Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC of A Jingle Bell Mingle, I'm super sad to leave the Christmas Notch Holidayverse, but hope Murphy & Simone continue their writing partnership!

I picked up this book because I was eager to see how Sierra Simone level naughtiness would translate into a Christmas romcom, and I ended up sniffling my way through a genuinely heartfelt romance about navigating grief and the versions of ourselves that we become to heal in the absence of our loved ones.

This book delivers the level of explicit content that is characteristic of Sierra's books, but it does so with more fun, irreverence, and unabashed joy than any of her other novels I've read. The book isn't afraid to laugh at itself - it's a grumpy-sunshine romance where the FMC is literally named Sunny - but that doesn't minimize the meaning and tenderness captured by Sunny and Isaac's story.

If you love a romcom with an unhinged premise, a cast of loveable, chaotic queer characters, and you're in the mood for a romance with a holiday setting without the religious overtones, A Jingle Bell Mingle is right for you.

A Jingle Bell Mingle, the third title in the A Christmas Notch series, is written by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone.

Sunny (FMC)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Makeup artist, part time porn star, writer

Isaac (MMC)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Former boy band member, living a lonesome life after losing his wife

If you have not read the other titles in this series, it is highly recommended that you read them before starting this title. Several of the characters and scenes carry over into this book, so you might be a little lost.

Sunny and Isaac have amazing chemistry together and I fell head over heels in love with them both!!

Overall score:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing this book, with my honest review below.

A Jingle Bell Mingle was such a great book, regardless of the season! Unlike anything I’ve read recently, the characters in this books remind me of those in Schitt’s Creek (on steroids and sexier. Funny, open minded, and ready to get down at any moment, I can’t say this is super realistic but it’s not trying to be. What it accomplishes is being hilarious, cozy, and at least a little bit emotional.

Sunny is a sometimes porn star, makeup artist, diaper empire heiress, and now screenwriter setting up to write a sexy Christmas miracle screenplay. Isaac is an ex boy bander who is grieving his wife’s death, five years later. Having initially met at a threesome two years ago the two are reunited at their friends’ wedding and end up living together in the charming town of Christmas Notch as Christmas approaches (along with Sunny’s demon cat). While Isaac helps Sunny with the mystery of the story her screenplay is based on and Sunny helps Isaac find a music muse, the two start to become more than (filthy, in a good way) bedmates but neither one is exactly ready to embrace that.

We get to meet several supporting characters who I understand are star and supporting players in the Christmas Notch book series, which I can’t wait to read. All are hilarious, but I think the best part of these books is that no matter who the person is and what their lifestyle preferences are (be they to run a porn empire or be polyamorous) they are accepted and it’s all de rigueur in the world that this books takes place. That was incredibly refreshing and allowed for the freedom in which everything is so naturally accepted, giving the reader more time spent on exploring how Sunny and Isaac really ticked and the plot itself. And what a plot! Hilarious and entertaining, I wanted to go deeper into this world and spend more time in it!

A must read - though perhaps not if you’re more rigid in thinking or shy away from a healthy amount of erotica - I can’t wait for more books by these talented authors!