This is my second by Julie and I REALLY wanted to give this author a second chance. Especially as a lover of everything Hallmark. It just didn’t give me the Hallmark vibes. For some reason the opening sentence was my biggest annoyance. I wanted Hallmark vibes and it didn’t give it to me. It was an ok book over all. I won’t go out of my way to get it. 3/5

This book had me actually laughing out loud. I loved the body positivity & giving bigger girls more attention they deserve. Not everyone has to be stick straight. I also loved both tropes of Roommates with benefits and Roommates to lovers.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I’ve read all of the Christmas Notch books and thought they were entertaining for what they are - steamy, tropy, holiday rom-coms. However, I was glad to see in the acknowledgments that this is the last in the series. I think the series has definitely run its course as this one dragged for me. I found Isaac annoying and if I read the word “filthy” one more time, I was going to scream. Rounding up to 3 stars.

A grumpy/sunshine, failed 1 (2?) night stand, roommates to lovers spicy holiday HEA. I loved these two and the whole found family vibe. Would also love to see the women from the The Cat Advisory Thread again!

I absolutely loved this place Sierra and Julie created. It felt safe for a person of my size to let myself disappear and imagine I’m in the FMC shoes. Sunny was literally just as her name describes her, Sunny or as Isaac calls her, Sunshine. Issac, oh our poor Sad Boy. I wanted to shake him (and her too honestly) if they would just communicate! But then we wouldn’t have a grumpy (sad) sunshine trope with all the chaotic things going on. It was everything I wanted to end the series. And the cat, Mr tumnus, perfect little cat who could do no wrong. He knew Issac needed love and was showing him love throughout the book in the only way cats know how - plotting the unaliving of their owners.

It may be September but this book has me in the Christmas spirit! This book had me laughing out loud which feels like a major accomplish given how beautifully this book explored grief and loss. It's a hard feat to make a book as emotionally raw as Julie and Sierra did while keeping things as spicy as they do. I'll definitely be rereading this book during the holidays.

I also will be using some of the one liners at work because, "I'm a recluse...I'm not devoid of culture" is just *chef's kiss*. Here's to wishing "a merry Christmas for all, and for all a naughty night" 😉

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing the ARC.

Back for the third installment in the Christmas Notch series, Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone make a truly dynamic duo in these salacious, sexy, Hallmark-esque tales in a place where Christmas miracles are just another Tuesday.

This book is just as much fun as the first two, with a great grumpy/sunshine pairing in close proximity with each other. You can see where Murphy and Simone shine with their own unique voice, but also where this duo came together to make something truly amazing.

These books are not to be missed.

True to a Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone book, this book packed in all the spice, laughs and swooniness that I have come to love with being in Christmas Notch.

A Jingle Bell Mingle is book 3 of the Christmas Notch series and its former boy band Isaac Kelly and former porn star Sunny Palmer.

With its grumpy/sunshine and small town holiday romance trope, the final book in this series lived up the expectation that I set in my mind when it came to reading their story.

I’ll say that the chemistry between these 2 flew off the pages and the spicy scenes were spicy from the start! It was incredible. Roommates with benefits in a small town while trying to help each other in their careers was definitely a storyline I enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Books for the digital ARC.

A Jingle Bell Mingle is the final book in the A Christmas Notch series and while I enjoyed all the books in the series, I definitely think they saved the best for last.

Sunny Palmer has had a lot of different jobs in her life and her latest one is attempting to write a script for the screenplay she somehow managed to sell to the Hope Channel. She's reaching the end of her deadline and decides to try and find some inspiration at the scene of the mystery behind her screenplay idea which just happens to be in Christmas Notch.

Christmas Notch also happens to be the new home of Isaac Kelly, former boy band heartthrob who is still mourning the death of his wife. Isaac is hoping some distance from his former life will help spark some inspiration for his final album.

After waking up together after their best friends' in a freezing motel room, Isaac offers Sunny an offer she can't refuse - a place to stay at his mansion along with her unhinged cat. What could go wrong when they make deal to help each other get over their respective creative blocks?

I loved the tension of the back and forth between Sunny and Isaac with all the steam in the middle. There were a lot of issues for both of them to work through along with a WWII Christmas miracle mystery to be solved. The story kept up a good pace and kept me interested throughout the whole story. I also loved that it wrapped up a few loose ends for some extra special side characters and old friends made appearances (though this book could be read as a standalone if you haven't read the previous books & novellas without feeling too lost).

Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone did it again with A Jingle Bell Mingle.

This series has been fun and sexy, and this one continues to deliver on that. The chemistry is off the charts, the spicy scenes are top notch. I definitely recommend reading this after the other two in the series.

Pick this one up if you enjoy:
◽ Grumpy/sunshine
◽ Roommates with benefits
◽ Holiday romance
◽ Small town
◽ All the steam and spice

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper for the advance copy.

📜A Jingle Bell Mingle
✍️Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone
📠Avon
📚Romance
🗓️Pub date: September 24, 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨Thank you @NetGalley and @avonbooks for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

✨Adult-film actress Sunny Palmer accidentally sold her screenplay six months ago. This Christmas she decides to hunker down in Christmas Notch, Vermont, to look for some more inspiration.

✨Former boy-band star Isaac Kelly takes ownership of the town’s historic mansion while trying to record a holiday album. All he wants is to be left in peace after his wife’s death from a few years ago.

