So I absolutely adored A Merry Little Meet Cute and was looking forward to this book from the moment I knew it was going to be a thing. Kallum and his dad bod cinnamon roll self just seemed the perfect character. I like that we brought Winnie in, and I thought it was interesting that she was still recovering from purity culture. I think the authors did a phenomenal job of making this book very sex positive. Kallum was precious and perfect for helping Winnie discover herself.
However, I was vastly disappointed with this book. For one Winnie was 32 and had been married for 14 years, and yet she literally turned into a teenager for 90% of the book in regards to sexual activity. It was sort of hard to take things seriously because of this. I’m never one to be upset that some spice is in a book, but I felt like unlike MLMC, this one had hardly any storyline that wasn’t related to these two having sex. Not to mention they basically fall in love after 3 weeks of knowing each other. Winnie just became very stereotypical, which sucked because I wanted to like her.
I won’t tell the most insulting parts of this book so as not to spoil anything. But basically for me this is when the book became unbearable. Like it’s not required to throw this into a fun romance novel… and then adding some unnecessary but typical scares along the way…. Honestly the only thing that salvaged part two of this book was getting Nolan and Bee back in the story. The side characters made this one and I hope we get an Issac story or even a Teddy story coming next. But this one let me down… ( )

A Holly Jolly Ever After
Christmas Notch, Book 2

I Picked Up This Book Because: Continue the series.

Media Type: Audiobook
Source: P Public Library
Dates Read: 11/11/23 - 11/14/23
Stars: 4
Narrator(s): Joy Nash

The Characters:

Winnie Baker
Kellum Lieberman


The Story:

I was so happy to return to Christmas Notch. I love Kellum and Winnie together. I did forget how hot these authors could make a scene. Overall I loved it.

The Random Thoughts:

Why did everyone call Winnie by her full name? ( )

1.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

“My entire life, everyone else has defined Winnie Baker for me, but now, I want to define Winnie Baker for myself. I want to be a new Winnie.”

Winnie grew-up as a child actress, groomed to be a Christian and Inspirational content darling. She also has narcolepsy, so when a photograph got out when she was a teenager of her passed out in a car, looking drunk, the team around her and her parents, rush her into marriage at eighteen with her boyfriend at the time. Now, years later, discovering her husband was having an affair, she's divorced but lost a movie deal with the Hope Channel. Needing money to pay them back, she signs onto a movie for the Hope After Dark part of their programming. The lead playing the dirty Santa Claus is none other than the guy who took the picture of her that started all the rumors.
Kallum always had a crush on Winnie but as a member of a popular boy band, his reputation didn't fit in with her “good girl”. Now the owner of a budding pizza restaurant business, he's had a sex tape leaked and he was kind of forced to license it to get the money that was getting made from it. He knows his parents were embarrassed and his reputation for being a good time guy, he's ready to make some changes in his life. He can't believe his luck when he signs onto a movie and he may just get his chance with Winnie.

“Will you help me?” I blurted.

Second in the Christmas Notch series, you could just into the series here, like I did. Not knowing the exact tone of the series did have me a little shocked at how steamy the open door scenes were. The cover kind of gives off a sweet holiday story vibe, but I'm here to tell you that pinkies are going in b-holes in the first one-hundred pages or so. The whole concept is that Winnie was sexually repressed and is working through the indoctrinated shame she has grown up with, so when it becomes clear that she doesn't know how to fake an orgasm during one of the scenes she's filming for the movie, she eventually goes to Kallum to help her with “research”. If you're looking for more physical interaction between your leads than emotional, this would be for you. Since they kind of knew, at least of each other before, it's pretty much insta-lust and attraction.

“Research,” he said. He made the word sound utterly filthy, and my stomach flipped right over at the sound of it.

There's a little bit of holiday atmosphere, the film is being shot in a Hope Channel created Christmas town but there wasn't much to the movie aspect, a few shown, quick times of them filming (I found it strange it wasn't talked about at all that Kallum had no acting experience??). By the midway point they've slept together and while Winnie thinks Kallum is just his want no responsibilities persona, he's thinking he's in love with Winnie. At their end of filming, Kallum has an emergency he has to leave suddenly for and Winnie overhears a conversation that makes her think Kallum wasn't as into their relationship as she was. The story goes into Part 2 six weeks later where a bomb gets dropped on Winnie and she's fighting to keep her ex out of her life and her parents still trying to control her, while Kallum is fighting to show Winnie that he's a changed man and wants to be serious with her.

There wasn't much of emotional depth here for me, therefore the numerous hot and heavy scenes had me skimming because they just felt explicit for explicit sakes, which could be someone's jam but didn't work for me. The latter second half also brought in a lot of characters, friends and family, the couple from book one, and obvious future main character bait. If you're looking for more hot and heavy and not sweet emotional in a holiday read, then this had more of those scenes than you can shake a candy cane at. ( )

Am I the only one that somehow missed A Merry Little Meet Cute & Snow Place Like LA by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone?! This fantastic writing team is coming in hot (and I do mean HOT!) with their next book in A Christmas Notch series, A Holly Jolly Ever After.

This is the story of two young entertainers whose reputations have taken a hit. The big difference in how they’re treated, in what’s asked of them to redeem themselves? One is a man…Kallum, a former boy band member. The other a woman…Winnie, former teen actress. While Kallum works his way through bridesmaids, and opens a pizza shop, a sex tape becomes public. Winnie married her childhood sweetheart, but now finds herself divorced and shunned by her fan base. The answer for both…Hope After Dark’s upcoming holiday film, a new venture for steamy movies by a traditional tv network (think Hallmark). When Winnie is bombing the intimate scenes she reveals to Kallum sex with her ex had not included a happy ending for her…ever. Thus begins the offscreen sex tutorial portion of our story. 🥵🌶️

The first half of this story flies. I loved the chemistry between Winnie and Kallum. Murphy and Simone do an excellent job balancing the steam with the inclusion of Winnie’s disability (narcolepsy). I loved how they touched on the unrealistic and damaging nature of purity culture that continued to plague Winnie into adulthood. The second half shifts into a different feel, but it still worked well for me.

I’m now excited to go back and read the first two books in the Christmas Notch series!

Thank you to my friends at Avon Harper @avonbooks for the early copy via Netgalley. ( )