A Jingle Bell Mingle was definitely a bittersweet conclusion to the Christmas Notch series. A tad heavier in subject than its predecessors, it explored grief, loss, and moving on, particularly around the holidays. Though this one made me cry a little, it was definitely well-balanced with whimsy, humor, and a bit of raunch.

All in all, despite a few areas where the plot wasn’t as smooth as it could have been, I think this is my favorite Murphy/Simone book of the series.

A Jingle Bell Mingle takes us back to Christmas Notch for the final time. While this story focuses on Sunny and Isaac, all the rest of the cast we’ve come to love play prominent roles as well.

As always, Julie and Sierra have crafted a witty, emotional, heartwarming, and spicy story. They tackle the topic of profound loss and grief with kindness and compassion.

You can’t help but fall in love with Sunny and Isaac. Sunny is the perfect counterbalance Isaac. They’ve crafted flawed characters who, while struggling through their grief, still manage to find joy. The real star of this book though is Mr. Tumnus.

This book was the perfect end to this holiday series.

I am so so sad that we won't get anymore of this series!

The Christmas Notch series is one of my favourite Christmas reads.

A Jingle Bell Mingle is the story of former INK star Isaac and Sunny. Their story starts from a one night stand a few years back and then they meet up again at Nolan and Bree's wedding (the characters from the first Christmas Notch book). I loved this book so much! It does have a lot of spice but the plot is also there and is so so good!!

It was actually a heart warming read about loss, grief, and a second chance at love.

So sad that this is the end of this series but it ended so well!

This book had me laughing out loud just like the previous two in the series. As far as I'm concerned, Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone can do no wrong. A sad ex-boyband heartthrob and a small-town holiday movie script. SIGN ME UP. This was somehow both sweet and hot and I'm honestly stunned every time I read a book in this series at how they manage to weave so much humor into intricate romance arcs. I loved this one. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this copy of the book. My thoughts are my own.

A Jingle Bell Mingle is book three in A Christmas Notch Series by Julie Murphy; Sierra Simone.
I loved being back in Christmas Notch with Isaac and Sunny.
A super fun and steamy holiday romance that I absolutely devoured.
Murphy’s writing style is one of my favorites, and I love the way she blends humor and spice to create the perfect romance.
These characters put such a smile on my face. Both main characters were so relatable and easy to love. These are the types of characters that you just want to get to know better.
Our authors blend witty banter, compelling character development, and a festive atmosphere that’s impossible to resist.
I’m so sad to see this series come to an end.

Thank You NetGalley and Avon for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I loved getting to know Isaac and Sunny. Isaac was so broody, and had such a dark but honest sense of humor. I loved getting to know him and learn more about his feelings and that Sad Boy vibe he was giving. Sunny was so wonderful and really was Sunshine. She had some past she also had to get through but being able to see the two sides of grief, and living after a sad scenario was beautiful. It was a wonderful way to say good bye to the Uncle Ray-Rays family! And of course, you cannot forget about the prologue and epilogue with Teddy & Steph. It was so wonderful!

4 Stars A Jingle Bell Mingle is the last book in the Christmas Notch series by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone and I'm sad to see this series end! These books are unlike any I've read before, with a crossover of a wholesome Christmas movie set and former sex workers (specifically porn stars). A Jingle Bell Mingle continues Murphy and Simone's streak of witty, clever, and creative stories. In between the fun and spicy moments, there's plenty of heavy topics as well, like grief. Such a great series and there truly is no other like it!

4 Stars A Jingle Bell Mingle is the last book in the Christmas Notch series by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone and I'm sad to see this series end! These books are unlike any I've read before, with a crossover of a wholesome Christmas movie set and former sex workers (specifically porn stars). A Jingle Bell Mingle continues Murphy and Simone's streak of witty, clever, and creative stories. In between the fun and spicy moments, there's plenty of heavy topics as well, like grief. Such a great series and there truly is no other like it!

A Jingle Bell Mingle is the third and final book in A Christmas Notch series by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone. It follows part-time adult film actress and aspiring screenwriter Sunny Palmer and former boy-bander Isaac Kelly.

After making an anxiety-riddled, frantic pitch to the Hope Channel, Sunny Palmer is in a bit of a pickle and is on a mission to fill in the gaps of the story she needs to write. When a wedding leads to a one-night stand with ex-INK heartthrob (and Sunny's former highly memorable one-night stander) Isaac Kelly, it also leads him to invite her (and her possibly possessed cat) to the historic mansion he bought in town. Even though he's been busy living his best recluse life, Isaac needs to make sure Sunny is safe while she stays in town and investigates the supposed Christmas miracle. He agrees to help her, and she offers to find him a new muse to help him finish his solo Christmas album. Little did they know that Christmas would bring them more than they had ever imagined.

