Kallum is a former boy band member turned pizza store owner who has recently had an untick in fame after the release of his sex tape. Winnie, who is famous for starring in a wholesome sitcom as a child, was known for her religious values…that is, until she divorced her childhood sweetheart. Ready to shake things up and get back into showbusiness, Kallum and Winnie are cast to co-star in a sexy Santa movie. Things get spicy after inexperienced Winnie, who is having trouble faking on-screen chemistry, enlists the help of Kallum for “research” purposes. When the distinction between “fake” chemistry and real feelings starts to blur, Kallum and Winnie must decide if their budding relationship can survive the real world after filming wraps.
A Holly Jolly Ever After is a spicy Christmas romance and whilst it’s a companion novel to Murphy and Simone’sA Merry Little Meet Cute, but can be read as a standalone. This would be perfect for fans of books like The Roommate by Rosie Danan, Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey, There’s Something about Merry by Codi Hall, A Photo Finish by Elsie Silver, The Nanny by Lana Ferguson, Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon, The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun, or Breakaway by Grace Reilly. Tropes in A Holly Jolly Ever After include spice coaching, good girl with bad boy, workplace romance, and accidental pregnancy. Important themes and topics present include religion, reputation, family and parenthood, appearance versus reality, female roles, sexuality, self worth, trust, miscommunication, marriage and divorce, body image, and narcolepsy. Potential trigger warnings to consider are cheating and complications during pregnancy.
A Holly Jolly Ever After is split into two parts. Part one of the book was enjoyable as it focused more on the emerging workplace romance between Kallum and Winnie, and their spicy “research”, whilst filming the movie. I personally thought that part one could have been the plot of the entire book as I found it to be more entertaining and engaging than part two. The second part changes the trajectory of the story and focuses more on the main characters struggling with some major life changes, but some readers may find it drags in comparison to part one. The prologue and epilogue of the book were somewhat odd as they focused on two side characters instead of the main characters and they didn’t feel relevant to the overall plot.
Even though I had some mixed feelings about this book, all of the Christmas and pizza related puns used throughout the book were fantastic as they added a touch of humour. The “Christmassy” film setting was delightful and thought that it was cool that, in part one, we get a a bit of a “behind the scenes look” at what goes into filming a movie. Lastly, there are some swoony and heartwarming moments at the end of the book that I think fellow romance readers will appreciate.
A Holly Jolly Ever After ended up being a lot more explicitly spicy than I was expecting. So, if you’re looking for a Christmas book with lots of steamy scenes, then you should definitely check out A Holly Jolly Ever After!
A Holly Jolly Ever After is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of October 10th.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Following the success of A Merry Little Meet Cute, a new holiday rom-com cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Murphy and USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone—about an actress and a perpetually single former boy-band member reunited as costars on a steamy holiday film.
Kallum Liebermanis the funny one. As the arguably lesser of the three former members of the boy band INK, he enjoyed his fifteen minutes of fame and then moved home where he opened a regional pizza chain called Slice, Slice, Baby! He’s living his best dad bod life, hooking up with bridesmaids at all his friends’ weddings. But after an old one-off sex tape is leaked and quickly goes viral, Kallum decides he’s ready to step into the spotlight again, starring in a sexy Santa biopic for the Hope Channel.
Winnie Baker did everything right. She married her childhood sweetheart, avoided the downfalls of adolescent stardom, and transitioned into a stable adult acting career. Hell, she even waited until marriage to have sex. But after her perfect life falls apart, Winnie is ready to redefine herself—and what better way than a steamier-than-a-steaming-hot-mug-of-cider Christmas movie?
With decade old Hollywood history between them, Winnie and Kallum are both feeling hesitant about their new situation as costars…especially Winnie who can’t seem to fake on screen pleasure she’s never experienced in real life. She’s willing to do the pleasure research—for science and artistic authenticity, of course. And there’s no better research partner than her bridesmaid sex tape hall of fame costar, Kallum. But suddenly, Kallum’s teenage crush on Winnie is bubbling to the surface and Winnie might be catching feelings herself.
They say opposites attract, but is this holly jolly ever after really ready for its close-up?
