A great addition Christmas Notch series. The realness of adults going through their own issues is refreshing. Sunny and Isaac are lovable and the push and pull of their friendship turned relationship helped maintain interest throughout. While easy to follow there were side storylines (Isaac’s online friends) that could have been cut to create a less distracting read. The right mix of plot, sex, friendship, and love. It’s holiday adjacent but not overkill in a way that would keep you from enjoying it any time of the year.

Thank you Harper Collins Publishing, Net Galley, and the author for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

✨ARC Review✨

We’re closing the books on Christmas Notch, Vermont with this sweet and spicy Isaac and Sunny story. It is a lovely ending and a tender farewell to all of these crazy characters we fell in love with throughout the series.

Isaac has been grief-stricken for the five years since his wife died. He doesn’t write music anymore and he just wants to be numb and stare into the void. Unfortunately for him, he still owes his record label an album. He buys the mansion that was the movie set in the previous books and hunkers down to write the requisite Christmas album. His goal is to get it done and go back to the void.

Enter our brilliant, sunshine in a gorgeous package, Sunny. She’s vibrant and chatty and sexy as hell. Isaac had a one-night stand with her (and Jack Hart) two years earlier and he hasn’t forgotten a single thing about her.

They reconnect in a big way at their friends’ wedding. Isaac is still in need of a muse to help with writing this album, but Sunny says a big no thank you to that responsibility. She is willing to help him find another muse though. But is she really?

Isaac and Sunny are both still grieving their losses, but they also manage to have some fantastic banter. I love Sad Boy Isaac the mostest out of all our former pop stars, but it really is a close race.

Shenanigans are afoot. Spicy times are had. Feral felines are given fancy lobster cat food for dinner. And heartwarming mysteries are solved. Love is found again.

I am grateful to #netgalley and @AvonBooks and @HarperVoyagerUS for the ARC. All thoughts are mine alone.

#romance #romancebooks #contemporaryromance #christmasnotch #ajinglebellmingle #sierrasimone #juliemurphy #bookreview #bookrecs #bookstagram #spicyromance #spicybooks

I LOVE LOVE LOVED LOVED IT it was such a fun holiday rom com i can’t wait to read more from these authors.

I probably should have reread the other books in this series before reading this one, but I think I retained enough that it was a good read for me. Although overall, I love the series, this one just fell flat for me. It was great, don't get me wrong, but I wasn't as connected to this book as the others. I can still see this being popular at my library though!

This is fantastic and led me to read all the rest of the novellas in this series. This series is sweet, funny and spicy.. but there is time spent on all aspects of the story. This is more than a second chance romance between a porn star. This makes you laugh and cry and cheer with every turn of the page.. and I loved the little cozy mystery this book brought it was very unique.

A Jingle Bell Mingle is an engaging and super spicy Christmas themed romance book. The third book in the Christmas Notch series, it finishes up the series with Sunny and Isaac’s story.

Reading this book was a lot of fun. Sunny and Isaac both have tasks to complete and are lacking inspiration. In trying to help each other find that inspiration, things start to happen. Throw in a local story they’re investigating and this just makes for an amusing and entertaining read. And for those of you who like your books spicy, this one turns up the heat!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was great! I love romance books, and this one was no exception! The characters were wonderful and realistic, the plot was well written, and the setting was gorgeous. I cannot wait until this is published so everyone can read it!

Fantastic conclusion to the Christmas Notch series. <3

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the opportunity to read this eARC

This is the third novel in a series (not including two novellas) and you will need to read the others first to know what’s going on. I do not recommend reading out of order.

This novel definitely has the humor of the first two, but lacks the charm. A lot of the pieces were there, but it never came together. The problem for me is that while I have no doubt they’re hot for each other, I don’t buy their love/feelings for each other.

I do love Isaac and I really appreciated seeing someone seek/find love after loss, I just wish it was better developed. The WWII love story, however, was an absolute highlight!