This book had me in absolute hysterics. No joke, I was crying from laughing so hard while reading this in the parent pickup line in my car. The humor in this book is top-tier and exactly what I wanted and didn't know I needed in a Holiday Romance. Honestly, since this is a holiday romance, my expectations are low; I wanted to smile and have fun. This book did both.

I know from reading A Merry Little Meet Cute that the prologue would probably start with the same character, and I still find it an odd choice. However, because it crosses multiple books this way, it also tells a story without having to be a novella. It is interconnected, serving as the common starting point for all the couples' journeys.

Pro Sad Boy Isaac was as grumpy as he was sweet, and so very endearing. The way he tried to win over that cat and the lengths he went to had me cracking up. He also had me in tears at one point. Julie and Sierra did a good job portraying the complications of his grief. Honestly, I wasn't expecting these scenes to hit me as hard as they did.

Sunny was definitely the sunshine of this pair, and I loved every minute of her. Some of her lines were straight-up belly-laugh-out-loud funny. She was tenacious in both her musematching as she was in the hunt for the Christmas miracle truth, and it was great.

Oh, and the truth of that miracle? So good. So surprising. So heartbreaking. So uplifting.

The steam was quite steamy and fun, and I loved every second of it. There's consent. There's openness and confidence in experiences and their sexualities and it was so refreshing.

If you're someone who loves to snuggle up and watch a good cheesy Christmas romance, but wished there was more humor, a lot more steam, and more queer representation, A Jingle Bell Mingle is for you! Highly recommend this heartfelt, entertaining, quick read for your holiday TBR.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
🎄 One-Night Stand to more
🎤 Forced Proximity
🎄 Small town
🎤 Queer representation
🎄 Plus-Size FMC
🎤 Professional Sad Boy MMC
🎄 She's trying to solve a Christmas mystery
🎤 He's scared to love again
🎄 Grumpy/Sunshine

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for a copy of this ARC.

This had a really interesting start and I was honestly a little thrown off by the prologue initially. Having not read the other two books in the series, I was introduced to way too many characters all at once and didn’t really know enough about them to care. However, I’m glad I stuck with it because Isaac and Sunny were truly one of a kind, and they were honestly just the sweetest with each other.

The book follows Sunny, who accidentally pitches and sells her very first screenplay, and Isaac, a grieving musician currently on hiatus but expected to release an album. Both have high expectations stacked against them to get creative, and they find solace in each other as they try to finish their work. This book truly got me in the mood for Christmas—and it’s not even fall yet! Sunny and Isaac had such fun banter, and they were really well-rounded characters. Their feelings lingered and grew for each other throughout the book, but it was so special to read about their grief and how their friendship and love helped them heal parts of each other they didn’t even know needed healing. I also absolutely loved how a Christmas miracle was woven into the story. It really brought all of the characters together and fully made up for the initial confusion I felt at the start.

The epilogue was cute but, again, a bit confusing. I was really thankful for the final part that brought the focus back to Sunny and Isaac. Overall, it was really fun, and I totally recommend checking it out. It’s not your usual Christmas story, but it was wholesome in its own way, and Sunny and Isaac were honestly just really silly and sweet together. A Jingle Bell Mingle comes out this week, and I highly recommend it if you’re in a festive mood. I will definitely be checking out the other books in the series after this one because I absolutely loved the other characters as well! A special thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyage for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ooo this book was good but I didn’t connect with the characters as much this time. I also didn’t read the first 2 and I think if I would’ve done that I would’ve understood it better. Very nice quick read I would recommend!

🎄forced proximity
🎄one night stand to lovers
🎄 sad boy vibes
🎄found family

Isaac is a former boy band member who is mourning after losing his wife years prior.

Sunny Palmer is a part time adult film acress and make up artist.

They shared a one night stand threesome that has stayed in their minds. Forced proximity, friendship, grief, lust, and chemistry give these two a second chance.

This is really like reading a spicy Hallmark movie and I loved every bit!

A Jingle Bell Mingle

This book is not what it looks like! Do not let the cute hallmark cover fool you into thinking this will be a sweet romance that is clean. With that being said, this books was a spicy little thing! The cute Christmas town packs all the spice and festive into one. I liked the depth of the story we got for the characters and the story line that was told along with it. Both Sunny and Isaac are dealing with unresolved grief. Sunny and Isaac develop a chemistry and the one night stand becomes more than one night. I think the story within a story was a cute touch as Sunny works on to solve the Christmas Angel mystery. The cat made me giggle and how hard Isaac tried to get the cat to like him.
This book is not for everybody (especially if you are closed door romance) and the cover is a very easy draw in factor for that.

Overall the book was cute, kept my attention, the spice was spicy, and the cat made the story.

