Waiting on Wednesday #801, September 16th

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder by Ally Carter

Expected Publication: October 13th, 2026
From Goodreads:

A billionaire’s grandson and the housekeeper’s daughter square off in this cat-and-mouse holiday romance-mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year.

Ella Chambers didn’t kill Liam Montgomery.

If she had, she certainly wouldn’t have done it outside his family’s mansion during the Christmas party of the year. She definitely wouldn’t have loaded his body into the trunk of her car. And she absolutely would not have announced to the town that the boy who ruined her life ten years ago was “so dead to her.”

But now Liam is missing—nothing but a bloody spot on the drive and a host of unanswered questions—and Ella is the only person who knows he’s still alive.

So it’s up to her to prove it.

Liam Montgomery didn’t want to die.

But, it turns out, when you’re the sole heir to a billionaire, someone might want you dead. Luckily for Liam, being dead works for him.

Now he’s on the hunt for a killer. Unfortunately, Ella is on the hunt for him.

She’ll have to prove he’s still alive to clear her name, but that’s easier said than done in a quaint mountain town where everyone knows your story but no one knows the truth. Can the billionaire’s grandson and the housekeeper’s daughter join forces to catch a killer? Or is their past too steeped in secrets and lies?

As the storm of the century blows in, every step will bring these two childhood rivals closer to a killer—and each other.

Because, this Christmas, only one thing is it’s beginning to look a lot like murder.

• Holiday Romance

• Childhood Enemies-to-Lovers

• Cat and Mouse

• Slow Burn

• Forced Proximity

Home for the Homicides by Elle Cosimano and Hannah Morrissey

Expected Publication: October 13th, 2026
From Goodreads:

'Tis the season . . . for murder.

When Special Agents Holly Frost and Mark Shepherd report to the idyllic town of Christmas to investigate a very less than idyllic murder, they’re in for more than the average whodunnit.

Welcome to Christmas, a town so cozy and charming it could be the backdrop of a Hallmark movie, where crime is never in season and it’s the holidays all year round. So when a tourist is found stabbed to death by an icicle in the middle of the town nativity scene, the local police are out of their depth—after all, how do you find a criminal in a town where crime doesn't exist?

The stakes are the whole town is relying on Holly and Mark to solve the crime before the annual Jingle Bell Jubilee festival (which naturally the town's entire economic survival relies on), plus, whichever of them cracks the case will receive a promotion to Major Crimes—and there's only one spot.

Holly and Mark are both on thin ice after screwing up on the job. This assignment is their one shot at redemption, if they can put aside their bitter rivalry. And of course, it's not only their jobs on the line, it's their hearts, too—regrets of their holiday party hookup last year haunt them like ghosts of Christmas past, so they both want to wrap up this rom-com gone wrong as quickly as possible. But with just twelve days until the festival, the countdown to catch a killer—without killing each other—is on.

Co-authored by New York Times bestseller Elle Cosimano (Finlay Donovan series) and USA Today bestseller Hannah Morrissey (Black Harbor series), Home for the Homicides is a sexy, light-hearted romp, with a dash of merriment and murder.

Snow This is Love Anthology

Expected Publication: October 13th, 2026
From Goodreads:

So this is the holiday I’ve been dreaming of…

Your heart will melt this holiday season with five all-new cozy romance stories from the acclaimed and best-selling authors of the Meant to Be collection, featuring the beloved characters from their Meant to Be novels celebrating the most wonderful time of the year.

Realmsweep by H.E. Edgmon

Expected Publication: October 13th, 2026
From Goodreads:

In a fantastical version of the United States filled to the brim with magic and dragons, the tween prince of Texas must compete in a notoriously dangerous scavenger hunt in Realmsweep by Stonewall Honoree H.E. Edgmon.