Sex scenes ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Romance ⭐️
Mr. Tumnus ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

A Jingle Bell Mingle by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Rating: 3.5
Vibe: Spicy Christmas romance
Format: ARC eBook

Isaac Kelly just needs to write one more album to fulfill his contract, and then he can continue life as a grieving recluse in peace. After accidently selling a screenplay that she hadn’t even written yet, Sunny Palmer needs get to work. When Isaac offers Sunny space in his secluded mansion at the edge of town, the two expect to work quietly alongside each other as roommates. But will the magic of Christmas Notch inspire more than just work?

Having read both preceding novels in the series, I was delighted to return to the world of Christmas Notch and its larger-than-life characters. Authors Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone once again delivered with the laughs and quippy one-liners. I felt imbued with Christmas spirit and joy, even as I read this in the middle of July. Their ability to create an all-encompassing universe on the page is unmatched. I also enjoyed getting to “check in” on my favorite couples. Sunny was such a realistic character, both with her insecurities as well as the grief she still carried after losing her parents as a child. Isaac was a harder character for me to root for. Though his grief was very real and understandable, I kept waiting to see aspects of his character beyond “Sad Boy,” as Sunny described it. Separate from his grief, his misery was often of his own making, and while I appreciated that he came to this realization by the end, it made him difficult to empathize with. I also found the plot of the novel difficult to follow at times as Sunny and Isaac’s relationship felt stagnant. The last quarter of the book saw major development in their characters as well as in the plot, and I wish that momentum had been present earlier. While not my favorite in the series, it offered the characters great closure and I would definitely recommend it to others who enjoyed the first two books in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for granting me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The final installment of this insanely fun, raunch-com series was a delicious delight to read. I thoroughly enjoyed diving back into the town of Christmas Notch while revisiting the entire cast as Isaac and Sunny found their happily ever after.

I would compare Isaac Kelly to Eeyore. Isaac knows he's gloomy, he prefers to live within his despair cloud, and he doesn’t really like people except for a chosen few which includes Sunny Palmer. Sunny is the polar opposite of Isaac which makes their chemistry on the page infectious. She loves meddling, thrives in social situations, and is really outgoing and sunshiny. Would I call it a flaw that she loves Isaac’s gloomy personality, not in a million years because it makes her perfect for the isolated grumpster, no matter how much they both fight it.

I loved how much these two feed off of each other's company, it was like cat nip to my romance lovin' soul. They can't seem to stay away from one another, whether it's clothed or not, even when they say they will, over and over again. It's some kind of Christmas Notch magic that they find themselves waking up in the other's bed....or the fact that it's their unbreakable attraction, but whatever it is, it's adorable.

On top of their insane and intense connection there is a reason for these two to be in constant contact with one another. Sunny is researching a fantastical, small-town legend that she heard while staying in Christmas Notch and she knew deep in her heart that it would make a great screen adaptation, but she also knew she'd need to track down more information to help fill in the blanks before finishing her screenplay. Isaac wants to help her because he is able to procrastinate in his own writing and also spend time with Sunny, so win-win. In reality Isaac has been feeling more inspired just by being in Sunny's presence and he does have to record a new record. He desperately wants Sunny to be his new muse, but she declines the offer, over and over again, so the longer she's in Isaac's orbit, the more he can write. Sneak muse attack, he's really good at that without meaning to. They are damaged, there is no doubt, although I hate to use that word given their history, but together they heal and grow beautifully.

Their roommate with benefits agreement is a win-win until things start to feel messy, but who wants to address that...not Eeyore or Sunshine, that's who. While they tracked down clues to the tale, it only helped bring them closer together as a couple.

Jingle Bell Mingle is like reading a story within a story, a fun story with an added layer of mystery to go along with romance. The entire book is a mix of sweet and spicy, something that this writing duo does very well together. Jingle Bell Mingle is just a pure joy to read, no ifs ands or buts about it. It's a story that brings tons of heart while it hits all the feels. So while realizing that this is the third and final installment of the A Christmas Notch series, and while I'm happy for everyone to be coupled up, I'm also sad to leave such a wonderful and wacky world.

Thank you so much to Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone, Avon Books, and NetGalley for the eARC.

I just finished this book and I am so mad. Why? Because it is the last in this series. If you’ve read my reviews you might be scratching your head because I rarely read series, but when I do I am invested and never want it to end, and that is the case here. A tear was shed when I clicked off the last page.