I was given an arc of this book for an honest review.
I have never squealed for a series of books like I have for Christmas Notch! The story of Isaac and Sunny was by far my favorite! It was laugh out loud funny, and the love story was everything you would want! The past characters make hilarious cameos and a certain snobby cat steals a good bit of the book! If you love Hallmark love with some spice, this series is definitely for you!

4-4.5 ⭐️
Sunny and Isaac's story has been my favorite of the interconnected standalones in the Christmas Notch series, and it's no wonder because I am an absolute sucker for a Sad Boy widower hero! Rom-coms are always a hard sell with me because I don't find a lot of things funny, but this book was just the right balance with none of the too-cutesy, OTT humor or slapstick that is not my favorite. It is intelligently funny, with ongoing bits that really pay off repeatedly as it goes along.

As with the whole series, I love the sex-positivity and nonchalant LGBTQ presence, love the sweetly steamy scenes and poignant emotions from both main characters' back stories. As I said before, this is an interconnected standalone but as the last in the series the cameos and through-line story of Teddy and Steph mean more because I've seen all of these people already, and without knowing their backgrounds they would truly be almost inconsequential appearances of non-fleshed out characters.

I'm a little sad to see Christmas Notch end since it is rare for me to like a rom-com or a holiday-themed story, and I enjoyed all of these and this little town, but it is a fitting ending and we got to see everyone get their HEAs and that works for me!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback and review.

I'll be honest I jumped up and down when I got the ARC for the third full-length entry into the Christmas Notch series. These books are truly one of my favorite romance discoveries of the last year. I love the writing style, the characters, and so much more. There's truly so much to love. In A Jingle Bell Mingle, we're finally getting Isaac's (the final member of INK, boy band sensation for those of you just tuning in) story and returning to Christmas Notch. And it doesn't disappoint, returning with a cast of characters that followers of the Christmas Notch series will definitely recognize. With the same quick witted writing style that we've come to love, everything has been kicked up a notch by our female MC - Sunny - who has a personality I absolutely adore. I found myself highlighting so many quotes -- my favorite of which is <spoiler><i>"As for the Twilight role-play... let's just say the glitter body oil I packed was put to good use"</i></spoiler> And with the epilogue, every characters arc is wrapped up neatly. I truly wish there was another book on its way in this series simply because of how much I loved the writing and the characters development. But alas, this marks the end. Overall, however, it's a great ending to a great series.

You really need to read the entire series before jumping into A Jingle Bell Mingle. I have only read the first book so I felt pretty lost reading the third installment. The cover of this book gives "cute Christmas romance" but the subject matter was more on the dark side. It also falls more on the lust side of romance than lust.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this advanced copy. A Jingle Bell Mingle is available on September 24, 2024.

This is the 3rd book in a series. Like the other ones I felt like this book was average. I think this one started very slow. It did get better once I got past the halfway point. I'm glad that I read it as it's in a series which I've read. I felt the need to complete it. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy. #JingleBellMingle #NetGalley

I read the first book in this interconnected stand-alone series a few years ago and then somehow didn't realize there were more. I saw Julie and Sierra moderate a panel at Apollycon (side note: they seem like they have a seriously fun friendship) this year and was excited to learn that there were more! I devoured the books I missed and was super excited to see that the final book was available for request on NetGalley, and now, here we are.

I think this might be my favorite of the series. This one focuses on Sunny and Isaac. Sunny is a member of Teddy's merry band of misfits and accidentally pitched and sells a film to the Hope channel... and then has to figure out how to write it. Isaac is a widower who has hit a creative block when it comes to music. He's not sure how to move forward after the death of his wife 5 years ago, who he considered his muse. The two hooked up in the past and end up roommates with bennies after reconnecting at a wedding. Both fairly closed off from feelings, they must figure out what they want and need, while researching a town myth (that Sunny pitched for the movie) and trying to overcome creative blocks.

We get cameos from former main characters and get to see how they're all doing. The spice spices (hello, gingerbread scented lotion), and there are some big feelings to contend with. This was such a nice ending to the series! I'd recommend it to those looking for a spicy holiday romcom.

Thanks to Avon, Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for an alc of this book for an honest review!

Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone are the queens of steam so of course I had to pick up A Jingle Bell Mingle to kick my holiday season off! This book is part of a series but can absolutely be read as a standalone without missing a thing.

Taking place in a cozy, winter town in Vermont the perfect backdrop is in place to meet our two main characters. Sunny, an amazing part time adult-film star slash movie director slash screenwriter slash diaper mogul in making. Sunny is all sunshine and no direction in her life and with the baggage she carries, she honestly prefers it that way. Isaac, a boy band star with a broken heart just wants to finish his last album and be left alone. Together can Sunny and Isaac find some Christmas magic to heal each other? Take that and throw in a ton of spice, because you know it is there if Ms Julie and Ms Sierra are around and BOOM. You have an epically endearing, yet spicy, holiday read.