Rowdy Buckner, the twelve-year-old prince of Texas, has a problem. More than anything, he wants access to the transfiguration tonics that will transform him from head to toe into the prince he is, in a body that feels more his down. His parents are skeptical–not because they aren’t supportive, but because they don’t believe that self-absorbed, spoiled Rowdy is responsible enough to be trusted with such powerful magic just yet.

In order prove himself, Rowdy signs up to compete in Realmsweep, a notoriously dangerous scavenger hunt held across the Allied Lands every five years, and sends his personal guard to assemble a team. The resulting ragtag crew of preteens isn’t exactly impressive at first glance, but they’re all Rowdy has. With them, he'll face off against everything from monstrous creatures to the monstrosity of humans, and maybe, if he’s lucky, become the person he so desperately wants to be.

Another great week of releases, I love these authors and series, and I need them all to be out! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

Waiting on Wednesday #789, June 24th

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!

Prince of Swords by Elise Kova

Expected Publication: July 21st, 2026
From Goodreads:

Welcome back to Arcana Academy. Tarot magic, forbidden desire, battle, and betrayal collide for the power to change the world in the thrilling second book of this New York Times bestselling fantasy romance series.

I am terrified. Yet my heart skips a beat. This man might be a monster, but he is my monster.

Clara Graysword is Oricalis’s most wanted. Hunted and cornered, not even her mastery of tarot can save her this time . . . until the mysterious Worldkeepers appear. This secretive order may hold the key to changing Clara’s fate. If she dares to trust them.

But the most dangerous alliance of all is one she’s already deeply ensnared Prince Kaelis.

Kaelis, second-born prince of Oricalis and headmaster of Arcana Academy, is the one man she can’t escape—maybe she doesn’t want to escape. Ruthless, dangerous, and bound to Clara by destiny and desire, Kaelis tests her heart as much as her loyalty. Together, they grow closer to the most powerful secrets of the tarot . . . and to the truths they both hide that could destroy the passion that they no longer deny.

Hidden in plain sight within Arcana Academy, Clara walks the dagger’s edge. Revelations about Oricalis threaten everything she thought she knew, and every choice she makes is the difference between salvation and ruin.

To change the world, Clara must risk everything—her power, her beliefs, and her heart.

Funerals are for the Living by Sami Ellis

Expected Publication: July 21st, 2026
From Goodreads:

New from the author of Dead Girls Walking comes a YA horror about a girl kidnapped by a racist cult after investigating the supernatural happenings at her sister’s gravesite

A month ago, Junie Daniels was in a car crash that left her with a dead sister, fragmented memories of the accident, and a mother too checked-out to plan a funeral. The cheapest grave plot Junie can find is in the next town over. Sure, Williamsville is still proudly named after a slave master who was rumored to dabble in dark magic—but this North Carolina, after all.

When unexplained occurrences start happening at the graveyard, though, Junie and her best friend, Omari, investigate. And it’s not long before Junie and Omari are taken...

Williamsville wants both Daniels girls. But Junie will do anything to protect her sister—even if it's only her corpse.

Vera Stein Is Fine by Julie Murphy

Expected Publication: July 21st, 2026
From Goodreads:

From #1 New York Times bestseller Julie Murphy comes a heartfelt and hilarious tale of a woman who thinks life and love have passed her by until she’s thrown into her grandmother’s quirky world of octogenarian free love and gets a second chance with the one man she never expected to see again. Perhaps it’s never too late to play the opening credits…

Welcome to Starlight Palms, a favorite retirement facility among Hollywood actors and industry professionals tucked away just outside of sunny Palm Springs. Filled with forgotten scream queens, eccentric screenwriters, and heartthrobs of the past, it has a brand-new resident: Vera Stein, age forty.

Vera knows she’s missed her chance at a life worthy of the silver screen, just like she missed her chance at ever finding true love. But Vera isn’t one to take chances. She’s spent most of her adult years caretaking for her dying mother and her movie star boss’s ego. Now abruptly houseless and jobless, Vera has nowhere to land, so to grandmother’s house we go!