Sunny and Issac were such a sweet couple. I really enjoyed their relationship and how it developed. I do think that this book is a little slower paced than the other two, but I was okay with it overall. This book does body positivity and intimate relationship positivity amazingly just like the other two books in the series. I think this is one of my favorite things about them. I also think that this book had more spice than the last book, and I really enjoyed how it all played out.

One of my favorite things about this book was that the characters from the previous books came back to make appearances in this book and we were given some closure on all the couples. This one did wrap up a little quickly for how the rest of the book was paced, but after 400 pages I was alright with it (despite wanting more – conflicting I know).

I love that the authors called this a raunch-com. I’d never heard that term but it totally fit.

I would recommend you read the entire series in order for this book to make the most sense.

Oh this was just too good! And seriously put me in the Christmas spirit early! I’ve been obsessed with these Christmas Notch books since A Merry Little Meet Cute. Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy never miss and here’s another 5 star! I was hooked from the first page. Sunny is so chaotic and beautiful and Isaac is so tortured and hot. The banter between the two of them was hilarious and I found myself cracking up at Sunny’s inner monologues. And the spice in true Sierra Simone fashion was top tier. It was so sexy and the chemistry was phenomenal. Their “arrangement” was so laughable, you know from the first page that they’re obsessed with each other and desperately trying to hide it. Isaac definitely had so much to work through from losing his wife and not able to write any music since her passing and it was so sad to see how stuck he still was, but Sunny was the perfect fit to bring him into a new chapter of his life. You think at first that her chaoticness and quirkiness she wouldn’t get it but the depth to her character was something else. She had her own trauma and loss and the two of them together were chefs kiss. And we can’t forget the real main character Mr. Tumnus, he was absolutely iconic. I’m so in love with this book, an automatic 5 star and I’m so thankful I was able to read and enjoy it early!

this is the third book in the series, but I would recommend reading the first two before reading this one. I love reading Christmas stories all year, really enjoyed the story.

Christmas in July was such a good idea! If you're looking for some sweet, spicy and fun holiday reads, add the Christmas Notch series to your list! I'm so glad I got an ARC copy of A Jingle Bell Mingle, because I already loved this series so much. The characters are fun, quirky, kind people and you really just can't help but root for all of them. The whole series is like living inside a spicy snow globe and it's fantastic!

I have been so eager to read Isaac and Sunny's story! If you've read the rest of the series, you know Isaac as the mourning, heartbroken, broody member of the former boyband INK. He doesn't get out much and he doesn't really talk to anyone except his former bandmate besties. But he and Sunny have a bit of a history and when they reunite as guests at a wedding, they just can't stay away from each other!

As luck would have it, Isaac and Sunny are both stuck in Christmas Notch for work. Isaac has to turn out a solo Christmas album and Sunny has to finish a Christmas screenplay for the Hope Channel. So, they strike up a deal to help each other. Cue the high-attraction, forced proximity, holiday-themed antics!

There is so much to love about this book and the way it wraps up this series, but here are some of my favorite things to convince you to read it:
--- Roommates in a gorgeous old mansion
--- Bonding over being rich kids
--- Old timey photo booths
--- They're both adventurous in the bedroom
--- Scrambled eggs and Capri Suns
--- The best fur baby Mr. Tumnus
--- Giant Christmas trees and bribing a salesman
--- Rescues in more ways than one
--- Two broken people whose pieces fit so well

PLEASE!!! Add this to your holiday TBR.

