I adored this book; Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone have done it again! We finally get to focus on sad boy Isaac, the third member of INK, who has purchased the mansion in Christmas Notch and accidentally on purpose invites Sunny (Bee's best friend) to move in as his roommate after their second one night stand. He needs a muse and she needs somewhere to stay, should be perfect, right? Of course, it's never that simple, no matter how sizzling their bi-for-bi chemistry is. This book is hot, funny and just the campiness we've come to expect, and the characters are endearing, unique, and frustrating, just like real people. Plus, there's a story within a story that develops so beautifully and brought tears to my eyes. I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Avon and Harper Voyager (shout out to Danielle!) for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was a delightful and steamy romance that will be sure to make you swoon. I enjoyed the chemistry between Sunny and Isaac and it was a delight to visit Christmas Notch yet again for another wonderful holiday season. I would recommend this book to fans of Emily Henry and Tessa Bailey.

Many thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. Thia book is available now!

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I love this big-hearted, queer holiday romance series. This latest in the Christmas Notch books sees two friends and former one-night stands becoming roommates with benefits. It's a beautiful opposites attract, grumpy x sunshine, friends to lovers romance that has excellent mental health and grief rep (Isaac is still grieving the loss of his wife) and Sunny has her own grief over her dead parents and is dealing with family problems involving her brother and their company plus has ADHD. There's lots of forced proximity, TONS of steamy SPICE, a mystery involving a love triangle in the past and lots of tender moments too. Great on audio and highly recommended. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Super cute, a bit spicy and just a great Holiday romance read! Pick this up if you want a binge worthy read.

Thank you NetGalley, Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone Avon and Harper Voyager and Avon for giving me this ARC!

Julie and Sierra can do no wrong. This was a spicy fun continuation of their Xmas series.

Sunny and Isaac’s relationship was so cute and spicy. I giggled my entire way through it.

Nothing makes me happier than the little map of their Christmas universe

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this amazing e-arc.

What do you get when you mix grief, found family (with special talents), reclusive tendencies in a small winters town, a dash of secret online detectives, and a secretive small town love story from WW2. The sweetest, “just one more time,” shmexy love story.

The personal growth was amazing. The banter between Sunny and Isaac was even better.

DNF at 40%.

I loved the mystery behind Sunny's movie, I loved the roommates with benefits trope, and I loved watching Isaac come back from "the dead".

However, while I think the premise was super cute, and the steam was fantastic, I just did not enjoy the characters enough to continue with the story. I also felt like this was supposed to be an interconnected standalone, where you could not have read the earlier books and still had plenty of information about past characters given in this book to make sense, but that was not the case. Within a very short amount of time, there were about 10-15 characters introduced by name like I should have known them who I very much did not. There were also characters referenced throughout the portion of the book I read that I had no idea who they were or their significance. A refresher for those who have read it and a simple introduction for those picking this book up first would have gone a long way imo.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone for the opportunity read a copy of this book. The thoughts and opinions above are honest and my own.

A Jingle Bell Mingle was just okay for me. I did like the story, but felt that I was expected more of a rom-com, which this didn't feel like to me. It was heavier and much more sexual-forward, which was fine, just not what I expected. That's not the authors fault by any means, so just because this wasn't my favorite story doesn't mean others won't love it.

𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
𝐀 𝐉𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞
𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐲 & 𝐒𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞
3.5/5 ⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

•𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑟𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑐𝑜𝑚
•𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑦
•𝐹𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠
•𝐿𝐺𝐵𝑇 𝑟𝑒𝑝

I’m all about my spooky reads throughout the year 24/7, so why not throw in a holiday raunchcom (love this coined phrase, btw) in the mix? 🥵🎄✨☃️

I definitely need to play catch up with the rest of the series (it’s me, hi…I’m the problem) since I was hella confused in the beginning. That didn’t detract from the hilarious moments, steamy encounters, and emotional upheavals experienced throughout the read.

Thank you to for the arc of this one! 💕

I knew I would have my heart torn out when this series got around to Isaac’s story. How can it not when Isaac is a young widow who has holed himself away from everyone since his childhood sweetheart/wife/muse died too young? Sunny has been a bright spot throughout this series. If anyone could urge Isaac back to the land of the living it would be Sunny. I just didn’t expect her to rip my heart out, too.