The Starlight Palms Senior Living Center is midcentury Hollywood down to its pastel-painted bones. This desert gem isn’t lacking in saucy plot twists (swinging seniors, anyone?) or a leading man: Elias Buckley, the on-site doctor and Vera’s former ill-fated college fling and—for reasons that will stay in Vegas—legally her ex-husband according to the state of Nevada.

It’s not long before Vera falls into a job as the activities coordinator and under the spell of a certain smart-mouthed doctor… Suddenly all those empty years in LA look less like mistakes and a lot more like backstory. With a fresh start at her fingertips, Vera begins to see that even with all the detours she’s taken, there’s still a Hollywood ending (and maybe even a happily ever after) in sight…

TROPES

• Second Chance Romance

• Workplace Romance

• Multigenerational Family Drama

• Forced Proximity

• New Lease on Life and Spice

Just 3 books, but I'm really excited for all of them! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

Waiting on Wednesday #778, April 8th

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!

Archangel's Eternity by Nalini Singh

Expected Publication: May 5th, 2026
From Goodreads:

Elena and Raphael return for the hauntingly poignant conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh’s genre-defining Guild Hunter series.

A thousand years.

It’s been a millennium since Elena’s fateful first meeting with Archangel Raphael. She has survived war and loss, experienced beauty and cruelty. But no matter what, she has always held on to her mortal heart, as she and Raphael have held on to each other. Passionate and vibrant, they’ve built a life that has stood the test of time, growing ever stronger with each turn of the sun.

But change is coming—of a magnitude they could have never imagined—and it will forever alter the trajectory of their existence.

Even as they grapple with the cataclysmic shift in their personal lives, the Cadre of Ten, which has maintained a hard-won peace for centuries, begins to simmer with dangerous fault lines. The specter of madness looms in one archangel, the promise of war burns between two others, and in darkness far from mortal and immortal eyes stirs an ancient, slumbering power.

Suddenly, the future is terrifyingly uncertain . . . at the very moment that Elena and her archangel need to protect a treasure infinitely more precious than eternity.

Platform Decay by Martha Wells

Expected Publication: May 5th, 2026
From Goodreads:

Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back in the next installment in Martha Wells' bestselling and award-winning Murderbot Diaries series.

Having someone else support your bad decision feels kind of good.

Having volunteered to run a rescue mission, Murderbot realises that it will have to spend significant time with a bunch of humans it doesn't know.

Including human children. Ugh.

This may well call for... eye contact!

(Emotion check: Oh, for f—)

A Long and Speaking Silence by Nghi Vo

Expected Publication: May 5th, 2026
From Goodreads:

From USA Today bestselling author Nghi Vo comes a beautiful new tale in the Hugo Award-winning Singing Hills Cycle, drawn from the earliest days of Chih's career as a wandering cleric.

"Nghi Vo is so good."—NPR on The Brides of High Hill

Every story begins somewhere.

On the banks of the Ya-lé River, the town of Luntien gathers to celebrate the start of the rainy season, but the celebration is marred by the arrival of refugees from the sea. Everyone has a story about the foreigners newly in their midst—lazy, violent, unwanted—while the refugees themselves grieve the loss of the home they loved.

Cleric Chih, very recently still Novice Chih, is also a stranger in Luntien. A moment of carelessness and bad luck leaves them waiting tables as they struggle to establish themself as a real cleric. A cleric’s job is to listen and record, but the stories emerging in Luntien are ugly and violent, as hard to predict as the river itself. With their hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant by their side, Chih must help the refugees while also unraveling a mystery that may have roots in their own faraway home in the abbey of Singing Hills.

In the seventh entry of the award-winning Singing Hills series, we meet Chih and Almost Brilliant just beginning their journey together as Chih assumes their place on the road and in the world.

The novellas of the Singing Hills series are standalone stories linked by the Cleric Chih, and may be read in any order.

