romance is sorely lacking in plus size mmcs and the potential for real snl-style big boys
the side characters in this series are amazing and so so entertaining and I’m glad theres some content with all of them
super excited for the last book in the trilogy!!

Winnie Baker has agreed to star in a sexy adult film. But how can she star in something she has little experience in, but this is where Kallum, ex-boyband singer and serial Bridesmaid shagger, comes in. Because for a little research, Kallum is willing to show Winnie all she needs to know.

But Winnie is Kallum's crush and soon sparks are flying between the two.

It was good to be back in Christmas Notch, with all of our old characters. This was a great narrative which had a lot more depth than the first novel and explored themes such as family, domestic abuse and touched on miscarriage.

Both Murphy and Simone give is sexy spice, with tones of emotion and back story, you can't help but be rooting for every single character abd excited for where the next novel will by these two authors will take us.

I loved ‘A merry little meet cute’ so was excited to read this one. Kallum and Winnie were great main characters. I enjoyed how their relationship slowly became more as Kallum helped Winnie navigate her sexual awakening. I’ll always enjoy books set with a hallmark movie background but with a sexy twist! This one started off well but I found it got a little lacklustre about 60% of the way in. I did really enjoy the ending though.

This has been on my TBR since last year. I started it but DNF’d it at the time as I was put off by the prologue! I decided to give it another go this year in anticipation of the next book in the series and found that the characters in the prologue are barely featured in the story and instead the main characters are Kallum and Winnie. If I’d just read the blurb instead of going in blind I might have persisted and read this one sooner!

This is a sort of enemies to lovers romance as Kallum and Winnie do know each other from their past but an unfortunate photo Kallum took of Winnie destroyed her reputation. There’s a teach me trope in this one as Winnie tries to get up to speed so she can act her role to the best of her ability and I do love a teach me trope! (Other recommendations include Beautiful Player by Christina Lauren and Before Jamaica Lane by Samantha Young).

Kallum is such a loveable character and Winnie is very sweet. They make a great pair and as you would expect with this author duo there’s a great big heaping pile of chemistry between the characters and a whole load of spice to go with it. The story does have substance though with both characters working through their own issues with family, business and reputation.

There are two full novels and two novellas in this series so far. I’ve still to read Snow Place Like LA then I’ll be all up to date ahead of the release of A Jingle Bell Mingle.

Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone’s "A Holly Jolly Ever After" is a delightful holiday romance that combines festive cheer with heartfelt storytelling. The novel follows two engaging characters who find themselves unexpectedly drawn together during the holiday season. Murphy and Simone craft a narrative full of warmth, humor, and emotional depth, set against a backdrop of Christmas magic. Their writing is vibrant and captivating, bringing the festive atmosphere and character dynamics to life. "A Holly Jolly Ever After" is a perfect blend of romance and holiday spirit, making it an ideal read for anyone looking to cozy up with a heartwarming Christmas tale.

Okay, I actually loved this book so much! This book was funny sweet, spicy, and just hit me in the feels. Like in the first book - The Hope Channel is filming a Christmas movie in Vermont, only not like last time, this is a new venture called Hope After Dark…think of a soft core porn and Hallmark love child. If that doesn’t hook you, then I don’t know what will.

Winnie Baker has pretty much been squeaky clean her entire life, including through the loooong and passionless 15 year marriage to douchebag extraordinaire Michael. Thankfully ex-douchebag extraordinaire. Anyway, now she’s about to film her first racy movie with ex-boy band hunk Kallum, and she realizes that she has a big problem. She doesn’t know how to fake the big O since ya know…she’s never had one. Woof, Kallum is not impressed with her ex. Luckily for Winnie, the pizza biz isn’t his only area of expertise.

Kallum, for his part, has always had a crush on Winnie, but the closer they get, the more his feelings jump to a more extreme category. I won’t give anything else away, suffice it to say that some stuff happens, distance follows because reasons, and some more stuff happens to show Winnie just how much she’s been damaged by her ex and her controlling parents. Because my man Kallum with the big hands and the awesome dad-bod is a Grade-A Cinnamon Roll, and me likey. Gah, I loved him so much! And this was SO FUNNY, I had the best time reading it. And! We get a Teddy/Steph wrap up! Merry Christmas indeed.

Another cute romcom Another cute romcom from the sexy Christmas duo! Winnie Baker asks her co-star, Kallum Lieberman, for some tips to improve her acting during sex scenes as they film a steamy retelling of the Santa Claus story. Things get from interesting to hot very quickly and the Christmas Notch proves once again that it is a perfect setting for some romance, passion or um.. RESEARCH. Winnie and Kallum are cute together despite his larger than life personality, and I particularly liked the authors’ discussions about toxic purity culture and Christian upbringing. from the Christmas duo!

Kallum and Winnie are so sweet. I really enjoyed watching them figure out how they wanted their lives to pan out. They have known eachother for a long time as they both had fame in their teenage years.

I feel like this book happened in two parts but the characters developed and grew into the situations.

It was fun to go back into this world and revisit Bee and Nolan.

I'd recommend if you enjoyed the other books .

<i>dnf'ed. This was a really nice book, with such an interesting premise. But the book wasn't for me and i relly struggling to get into it. Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins UK & Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone for sending this eARC for review. All opinions are my own.
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I am very much in two minds about this book. On the one hand, it's a very spicy romance that's quite enjoyable as long as you switch off your brain and just go along for the ride. On the other hand, there's not much more between the two main characters than just a loop of flirt-fuck-fight, with a gearshift midway through and a surprise pregnancy thrown in for good measure .