There are so many things about this book that work for me. The chemistry between Isaac and Sunny is fantastic, but so is their understanding and compassion for each other. I loved watching Mr. Tumnus, Sunny’s cat, go from distrust to wrangling Issac into Sunny’s space over the course of a few days. The mystery of the Christmas Notch angel who helped a mailman out in the 1940s was a fun concept vital for the overall story of Sunny and Isaac working through their grief, but it also seemed to mess with the pacing of this book. Not a lot, but enough that I noticed myself being pulled out of the story a time or two.

While this story can most likely be read as a standalone, I don’t know that it would give you the same feel. Plus, there are a lot of characters popping in and out and that can be confusing if you don’t already know some backstory. Since I have read all of the previous books (this is the last in the series) I was taking great pleasure in seeing all of the familiar faces and feeling the love between this improbable ragtag group of friends. Having the others around once in a while also made it so clear how Isaac could see the real Sunny beneath her confident and bright persona she often used to cover up the turmoil inside.

Isaac was a big dummy for much of this book. He couldn’t even see how selfish he was being with Sunny’s feelings because, in his mind, he was protecting her. To be fair, Sunny was also a dummy at times, but I almost couldn’t blame her when Isaac made it perfectly clear he would never love anyone but his deceased wife. What was Sunny supposed to do with that information when the two of them couldn’t seem to stay away from each other?

Don’t worry, this book isn’t all angst. While I cried a time or two (or three), I also laughed and experienced tears of joy.

Overview: While attending a wedding in a town called Christmas Notch, Sunny matches on a dating app with Isaac, a former one-night-stand and acquaintance who invites her to stay at his mansion while she researches a local legend for a screenplay that she is tasked with developing. In exchange, Sunny makes it her mission to help Isaac find a muse as inspiration for his new album. The only problem? Isaac already has a muse in mind…

Thoughts: I can’t believe I’m reading a Christmas themed book already?! Cute story, and eerily similar in structure as the last book I read (Morbidly Yours) which also featured a character who lost a spouse and entered into a friends-with-benefits arrangement. Since this is the 3rd book in the series, I didn’t quite follow all of the side characters, but I still enjoyed it as a stand alone romance!

Take home message: This is a cute (and spicy) holiday-themed rom-com featuring a widower who is a former boy band member and his roommate, a bubbly adult film star-turned-screenwriter. Tropes include one-night stand, roommates with benefits, and opposites attract.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Love every single book in this series, I am so grateful to have gotten an ARC Of this book, I absolutely love the characters !! I am so glad we got to see more of sunny. I love her so much. She is so wild and hilarious. I will never get tired of reading this series.

This fun holiday rom-com blends humor, romance, and mystery. Sunny Palmer, a confident and curvy screenwriter, returns to Christmas Notch, Vermont, seeking inspiration for her sold screenplay. She reconnects with Isaac Kelly, a grieving former boy band star turned reclusive mansion owner. Their unexpected arrangement as roommates turns into a journey of healing and love. The chemistry between Sunny and Isaac is electric, with the story exploring themes of grief, second chances, and the magic of Christmas. With witty dialogue, a lovable cat, and a heartwarming plot, this book is a perfect holiday read filled with warmth, laughter, and spice.

3.75 Stars

The boy banders - porn star/porn adjacent - hallmark style - holiday mashup continues… apparently you really CAN make this ish up. 😂

First off, it can’t be read as a standalone. There is no recap or reintroduction of characters. It jumps right in expecting you to know things from previous books. And even having read them, I would have appreciated a reminder, ‘cause memory is hazy after at least a year.

That aside, it starts off with a bang. Literally. There is no delayed gratification here, so if you’re in it for the holiday naughty list, you’ll love that the story is all in from the beginning. All our favorite characters are back, making appearances, and in the case of Teddy, getting a bit of extra love. And there are plenty of tropes woven together to great effect. Friends with benefits, grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity… Sunny and Isaac have a wild ride of both bodies and minds.

