This book was pure perfection. Winnie and Kallum's romance is quirky and fun, heartfelt and steamy, and cute and swoon worthy. I found these characters so easy to love and care about and the book itself reads smooth as silk. You will be totally charmed and left with a big smile on your face and a mushy heart.

I loved being back in Christmas Notch! Kallum was such a golden retriever hero and though he continually put his foot in his mouth, he truly had a heart of gold. Special shout out to the entire Lieberman family too! They were the best and I loved the heart and humor that they brought to the story. Winnie's character arc is what truly sold me on the story though. Her strict curated upbringing and subsequent fight to break free from purity culture was really compelling and also heartbreaking. I was rooting for her from page 1.

As much as I loved Winnie and Kallum, the misunderstandings and drama in the second half weren't my favorite. I was annoyed by Winnie's reaction, but ultimately I appreciated that they both were given time to come into their own and get to know each other outside of the Christmas Notch bubble. I'm honestly surprised that I enjoyed Kallum and Winnie's story as much as I did, since it features one of my very least favorite tropes. I thought it was handled pretty well though and ended up enjoying the novel a lot. The prologue and epilogue from Teddy Ray Fletcher's POV was equally fun and I loved how readers got that little HEA too. I'm hoping that Isaac, the last member of INK, will get a book as well ;)

The narration by Joy Nash and Chris Brinkley was wonderful! Chris Brinkley was especially perfect as Kallum. I mainly listened to this one and it's all because of this fantastic narrating duo!

Audiobook Review
Overall 4.5 stars
Performance 5 stars
Story 4 stars

CW (possible spoilers): cheating ex, divorce, emotionally abusive ex, purity culture, controlling parents, strained relationship with parents, narcolepsy, fire and destruction of property, unplanned pregnancy and miscarriage scare

OW/OM notes: there is an on page sex scene between the MMC and an OW prior to the MC's meeting/starting anything. The MMC's past sexual activity it also mentioned quite a few times throughout the novel.

*I voluntarily read a review copy of this book. I listened to the audio via my local library/Libby*

This was a really fun read, but also gets rather emotional towards the end!  I was feeling all kinds of nostalgia for feel good/cheesy holiday movies and boy bands -  with a rather raunchy twist!!   I found myself laughing out loud through the first half of this book. Winnie and Kallum had such amazing chemistry and he was so great with her - but the secondary characters really elevate this story.  There are some very spicy scenes and some of the spice they had to film was very funny (pickle pouch anyone?)

Full disclosure, for the second half of this book there is a trope that pops up that I am not a fan of (no spoilers) and I wasn't sure where the story was going or if I would like it. The characters were so well written though and the plot had me completely invested.  As the second half of the book continued on, I found myself not caring about the trope and I just wanted to see what was going to happen with Winnie and Kallum!  By the end of the book I had happy tears in my eyes. I am completely obsessed with Kallum’s family! I definitely recommend this one!

✨Tropes
🎄Holiday Romance
❤️Small Town
❤️‍🔥Opposites Attract
💙Workplace Romance

I really enjoyed Holly, Jolly After, as the second book in the series the first one was full of crazy antics and extremely hot chemistry. As the second in the series, I was pleasantly surprised at the depth of the plot themes addressed in the book including toxic religious values, life after devastating experience, chronic illness, and personal acceptance. I look forward to the Hope after dark family in the future.

Not sure if I needed to read these authors' first Christmas novel, but I read a few chapters and couldn't track what was going on, so I won't be finishing it, my apologies.

Okay, a LOT to unpack here:

The fact that a recovering purity culture girlie gets to be the FMC of a mainstream romance gives me so much joy. It’s a story close to home for so many of us, and Winnie was handling her new life in a way that SO many are handling theirs in reality. Super well written- somebody on that writing team knows the experience well.

*The twist* however was NOT for me. I’ll not spoil, but it really did undermine a lot of what I had hoped for Winnie and Kallum because of their individual experiences. I’ll leave it at that.

Still all in all a fun story with GREAT 🌶️ and a lot of character depth. Just still processing how I feel about the 55_75% portion of the book…

After a failed marriage Winnie wants to experience all that life has to offer and that includes overcoming her conservative reputation by starring in a steamy movie. She knows that her lack of experience will be a problem, so she convinces Kallum to give her some one on one tutoring.

After his career as a musician ended, he returned to his hometown where he is focused on the pizza shop he opened and women. When one of his escapades becomes public, he is approached to star in a steamy movie and when he finds out that Winnie will be his co-star, he is all in.