Storm Breaker by Nisha J. Tuli

Expected Publication: May 5th, 2026
From Goodreads:

From the publisher who brought you Fourth Wing comes your next romantasy obsession...

For nineteen-year-old Poet Graves, New Manhattan has always promised safety―if she obeys. Raised within the ruling Houses and betrothed to a powerful heir, she enters Amery Academy knowing her future has already been decided.

But Amery is nothing like she imagined. Its trials are brutal, its loyalties conditional, and its rules designed to expose weakness. As Poet struggles to survive, she must hide the truth that could get her executed: the storms don’t fear her―they answer back.

When a dangerous outsider from beyond the city walls enters the academy, Poet is drawn to him despite everything she’s been taught to believe. He threatens the life she’s been promised. And choosing him could cost her not just her future, but her freedom.

A gripping dystopian romance filled with forbidden power, ruthless challenges, and a heroine who refuses to burn quietly―perfect for fans of Divergent and The Hunger Games.

Verity Guild by Mai Corland

Expected Publication: May 5th, 2026
From Goodreads:

Secrets built this republic; one truth could burn it down.

High Priestess Kerasea Vestal has spent her life hiding the truth―that she’s the last surviving heir of the magical bloodline the republic slaughtered. One wrong step could be fatal. But when a senator is brutally killed and a temple blade is found at the scene, all eyes turn to her.

Praetorian Torren Morvane has made a career of dragging liars into the light, and Kerasea is the one person he’s vowed to ruin. But locked on a mountain with a murderer, scheming senators, and a prophecy of death, he’s forced to work at her side. The closer he gets, the more dangerous the truth―and their attraction―becomes.

With traitors closing in and a nation on the verge of shattering, Kerasea and Torren must risk everything to uncover the real killer…even if it means trusting their sworn enemy.

Death's Daughter by S.A. Barnes 

Expected Publication: May 5th, 2026
From Goodreads:

The steamy mythology of Neon Gods meets dark academia in this contemporary romance from USA Today bestselling author S.A. Barnes.

Jocasta’s carved out a normal life at Beecher University—well, as normal as possible with a name like Jocasta and being the only child of Death.

She has good friends and a messy situationship with her former TA. But her friends, her crush, and her classmates don’t know the truth about who—what—she is. They would be horrified to discover Jo must feed to survive—and she feeds on them. But she refuses to take lives, feasting instead on their disappointments, failures, and rejections. It’s not a perfect system, but it works.

Until a sexy stranger—and descendant of Lust—shows up on campus because Death just named Jo as his successor, making her a powerful ally and a massive target.

Jo’s safe little bubble is about to burst, but she will do anything to protect the people she loves. Even if it means becoming what she hates…

Out Law by Jim Butcher

Expected Publication: May 5th, 2026
From Goodreads:

The past comes back in a big way for Chicago’s only professional wizard in this action-packed novella from the Dresden Files.

In a city that’s just beginning to recover from the devastation caused by the Battle of Chicago, Harry Dresden is finally pulling himself together as well. He’s ensconced in his own personal castle, healing his various wounds and training an eager new apprentice. The last thing he wants is any trouble. But, as history has consistently—and quite annoyingly—shown, what Harry wants is rarely what Harry gets.

It starts with a visit from Harry’s most powerful frenemy, Gentleman John Marcone, Baron of Chicago. He needs Harry to assist in the redemption of an underling who’s looking to go straight. And since Harry does kinda sorta owe Marcone for saving his life once (stupid honorable debt!), it’s not a request he can refuse. He’ll just wish he had.

Because this little favor is going to drag Harry into a fight he doesn’t want on behalf of a lowlife he doesn’t trust against an enemy more powerful and pestilent than he ever could’ve an insatiable, demonic foe whom Harry himself may have created when he wiped out the vampires of the Red Court so long ago.

Before, all it wanted was blood. Now it wants the entire world . . .

