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.

A Jingle Bell Mingle delivers everything you want in a contemporary romance. The story is fun, the setting is whimsical, and the characters are strong and memorable. The spice level is quite high—maybe a bit too much for my taste—but I know many readers will enjoy that aspect.

Sunny Palmer, a part-time adult film actress, occasional director, and makeup artist, unexpectedly sells her very first screenplay to the Hope Channel. Then there's Isaac Kelly, a former boy band heartthrob turned reclusive musician, now the owner of the town’s historic mansion. Both characters carry heavy emotional baggage from past trauma.

The story kicks off at a wedding, leading to an unexpected morning where Sunny and Isaac wake up together in a freezing motel room. They strike a deal: Isaac will help Sunny uncover the truth behind the local legend for her screenplay, and in return, Sunny will help Isaac find a new muse to reignite his passion for songwriting.

The plot is charming, the characters are well-developed, and the Christmas town setting adds a magical holiday vibe. It’s the perfect festive read to get you into the spirit of the season!

Is it really the end of The Christmas Notch Series?!?!? Sunny Palmer and Isaac Kelly finally have their spotlight! Sunny was just the person Isaac needed to return to the land of the living. Her personality was just like her name, but Sunny had her moments. Staying with Isaac enabled her to be herself while drawing Isaac out of his self-imposed prison. Their relationship went from one night stand to friends and roommates to lovers. I liked the evolution of their relationship. The steamy parts were flaming hot. Their quiet moments were soothing. The way they came together with their friends to celebrate. This book was a great way to wrap up the series, give us a glimpse into the lives of past characters, and the future for Sunny and Isaac. Great way to get into the holidays!

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher and voluntarily left this review.

Say it isn’t so that the Christmas Notch series is complete! Oh, how I have devoured this fun series with adorable and raunchy stories that get you in the perfect mood for the holidays. Though this book can be read as a standalone, Julie and Sierra gave the series a great send-out with a romance between the part-time stripper/make-up artist/screenwriter and the “sad boy” rock star. This book was such a blast to read and was the perfect pick for the She Reads Romance Books Book Club this October!

I went into this book with three goals in mind: read something really funny, read something spicy, and read something to get into the holiday spirit and this book accomplished all three!

Julie and Sierra are like friend goals to me. They look like they have so much fun together and that fun just oozes into the pages with this book and series. There are so many funny gems in this book that I kept highlighting – it was hilarious. From discussions about Barbies scissoring together, to how vibrators are dependable but maybe not the best cuddle partners to a demonic cat that wants to shred everything in sight.

I just loved the humor that would spring up throughout this book but this was also a book that didn’t shy away from heavier topics such as grief and loss. Isaac’s introspection about how his mourning was influenced by the world’s mourning of his wife just about broke my heart. I could absolutely see how both of these characters were hesitant to love again for fear of experiencing pain like they already had from losing someone they loved. And yet, Sunny and Isaac just FIT from their very first one-night stand and I loved them together.

These two were never awkward around one another or ever tried to mold themselves to be something they weren’t for the other person. What you saw was what you got and that’s what made them so wonderful and why you were routing for them to see that for themselves the entire book.

The forced proximity of living together and working together to learn more about the town’s “Christmas miracle” story inevitably made it hard for both to keep their hands off each other and that’s where the delightful spiciness came in that I KNEW Julie and Sierra could deliver.
These two were so compatible in their interests and desires and they were SO HOT together! I of course loved the dirty talk and the choice locations for some of their trysts. Well done ladies….well done!

The Christmas miracle story was a cute side-story to include that was also a surprise in how it unfolded. It was just enough to make this a fun holiday romance but one that honestly could be read any time of year.

While I mentioned that this can be read as a standalone, I think you have more perspective for the town and the background as to how adult film stars got involved with a holiday movie channel if you at least read A Merry Little Meet Cute. As the final book in the series you get a great send-off for all of the characters you’ve met in the past books, including Teddy’s happily ever after which was great!

*Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an advance reader's copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. A Jingle Bell Mingle is a match up of a former adult film star turned screenplay writer and a former boy band heartthrob who end up stuck in a snowy mansion together in Vermont. They strike a deal to help each other out with their challenges; Sunny needs help with her screenplay and Isaac has a holiday album to record. The two meet at Bee and Nolan's wedding, the stars of the first book of this series. They have a hot night together in Sunny's dilapidated hotel room, and Isaac invites her to stay in his mansion while she works through her writer's block. He figures they will barely see each other in the huge house, but their chemistry and passion soon return and this grumpy-sunshine pair end up having more fun together than they anticipated. Both are grieving and they are both working through some serious issues. The side characters in this book added tons of humor to the story. I love these authors and a good grumpy-sunshine romance. This book was full of steam and I loved the main characters. A cozy and spicy holiday read.

Super fun book! Glad I got to read this early. Enjoyed this book in the series--spicy holiday read!

Thank you NetGalley, Julie Murphy, and Sierra Simone!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "A Jingle Bell Mingle" by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone: A Cozy and Quirky Holiday Romance!

"A Jingle Bell Mingle" is a heartwarming and humorous holiday rom-com that perfectly blends the festive magic of Christmas with the charm of opposites-attract romance. Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone craft a delightful, steamy, and quirky love story that follows Sunny Palmer, a part-time adult film actress and aspiring screenwriter, and Isaac Kelly, a brooding former boy band star.

What really shines in this novel is the chemistry between Sunny and Isaac. The banter between the two is sharp, funny, and filled with tension. Both characters are creatively blocked, and watching them help each other through their struggles while growing closer feels authentic and touching. Murphy and Simone give each character emotional depth, from Isaac’s grief and healing to Sunny’s journey toward self-acceptance and success.

The setting of Christmas Notch, Vermont, adds a wonderful festive backdrop to their relationship. The small-town charm, complete with holiday traditions and quirky locals, creates a warm and cozy atmosphere, making the book perfect for the holiday season. There’s also plenty of humor, especially with Sunny’s “potentially demonic” cat, which brings light-hearted moments throughout the story.

While I loved the dynamic between Sunny and Isaac, some parts of the story felt slightly rushed, especially in terms of character development toward the end. A bit more time fleshing out their emotional growth would have made their connection even more satisfying. But overall, it didn’t detract too much from the overall enjoyment of the novel.

If you’re looking for a feel-good, steamy, and festive read with a unique twist on the classic holiday romance, "A Jingle Bell Mingle" will not disappoint. It’s filled with warmth, laughter, and just the right amount of holiday magic!

Thank you NetGalley and Julie Murphy; Sierra Simone for the ARC!
***All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone***

Happy to read the final installment in this trilogy! I was hoping for the high level of banter and spice from the first book in the collaboration, but this one is more on par with the Holly Jolly Ever After story. A cute holiday tale with fun callbacks to the adult film shenanigans and side characters, but not as memorable as the first in the series.

At about the 20% mark things still were not clicking for me… that’s when I turned to Goodreads and found out that this is actually the third book in a series. Now I understand why I was so confused at the beginning. I felt like I was either really missing key details or I literally forgot how to comprehend literature. Truly felt like I was going crazy for a moment there.

As of right now, this book is leaning into more cringey territory for me. I think that I definitely need to read the first two in order to feel more connected to the characters and this story. I am going to do that a bit further into fall and circle back to this review!

Thank you Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this ARC,