Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone have done it again- another stellar (and spicey) Xmas story from Christmas Notch. Sunny Palmer has sold her her first screenplay to the Hope Channel and while she's got spunk she's also got writer's block that she can't kick and no money. Isaac Kelly, wealthy former boy-band member, continues to mourn the loss of his wife and his friends are growing more and more concerned for him.

When Isaac finds Sunny needing a place to land while she writes, he's got the perfect solution- she can be his muse and live at his place. But Sunny isn't having the muse part and instead agrees to help him FIND a muse. The only problem is they can't keep their hands off each other and as it's heating up it might also be getting more complicated. Full of big emotions and more than a few laughs, this was a perfect way to wind up the Christmas Notch holidays.

If you are looking for a heartwarming holiday read, this book checks all the boxes! Set in a charming small town, it perfectly captures the cozy, snowed-in feeling and blends humor, spice, and heartfelt moments perfectly. What also stood out to me were the characters. They felt authentic and relatable, with complexities that made their journeys feel genuine rather than overly polished or simplified. Yes, some elements stretched believability, but that's part of the charm with a Hallmark-esque Christmas love story-it made the experience all the more fun and magical.

Thank you @netgalley &@harpercollins for sending me a copy!

I had a hard time getting into this book. The beginning is really confusing and I didn't really like the porn star element. I thought it wasn't really realistic. I loved their other books but this was a dud for me.

I feel like this was a novel that really wasn’t at all about the main couple.

Don’t get me wrong: I loved Issac and Sunny. The romance was hot and heavy with amazing chemistry and they were friends to top it all off.

But… but this book was really about grief and how you deal with it. This book was about moving on after tragedy. This book was about living your life how you wanted to. It was about friends and family and support systems and repairing relationships.

And man did it hit me right in the feels for all those things. We finally see a conclusion to Teddy and Steph’s romance (which, if we’re being honest with ourselves, has been the most interesting romance plot in the entire series.) We get to see all our favorite couples and plot lines tied up in a bow.

Was this my favorite book of this series? Actually, no, that would probably be Angel and Luca’s story cuz they’re freaking adorable, but yeah, probably. This one was more relatable and more real and while there was definitely romance and smut and all those things… there was also so much more that was REAL in this book.

4.5 stars!

What a perfect conclusion to a really fun, charming, unique Christmas series! I’ve been invested for two books and two novellas and couldn’t wait to read this book. It did not disappoint!

One thing this novel (and all the other Christmas Notch novels) did really well was balancing the secondary characters in the story. They added SO MUCH personality but never overshadowed our lead characters. Specifically with this book, I loved seeing all of our other former leads pop in and out in a way that still made the story about Sunny and Isaac but we also got a glimpse into their lives. Their connections to each other had me crying by the end.

I loved that this story focused on Isaac because his character remained a total mystery to us for the rest of the series. We knew about Sunny from the previous two books, but discovering all of her layers and secrets allowed us to see something deeper in her. Getting to know Isaac and Sunny genuinely felt like making friends.

The theme of how we manage and cope with our grief in the book was really beautifully done. This cannot be understated. The book is quirky and endearing, but the deeper grief our leads shared added a lot of complexity to the story that I found the first two books may have been lacking.

I can’t end this without mentioning that when we learn how the book got it’s name.. I was immediately weepy. Talk about a perfect ending.

Oh, and this book was quite spicy if that’s your thing! Maybe out of the norm for your holiday reads but.. It worked really, really well. The spice compliments the overarching themes of the novel perfectly.

Overall, I enjoyed the Christmas Notch series so much and am so sad to see it end. It was fun and overall just a great series to read if you need something a little different, with a lot of charm, and some holiday cheer!

Sugar, spice, and everything nice. Just what I expect from these two authors! Loving this little world they've created for us!

I have read the other books in this series, and I got 20% into this one, but I had to DNF it. I thought this one was boring and didn't think the story moved fast enough. Honestly, this surprised me because Sierra Simone is one of my favorite authors so I was shocked I didn't enjoy it.

This book fell short for me, the series grew weaker as it progressed. I found myself to not be invested in the characters who had a lot of trauma and could benefit from therapy instead of the idea that love/sex cures all. It was extra raunchy for no reason. I’m ok leaving Christmas Notch behind for good. The amount of times the phrase friends/roommates "with bennies" was used was cringey. A book with this type of content should be ok using fulling words, often.

This is the third in the series but they can definitely be read as standalones. Which, after reading and really enjoying the first book I was excited to continue the series but this one just didn’t hold the same magic for me. I just had a harder time connecting to Sunny and Issac so this was only an average read for me.

Be forewarned that although this book has an adorable cover it is all caps spicy. Which I don’t mind some spice in my romance but I found the focus to be a little too heavy on the spice instead of their relationship. Although this book did get deep into feelings at times, which was great, it was more their personal matters rather than as a couple.

Read if you love:
🎄 Holiday romance
🤩 Unique characters
☀️ Grumpy/sunshine
🌶️ Lots of open door spice

A perfect, sappy, perfect, sultry, perfect cap on the best holiday romance series in existence (the absurdity/hilarity of the porn company/Halmark-style Christmas movie company combo just takes the cake).
I've loved the world of Christmas Notch from the first, and these two authors writing together are pure magic. My heart aches to leave this little world behind, but Sunny & Isaac's story was the perfect capper. It felt like the authors really trusted the readers with this one (and vice versa) - we built and fell in love with this little world together, so yes all the hot and sexy fun that I expected was there, but also we got to dive a bit deeper on grief and self-love and complicated relationships to both. All three of the books in this series have given an emotionally rounded story, but this one in particular pulled on the heartstring and gently wrapped the whole world together into the love story.
For a moment, it was perfect, and I believed in Christmas again, the way only a pornstar-led-romance can make me feel

For a book that is p0rn adjacent, I would expect a lot more steam. But this book is as steamy as a snowman-and we aren’t talking hot frosty, we are talking a literal rotund stack of frozen snowballs made by children. Perhaps the Lord’s year of 2024 has turned my lady bits and dopamine receptors into ice, thus taking a high amount of heat to get me excited. Or maybe this book is just a little boring.