Student Union by Julie Murphy 

Expected Publication: May 5th, 2026
From Goodreads:

From #1 New York Times–bestselling author Julie Murphy comes a sexy rom com about a college marriage of convenience that goes way beyond chemistry 101...The first in a trilogy of romance novels that follows a group of girls as they navigate love, friendship, and new adulthood, this is perfect for fans of Elle Kennedy and Hannah Grace.

CLOVER ROWAN WALSH knows The Plan™.

1. Get a full ride to her dream school, Wexley University.

2. Conquer the school of business.

3. Say goodbye to the paycheck-to-paycheck life she and her mom have known for years.

There's just one hiccup. With the first semester rapidly approaching, Clover learns her housing grant has fallen through. But a loophole presents Married couples can live in the dorms for the price of one student. Clover is willing to sacrifice the sanctity of marriage . . . even if it means proposing to the one person she swore she'd never speak to again.

Bennett Andrew Graves is the only heir to the Graves Coffee empire. After spending his first year at Wexley, squeaking by in classes and becoming personally acquainted with the female student body, he is looking forward to living off campus. Until the girl he grew up with (and whom he completely devastated years ago) walks back into his life with the most absurd Will you marry me?

Bennett can't refuse Clover. He owes her this, but that doesn't change the fact that these two can barely carry on a conversation without getting at each other's throats. Forget about sharing a dorm—much less one bed.

But as Clover and Bennett hide the true nature of their marriage, they find that playing house isn't all that bad—especially with certain marital benefits in the mix. In fact, Clover and Bennett are soon forgetting the most important part of their fake marriage of convenience . . . that it's supposed to be fake.

Your Murder Next by Ravena Guron

Expected Publication: May 7th, 2026
From Goodreads:

From the bestselling author of This Book Kills comes a deadly new YA thriller of murder, mystery and mind-blowing twists. Perfect for fans of Holly Jackson and Karen M. McManus.

When the most popular girl at Myra's new school is found frozen to death in a walk-in chiller, wannabe journalist Myra is sure of two things:

1. Scarlett was murdered.

2. One of Scarlett's friends is to blame.

So she infiltrates the popular clique's world of envy and backstabbing to prove it. But then a strange boy holds her up at gunpoint in the woods, claiming he's killed the killer. Who is he, who did he kill...and who will die next?

May is looking like an excellent month of releases, and is starting off with a bang, I can't wait for all these books, and the ones I've already read where so good, and I need them all to be out now! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #717, March 3rd

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week...and anything in between! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well...you never know where that next "must read" book will come from!

What happened in the past week:

Weekly Memes:
It's Monday! What Are You Reading #716
Teaser Tuesday #724
WWW Wednesday #724
WOW #720
Will the Time Come #717
Third Sentence Thursday #707
Random Reads #693
First Lines Friday #720
Book Blogger Hop #386

Monthly ARC's April Round Up

Monthly Series March Round Up

Monthly ARC's Update 108
The Reward Challenge Update #702
Wheel of TBR #249
How Well I Stuck to It #554
Wrote that Review Update #551

Week 9 Reviews:

Uncharted 

Followed by Frost

A Crack in the Stone

Rule of the Aurora King

Fate of the Sun King 

Tale of the Heart Queen

The Dark Mirror 

Heavenbreaker

A Theory of Dreaming

A Not So Silent Night

Snow Place Like LA

A Holly Jolly Ever After 

O Come All Ye Newlyweds

Seas and Greetings 

A Jingle Bell Mingle

We Three Horndogs 

The Dragon Queen

Igniting Fate

Junkyard Roadhouse

We Were Warned

The Warbler

When the Bones Sing

Phase Out Your Seriesathon: 

Update 16

Magical Readathon: Orilium: 

Update 15

Polarthon Readathon: 

Update 13

Update 14

Update 15

Update 16 and Wrap Up

Random:

Olivia Dade Author Page

The Bookworm Revolution March 2025 TBR

Saara El-Arifi Author Page

Tracy Banghart Author Page

Amélie Wen Zhao Author Page

Daniel M. Ford Author Page

OK, so I got 41 posts in 7 days, and I had a good time on my vacation, and I'm still off today, but it always goes by so quickly, and doesn't feel like anything gets done, which isn't great, but yeah, I mainly slept in, which was needed. What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read Queen of Shadows and Ruin and The Ragpicker King!

