Cover Image: On the Way to Christmas

On the Way to Christmas

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Member Reviews

A book of three stories bury three different authors all revolving around the theme of Christmas and romance. What is there not to like!?

There is humour, they are short stories with a sweet theme, they are Christmassy and they have a way of making you smile and even feel a little bit excited that Christmas is coming!

It is a delightful and easy read, a feel good group of stories and a bit of fun to read between more intense books. I really enjoyed the pace, the theme and the stories.

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This was a fun way to start Q4 2022, as the stories all take place during late October through Christmas!

I wasn’t super wild about the first novella in the book, but did enjoy seeing the MC change over the course of the story, recognize her flaws and past mistakes, and work toward restitution and living out the changes. Very “Christmas Carol” of her. :)

Melissa Ferguson’s novella was my fave of the three; I’ve read her other books and she continues to shine here. And Amy Clipston’s was fun, too; my first exposure to her contemporary/non-Amish writing.

While the holidays naturally are a primary focus here, I’ll note there isn’t much of a faith element. Which is fine, I had just been looking for it more than was there. So now you know either way!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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What a fun read! Perfect for getting me into the Christmas spirit!

I loved the first story by Shelia Roberts. Darby, a reformed ‘mean girl’ returns to her hometown where people only knew her as ‘mean’. Convincing them otherwise was quite a job! I enjoyed this one so much. The humor and Darby’s ability to laugh at her own expense was great.

The second story by Melinda Ferguson was my favorite. It took place on a Christmas train and was so unique. It played like a movie in my head as I read it. I can see how it could be made into a great Christmas movie.

The last story by Amy Clipson was really sweet and well written but just not as fun as the other two stories.

I would definitely recommend this book. It certainly put me in the Christmas mood, so glad I read it!

Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read this book. The opinions are entirely my own.

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Parts of this definitely help give me the holiday feels I was hoping for. But other parts left me just slightly underwhelmed.

For Libraries: A solid addition to your holiday romance collections.

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On the Way to Christmas - Anthology


I feel that I need to rate each of the novellas separately.

A Christmas Do-Over - 5 Stars
Dashing Through the Snow - 4 Stars
A Perfectly Splendid Christmas - 5 Stars


A Christmas Do-Over
Sheila Roberts

Darby returns home to the small town of Splendid Lake after losing her job in the city. Gregory, her best friend from high school, is single. Darby was a mean girl in high school, but she is trying to change. Has she changed enough to hope for another chance with Gregory? He loves the small town life. Darby loves living in the big city. Can they reach a compromise and be more than friends? This is a 5 star read.


Dashing Through the Snow
Melissa Ferguson

I had a little trouble following the storyline in this one. After being dumped by her boyfriend just before their romantic holiday trip, Willow decides to go alone on a Christmas train that included a senior citizen, a handsome conductor and a helpful elf. 4 stars


A Perfectly Splendid Christmas
Amy Clipston

Kacey loves living in the big city, but returns to the small town where she was raised to help out during a family crisis. She falls in love with her former high school classmate, Drew. He has no plans of leaving his hometown. She wants to return to the city. Is their love strong enough to overcome their differences and plan a life together? Another 5 star read.

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4 star Review On The Way To Christmas
What's not to love? It's the most magical time of the year and also happens to be my most favourite holiday. I love any story that is centred around Christmas; it’s a time for family and friends to get together and celebrate.
This a collection of three short stories that got me in the mood for the holiday seas0n.
A Christmas Do-Over by Sheila Roberts - Fired from her job, Darby has returned home for the holidays, but no one seems excited to see her. It’s an eye opening experience as she begins to realize just how much of a “mean girl” she was when she was younger. This is a story of personal growth and was enjoyable.
Dashing Through the Snow by Melissa Ferguson - Dumped by her long time boyfriend Willow decides to go ahead with her plans to take the two-week train trip they had planned on The Christmas Express alone. Doing so is just what her self esteem needed and with the help of some entertaining characters such as Oliver the conductor, Ian the elf and adventurer Clarence she finally begins to see herself as a woman who deserves happiness. It was a witty and entertaining read.
A Perfectly Splendid Christmas by Amy Clipston - Kacey has returned home to help her sister deal with a crisis. Meeting up again with old friend Drew, the sparks fly. However he loves living in a small town and she loves the city life. Can they compromise and in doing so find happiness?
I received a copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

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What a wonderful collection of stories. All of the novellas are well written and will put you in the Christmas spirit. They are the perfect length to relax with after a long day. I loved this book and highly recommend it.
I received a complimentary copy from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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On the Way to Christmas is three fun and sweet stories about Christmas romance. The first one follows Darby as she tries to become a better person after being a “mean girl” for most of her life. She really wants to be nice, but old habits die hard. When she goes home for Christmas, she may find just what, or who, she needs to help her. The next story is about a Christmas train ride! It made me actually look to see if I can take one. It sounds like so much fun! And in the last story, Kacey discovers that, sometimes, what you’re looking for is right where you left it.
This was a sweet read. I enjoy the short novellas and I am so ready for Christmas! Thanks to the authors and the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Three sweet Christmas novellas in one book. The short stories are clean and wholesome. I would recommend to teenagers and anyone who loves a good Christmas Hallmark movie. One of the authors was new to me, her name is Sheila Roberts. The other two, who I have read and enjoyed before are Melissa Ferguson and Amy Cliptson.
*I was given a copy by Thomas Nelson Publishers and this is my honest opinion.

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On the Way to Christmas contains three contemporary Christmas romances by Sheila Roberts, Melissa Ferguson, and Amy Clipston. These are sweet stories that will get you in the mood for the holidays. I thought all three were well-written with steady pacing. I liked the characters and their stories. Amy Clipston takes us back to Splendid Lake in a Perfectly Splendid Christmas. I enjoyed returning to this charming town for Christmas. Kacey and Drew are getting a second chance, but only if one of them is brave enough to speak up. This was a heartwarming story. Dashing Through the Snow by Melissa Ferguson has Willow embarking on the Christmas Express by herself thanks to her discourteous ex-boyfriend. There is a handsome conductor who just might be the one for Willow. I laughed often while reading Dashing Through the Snow. I enjoyed the humor. I wanted Willow’s elf shoes (they sound shttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4906176575o cute). The ending was delightful. A Christmas Do-Over by Sheila Roberts has Darby returning home for the holidays with her tail between her legs. Darby needs to apologize for her past behavior and prove that she has changed. That old saying that what goes around comes around, well Darby may be in for a big dose of what she used to dish out. These were three lighthearted tales that will get you into the spirit of the season. On the Way to Christmas is a charming collection of Christmas stories with scrumptious cookies, a school choir, an elf ensemble, competitive chess play, a snowball mishap, an ornament accident, and Christmas cheer.

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This is a book that includes three novellas, they all revolve around Christmas and all have a sweet romance involved.

Now this is a Christian Publisher and was expecting more faith based stories, and yes, I did enjoy the book, but this is not a true Christian read, one did mention going to church twice a year.

A Christian Do Over, a sweet read about one of the bad girls and can you go home again? Dashing Through The Snow, a story about a train ride, and loved the name of the father! The third and final A Perfectly Splendid Christmas is a story about seeing what is in front of your eyes! These are three great reads to help get you into the Holiday Spirit!

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Thomas Nelson, and was not required to give a positive review!

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This collection of Christmas stories drew my attention because I loved Melissa Ferguson's previous work and her story, Dashing Through the Snow was my favorite of the three. It was well put together and I loved the characters.

The other two, A Perfectly Splendid Christmas and A Christmas Do Over, while I enjoyed the characters, the writing didn't grab me. I found the stories a bit choppy and dialogue a bit stiff.

Overall, these are three sweet stories about Christmas that will warm the heart and soul.

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Delightful! This Christmas anthology contains three sweet stories that can be enjoyed any time of year. I definitely plan to reread. I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher through Netgalley. This is my honest and voluntarily. given review. The first story by Shelia Roberts is my favourite and is cold story about a former mean girl who is trying to reform. She especially needs to fix relationships with her sister and the boy who used to be her best friend. The second story by Melissa Ferguson was barely nudged out of first place is the story of. a young woman dumped by her. boyfriend that takes her dream vacation on the Christmas train. The last story by Amy Clipton is a wonderful story as well. It's. the story of a big city girl going home to help her sister and reconnecting. with the boy the she always wanted to date in high school. All the stories are sweet and clean.

