This was a good read - I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

I actually really liked this one! It's got the same premise as Merry Little Meet Cute, in a sort of "opposites attract, but not really opposites" way - but, in a lot of ways, I was more drawn to Kallum and Winne than I was to Bee and Nolan. I know some reviews found the 2nd act gotcha moment to be trite and/or offensive - but I actually found it sort of refreshing - lets not pretend that every hot hookup is someone that you want to co-parent with. Romance is not always my thing, but I'm finding that I enjoy what Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone are bringing to the genre - twists on classic tropes, widespread body/lifestyle acceptance.

I’m a little shook by how much of a rollercoaster this book turned out to be. What starts out as a former boy band crooner slash recent sex tape starrer and fallen angel slash former wholesome movie star working together on a Hallmark (umm hope) after dark movie wherein said boy band member provides seggs lessons to said orgasm deprived actress soon turns into a steamy, emotional story of 2 people getting over their hang ups while hurtling towards a Holly jolly ever after. Sounds like a lot? That’s because this book has a lot going on, from smutty movie shenanigans to setting purity culture on fire to sex education to an oopsie plot twist I should’ve seen coming as soon as we heard the movie title. But apparently I’m slow. That plot twist however took nothing away from my enjoyment of the book (shockingly) and that doesn’t happen often.

Winnie is the innocent little ingenue getting over years of conditioning through therapy and late life rebellion. Kallum is the most golden retriever of pizza daddies. He may be known as the pizza slinger and bridesmaid fucker with a dad bod, but the man is a steaming cinnamon roll come to life. He must be protected at all costs. But is he so pure it makes him immature? That’s the question Winnie is out to answer. It broke my heart to see Winnie question his utter devotion, even as I knew she was asking the right questions for someone who’d been disappointed too often in her life. But again, the man’s l patience and love for her is so endless he never takes it personally and lets her have all the space while still catering to her every need.

The Christmas notch fam is zany as ever, the side romances heating up and as swoony as the main ones, the cast queer and outrageous and as welcoming as a warm hug, and we finally get some clues to sad boi Isaac’s story, and we know I’ve been feening for that one since day one. SS and JM are a force on their own, but they’re an absolute riot together, and will have you rolling with laughter, feeling hot and bothered, swooning, and wiping tears and snot all at the same time.

I was so excited to return to Christmas Notch after thoroughly enjoying "A Merry Little Meet Cute." I love the whole idea of the Hope Channel's After Dark series and I hope we continue learning more about the supporting characters as the series continues. I thought Kallum was a great character and appreciated that he wasn't described as your standard chiseled male lead. I loved seeing the growth in Winnie and how patient Kallum was with her as she processed her trauma. I devoured the first half of the story, but struggled a bit with the second half. There were a few tropes I didn't love, but it didn't overly detract from my enjoyment of the story, the characters, and the setting. I'll certainly be on the lookout for the next title in the series and any other works by these authors!

I went back and forth a lot in this book, deciding if I liked it. The first half was really good and had a lot of the same vibes as Merry Little Meet Cute. The second half really dragged and felt longer than it needed to be. And it contained a trope I didn't love. That said, I really enjoyed this and thought it was sweet and spicy.

Also, I'm obsessed that the author has Teddy open and close the chapters of each book. I feel like it's a bonus romance story.

I always enjoy Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone and think this was a great follow up to Merry Little Meet Cute!

The setting was very cute, I wish we would have spent more time getting to know the regulars in Christmas Notch, not just the characters of the production. It also felt very odd to start and end the book with a minor/side character we only ever see one other time in the story. While I enjoyed the book, it was hard to believe at some points and the second half felt completely separate from the first with weird miscommunications that didn't make sense and huge timeline jumps just for the sake of moving the pregnancy along. Overall I did enjoy the book though.

Unfortunately I was unable to get into this book. I know these authors are popular and I wanted to like it but the writing was kind of cringeworthy from the beginning.

Rating: 3.5 stars

The accidental pregnancy trope is one of my least favorite tropes in the romance genre, but somehow the authors made it work. The main character were the perfect opposites of each other which worked perfectly for this story.

Thank you, NetGalley for the free e-arc of A Holly Jolly Ever After.

This was a fantastic follow up in the universe of Christmas notch, so sweet. It’s funny, sexy and such a wonderful story. It’s unexpected and so fun. A realistic and sexy tale. I love how Kallum and Winnie aren’t perfect, go through realistic road blocks in their relationship and still work to make it happen. I can’t wait for more,

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙧𝙤𝙢-𝙘𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙮-𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙢!

📍 Read if you like:
• Holiday Reads
• Workplace Romance
• Forced Proximity
• Found Family
• Spice

I think I was one of the few people who actually enjoyed A Merry Little Meet Cute when I read it last year, so I was really looking forward to this book.