Zarya must become the darkness…

Soaring through the sky to the frozen mountains of Andhera, Zarya knows that only she can save her home from annihilation. Ruthless armies hunt her friends and toxic dark magic spreads through the land, consuming all it touches. To fight back, she and Rabin must find dangerous new allies.

In a palace of black marble, Zarya finally meets her father—the mysterious Raja Abishek. She approaches warily. For years she was told to fear this man, that he seeks to steal her power. But Abishek welcomes her with open arms, with gifts and lavish celebrations.

Rabin is sure the king can help them, turning the tide of war and decay. And when the magic binding Zarya's heart to Rabin begins to fail, only Abishek can offer a cure. Zarya dreads the thought of placing their lives in his hands… But can she hesitate, when Rabin might be torn from her forever?

As Zarya makes her choice, ancient magic breaks loose, and her world shatters. In a ruined and long forgotten city, her love for Rabin will be tested to its limits. An army of shadows marches against her, destroying all in its path, and everything Zarya loves will be lost, unless she can face the darkness inside her—and release its devastating power.

An absolutely gripping fantasy romance that's perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Rebecca Yarros, and Carissa Broadbent, Queen of Shadows and Ruin is the epic final volume in the Nightfire Quartet.

In the epic follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Sword Catcher, praised by George R. R. Martin as “everything I look for in fantasy,” Lin and Kel must chart a perilous course between love and lies.

Kel Saren, body double to Conor, crown prince of the dazzling city of Castellane, is caught between two worlds. In order to protect his beloved prince, Kel must find the culprits responsible for a massacre at the royal palace—and the only clues are held by the Ragpicker King, the notorious criminal who rules Castellane’s underworld. The trail Kel follows leads back to the Hill, where among decadent nobles and glittering parties a dark conspiracy to destroy the royal family has taken hold—a conspiracy headed up by the monstrous Artal Gremont, the man engaged to marry the woman Kel adores.

Meanwhile, Lin Caster must face the aftermath of the greatest risk she’s ever taken. To save the life of a dying friend, Lin has falsely claimed to be the Goddess Reborn, the legendary heroine destined to save her people. Now the terrifying—but strangely magnetic—leader of her people has arrived to test her powers. The price of failure is exile, and only through her alliance with the Ragpicker King can she continue to access the magic that may save her.

Then Prince Conor reappears in her life, demanding that she use her healing powers to cure the madness of his father, the King. Lin soon realizes the King is gripped by an ancient and terrible magic, one whose lure she cannot deny any more than she can deny her growing passion for Conor.

As the simmering tensions in Castellane reach a fever pitch, Lin and Kel must decide who to trust when any false move means death—or worse.

Week 9 Reviews: A Not So Silent Night, Snow Place Like LA, A Holly Jolly Ever After, O Come All Ye Newlyweds, Seas and Greetings, A Jingle Bell Mingle, We Three Horndogs

From Goodreads:

Greetings, intrepid holiday readers! We are so excited to present this Bee and Nolan bonus scene to you as a spicy little present to kick off the holiday season.

After we wrote A Merry Little Meet Cute, we realized we left something on the table—or several somethings, actually. And so, if you, like us, wanted to see Bee and Nolan delve into Bee's suitcase collection of toys, then you may enjoy the battery-operated delights herein! (Plus there is some swoony, get-down-on-one-knee stuff, because we couldn't resist.)