Sunny is in Christmas Notch, Vermont, which has turned into the p0rn hub of the east coast as there sure are a lot of adult film stars and strippers just hanging around- some work there, some live there it is a sex SCENE in the mountains of Vermont. Back to Sunny...she is in VT for a wedding, but then sticks around to write a screenplay and solve an olden times mystery which really isn’t very compelling or mysterious. Nolan is a sad former boy band widow and has chosen Christmas Notch as a place where he will be a sulky shut in. Sunny and Nolan spend the whole book falling in love and having theoretical sexy times, but they mostly just seem to spoon a lot and make excuses for why they can’t be together.

This was perfectly entertaining, but just sort of meh. It is also for sure not a standalone, bc if you jump in at this book (book 3 of the Christmas series) you will be super confused why all these adult film people are in this rando Vermont town.

Smut- an icy 1.7 stars
Romance- 3.2 stars
Story- 3.8 stars
Involve the p0rn industry in your plot, but make it chaste- neg 5.4 stars

"A Jingle Bell Mingle" was just what we needed this holiday season. Full of the perfect winter holiday setting, an unlikely romance and a lot of spice I couldn't put this book down. The body positivity was also highlighed throughout this story. This book is the perfect fun read to get you into the holiday spirit!

We’re back in Christmas Notch, Virginia, and following Sunny and Isaac’s story which starts out as forced proximity (only one bed!) and leads to them helping each other with their work and falling in love on the way.

I really enjoyed revisiting some old characters and exploring all the different relationships as we build on this one. The found family element, paired with the witty banter, roommates with benefits and spice make this a fun holiday read!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book.

Just as good as the first two! The quality was very well maintained through the series - if you liked the first one, congrats! You get two more of the exact same thing (complimentary). The spice is good, the characters are charming, and the premise of this series is just fun. I had a great time reading and I know exactly who I'll recommend this trilogy to!

First I would like to thank Avon and Harper Voyager for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What happens when there’s no room at the inn and you and your potentially demonic cat become roommates with your grumpy one-night stand?

What I Love:
- Mr. Tumnus, Sunny's grumpy cat obviously this is my favorite part of this whole book
- Photobooth, it is very important to Sunny and Isaac's relationship and I adore where it ends up
- Muse, after Isaac loses his wife he is looking for a new muse and Sunny decides to help and lets just say she is a bit of a dummy
- Christmas Notch History, I was so excited when the true Christmas Notch story ended and how it fit so perfectly with the entire series
- Characters, I love that all of the characters from the other books in the series make appearances throughout the book

Overall I think this was my favorite of the series cause I am a sucker for a grumpy sunshine romance with a grumpy cat who only likes his people (aka Sunny and Isaac) and they need each other to get our of their respective funk and move on in life. If you are looking for a spicy and silly holiday romance with artistic muses, a great cast of characters and a small town with a unique backstory then run to pick this book up!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone for the advanced copy of A Jingle Bell Mingle!

I had so much fun with this book. It's cozy, it's steamy, it's Christmas-y, it's everything. I loved the background of the characters and how they came to know each other. Their relationship was so cute and frustrating all at the same time.

Hmmm. Idk what it is with the series but I cannot get into it or take it seriously. It’s a no for me. I didn’t care for the first book in the series and I didn’t care for this one either.

5⭐️ 3🌶️

Mothers continue to mother SO FREAKING HARD!!!

I can see Sierra so much in sad Issac but then again, she truly can’t stay away from a sad boy. Julie once again had me gasping for air because I couldn’t stop laughing hard af. She’s who I want to be when I grow up 😭

This book was everything. I’m so so damn sad the series is over but I’m glad it went out on such a beautiful end. Seeing Isaac go from the sad person his life made him into to the incredible person I knew he could be from book 1 was.

I cannot wait to my next yearly reread of the entire series 🥹

i'm a fan of this series and the leads, and this one was also quite moving as well as funny and steamy

Thank you to Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone, Avon and Harper Voyager/Avon, and NetGalley for an eARC of A Jingle Bell Mingle!

"Sometimes when you were the happiest person in the room, no one bothered to check in and see what might be brewing under the surface. No one thought to anticipate what you might need when you didn't appear to need anything at all."

I am so sad to leave Christmas Notch! This series was so good for spicy but cute Christmas reads. I was interested to see where Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone would take Nolan and Sunny's stories. We knew Nolan was dealing with some serious heartache over the loss of his wife, but I don't remember hearing about Sunny's backstory in the other books. When I finally read about her history, I knew this story was going to be a bit heavier than the other two novels.

I really enjoyed the mystery Sunny and Nolan were working to solve. I thought that was a refreshing plot instead of the two main characters filming a movie. I also thought the premise of finding Nolan a new muse was cute - especially when it was so clearly Sunny from the beginning. It was frustrating but so rom-com. I thought this book was the perfect wrap up for the series and, while I'm sad we won't get any more stories from this crazy boy band/porn star crew I think everyone got their perfect endings.

3.5/5 stars.