A Jingle Bell Mingle by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone: My Review

If you’re looking for a fun and spicy Christmas romance book then check out my book review of A Jingle Bell Mingle by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone to see what I think of this forced proximity romance!

Check it out now and then be sure to join the She Reads Romance Books Book Club as this is our October 2024 Book of the Month. We will be discussing this book in the Club on October 16 and chatting with Julie and Sierra in our Author Q&A on October 22. Don’t miss it!

*Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

A Jingle Bell Mingle Summary:

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?

Part-time adult film actress/one-time adult film director/makeup artist Sunny Palmer has accidentally sold her very first screenplay to the Hope Channel. That was six months ago.

Fast forward to a looming deadline, an uninspired Sunny has returned to the source of her inspiration in Christmas Notch, Vermont, to immerse herself in the local Christmas miracle on which her fever dream of a movie pitch was based.

Isaac Kelly, former boy band heartthrob and the saddest boy in the music biz, is the latest owner of the town’s historic mansion. After his years of heartbreak following his young wife’s passing, Isaac’s record label is done waiting for new music.

What better place to attempt his first holiday album than a snow-covered mansion where he can become a hermit in peace?

But after their best friends’ wedding leads to them waking up together in a freezing motel room with questionable wiring and a broken shower, Isaac takes a chance and asks Sunny to stay with him at his home. Surely the place is big enough that he’ll hardly see her or her unhinged cat.

But when the two discover they’re both creatively blocked, they make a handshake deal: Isaac will help Sunny hunt down the truth behind the local lore, and Sunny will find Isaac a new muse.

And with these two opposites under one roof, there’s no way this jingle bell mingle could go off script…right?

A Jingle Bell Mingle: My Book Review

Say it isn’t so that the Christmas Notch series is complete! Oh, how I have devoured this fun series with adorable and raunchy stories that get you in the perfect mood for the holidays. Though this book can be read as a standalone, Julie and Sierra gave the series a great send out with a romance between the part-time stripper/make-up artist/screenwriter and the “sad boy” rock star.

It was one of my most anticipated new Christmas romance books of 2024 and did not disappoint.

I went into this book with three goals in mind: read something really funny, read something spicy and read something to get into the holiday spirit and this book accomplished all three!

Julie and Sierra are like friend goals to me. They look like they have so much fun together and that fun just oozes into the pages with this book and series. There are so many funny gems in this book that I kept highlighting – it was hilarious. From discussions about Barbies scissoring together, to how vibrators are dependable but maybe not the best cuddle partners to a demonic cat that wants to shred everything in sight.

I just loved the humor that would spring up throughout this book but this was also a book that didn’t shy away from heavier topics such as grief and loss. Isaac’s introspection about how his mourning was influenced by the world’s mourning of his wife just about broke my heart. I could absolutely see how both of these characters were hesitant to love again for fear of experiencing pain like they already had from losing someone they loved. And yet, Sunny and Isaac just FIT from their very first one night stand and I loved them together.

These two were never awkward around one another or ever tried to mold themselves to be something they weren’t for the other person. What you saw was what you got and that’s what made them so wonderful and why you were routing for them to see that for themselves the entire book.

The forced proximity of living together and working together to learn more about the town’s “Christmas miracle” story inevitably made it hard for both to keep their hands off each other and that’s where the delightful spiciness came in that I KNEW Julie and Sierra could deliver.

These two were so compatible in their interests and desires and they were SO HOT together! I of course loved the dirty talk and the choice locations for some of their trysts. Well done ladies….well done!

The Christmas miracle story was a cute side-story to include that was also a surprise in how it unfolded. It was just enough to make this a fun holiday romance but one that honestly could be read any time of year.

While I mentioned that this can be read as a standalone, I think you have more perspective for the town and the background as to how adult film stars got involved with a holiday movie channel if you at least read A Merry Little Meet Cute. As the final book in the series you get a great send-off for all of the characters you’ve met in the past books, including Teddy’s happily ever after which was great!

This book was such a blast to read and I cannot wait to chat about it in the She Reads Romance Books Book Club this October and chat with both Julie and Sierra in our Author Q&A on October 22. Be sure to join so you can join in the fun!

*Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

More Book Reviews:

• A Holly Jolly Ever After by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone
• A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone

Related Book Lists:

• New Christmas Romance Books of 2024
• Best Christmas Romance Books
• Best Rock Star Romance Books
• Best Forced Proximity Romance Books