This scene takes place after the end of A Merry Little Meet Cute and during the events of A  Holly Jolly Ever After—but is spoiler-free for Winnie and Kallum's story, so you can dive right in. We hope you love it...and we promise no plants were harmed in the making of the greenhouse scene. ;)

xoxo,

Julie + Sierra

From Goodreads:

After Angel and Luca connected on the set of Duke the Halls and had a whirlwind romance in the literal snow globe of Christmas Notch, Vermont, Luca found himself falling in love. Hard. He'd never been one to believe in fate or true love, but one thing was certain: Angel was his person. He knew it as well as he knew the history of American figure skating. But when Angel left for an art school semester abroad without a word, Luca's already brittle heart was broken. No one ghosted Luca. Unless he was in a haunted house.

But with the spring semester long over, Angel is back home in Los Angeles for the summer, and unfortunately for Luca, this big town is turning out to be smaller than either of them ever expected.

From Goodreads:

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?

From Goodreads:

Greetings, holiday adventurers! 

We are so excited to bring you a little spice for your metaphorical hot cocoa, in the form of a honeymoon story for Winnie & Kallum, our horny sweeties from A Holly Jolly Ever After. 

It's a tale of true love, of found family, and—well, why not—lactation and pegging.

But! There are many obstacles to our intrepid lovers saying I love you through the power of body-safe silicone. 

Phone calls! Texts! 

A Jack Russell terrier and a missing diaper bag! 

Will true peg prevail? Or will this honeymoon end in tarnished dreams and unused lube? 

Read on to find out what happens (and don't worry, there are no spoilers for A Jingle Bell Mingle)!

xoxo,

Julie + Sierra

From Goodreads:

The Rules:

No roaming off alone.

No secrets.

No bodyguard/client fraternization.

No olives.

This is Krysta Morton's last job. She's done with being a bodyguard and is ready for a real nine to five where work stays at work. But when Addison Hayes's manager offers Krysta a ridiculous amount of money to keep the high-maintenance singer-turned-influencer safe on a cruise, Krysta can't make herself say no. Not when the money means that she'll be able to set her grandma up at the nicest senior living community in town. (It has a brand new pickleball court! And a juice bar!)

Addison Hayes is at the top of her game. After a long and healthy career as a B-list celebrity, she's successfully made the transition to lifestyle brands and her dream of expanding her empire into hotels and cruises is within reach. With her first branded cruise about to disembark, she's in dire need of hired security while she curates the passenger experience and oversees the debut run of The Lion and the Lamb, her first attempt at producing a musical (and her ode to all things Twilight).

With Krysta's no-nonsense attitude, Addison is certain her newly hired bodyguard loathes her. Then a steamy shore excursion reveals that Krysta's icy shell is hiding a simmering hunger. And if this bodyguard isn't careful, she might start breaking her own rules…

From Goodreads:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Murphy and USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone who gave us A Merry Little Meet Cute comes a new holiday rom-com—'tis the season for second chances!

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 death, 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 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?

From Goodreads: 

This is a very filthy take on some tropes as old as time: enemies to lovers, a one night stand…a boner that just won't quit...and we hope that our messy trio keeps you warm on some chilly winter's night, when you're ready for a dose of undiluted (but still sweetly chaotic) indecency. 

My Review:


Authors: Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone 
Series: A Christmas Notch #1.1, 1.5, 2, 2.1, 2.5, 3, 3.1
Read: February 26th, 26th, 26th, 26th, 26th, 27th, 27th, 2025
Source: Ebook.bike
Reason Why: Love their writing and this series, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Books! 
Publisher: Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone, Avon Impulse, Avon  
Published: 2023, July 11th 2023, October 10th 2023, September 24th 2024, July 9th 2024, September 24th 2024, 2024

A Not So Silent Night:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Snow Place Like LA:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

A Holly Jolly Ever After:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

O Come All Ye Newlyweds:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Seas and Greetings:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

A Jingle Bell Mingle:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

We Three Horndogs: 

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars