Excuse me? Did I just find a new favorite book? I LOVED THIS!

Judging from the cover, you can say that this book is a cozy rom-com, but in reality it's much more than that. Elle lives in a small and predictable town with her two puppies. Enters Ben, a professional athlete who urgently needs a change of air. From this premise you can name a lot of books that apparently have the same plot, but no, this was MUCH more than just romance.

"Snowed in" is a journey of personal growth, touching on topics such as mental health and the importance of the people around you being there for you in difficult times. Here you can find healthy and positive relationships, family, friends, puppies and, in the end, a book that can make you feel much more.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Ella is introduced to her new neighbour Ben, she is shocked to say the least. The newly retired football superstar has landed in her very rural community grieving and in the middle of a big lawsuit against the league he was once so successful in. Snowed In is a compassionate look at what love means while dealing with mental health struggles and plays host to hoards of warm, unique characters I looked forward to hearing more about.
At time, Snowed In tries too hard to have all the answers but overall, I was completely and so happily surprised by the depth of this story and how Allen embraces the challenge of writing a therapy-positive, diverse love story.

4.5/5

I recieved this ebook from the author via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

I almost cried. I was expecting a cute winter romance but this is more than that. Winter, snow, huskies, a beautiful small town, a large family, friendship, puppies and romance. What an amazing recipe for a good book.

This is the story of Ella and Ben. Ella lives with her two huskies in a small town with hard winters. This is about her life taking a turn when she meets Ben, a professional athlete who needs a break from fame. They started being friends and then they wondered if they could be more. But reality hit hard and they didn't know if they could handle it.

I laughed out loud, I held back my tears, I rooted for them, I was hooked from the beginning of the story, I felt that cuteness of the dogs and I wished I was there in the snow (for a little while at least). Such a wonderful and heartbreaking read.

I'm definitely going to search for more books by Navessa Allen cause this one was such a beautiful story.

**Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & the publisher for a chance to read & review an E-ARC of this novel!**

A swoony rom-com Christmas & winter read while I'm stuck in the middle of May in a pandemic in the South?! SIGN ME UP! While it took me a bit longer than I would have liked...this was just the push I needed to get over my little reading slump. I'm an essential worker & it's been rough during this quarantine...but this novel offered SO much more than just romance...it focused on mental health, self-growth, self-awareness, & building healthy connections within yourself & your support system. Just what I needed to hear during this time. Please find my extended thoughts below...along with some spoilers (beware). :)
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Things I Liked:
-the DOGS...oh the dogs...SO FREAKING CUTE! I wanted to jump into the book & squeeze them all!
-the focus on mental health, not using others as a crutch but as a support, & how to recognize unhealthy patterns & work toward changing them to better yourself & your relationships.
-the author's focus on decreasing the stigma surrounding mental health, therapy, & defying typical expectations of a "male" in society (to not have emotions, not to cry, be unafraid, etc.). This was a great theme in this book! I loved how it challenged stereotypes & worked to normalize all humans experiencing emotions & learning to manage their emotions in a healthy manner.
-the character development...I felt like I really got to know these characters, their personalities, & grow with them as I read!
-the alternative perspectives...I'm sucker for this writing style. I love getting into the mind of the characters. I especially enjoyed this in this novel because both main characters were so complex. They felt very genuine.
-the fact that although this was a romance read...it was not all sex, sex, sex. I really admire the way the author used physical closeness to depict how it can be used inappropriately in some relationships & that healthy relationships require more than just the physical aspects.
-the cover of the Kindle version is super cute!

Things That Didn't Sit Quite Right With Me:
-Of course...when Ben tried to push Ella way because he was unsure if she could handle all that could or might happen with his CTE...that broke my heart. I get where he was coming from...but it felt a little like he was making the decision for her at first. This was sort of smoothed over when both Ben & Ella decided to give it time to see where they both fell on the potential impacts of CTE on their relationship.

Overall, I gave this novel 4 stars! I think it would be a great read for those interested in reading romance, relationship development focused fiction, mental health related books, novels with advocacy for sports-related injuries themes, or just as a good wintery read at any point in the year.

Snowed In 

By: Navessa Allen

4.5/5.0


I absolutely devoured this novel. Right from the start of the novel, I fell in love with the characters. The writing style was easy to read and truly unique for each character. I loved Megan and Ella’s sisterly banter. Their banter, and just Ella’s humar in general, actually made me laugh out loud. This novel shows what it’s like to truly love someone and how family is always there for you no matter what. During this tough time, it is important to know that family is forever and that you can lean on family when things get tough.

