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

I love Christmas Notch and want to love every book in that universe! And I did love the parts of this book that are set there but the whole pregnancy story driving them apart was annoying. Also, if she’s been wanting to be pregnant for so long, I don’t think she’d make those choices. Winnie’s family storyline didn’t feel resolved and Kallum’s fears and anxieties didn’t feel properly addressed. Like wouldn’t he have hurts and concerns to address and air out with how Winnie treated him? IDK, the torn apart only to come back stronger trope didn’t seem fully ironed out.

I’m ready for the Teddy Fletcher story and would really like to know who is going to fall in love with Isaac and where Addison’s story is going. More Christmas Notch and all these great characters!!!

Content Warnings

n_n_nikki's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

4.25

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jourdanicus's review against another edition

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hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

5/5 on the 🌶️ scale 🫣

Main complaint: the

ineffective condom use

from a male main character who was supposedly

very sexually experienced

? Like hello? Also, don't they know that

ejaculation onto the vulva technically CAN cause pregnancy too?

That seemed a bit uneducated. And the whole

pregnancy

as plot twist came a little later in the plot than I'd have liked, making the plot drag a little in the middle third.

But this book hit enough favorite points for me to stay invested: characters who are kind to one another, light humor, slightly unconventional romance, and casual queer inclusivity. I would definitely recommend to anyone who read and liked A Merry Little Meet Cute. Would not recommend to anyone who is aggressively

childfree

or does not find

having a baby

to be romantic at all.

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meganlafo's review

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funny hopeful medium-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

4.5

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sami_leigh's review

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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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rachminick's review

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funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.25

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cover2covertx's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

I think the authors wanted to put too many themes and plots into one story arc. It just made things kind of messy in the second half. Also, no trigger warnings was a bad move for this one especially.

And miscarriage should never be used as a casual plot device and the way it was handled absolutely felt like that

I’ll definitely be reading the third in the series whenever it comes out but this book didn’t fit with the vibe of the Christmas Notch books all because of that second half.

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sdupont's review

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emotional funny 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

4.0

This one is for the Hallmark Christmas girlies who also like a side of smut! While this one was not as strong as Merry Little Meet Cute, I did enjoy reading this sequel. I like Kallum and Winnie, definitely two characters you root for. The spice delivered but I felt like I needed a little more for the characters when it came to talking about themselves and their feelings. The two conflicts in the timeline detracted from the growth arc in my opinion. If the book was a little shorter and had stronger communication I think it would have been a home run. I still recommend this for a festive read!

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