I liked the first book in the series, because it had a lot of funny scenes pretty much all stemming from the fact that you had a bunch of porn actors and crew trying to pretend like they were a wholesome family-friendly film crew. There was none of that here, which meant that the story was lacking the charm of the first book. There were a few moments that tried to aim for that particular type of funny, but they ended up being a bit cringe and forced.

At the start I liked both main characters. Winnie was easy to like, and had a lot of potential. Kallum was a bit of a tougher nut to crack, but I thought I could see where the story would take him. And then the authors proceeded to absolutely burn everything to the ground. Winnie lost all of the growth she'd gone through, and Kallum was blamed for everything that happened. I mean, she's pretty much a virgin who needs to get in touch with her own sexuality and learn that there's no shame in enjoying yourself, while Kallum is a bit of a manwhore who needs to learn that there's nothing wrong with commitment and valuing yourself as more than just an easy lay. And they both did exactly that. Amazing. And then the authors decided to drag out the story for another 150 pages, destroying that character growth and for some reason putting the blame for everything on Kallum. Why?!

And yet... Did I enjoy reading this book? Yes, as long as I didn't spend too much time thinking about the story or the character arcs. Will I read more from these authors? Yes, because I hope they can find the charm from the first book again. Would I recommend it to other people? Yes, in very specific cases and only if I'm very familiar with their reading taste.

Unfortunately this one fell a bit flat for me and I did end up DNFing. It may have been just the wrong time for my read of it and hopefully I’ll try again this winter time. I do love these authors so I’ll definitely give them another go!

A Holly Jolly Ever After is a fun and super steamy holiday romance full of all the found family vibes that I enjoy.

This is such a fun spicy romcom with a festive angle! I thought the first book in the series was really fun and this is just a good sequel.

Thank you so very much to NetGalley and the publisher and author for accepting my request to read and review this one early!

I am a huge Christmas romance fan so when I saw this in the catalogue I just HAD to snag it, especially since I adored A Merry Little Meet Cute!

This book was so so fun, I love the sexiness of these authors books so much. I think there’s so many very vanilla Christmas hallmark romances out there but in my opinion, Christmas is the time for spice and I don’t just mean cinnamon and nutmeg.

I think these authors write really well together, I was laughing out loud but also swooning, and pretty much invested the whole time.

The plus sized male rep? Extra YEE HAW

Winnie and Kallum were just too fun, I think I enjoyed them even more than the characters from their last book!

Definitely recommend this to fans of some good old spicy romance!

4.5 ⭐

This was a perfect mix of cute, sweet, funny, spicy and drama

I really loved revisiting this universe with new main characters, I loved both of them and thought they were so good together

I really enjoyed the plot, especially the 3rd act - it had me gripped and I had to keep turning the page to find out what happened next

- coworkers - spicy movie stars
- ex boyband member turned pizza shop owner x childhood actress brought up on purity culture
- accidental pregnancy
- dual pov, 1st person

3.5 stars
After liking the first book in this series I was intrigued to see where they would go with the sequel and in many ways this was a book of two halves for me.
The pacing and subject matter of the first half completely captured my attention. I really enjoyed seeing Winnie become more confident and take control of her life. And there were some nice steamy scenes too.
Then there's the second half, which just felt so disjointed and almost like a completely different book.
And don't get me started on the surprise of what is easily my least favourite romance trope. I will never understand why authors sneak that trope in without mentioning it in the blurb, especially when so many readers have issues with it.
The second half also dragged on and could have been so much shorter.
After really liking the start of this book, it was frustrating to see it go the way that it did in the second half, sadly.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The perfect holiday romance! Literally could not put it down and I devoured this one! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

Part one of this book was so amazing. I was already planning my 5-star review, and this was my favorite in the series yet! The religious trauma and purity culture were so relatable, and Winnie's characterization made me want to be her friend and give her a hug. Part two felt like a completely different story. Both Winnie and Kallum were immature, and the trope that changed the entire story felt completely unnecessary. I'm so sad that the second half of the book didn't live up to the first. I was ready to DNF, but I was already so far into the story that I wanted to see it through. I barely remember the last 10 chapters, and it was really disappointing.

Winnie was the perfect wife and daughter, until her life shatters, she is divorced and loses her Hope channel movie contract. Kallum is the ‘funny one’ from his boyband days who regained fame from a sex tape. After the success of Duke the Halls (the last book), the channel decides to launch into more risqué films and Winnie and Kallum are going to star in it. Except, Winnie really was innocent, only ever having sex with her husband, which makes it really hard for her to act convincingly; especially when she has never experienced the big O.

This book is 🔥🌶️🔥. There was a candy cane scene 🥵, luckily, I quite enjoy some raunch to my love story, however, if you’re not that way inclined, let me just save you the time and don’t bother picking up this book. It was super cheesy, which is what I expected, but I did genuinely enjoy it. I dropped 1/2 a star just because at some times the steam was actually probably pretty unnecessary. I will say, there are some unexpected triggers in this book including pregnancy, abortion, gaslighting and religion.

"A Holly Jolly Ever After" by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone gets 2 stars from me. It's a cute holiday romance, but overall, it felt a bit flat. The festive backdrop is charming, and there are some sweet moments, but they weren't enough to really elevate the story. It's a light read for the holiday season, but it might not leave a lasting impression.

I would like to thank the publisher for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley. As always, my opinions are entirely my own.