Snowed In by Navessa Allen | Audiobook Review • Ana's Attic Book Blog

Snowed In: Love and Fame by Navessa Allen

Narrated by Sophie Daniels and Matt Mercurio

Standalone Winter Romance

I picked up Snowed In by Navessa Allen thinking I had found a fun Christmas read and ended up getting so much more. It’s been about two weeks since I finished it and I’m finally catching up on reviews, but now that I really think about it, I’m not even sure this qualifies as a holiday read at all. What it is, though, is unique. It blends humor into a story that easily could have been incredibly depressing but somehow never fully tips that way. I think Snowed In was originally published in 2019, but was re-released in ebook and audio November 2025.

Ella is an artist living in a remote town in northern Maine that frequently gets snowed in for the winter. She’s settling in for a long, quiet season when a stranger moves to town. Ben is an ex-football player who’s hiding out in the small town while grieving his brother’s death from CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), caused by years of repeated head trauma from playing football since childhood.

There is a LOT of information about CTE in this book. I actually felt like I got a mini education while reading, which I appreciated. Ben also struggles with anxiety and severe depression, and you really feel the depressive episodes he goes through. This was not always an easy read, but the lovable side characters help lighten the mood just enough.

That said, there were too many side characters for a standalone, and many of them felt one-dimensional and interchangeable. Ella has a large group of diverse adopted siblings who are all wildly successful in high-level, brainy careers, but they blended together for me. Her niece and nephew, however, absolutely stole the show, as did Ben’s wonderful parents. And the dogs. The dogs play a huge role in Snowed In and were honestly one of my favorite parts.

This ultimately felt more like Ben’s book than Ella’s. Even though we get her POV, the story is very focused on Ben and his mental illness. I didn’t feel like I fully understood Ella as a character until much later in the book.

Likes:

Snowed In was clearly very well researched, and it shows. It genuinely felt like the author may have personal experience with CTE and the mood disorders that often come along with it.
There were enough lighter moments that the book never completely dragged me down emotionally.
The dogs. They deserve their own mention.
Some diverse representation, even if it occasionally felt a bit forced.
Since I tend to gravitate toward lighter reads, I found it interesting and surprisingly impactful to spend time inside Ben’s head during his depressive episodes.
I loved that Ben was actively working on himself and doing what he could to protect his mental health.

Dislikes:

The title felt a little misleading. Were they ever really snowed in?
This book was much heavier than I expected, and I wish it hadn’t been what I was listening to on Christmas Day. I cried on Christmas, and not because of It’s a Wonderful Life.
Too many flat side characters and side stories pulled focus away from the main couple.
I didn’t realize I had triggers until this book. I don’t even know if that’s the right word, but after being married to someone with mental illness for 29 years until it nearly broke me too, part of me wanted to yell at Ella to run the other way.

The Narration:

Sophie Daniels and Matt Mercurio were new narrators for me, at least by name. Their voices may not have been, but either way, they brought the story to life and were a great fit for the characters they portrayed.

The Down & Dirty:

Snowed In by Navessa Allen was not at all what I expected going in. What I thought would be a cozy, wintry romance turned out to be a much heavier, more emotional story centered on grief, mental illness, and learning how to live with something that doesn’t just go away. It’s thoughtful, well-researched, and often touching, but it also demands a lot from the reader emotionally. I’m glad I read it, even though it caught me completely off guard, and I’d strongly recommend checking content warnings and your own headspace before diving in.