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❄️
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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.
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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.

Cozy Christmas romances that will surely put you in the mood if you’re looking for that warmth the season brings.

Two holiday romances in ONE!!! Yasssssss!!!! I really really enjoyed these books…. Book one, willow is newly single as after her boyfriend of 7 years breaks up with her before the holidays, she’s stuck having to take this 2 week train excursion and it’s really romantic. There was some Christmas magic going on when she meets the train conductor, and his dad 🥰🥰. And then the second book is a second chance romance novel, where Theo gets the opportunity to go back home live in a farm for a weekend and with hopes to win back his best friend Skye. Along the way she finds out that her family tree farm is going under and Theo is somehow involved, I loved how this time he didn’t give up, and made sure that Skye felt he was all in.

Love both books so very much. I loved both couples' cute stories. They are hallmark feels, and I wish that both couples had a longer story. These are also very short stories, so it's a quick read that is perfect for an in-between book.

Both stories have different vibes and I really enjoyed both. I felt the Christmas feels while reading, which is something I was after from all my Christmas reads. Nothing awful about the two stories. It is just a great book to cleanse my reading palette.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me this opportunity!

I loved both stories in this book! Melissa does a great job in painting the pictures of the surroundings and the characters are so relatable. I especially love when she uses real places that I’ve been to in scenes.