While I didn’t love this one as much as the first, I still had a great time reading this and would definitely recommend it. This is such an enjoyable holiday read with so much steam.

I honestly really enjoyed the characters in this book. Winnie’s journey and growth throughout the book had me so intrigued, it was interesting seeing her figure out who she wanted to be while also dealing with her purity-culture upbringing. Kallum is a former boy band member who’s cast as the lead in a Christmas movie, in which Winnie also leads.

It was fun following these characters and the dynamics throughout the book. I did think about how I felt after finishing this book as there were a few major issues I had with it.

While I love a good workplace romance with forced proximity, there were two tropes introduced that I really despised. The first half of the book was absolutely incredible, but the second half just felt like a different book.

Overall, I still enjoyed this book and let those tropes slide a bit, although they really did stump me. I enjoyed the characters and the overall representation throughout the book. This was fun, spicy, and overall gave a festive feeling!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Avon for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Pregnancy, Sexual Content, Religious Bigotry, Miscarriage, Toxic Relationship

Having enjoyed Murphy and Simone's first book together, A Merry Little Meet Cute, I was looking forward to more charming holiday fun mixed with steamy romance. While I would say the first half delivered exactly that, the second half felt a little, sloppy. In romances, conflict from lack of communication is never going to be my thing and it made for a weak conflict here that was a little too easily resolved only for it come up again in the last third of the book. It was still an enjoyable read but the could have stuck the landing better.

We’re back in Christmas Notch baby! What started as another spicy Christmas read by two fantastic authors, quickly turned into something much different (and unexpected, if you don’t read content warnings). So let this be a warning to all: there’s a pregnancy.

The first half (ish) of this book was the same spicy goodness that existed in the first book (and novella). Sweet character interactions, budding romance. You name it. And with the amount of times a baby was mentioned before the actual pregnancy, I should’ve seen the baby coming as a way bigger plot point than a simple introduction to the epilogue. Nope. Santa Baby (also another sign I should’ve seen as the baby forthcoming) takes up the entire back half of the book and the spice goes with the baby. Which was super disappointing. Off you’re going to make me sit through a pregnancy trope the least you could give me is also some hot pregnancy sex (sorry for anyone who knows me irl and just has to read that sentence). But this baby killed the spice.

The baby did not kill the awesome character development and relationship growth though. That was awesome. But I was super disappointed in the back half of the book, as it just lacked all the spice that I had grown used to from the earlier parts of the book (or their other books).

I didn’t hate the book. It was great. I was just left disappointed by it in the end.

I loved this book! I loved the first book in this series and I was very excited to be able to read the second. It was a joy seeing these characters develop over the course of this book. I can't wait to see what this writing duo writes next.

Love this was a fun cute read especially for the winter season! Love the fling to forever trope. Both characters were so likable, I love that the MMC had a dad bod, either we’re perfect and that was totally okay.

This is a good book. The two main characters are Winnie and Kallum. They are both actors. They are making a movie together to jump start both their careers. There is an attraction. They start seeing each other. They start dating. Winnie finds out she is pregnant they each have issues but together they work them out and fall in love.

So so cute and spunky romance. I loved this adorable story. I read the series and enjoyed each one and the quirkiness

It made me smile and chuckle to read along

I enjoyed this one enough - it was a little too over the top plot wise but a fun read none the less. It made me laugh out loud a lot!

Overall: 4.5/5
Spice level: 3.5/5
Tropes: sex lessons, MMC with "dad bod", Jewish MMC, fling to forever, accidental pregnancy

CW: purity culture trauma

I've really enjoyed this series, and I'm not much for holiday stories. Luckily they don't exactly revolve around holidays.

Winnie and Kallum are so cute and absolutely HOT together! Unexpectedly so considering she grew up extremely religious and is still unpacking years of trauma from purity culture. It impacted how she views relationships and marriage and sex, of course. Which in turn complicates her journey for love with Kallum.

And Kallum is such a cinnamon roll hero. I absolutely loved his character. Literally whatever Winnie desired, he was there for it. And I loved that he is a little on the fluffier side compared to most romance heroes.

I did appreciate how Winnie set and stood by her boundaries when it came to her ex-husband and her parents. The way they tried to gaslight and manipulate her were absolutely awful.

I'm so intrigued to see if The 3rd INK member will be getting a book since he actually appears on the page here! Isaac is so broody and sad. He deserves some joy.

Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone's A Holly Jolly Ever After is a fun little holiday romp. It is lighthearted and follows up nicely the first two books of this holiday series. It's everything you expect of these two: funny, irreverent, and erotic. While I enjoyed the story, I sometimes struggled with their back-and-forth. Winnie's spurning of Kallum towards the end seemed out of character, while Kallum's inattention seemed more plot ploy than consistent with his interest in Winnie. All of that to say that I enjoyed this found family rom-com, and I'm hoping we'll be gifted with more stories in the future.