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.

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: ✰✰✰

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.

Two books in one?! Count me in!

Both of these stories were cute, cozy, and very festive! It was the perfect little treat for this time of year. It was a bit too cheesy for my liking, but entertaining none the less.

This book includes two novellas, a fact which I wasn’t aware of until after I started reading. The cover should have some indication of this. Cute, sweet stories, not a whole lot of depth. I enjoyed the second story much more than the first.

Two cute short stories to get you in the holiday spirit. They are definitely predictable but I still enjoyed them. I felt like the first one ended so quickly and abruptly. I was enjoying it so much and then it was just over., but they were still fun to read.

Thank you NetGalley and Melissa Ferguson for the ARC of Snowy Serendipity (audio).

The first thing I have to get off my chest here is....

Why wasn't this entire book just about the first story????? This was a STRONG 4 star read for me in the first half, with the literal ONLY thing keeping it from being 5 stars was that I wanted it to be longer to get more of the love story and watch the two main characters fall in love. Instead, we got this truly devastating second story that was a 2 star at best.

The first story was a festive, polar-express vibe with a love story sprinkled in and a woman on her journey to realizing she deserves better for herself. It gave alllll the best Christmas vibes and was just overall a fun happily ever after with tons of likable characters and a great story that left you wanting more.

The second story was absolutely the opposite. Not only did it not even really feel like Christmas at all, none of the characters were likable at all, and the main male character was actually a super horrible dude who messed up the first time he had a chance with our main female character, and once seeing he had an opportunity to MAYBE get her back, ended his current relationship to shoot his shot????? There was also all this unnecessary detail about the MFCs family that didn't contribute to the story at all, and was just overall not a good story and I didn't have a single moment where I was rooting for the main characters.

Overall,
First story: 4 stars (so cute - wanted more)
Second story: 2 stars (being generous - ruined the book for me personally)

I would recommend people to read the first story and skip the second.

Snowy Serendipity offers the reader two short Christmas romances. Dashing Through the Snow is a sweet and funny story that takes place on the Christmas Express, a holiday-themed train. Pining for You gives you a peek into the world of Christmas tree farms. I liked that the author used holiday-related descriptions, i.e., gingerbread eyes; it lent some extra charm to the stories. The narrators provided cheerful voices that were appropriate to the stories.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Audio for the advanced copy.

The two stories in this book have already been released in anthologies with other authors in the last couple of years. For that reason, I was a little disappointed. Another story added in would have made me more excited. Even so, both these stories are wonderful, and the new cover is cute.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of “Snow Serendipity” by Melissa Ferguson. All opinions are my own.

This audiobook included two short stories, both all things christmas and wintery. I enjoyed the first one about the train and would recommend it.

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.