I’m not sure how I feel about this story. I didn’t connect with any of the characters. The MMC and FMC were annoying at times. It’s a good book if you’re looking for a Christmas story.

We return to Vermont for this steamy Christmas book. Sunny is a part time adult film star. She recently sold her first screenplay to the Hope channel. We pick up where she is currently struggling to finish the story before it’s deadline. This causes her to head to Vermont for some inspiration. When she gets there she runs into Issac who is a former boy band hearttrob. He is the owner of the mansion that Sunny is staying at for inspiration.

Things get very steamy between to the two and he asks her to move in with him.

This grumpy sunshine in a small town trope is perfect for Christmas.

This is book three in the A Christmas Notch series. This can also be read as a standalone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 ⭐️

Another home run for the dynamic duo that is Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone! This is definitely my favorite book in the series so far and I can’t wait for what’s next!

Isaac is a former boy band member who has been struggling with the sudden loss of the love of his life and looking for a new muse to help him finish the last album for his contract.

Sunny is a free spirit who runs into Isaac at a mutual friend’s wedding in Christmas Notch, VT and is determined to help him find his muse. In return, he’s agreed to help her learn the full story of a local Christmas miracle.

See these 2 lost souls learn how mutual grief and loss will bring them together in the most unexpected way 💕

If you love Hallmark movies but wish they had queer representation and a handful of spice, look no further than the Christmas Notch series! A Jingle Bell Mingle is book 3 in an interconnected standalone series and is out now anywhere books are available!

Tropes:
🎄 Found Family
🎄 Grumpy/Sunshine
🎄 Roommates to Lovers
🎄 Widower
🎄 Overcoming Trauma
🎄 Opposites Attract
🎄 Dual POV
🎄 Queer Representation

I really enjoyed this book! It was flirty and fun and perfect for the holidays coming up. I will definitely be recommending it to friends.
I loved the setting and the vibes of a lonely inn. I thought that the authors did such a fun job creating the characters and their previous lives that it all came together so cheekily in Vermont. I also loved the use of romance tropes and creative romance ploys since that was Sunny's career.
Overall, this was such a fun read and put new authors on a radar for me!

Omg! This was a perfect conclusion to the series! I read this in a day during an unplanned marathon reading session! I loved the character development, the perfect amount of spice, and holiday vibes! 10/10 recommend!

I loved the personality of the FMC. She was hilarious, and her pet cat was too. It was fun watching the characters relationship blossom, as the MMC was dealing with grief and healing. All the characters were enjoyable, and the story moved at a good pace. Whew, and the SPICE! This series is always a fun and quick read!

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of A Jingle Bell Mingle.

I really liked the first book in this series. I found this book much more chaotic and hard to get into. I didn’t really connect with Sunny and Isaac.

this is a cute, tender, spicy story! Sunny and Isaac are really freakin cute together twice-post hook up turned roommates, they are so into each other and are somehow so shy with each other despiste already having hooked up twice. I love how sweet and tender and loving they are with each other through life’s topsies and turvsies while also being so hot and passionate in ~other~ aspects of their relationship.

overall just a holly, jolly, horny good time, a perfect third in this series! thank you for the arc :)

I didn't care for this one. It starts in a complete jumble of characters and connections that, unless you've recently read the previous in the series, you wouldn't know.

Set in a small Vermont town during Christmas, this sequel follows the fiery dynamics between Sunny, a multi-talented adult film actress turned screenwriter, and Isaac Kelly, a brooding former band boy living in a historic mansion. Both grapple with creative blocks and share an unforgettable past involving a legendary threesome from two years ago. The story kicks off with Teddy Ray Fletcher’s POV at Bee and Nolan’s wedding, where Sunny and Isaac's flirtation quickly leads to another steamy one-night stand in her dilapidated hotel room. When Isaac invites Sunny to stay at his mansion to escape the room’s dismal conditions, they believe they can coexist without rekindling their past passions. However, living under one roof ignites their undeniable chemistry as they strive to overcome their creative obstacles. With a delightful mix of grumpy and sunshine tropes, this humorous and spicy romance offers plenty of steamy moments and high tension. Perfect as a standalone or a continuation of the series, this book promises a unique holiday read that blends romance with a creative twist! Highly recommended for fans of spicy, humorous storytelling.

I am so sad this is the last of this series. I have been with it since day 1 and it really fed into my budding love of my now favorite genre, contemporary bbw romance, or as I currently like to call, "Thicc Queen Love Smut" - working title.
I am so glad I had the opportunity to read and review this book. It's so good. We finally get to explore our lovely Sunny's potential relationship with sad boy Isaac when he offers her a room and the developing feelings between the two super deserving of something more people in our favorite little holiday themed town of Christmas Notch. Their story was fantastic-excellent heat, tension, conflict...the perfect rom com recipe. And the end!! It honestly tied everything up so well and I definitely got misty eyed.

