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; it is a companion novel to Murphy and Simone’s A Merry Little Meet Cute but can be read as a standalone. I would recommend A Holly Jolly Ever After to 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. I enjoyed part one of the book 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. Part two changes the trajectory of the story and focuses more on the main characters struggling with some major life changes. I personally found that this part wasn’t as appealing, and it was dragged out a little too much for my tastes. I also wasn’t a fan of the prologue or epilogue of the book as they focused on two side characters (instead of the main characters) and they didn’t feel relevant to the plot. Even though I had some mixed feelings about this book, I appreciated all the Christmas and pizza related puns used throughout the book as they added a touch of humor. I also enjoyed the “Christmasy” film setting and thought that it was cool that, in part one, we almost got 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 and explicit scenes, then you should definitely check out A Holly Jolly Ever After!
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