A Jingle Bell Mingle followed its predecessors in this series as a fun, campy rom com filled with spice and sex positivity. I always enjoy my time in Christmas Notch and this was no different. What was a disappointment for me was that there was no tension between Sunny and Isaac. They immediately jumped into a friends with benefits relationship and I wasn’t able to savor the pining and tension I love in a romance.

After the last book in this series was such a miss for me I was a bit scared to pick this one up. But it was so good!! Sunny is just adorable and Isaac was also just so precious.

The text inside the book doesn't match the cover....it's not cute or cozy, but really steamy. For those who like an erotic amount of spice and not being able to really follow all the characters because they didn't know they were reading the third book in a series where you pretty much _have_ to have read the others to keep up...hey, this might just be the book for you!

What a perfect conclusion to the series! I read this one even faster than the previous ones, and loved it just as much! I love the spice, the character development, and overall holiday vibe!

I absolutely loved this return to Christmas Notch! Isaac and Sunny are a perfect grumpy/sunshine pairing as they reckon with grief, what it means to be inspired/be a muse, all with a bonus mystery of the Christmas Mail Miracle. I loved seeing their relationship develop and the ways that their friendship and support of one another encouraged each of them to do their own growing and healing, rather than expecting a relationship to fix everything for them. As with all romance series, I loved the little tidbits we get from the characters of earlier books, starting with Bee and Nolan's wedding, seeing Kallum and Winnie's family dynamic, and Teddy and Stephanie continuing to be a major power couple.

You should read this book if you enjoy a large helping of smut with your Christmas cheer, are a websleuth who can figure anything out with a few google searches and trips to the library, and have a begrudging and loving relationship with a cat who makes your life terrible and wonderful at the same time!

I like when a book pulls me right in from the start. This book did not do that. Maybe because I’ve not read the other two books before this but right away I was confused and it was just a struggle.

How cute is this book! I am sad to see this town and series go. I am hoping they keep some characters coming back. This is a no spoilers review. 5 out of 5 stars!!!!!

The Christmas Notch series really is just so good!! I found myself smiling, laughing, and blushing throughout. It is witty, funny, and everything you want from a Christmas romance. Plus it adds more serious elements dealing with grief and complicated family dynamics too. I am so sad this series has come to an end but cannot wait to read more from both authors in the future.

Time to bid a fond farewell to Christmas Notch

It might be a little slower paced than others in the series, but I think this one was my favorite of the three
I love angst with a happy ending, and sad boy Isaac and Sunny delivered

He needs a muse to get him through his last contracted album so he he ‘rot in peace’ still (understandably) distraught over losing his wife almost five years ago.
She is trying (another) new direction in her life, and needs help to solve an old town legend as inspiration for her first screen play

He’s part of an online amateur detective server, and so perfect for her needs. And she? Well, she could be his muse, if she believed, but instead vows to find him one

When a past one night stand becomes a second night stand, and then from there a roomies with bennies situationship, things get emotionally messy. They bond over old grief (her parents, his wife) and extravagant childhoods (his mom a movie star, her family’s diaper empire). Demon cat Mr Tumnus is also quite a character all on his own.

I loved the truth behind the Christmas miracle story, as sweet as it was tragic. It was a good mirror to them both deciding if they should shoot for love after the losses they’d felt in their own past.

And I don’t mean to make it sound like a downer - there is still plenty of humor and hotness to balance the angst!

It’s always great to see past characters return in series like this too. Watching Teddy and Steph work towards a happily ever after was as satisfying as the main characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon/Harper for the arc!

Sunny is in town trying to find out if the Christmas miracle story is true. Issac is hiding from the world while he continues to grieve.
They need each other for more than just roommates with benefits, they need to learn to live again.
I'm going to miss this series, the INK boys are hilarious and they know exactly what they are doing!

Oh I love this series so much! This probably had to be my favorite story! It was sweet, sexy, and a little bit of a tear jerker! I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun Christmas book. I love it!

4.5 stars- The Christmas Notch series really is just the best! I found myself smiling, laughing, and blushing throughout. It is witty, funny, and everything you want from a Christmas romance. Plus it adds more serious elements dealing with grief and complicated family dynamics too. I am so sad this series has come to an end but cannot wait to read more from both authors in the future.
Thanks to NetGalley, Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone, and Avon & Harper Voyage books for giving me a sneak peek of this holiday romance. I loved it!
#ajinglebellmingle #netgalley #christmasromance #christmasbooks #bookstagram #bookreview #bookrecs #readwithme

*Will share on November 1st on Instagram to kick off the holiday season.

This is far from your typical Christmas novel. Set in the charming and quirky town of Christmas Notch—famous for a Christmas miracle that happened years ago—this book is packed with both holiday cheer and a good dose of mystery. The plot centers around a holiday movie being made in the town, with a cast of characters that includes boy band members, a porn family, and a more conventional family, creating a wonderfully offbeat dynamic.

The story is fun and full of adventure, keeping the reader entertained from start to finish. The romance is definitely on the spicy side, with a heat level of 4 out of 5 throughout the book, adding a fun edge to the holiday spirit. However, the language can be strong at times, so that’s something to keep in mind if you’re sensitive to that.

Though I didn’t realize going in that this book is part of a series, I was pleasantly surprised by how well it stood on its own. Without any prior knowledge of the earlier books, I was able to follow the story easily and piece everything together. This book had me laughing out loud at several points, and I now can’t wait to go back and read the first three in the series.

Overall, this book is a unique and hilarious holiday read, perfect for those who like their Christmas stories with a bit of spice and mystery. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for providing me with an ARC copy—I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I love a good holiday romance and was excited to try out this book even though it’s not the first book in this list of interconnected standalones. I feel that it would have been helpful to read the first two to have a good grasp on all the characters and their backstories. The first chapter was confusing, and it took me several attempts picking up the book to reach chapter 2.
The characters and their particular form of banter is not my cup of tea. Lots of sass and cheesy jokiness that I didn’t enjoy and caused me to cringe. I couldn’t relate to them at all. Unfortunately, I decided to DNF this book at 25%, which is the first book I can remember DNFing in years.

This is book 3 in a series, but it can be read as a standalone. This was definitely a different romance than what I was used to reading, because the main character is an adult film star. This is a forced proximity open door romance.

This was probably my least favorite of the series - I struggled to connect with some of the storylines. However, I fully relate to Sunny, and I felt like the issues related to grief were well written.

I love this series. I love the writing of this duo. It is so charming and a sense of humor I feel on the same wavelength with. I love the constant queer rep and spice positivity throughout.

But I must be honest that this was my least favorite in the series. I don’t think the quest of them trying to find the source of a piece of the town’s lore was really necessary or for it to be written at such the forefront. I think we needed more focus on the FWB situation with an MMC who has complicated grief and an FMC who has always been the happy go lucky fixer but just wants to be seen. That is still SO much material to work with and I don’t think the widower situation was addressed enough, this man’s deceased wife was a competing love interest (not in a ghosty way) for way too big a chunk of this and it detracted from their chemistry and romance. I do think the grief rep was extremely valid but like that’s kind of what I’m saying it needed more time on page rather than this random made up story about mailmen and angels.

The spice per usual was AMAZING. The townspeople were lovely. I still had a great time with this and I want this rating to come across highly and if you’ve liked others in the series then please absolutely still read this book. The ending is totally worth it and the side plot with FMC Sunny’s backstory I found really compelling.

Thank you to Avon for the eARC!

This is the third in the Christmas Notch series. I did enjoy seeing the previous characters intertwined in this story. It was fun, easy to read, and very spicy.

Read if you like:

Forced Proximity
Porn stars 😉
Grief Rep
Body Positivity
Friends with Benefits
Mystery
Small Town
LGBTQIA + rep

I'm so glad I read this one. Very fun for the holiday season!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Christmas Notch series is a lot like sour candy—as much as it pains you, you keep coming back for more. I, boy, do I keep coming back! I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book over the summer but have only now been able to get around to reading it (listening to it?). I did purchase a final copy but ended up listening to the audiobook (due to it being read by the wonderful Joy Nash). I do find these books more enjoyable in the audio format than in a physical or eBook format.

I was surprised and a little disappointed that the setting for this wasn’t on a movie set. That is part of the charm of this series, getting to explore the knock-off Hallmark Channel setting and all the hijinks that come with it. Although it was nice that we were only one degree separated from that! Watching Sunny and Isaac muddle through their creativity struggles felt incredibly human and real.

One issue I had with the book has to do with mental health, grief, and using that as an excuse to be mean to others/push others away. At one point, Isaac weaponizes his grief (and depression) against Sunny to stop their romance in its tracks, due to his loyalty to his deceased wife. Spoiler alert: That’s not okay. This take on mental health and grief only perpetuates stigma and I truly hope we stop seeing this in media, no matter its type.

As for the romance, it was just okay in this book. The romance plot was reading more as a lust-than-love plotline, with both characters acting incredibly horny toward one another. Which is fine! But it did make the “I love yous” feel unearned at the end. I never got the sense that they were emotionally connected enough to make the love, well, feel like love.

Overall, I found this series to be a silly, horny time set at the backdrop of Hallmark movies with a small-town vibe. Would I read books by this duo again? I’m not quite sure. On one hand, when these books are tuned into their emotional plots and are bringing that out, these books are fun to read! But when they’re only focused on the horny, sexy times, they can get to be a bit much.

TW: death of spouse (off page, in past), death of parents (off page, in past)

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I was so excited to read this one but unfortunately it was really difficult to get into. The prologue introduces so many characters that I struggled to weed out who the main characters would be and from then on just felt a little confused throughout the story.