain town and potentially win back the heart of his childhood best friend, Skye Fuller. There’s just one problem: he’s the kind of man who drives a Tesla, not a tractor.
*
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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My thoughts: thank you so much @netgalley and @harpercollins for the advanced audio book copy of this sweet holiday romance. I absolutely loved the first story, dashing through the snow was a fun holiday train ride with a really lovable protagonist. Her love interest was swoony and the narrator was just fantastic. The second story Pining for You was good but not as heartwarming. I really found I couldn’t connect with Theo I thought he was just kind of awful and annoying. The female lead was really lovely. Overall a fun quick holiday read. Lots of fun romance and adventures!
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QOTD- how was your holiday weekend ?! Did you do anything fun?!
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Thank you Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Audio for the ARC. Snowy Serendipity was a little too cheesy and hallmarky for my taste in Holiday Romances.

Thank you for this book and exchange for my honest review.
I had high hopes for this book based on its cover. Unfortunately, I struggled to get into the plot of the story. It just did not capture my interest.

I absolutely loved the first book on this audio! It was such a cute, quirky, and fun Christmas romance! After finishing that one I had high hopes for the second book, but unfortunately that one fell flat for me. It seemed rushed and a bit unrealistic to me — not that the first book was realistic, but since the second one is set in a normal setting, the big gestures just seemed even more far fetched to me. The change in narrators could have also made a difference. My enjoyment level was so different from the first book I even checked to make sure it was by the same author.