✨After their best friends’ wedding leads them to waking up in a freezing motel with a broken shower, Isaac invites Sunny to stay with him—they decide they can be each other’s muse. What could go wrong, right?

✨This was a light, quirky and different holiday romance (albeit steamy!) I didn’t love it, but I’m always a fan of Sierra Simone.

#netgalley #juliemurphy #sierrasimone #romancebooks #ajinglebellmingle #advancedreadercopy #arc #bookreview #bookstagrammer #fallreleases

"And for all, a naughty night"

This wasn't what I was expecting, and I wasn't sure if it was my cup of tea... I'm still not 😂
Spicy, weird, smutty, different, but keeps you turning the page- if this sounds like your thing, give this a try!

3.5 rounded up!
I’ll start by saying, I do not think this book fully stands alone from the other books in the series. I have not read those so when this book started I was feeling a little lost. I was still able to follow the Sunny/Isaac love story but I felt a little confused by their history and I couldn’t keep up with all the other previously introduced characters. I’m not counting this in my star rating but feel it’s worth mentioning.

Sunny and Isaac did a whole lot of getting in the way of their own happiness! That was definitely frustrating to me, and it took me a little while to buy into their love story, but I ended up being satisfied with their ending. I enjoyed the secondary storyline of Sunny’s Christmas lore research. This one was definitely smutty but with depth as they dealt with their own grief. I think the authors did a good job of making it Christmas themed but not making it cheesy or over the top.

So much more thoughtful and emotional than I expected! This series is so well done because the characters are always realistic, thought-provoking, and deeply flawed. They are wonderful people to root for during the holidays. Very nice follow up to Kallum and Winnie, and a seeming (?) conclusion to the Christmas Notch series.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins for allowing me to read an advanced readers copy!

A Jingle Bell Mingle was funny as hell, so sweet, heartwarming, with some spice thrown in it. I wish I had read the first 2 books in the series before I read this one, but otherwise, I really enjoyed it. I recommend.

I was the most intrigued by Sad boi ™️ Isaac’s story from the moment he was introduced and for good reason because what a payoff. Sad boy Isaac is sad for very good reasons, but also he’s just not a people person ya know? Even as a former boy band member, he’s as introverted as they come, and grief has made him a certified hermit. But now he has to come out of this self imposed exile. For life reasons. And he’s not happy about it.

Sunny Palmer is the opposite of Isaac, the sunshine to his grumpy storm cloud, the incurable flirt to his broody loner. On the surface they’re poles apart (heh), but they have some demons in common, and ergo they’re inexorably drawn together. While Isaac is thawing out of the living tomb of his life, Sunny is trying to bring him back to life while finding her footing in her own. Isaac may be sad and busy brooding, but he’s also horny, and so is Sunny. So obviously you gotta have sad horny sex when you’re existing in forced proximity you know. And while you’re having said banging good times, you also start yearning for each other and pining for more, what of it? It’s normal, totally fine. Doesn’t mean anything.

This isn’t your regular old raunch com with holiday themed shenanigans tempered with a healthy dose of snow melting, Christmas tree incinerating (not literally) spicy times, this is also a poignant story of two lost souls finding each other and bonding over grief and their polar opposite ways of dealing with it. Filthy but make it sweet, like a spicy lil egg nog. With of course a liberal scattering of holiday shenanigans and cozy cold cases and career resurrection schemes in the background. All this with the giant hug that’s the Teddy Ray Fletcher extended found family and a mildly murderous cat make for what is hands down the best installment of the series.

Very spicy contemporary romance. I didn't realize this was the 3rd and final book in an interconnected series (Christmas Notch). I wish I had read the other 2 books and 2 novellas first. Whoops.
I enjoyed the main characters together and I especially enjoyed the secondary characters. Also, I learned a new phrase looking into this book after reading it - raunch com! lol. This book is very smutty y'all.

This is the fourth and last book in a series set in Christmas Notch, Vermont where it's Christmas all year.

✔ Widower
✔ Adult Film Actor
✔ Second Chances
✔ Found Family
✔ Friends to Lovers
✔ Overcoming trauma
✔ Opposites Attract


An Inferno spicy read with plenty of secondary characters including a loveable cat, a town that has a rich and colorful history, a local legend, and a place to remind you that anything is possible...this is a book for you.

Not only is this a dual author book but it is written in two POV and I can't tell where one author ends and the other begins. While this is part of a series and has interconnected characters you could read this as a standalone. However, with all the shenanigans and backstory leading up to this moment you might enjoy the previous books in this holiday themed series.

While Isaac and Sunny are sorting through the adventure of forced proximity this story also includes interconnected characters as their story arcs wrap up as well.

Will Sunny and Isaac be able to find someone to not only share life with but be open to something deeper - perhaps love. It's never too late!

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.5⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Holiday romance📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
A fun a steamy Christmas romance with some heavier topics

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Spicy Christmas reads
Grumpy x sunshine
Romantic comedies
Heavier topics
Friends to lovers
Local mysteries
Former boy band member x screen writer
Heartwarming
Small towns
Christmas Notch series

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Bi rep
Teddy and Steph side story

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
Lots of characters and side stories

This book is the third in a series of holiday romance novels and it is now clear to me that they should be read in order. I was not aware this wasn’t a standalone story, and I was unfortunately lost in a lot of the storyline because it. There are quite a few side characters with little introduction and the main two characters have significant backstory from the previous books that is necessary to understand this book. Despite this, it felt like a cute premise! I did found the characters to be immature and over the top though. Not my cup of tea!