The chemistry between them radiates off the pages but that isn’t all they share. He shows her how fulfilling the physical side of a relationship can be and she shows him what how special a relationship can be with the right person and their journey is filled with great secondary characters, humor and all the feels.

My review (ARC provided)
@tlbcgirls.read
https://triciaciak.blogspot.com/
Four stars!

What a fun read! If you want a sexy, witty, and intelligently written book, look no further. Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy really ran with this story. It was so silly and unexpected. I need to read the first book now because it somehow slipped by me.

This book will have you laughing, swooning, and on fire. Kallum is like a big teddy bear; you just want to squeeze him. Winnie is so sheltered that you want to help her find her way. Kallum is the absolute best person to help her. He is sweet, generous, and knows his way around the female body. Winnie needs his expertise, especially with the steamy holiday movie they are starring in together.

I’m not going to go into the synopsis; you can read it if you want. I had no idea what it was going to be about, and I’m happy I was surprised by it; it made the read that much better. I’m ready to start my favorite time of the year: curl up with some hot cocoa and read the other books in this series.

This book was unbelievably cute, fun, and oh so steamy! I went into this book, somewhat blind, not knowing too much about the series overall and I think that made my reading experience even better. The concept of this book is absolutely genius. Christmas Notch seems like the best place to be ever. Winnie and Kallum are so adorable and have great chemistry. I love seeing their characters develop not only as a couple, but as individuals from the beginning to the end of this story. This book has such a great cast of characters of all shapes and size and I really hope they have a few more books planned in this series! This is such a perfect book for the winter time. It’s one of those books that you can cozy up on the couch reading for the day. It was seriously so much fun to read this book. It made me swoon, laugh so many times, and I even shed a tear too.

I haven’t read the first book in the series yet, even though I already own it, it’s now officially on my winter TBR!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Once I got started reading this one, it was hard to put down.

First, I'll say I have not read A Merry Little Meet Cute, and it did not take away from this book. Bee and Nolan made cameos, but I didn't feel like I missed any inside jokes from book one, although I'm sure there were some.

I loved Kallum and his, at times, deprecating humor. You just wanted to give him a hug and tell him everyone loves the funny guy. He's the best! I thought it was so cute that he grew up with a crush on Winnie, and here he was, making a movie with his dream girl.

Winnie is the typical good girl for the public and is trying to figure out who she really is. It was so beautiful seeing her accept her true self and blossom in front of our eyes.

This book was very spicy and also funny. I got a little emotional at the end. A few tears were shed.

Five out of Five would recommend.

I absolutely adored this book. Everybody who likes a little bit of contemporary and happily ever after is going to love this book. It’s a little bit cute. It’s a lot bit raunchy. I laughed. I had some tears. It was just the perfect break into holiday fun. Two people who need a break back into the biz make a soft core Santa movie with help from adult entertainment stars, a town that is literally Xmas all year, and pizza? Yup it has it all! These two main characters were so well written and I can’t wait to go back and read the first book of the series written by these two authors and continue on the Christmas Notch debauchery that is this ongoing series! Highly recommend. Thank you NetGallery, Candi Kane PR, Sierra Simone, Julie Murphy, and Avon and Harper Voyager Publisher for the ARC so I can sing its praises all holiday season!

Is it wrong that I really, really want to see the Kallum Lieberman sex tape? I just want to hear him say consider this dough tossed.

My love for pizza is living, breathing thing. I can’t get enough of it. Deep pan, thin and crispy, stone baked I just love it. I want mushrooms, artichokes, olives, smoked mozzarella, fresh basil. If Kallum opened a Slice Slice Baby franchise is Leeds, I would be there with Santa bells on.

Loved the first part of the book and the filming of Santa Baby at Christmas Notch. I think Teddy Fletcher is a great dad. I loved Winnie Baker and her naps and her innocence and her lady boner for Kallum’s pizza dad-bod.

I had that song from Magic Mike that Alex Pettyfer dances to on repeat in my head during a particular scene. Oh hell, that was hawt.

Not so keen on the second part of the book and I felt that both Winnie and Kallum’s characters came across as so much younger than their actual ages. I know it was probably intentional because she had been emotionally suppressed by her parents and ex-husband. Probably because I am old?

Still a great, mostly funny read. I’m ready for the sad boy, Isaac.

Absolutely adored book 2 in this quirky “Christmas” series.

Winnie and Callum are my kind of characters and the spice level in this one is H.I.G.H!! I loved how it pushes back against purity culture and champions women owning their sexuality. It’s hilariously funny, had some heartfelt moments and I loved it!