There’s also side quests. Some interesting sleuthing into an old local lore which I thought didn’t entirely work. It was interesting at times! But the ways in which they look/discover and exactly what Sunny hoped to gain didn’t entirely track for me. But it’s also a lighthearted holiday romp so maybe it didn’t need to make sense.

Overall, if you go into it just expecting a good time, and not diving too deep, then you’ll come out happy with this steamy and inclusive tale.

I did not realize this was the third(?) book in a series, it works as a stand alone. It has the spice and just so cute at the same time. It deals with some serious issues and is heartfelt and had some laugh out loud moments too. It was an unexpected like for me, this is not my typical read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and I might just have to check out the other books in the series by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone.

A Jingle Bell Mingle by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone is the third book in the Christmas Notch Series. I have loved all the other books in this series, and this was no exception. After a couple of hook ups Issac invites Sunny to be his roommate. Sunny and Issac trauma bond. They both have some issues that they are able to work through together. Issac has not been able to write a song since his wife died. Sunny is in town to get inspiration for a screenplay. They make a deal for Sunny to help Issac find a muse and Issac will help her uncover the truth for a local mystery. Issac and the Cat Advisory Thread group was my favorite. I loved how he was able to rely on them and have them help him out.

Starting off my (early) holiday season right with this steamy and whitty rom com. As a part of the series, the book starts out with other characters in previous books but I don’t think it’s necessary to read them all if you want to go into this one blind.

This may seem like your typical easy holiday romance read, but this book had some depth to it. Exploring grief, body positivity and sexual exploration.

Of course, the romance between Sunny and Isaac was spicy and fun, I felt like the chemistry was lacking a bit. I was actually more intrigued by the local legend of the mailman and widower and I think it beefed up the magical Christmas vibe of the whole book.

Overall, not your typical rom com, but a certain type of reader will love this story.

Genre: contemporary holiday romance

Isaac is the third and highly reclusive member of the former boy band INK. 5 years ago, his wife died of pancreatic cancer, and he's been a shell of himself since. But his record label thinks he's played the grief card for too long and is pushing him to write and record. Meanwhile, former p0rn star Sunny accidentally pitched a screenplay to the Hope Channel in an ADHD overcompensation for her boss missing a meeting, and they bought it, so now she owes them some words on a page. Circumstances being what they are in a romance novel, they are living together in the giant castle in Christmas Notch, VT where they are both in search of a muse. A s3x fueled muse experience may be the best course, but Sunny can't be the muse and Isaac still isn't sure how to process his grief.

Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone are one of my favorite writing duos, because they clearly have so much fun writing together. I've loved every book in this series so far because of the raunchy, joyful tone, and the unabashed delight in the pursuit of pleasure while still addressing more serious issues. In this case, the issue is grief, which they examine from a sensitive angle and with realistic implications for the characters.

If you love main characters who pine for one another while they are actually already banging, this book is for you. While it's not my favorite in the series (because the other two were just so good for me), it hits on real Christmas spirit, sibling communication skills, and deep and abiding friendship. The incendiary heat is balanced by the charm and silliness.

It's probably best to read this series in order because you get the most out of Teddy and Steph's prologue/epilogue journey this way, but the cast from previous books is largely background noise in this one.

I love a feel good holiday book, but this one stopped me short. I don’t care for misplaced and gratuitous strong language or implicit sexual content. So not necessary especially in a holiday themed story. I didn’t finish this book for that reason. Thank you to #netgalley #ajinglebellmingle for the opportunity to read this book.

Unexpected, sexy, and heartfelt. This was my first book in the series, but not my last. I plan to circle back to the previous books. I would guess that it would be even more enjoyable if I had read the others first. So I suggest reading the entire series.

I really liked this book. Sunny and Issac were sweet, and intensely sexy with each other. The overall back story of Sunny and Issac past experiences with each other , their own previous relationships really added a realness to the book. Both of them have loved, and lost and are trying their best. It was sweet to see them find each other to love. The side characters and the side stories were fun, I think I would have loved them more if I had read the full series. I would recommend this book.