It was a nice change of pace to have the stereotypical gender roles broken. Ella was not a girly girl; she loved to help with the renovations and work with her hands. Ben not hiding his emotions was very refreshing too. I loved how Ben’s therapy sessions normalized. So many people see therapy as a bad thing and it was nice seeing a novel show it is completely normal. Allen does a good job of showing how important mental health is. In a time like this where we are all quarantined, it is important to check in with ourselves and see how we are doing mentally. This novel did an excellent job of showing good ways of dealing with your mental health. I plan on purchasing this novel for my collection.



Author's Site: https://navessaallen.com/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Snowed-Love-Fame-Navessa-Allen

Review on my blog will be posted on May 25, 2020

<b> I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. </b>

I looooved this one! Definitely pick it up if you´re looking for a feel-good, adorable read filled with romance and most importantly DOGS!
Characters were well written and diverse, they were reflected and had a character development that I could definitely get behind. It´s easy to see that <i> Navessa Allen </i> has written books before. This is so well written and the story is well though-out, she obviously has done her homework and read enough research to actually be able to tell a story with reflected characters that know a lot about matters of the brain. And it´s so diverse it actually shocked me a bit in the beginning (in a good way). It was educational, without being annoying.

The title was a bit misleading, there is very little snowing in! That´s one of two complains I have, the other one being too long descriptions which didn´t feel completely necessary.

I want to thank Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

Overall I enjoyed this book. The dialogue was witty and hilarious. The storyline was deep and meaningful and at times really hard hitting. I love the way anxiety and depression were at the forefront of this story and were addressed really well showing both the highs and lows in a relatable way.
Ella and bens story was amazing.
Ellas dialogue was hilarious and honestly I would love her to be my best friend.
Bens story was heartbreaking. I wanted to reach out and hug him so many times.
Overall I loved it however I felt the end of the book was really rushed. A lot of information was thrown at you in the end making it heavy to read. I felt all of this information could have been told throughout the story.
3 stars.

A fun easy read to keep you entertained during quarantine! This is a lovely little book that helped occupy a few hours of my now very long days. Definitely a must-read if you are looking for an enjoyable read that takes you away for a little while.

The concept for Snowed In immediately intrigued me, causing me to request the book, and I'm glad I did. Whilst I anticipated this to just be a fluffy novel, I was pleasantly surprised on the new take on American Football players and the interesting conditions football players face after retirement. It added a depth to the books that some romances skip over leaving them just at surface level. Also, the way Allen easily touched on mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, added a certain amount of realism to the story, making it more believable and the characters more relatable.

Thoroughly enjoyed this story, although I did lose a bit of motivation to read it towards the end, I can't deny that the story was really well written and very fun to read.

Snowed In is the first novel I've read by Navessa Allen and I thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so that I was up way past my bedtime 'one more chapter-ing' it until my eyes wouldn't stay open any longer. And then I ignored all other aspects of my life to continue reading until I finished.

There were many things I enjoyed about the romance of Ella and Ben. One of those was how many times I laughed so hard I shook the bed and almost woke up my husband. Navessa Allen's comedic timing was perfect and I just laughed and laughed and laughed. Another thing I enjoyed was how thoughtful Ella and Ben were. They were smart and emotionally self-aware which made what they would eventually have to face so much easier. We'll touch on that in a minute. Let me first say that I really enjoyed how Allen wrote their beginning. She really captured that new friend/relationship feeling of excitement and wanting to spend every spare second getting to know each other. It reminded me of the early stages of meeting my spouse and how fun that time was.

In addition to all of those positives, I really enjoyed the inclusion of Ella and Ben's families; their inclusion just added so much--humor, history, emotional support--and helped round out the narrative. This was especially important when it came to the big climax moment and all of the events surrounding it.

It's always interesting to read a novel that is so completely opposite of any season Louisiana has ever seen. Maine's snowy weather was something I don't even think I have the capacity or background to truly understand but I enjoyed reading it, especially as we're getting warmer and warmer here. I loved that I not only learned about many aspects of how one lives through a season like that but I also learned so much more when it came to the situation Ben was grappling with. Snowed In gave me many things to ponder and enjoy and if you're looking to escape this crazy pandemic limbo we're living in, I highly recommend this novel to escape into.