I really hope these authors team up again for another steamy little series. ❤️❤️

These two authors do not disappoint!! I LOVED this! I loved the characters, the plot, the spice was fabulous! It was cozy but spicy in the very best way! I can’t wait for more from these two! 10/10 will recommend for the holiday season!!

Read as an Arc from the publisher (thank you). If you read the others in this series, this is much of the same. Touching holiday story, but with, as the authors say in their acknowledgment, the same “unhinged” components as the first - porn star characters, musician idols, somewhat no standard romantic elements, amusing adult holiday nuances. There are serious personal emotional hurdles that bring it back to realism.

Just finished "Jingle Bell Mingle" by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone - my first book from these authors, and what a delightful holiday surprise it turned out to be.

The story follows Sunny Palmer, a screenwriter battling creative block (and proud owner of the most chaotic cat I've ever encountered in fiction), who finds herself sharing a roof with Isaac Kelly, a former boy band heartthrob trying to compose his first Christmas album. After a one-night stand following their best friends' wedding, they end up as unlikely roommates in his historic mansion, and what follows is pure entertainment.

What really won me over was how the authors balance laugh-out-loud moments with deeper emotional beats. Watching Sunny chase down a local Christmas legend for her Hope Channel screenplay, while Isaac struggles to find his musical inspiration, creates situations that are both hilarious and touching. And don't get me started on Sunny's possibly demonic cat wreaking havoc throughout the mansion - those scenes had me in stitches.

The chemistry between these two opposites feels genuine and develops beautifully. I loved how they strike a deal to help each other overcome their creative blocks, leading to moments that range from absolutely hilarious to surprisingly tender. The way they navigate their growing attraction while dealing with their individual struggles (Sunny with her looming deadline and Isaac with his grief) adds layers to what could have been just another holiday romance.

"A Jingle Bell Mingle" by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone is the third installment in the delightful "Christmas Notch" series. This festive romance follows Sunny and Isaac, two characters whose paths cross again ten years after a memorable one-night stand. As the blurb teases, a lack of available accommodations leads Sunny and her "potentially demonic" cat to become roommates with the now-grumpy Isaac. The book also doesn't shy away from open discussions about sex, bisexuality, and body positivity, offering a refreshing and inclusive perspective

If you're looking for a feel-good holiday read with a touch of spice and a whole lot of heart, "A Jingle Bell Mingle" might be just the ticket.

I highly recommend it!

Jingle Bell Mingle by Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy is a heartwarming and steamy holiday romance novella that blends humor, romance, and holiday cheer. It follows the story of two characters who find themselves unexpectedly drawn to each other during a festive holiday party. As sparks fly and the magic of the season takes hold, the novella combines lighthearted fun with sizzling chemistry, offering readers a delightful mix of sweet and spicy moments.

What I loved:
🫶🏼 Issac and Sunny - their banter, their playfulness and their moments of being vulnerable were so enjoyable to read!
🫶🏼festive, fun and flirty! The story didn’t lag and moved along to a beautiful HEA for the series!
🫶🏼the storyline about the postman and the history of their town. It was a hint of nostalgia to balance out the pornstar storyline. A delicious blend!

Would have loved more of:
✨a little more Christmas- I wanted to smell the evergreen!
✨ while I’m ready to dive into the others, and I’m guessing this would be advertised to read as a standalone if you’d want, there were times I was missing the backstory of certain characters. Or maybe better put, I felt there were details of stories missing from this book that I assumed were treasures in the books and novellas from previous in the series. While that is my own fault for missing out on these great books, it felt a little bit like I was the only one in the room not getting the personal joke.

All in all, this a quick, feel-good read perfect for fans of holiday romances with a bit of heat!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this digital ARC copy in exchange for my honest opinions of this read!

I wanted to love this one but it was just okay, ditto for the interstitial novella--maybe I'm getting tired of this collaboration or the premise was just running out of steam? It definitely still had some good moments, but I felt like it was getting to the point where the characters saying things like "poopnuggets" or "fucknuggets" or whatever felt like it was trying too hard to be voice-y and instead was starting to come across as more overdone and juvenile and cutesy than funny or good character work. I'm glad to see how the series wrapped up and will still pick up their next book, but in my opinion Christmas Notch peaked with book 2.

i do think this was a decent read although a little too spicy for my normal. This is definitely a NSFW-type of reading.

3.5 ⭐️

I always enjoy reading books from this series. This one had more of a serious feel than the other books in the series, which isn’t a bad thing, but I also wasn’t expecting it. I went into it expecting a lighthearted holiday themed book so I didn’t necessarily love it, but I think I would’ve liked it more if I knew what to expect.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

Thank you Avon, Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

I’ve been looking forward to reading this one for a while so I was excited when I finally got to start it. Sunny is a little chaotic and has a lot of her plate and needs to finish her screen play. Isaac is still trying to deal with the death of his wife and his record label is tired of waiting for him to write more music. These two have deadlines they need to meet and what a better place to do it that together?

While I liked the story line, it fell a bit flat for me. I think both characters could benefit from therapy instead of a relationship with each other. Overall if you’re looking for an easy Christmas read, this book is for you!