Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - A Holly Jolly Ever After

Winnie had narcolepsy, which is not a representation you often see, yet it was barely mentioned. She and Kallum never talked about it and it was instead just mentioned in passing throughout the book. It felt more like a gimmick than anything.
The cheesiness was almost cringey. You always expect a holiday book to be cringey, but this was almost too much.
This is probably because I am currently pregnant and very in tune with this kind of thing, but the timeline was SO wonky with her pregnancy that I couldn't handle it.

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linzozil's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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eabh's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Listen, Christmas Notch is our cringy cute progressive sexy hallmark. And part one of this book was exactly that! Jewish main character and the leading lady has a disability? We will representation ! A sexual awakening, a goofy golden retriever boy and an ex purity culture child star with insane chemistry? And he becomes her sex professor to help her discover herself and complete their sexy movie? Not believable, but I sure did eat it up because it was 🥵.

Part two is where most of the plot comes in, and also some tropes that I really don’t enjoy (

pregnancy trope

). While I loved the growth of Kallum and Winnie in their emotional maturity and finding their way, it felt like a total 180 from part one of the book which was hot, passionate, sexy love. The disconnect of the two parts made the novel feel disjointed for me. However, I liked the HEA ending, and it was heart warming for sure. I just wish there was a better blend of the two parts for the novel to feel more balanced and believable.

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amberlfaris's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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_haven_'s review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

You know what? I would read more of these. I liked a lot of the characters and the writing was not bad and it was kind of funny (ignoring the handful of deeply cringe bits that I cannot forgive).

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thebranchlibrary_'s review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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sami_leigh's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.5/5

Sometimes I just had to remember I was supposed to be in character, but I guess that wasn’t so bad when my character was falling harder than a Jenga tower, because I was too.

It didn’t matter that he was sexy and silly and warmhearted, or that when I was with him, all the ideas of Old Winnie and New Winnie melted away, and there was only Now Winnie and she was enough.

I grew up thinking purity was this binary thing that you had or you didn’t, and once it was marred even the tiniest amount, there was no going back.

“You really got it bad for her?” “She’s my person,”

🎄 Dual POV (Prologue & Epilogue in third POV)
🎄 Workplace romance; on set of a (steamy) Christmas movie!
🎄 Forced proximity
🎄 Conservative wholesome-movie star & Pop Star with a sex tape
🎄 He helps her ‘research’ for their steamy scenes on screen 😏
🎄 He falls first; long time crush
🎄 Well established secondary characters; Sunny, Bee & Nolan (Book 1), Topher, Tamara, Teddy, Steph, Jack, Addison, Isaac.
🎄 MC growth: Trust, reliability, family trauma, self worth, risking a relationship.
🎄 Spicy 🥵
🎄 Sex Positivity & Consent Culture
🎄 Body respect
🎄 Representation of diverse sexualities
🎄 Representation of the impact of purity culture & finding balance in faith
🎄 Banter!

Available in audiobook, paperback, & ebook. KU.

⚠️ Infidelity (by ex-husband), gaslighting/toxic relationship (ex-husband, parents), infertility, pregnancy, medical trauma (minor).

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