I was sceptical initially thinking it was going to be one of those rom-coms that don't deliver.But I was wrong🙈 It's a feel good book that has everything you need for a romance and it hooked me.

"Sometimes, you meet people, and you just know that there's potential there,"

This book. I don't even know where to start. It was amazing. Navassa managed to balance humor, and tragedy, love, and solitude so well. I cried, I laughed, and let's be honest, sometimes I did both. This was the first book in too long that I could not put down. I read until my eyes hurt, and I couldn't stay awake.

I don't personally know a lot about football. I don't tend to watch it or keep up with the politics surrounding it. So I am not the person to ask if this book was factual. Did it sound like the author did her research and knew a great deal on the subject? For sure. Even with keeping things looking like they were factual, Navassa balanced the medical terms well. I never felt like there was an info dump, or like the terms were to professional for me to understand.

 One of my favorite parts about this book was the way the two main characters interacted with the dogs. I am very much infatuated with my animals. I talk to them, hold conversations with them, ask them questions, and act like they respond. This book made me feel a little less insane about my actions. Maybe I am reasonable when it comes to pets......maybe. Sometimes it feels like pets are part of the background. Given to a character as a personality trait. Not Sam and Fred. Nope, they were their own people, or, well, dogs.

Sometimes dual, first-person POVs can get murky and hard to separate the characters. Never did I have to double-check whose POV I was reading. Both Ben and Ella were complete people in their own right. They worked great together but were distinguishable. 

Okay. I'm going to stop there. I think I could talk about this book for hours, but my rambling shall come to an end. If you enjoy an excellent wintertime romance, please give this a go. 

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for this eARC. This is my honest review.

Great little read!

I have read alot of books recently so really wanted a good rom com and this book delivered.

The characters are likeable and have a great chemistry with each other.

It's also interesting reading about their pasts and current issues, makes it more believable.

I am toying with my rating on this one because I'm not exactly sure how to rate this book. At first I was sure this was going to be a high rated book but the more I read, the more it dwindled for me.

What did I like?
First of all, Navessa's writing style is great. I liked the way she wrote and I could feel her descriptions and her characters.
I think she did put a lot of thought into the plot line even though I wasn't overly keen and it does deal with some heavier topics which I thought were well addressed.

However,
I just couldn't believe in their romance. At first, it seemed believable and sweet but the more I read the less I felt it was real. I wasn't sucked into the characters and I didn't care for them as much as I felt I could have. Although I liked the general plotline, I felt like there could have been more and for that reason, this book fell flat and unmemorable to me.
I am an avid YA romance reader so these things are super important for me.

Overall, it was an okay book. It isn't something I would recommend but I can see the good in this book and I think I would enjoy Navessa's other works with maybe a slightly different plotline because I did like her writing style.

2.75/3 stars.
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My feelings went back and forth between this book. I enjoyed the characters but felt that the tone and themes of the book didn't always make sense or felt out of place. I appreciated the fact the author handled some big topics but at times the medical information just felt really clinical as opposed to naturally integrated into the story.

It was an enjoyable enough read though but no one gets snowed in, it's just cold.

The writing was excellent, the story line kept me interested and the characters were interesting to read about. I did feel like the story may have extended more than necessary, however the author researched very well therefore I did enjoy this book.

Cute winter read, with lots of fluff and fluffy dogs. Sometimes it felt the writing was trying a little too hard to be cute and funny, but overall a cute curl up by the fireplace read.

Wish I’d read this during Christmas. I think it would have had more of an impact. It was cute like elves, sweet like candy canes but a little bit dull... like Christmas can be...!

2 stars
Not to be rude, but I found this one a little boring and struggled to finish it. Starting off the book, I thought it was cute with the niece and candy canes. But then it quickly turned long winded for me. Just a little too dull.

Loved it!!!!
A sleepy little town with character and dogs that you just fall in love with. I would have loved to know more of Jacks story. And a book that deals with some serious current issues that are affecting many.
At times I wanted to shake Ella and tell her to go be with her man, but she gets there eventually.
A good quick light read that had me laughing out loud at some point.

Thank you for the ARC - I thoroughly enjoyed it

Good book! Definitely enjoyed reading this one! I really enjoyed the characters , and there was some awesome awesome cool dogs!! They stole the show in this one for me! Lol this book is set in the middle of nowhere in the dead of winter! It had intrigue and some heartbreak and heartache! It was a really good book to me! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me!