Kallum and Winnie’s story is total delight. These characters are totally likable, lovable , and charming. The dialogue and witty banter had me invested in their relationship and rooting for them all the way! The romance sizzles as they can’t keep their hands off one another, but Winnie still had much to overcome from past heartache.

Retuning to Christmas Notch for another holiday film with our favorite not so Hallmark film family! This time it’s Kallum, former member of INK, and now owner of Slice, Slice Baby pizza. He jumped at the idea of starring in his own movie after his band mate had such a success with his own movie. His co-star will be Winnie Baker. She was the all-around girl next door until she was hit with scandal. She’s starred in several movies for the network, and now she sees her opportunity to rejuvenate her career. The only problem is, this movie is like nothing she’s done before. It’s a more adult movie for the network to launch Notch After Dark. When she confides in Kallum that she’s not sure she can actually go through with the nature of the film, he takes it as his own personal task to get Winnie through this film. Winnie wants to prove to everyone that she’s more than the squeaky clean person that everyone “knows”.
As usual, Julie and Sierra knock it out of the park. Christmas Notch tends to bring joy to all!

I absolutely loved A Holly Jolly Ever After! It was so cute, sweet and funny but still plenty spicy. Kallum is the best book boyfriend ever and not because he's perfect but because he's not. He's rocking a dad bod, considers himself not relationship material and finds himself accidentally hurting the woman he loves without even realizing. He's also super supportive, protective and genuine; just all around a good guy. I loved his character. Winnie is also very lovable and it was great reading about her journey to find herself and lose the feelings of shame that she was taught by her parents, ex-husband and Hollywood about her image, actions and the act of sex itself. The authors explore family dynamics, industry expectations/sexism and much more in this festive romance novel and it was very body positive and sex positive which I love to see. The writing style was humorous but the sweet scenes were genuine and the spicy scenes were well written. I highlighted so many great lines on my kindle! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance with holiday feels, he falls first, co-stars with benefits and spicy scenes both real and scripted(:

Don't wait for the holidays to read, check it out now!
Thank you NetGalley & Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was a huge fan of A Merry Little Meet Cute and was so pumped when I heard that book two would be out for this holiday season! Winnie and Kallum were so sweet and together and I adored them. Their vulnerability, love, and heat were what I love to see in romance. Since it’s a Julia and Sierra book, there’s plenty of 🔥 spice 🔥 to go around and holiday themed everything. Plus, I LOVED the takedown of purity culture that was SO prevalent in the past…it was as messed up IRL as it is in the book, though it sounds absolutely wild to read it now. I received an advanced reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

This was a fun sequel to A Merry Little Meet Cute. Winnie is a great character and I really liked how this book dove right into purity culture and the struggle some people have to go through to overcome that sort of religious trauma. It was great to see Winnie learn to love her body and the way it can make her feel. I also really liked how supportive Kallum was of Winnie throughout this process. He did his best not to make her feel bad about her lack of knowledge and tried to make her feel comfortable both on screen and off. I couldn't help rooting for him to become more than just practice for Winnie.

4.5/5 stars
So excited to be back in Christmas Notch! This book was hilarious, swoony, and spicy.

Holly Jolly Ever After tells the love story of a disgraced good girl actress raised in purity culture and a former boy bander with a spicy home movie & chain of pizza stores making an “after dark” style holiday movie. Both are slightly uncomfortable in their new film roles, but both have reasons to accept the project to further their careers. This book is a standalone, but characters from past books do appear.

I couldn’t stop laughing while reading this book. Spicy lessons is one of my favorite tropes. There were so many awkwardly hilarious moments as Winnie figured out what she liked. I almost died of second hand embarrassment when Kallum caught Winnie experimenting to his movie, but swooned as he raced in and “came” to the rescue. I also loved how Winnie would give herself pep talks and remind herself to be a “brave little toaster.”

I can’t wait to see where the series goes next.

A Holly Jolly Ever After is the second book in the Christmas Notch series from Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone. It can be read as a standalone, but there are a number of characters from here you meet in the first book.

Kallum, a former boyband member, is ready to step back into the spotlight with a starring role in a Christmas movie. His costar is Winnie, a former child star, who did everything right but is still dealing with the fallout from her divorce from her cheating ex-husband. The two of them connect while filming and find that the chemistry they share isn't just on screen. I liked the dual POV here as you get to see their individual growth in addition to their growing feelings for one another.

The authors did a nice job with the pacing of the story and relationship development. I think this is my favorite book in the series so far.