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A Christmas Do-Over
A former mean girl comes back home for Christmas for the first time in years after she finds herself unemployed. At first the main character is very hard to like, but she becomes more likable as the story goes on. A good story about making amends and finding oneself.
4/5

Dashing Through the Snow
A cute story that takes place on a Christmas train across the US. Willow, who was recently dumped by her longtime boyfriend ends up on the romantic Christmas train alone. Willow ends up with an older gentleman as her seatmate and they quickly become friends. This story makes me really want to take a train ride (although maybe not for two weeks). Highly recommend for a quick Christmas read.
5/5

A Perfectly Splendid Christmas
A second chance romance about missed opportunities. Kacey moves back home to help her sister out with her bakery and keeps running into her high school best friend, Drew. She's always liked Drew and he's always liked her, but they were both too chicken to let the other one know. Will they ever have the guts to let the other one know as they spend more time together?
5/5

A cute collection of Christmas stories that will warm your heart and get you in the Christmas spirit,

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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Three novellas to get one into the Christmas spirit. Loved A Christmas do-over, it’s about a snarky mean girl that has seen the light and comes home to make amends. Love Darby! She tries so hard, but has a long bumpy ride.
The another two stories are new authors for me, typical sweet Christmas romance stories. A nice read to past the time away with a cup of cocoa. Thank you NetGalley for this eARC. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story. #NetGalley #OntheWaytoChristmas

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On the Way to Christmas is a collection of cute short Christmas stories to put you in the mood for the season. A fun, quick read.

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On the Way to Christmas is a book with 3 stories written by Sheila Roberts, Melissa Ferguson, and Amy Clipston. Each story is a sweet romance set at Christmas time.

You’ll enjoy these stories if you like:
🎄Christmas
🎄Holiday romance
🎄Second chances
🎄Redemption
🎄Trains and traveling
🎄Clean romance (no more than kissing)

The formatting in the ebook was distracting, but this is probably because it is an ARC. The publisher logo randomly in the middle of the page over and over again was distracting. The formatting of the text message conversations was hard to follow and know which character was talking.

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3.5 stories

These are three contemporary romance (clean reads) novellas in this charming Christmas-themed collection. Each story can stand alone, as there are no carry over characters, other than the fact that all the stories have relatable and believable characters. The three holiday novellas will help the reader get in the holiday spirit (and it's never too soon for that!). The stories are short and sweet, so they can easily fit into a busy schedule.

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love reading a collection of stories like this one. It is a good way to try a new author. For e this was an extra bonus because I am familiar with and enjoy these three talented writers, Sheila Roberts, Melissa Ferguson and Amy Clipston.
A Christmas Do-Over the first book by Sheila Roberts was a good story how some times you can go back home. Darby gets a second chance to see what type of person she was in high school and college. She encounters her old peeps when she returns home for the holidays. She can not believe how condescending they are to everyone like they are better than everyone else. After this revelation she wants to work hard and change but she has to eat a lot of humble pie.
Melissa Ferguson give us Dashing Through the Snow. Willows boyfriend of seven years has dumped her just before their special two week train trip The Christmas Express. This was a delightful story of an adult version of the Polar Express. Sweet, delightful and fast ride. Loved this story and will read it again and again.
A Perfect Splendid Christmas by Amy Clipston is the third Christmas story. Kacey has always wanted to get away from her small town and move to the big city. She has, but she finds she must return home and help her sister during a family crisis. She runs into her old classmate and best friend Drew. They have unfinished business and it is the perfect time to get some things worked out.
Three great Christmas novels you will love to read.
I thank Thomas Nelson along with NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this delightful book. The opinions in the review are my own

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This was an enjoyable collection of Christmas-themed stories.

I especially enjoyed "Dashing Through the Snow," which was quirky and fun. It felt like a combination of The Polar Express, Elf and Miracle on 34th Street. Very Christmasy, lighthearted and fun with a bit of romance thrown in for good measure.

"A Christmas Do-Over" had a great premise, but it ended a bit too abruptly for me and an important transformation in Darby's life seems to be glossed over too quickly. (Namely, what prompted Darby to quit being a mean girl? I understand that it was prompted by being turned down by someone she was interested in, but most mean girls would have glossed over that. Yet for Darby, it was life-changing, but we don't know why.)

"A Perfectly Splendid Christmas" is a happily-ever-after, second-chance romance that left me content in the end.

Thank you to these wonderful authors as well as Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

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