Publication Date: September 24th, 2024

-Roommates to Lovers
-Grumpy x Sunshine
-Dual POV
-Plus Sized FMC

First, I want to thank NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, Julie Murphy, and Sierra Simone for providing me an advanced readers e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A Jingle Bell Mingle is the last book in the Christmas Notch series that focuses on Sunny Palmer and our final INK band member, Issac Kelley. Six months ago, Sunny accidentally sold her very first screenplay to the Hope Channel. Though inspiration hasn't struck to complete the screenplay, the deadline to submit has not slowed down, which leads her back to Christmas Notch, where she first heard of the Christmas miracle her screenplay was based on. Heartbroken, sad boy Issac Kelley has recently bought Christmas Notch's historic mansion in an attempt to not only isolate himself but finish a Christmas album that would serve as the last contractual album in his record contract. After their best friends' wedding, Sunny and Issac have a one-night (second-night stand?). Issac's precoital bliss is ruined the next morning when he notices awful wiring and a broken shower in Sunny's motel room and offers to let her stay in the mansion. It's big enough that they'll never see each other, right? However, they each learn the other is creatively blocked and make a deal: Sunny will help Issac find a muse, and Issac will help Sunny learn the trust about the Christmas Notch Miracle lore, but what happens when slowly but surely, their lives and bodies begin to mingle.
Last Christmas, I read A Merry Little Meet Cute and absolutely fell in love with Bee, Nolan, and the rest of the wild cast of characters in Christmas Notch. I immediately added Snow Place Like LA (A Christmas in July Novella) and A Holly Jolly Ever After to my to-be-read list to read this winter while I sipped hot cocoa and got cozy by a fireplace; even if it was just one on YouTube, you gotta set the mood! The day before my birthday, Seas and Greetings (A Christmas in July Novella) was released, and I felt my cozy little Christmas book lineup was set up just right. However, after rummaging through NetGalley, I stumbled upon A Jingle Bell Mingle, and since I had already read a Christmas book in July and because I already had so much love for the first book in this series, I requested an advance reader copy to continue my Christmas in July vibes.
As expected, I absolutely loved this book. It was the perfect combination of Christmas, spicy, and feelings! I instantly fell in love with the little ray of sunshine that is Sunny, and even though sometimes Issac stressed me out, I fell for him and how much he cared for Sunny. I am so sad to see this series come to an end, but I am also happy that I still have the rest of the book to finish this winter.

This steamy romance novel excels in blending holiday charm with intense chemistry between its lead characters. The story unfolds at a wedding where a former band boy and an adult film actress reconnect. Amid the festive atmosphere, their mutual attraction becomes undeniable when they find themselves alone in a room.

The grumpy-sunshine dynamic is a highlight, offering a compelling contrast that adds depth to their interactions. The Christmas setting enhances the narrative, adding a layer of warmth and intimacy that complements their developing relationship.

The plot skillfully balances sensual moments with genuine emotional growth, making it more than just a holiday fling. The characters are well-drawn, and their chemistry is both electric and heartfelt. This romance is perfect for readers seeking a combination of steamy scenes and festive cheer.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon for allowing me to read this early.This is book number 3 in a series.I highly recommend reading the first two books before reading this book.This was enjoyable and I loved Sunny and Isaac as individuals and their chemistry.

What a way to end the Christmas Notch trilogy!
I have so been looking forward to Issac’s story and I was not disappointed. Like the other books in this series there was a perfect blend of romance, holiday, wittiness and spice.

I was mentally prepared for Issac’s story to absolutely wreck me but I’m happy that while his grief was a big part of the plot, it was written so beautifully that I didn’t feel like it took away from the overall vibe of the story. It was everything we have come to know and love from this series with an extra added layer of emotionally complexity.

Sunny and Issac both had such great character development and I really loved the entire storyline itself! I just wish they would have realized they had feelings for each other sooner and had better communication. But overall this was so much fun to read! If you’re someone like me who has always wanted a Hallmark Christmas movie with more banter and a lot of spice then this is the book/series for you!

Thank you so much to the authors, Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review

This was a quick and spicy holiday rom com and will be perfect for the holiday season! It took me a minute to get into the story and figure out the characters as I haven't read all the other books before this, but it can be read as an interconnected standalone. Both sunny and Isaac are trying to work through some complex issues in their lives and also struggling to accomplish their work as a result. They agree to help one another, Sunny trying to help Isaac find a muse, and Isaac trying to help Sunny find a Christmas miracle to write about. While working together, it's clear they have mixed feelings and we do get some steamy moments between these two as they figure their relationship out!

What to expect:
-Roommates to lovers
-Grumpy x sunshine
-Opposites attract
-Forced proximity
-Friends with benefits

Thank you so much to Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone, Avon Books, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. A Jingle Bell Mingle comes out on 9/24/24.