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Christmas Notch #1.5
Snow Place Like LA
Cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Murphy and USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone--a steamy second chance Christmas in July rom-com.
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.
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.
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 11, 2023
341 people are currently reading
9136 people want to read
About the author
Julie Murphy
42 books6,720 followersJulie Murphy lives in North Texas with her husband who loves her and her cats who tolerate her. After several wonderful years in the library world, Julie now writes full-time.
When she’s not writing or reliving her reference desk glory days, she can be found watching made-for-TV movies, hunting for the perfect slice of cheese pizza, and planning her next great travel adventure.
She is also the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the young adult novels Dumplin’ (now a film on Netflix), Puddin’, Pumpkin, Ramona Blue, and Side Effects May Vary. Her middle grade novels include Dear Sweat Pea and a forthcoming 2023 title. She is also Disney's If The Shoe Fits, a modern day romcom retelling of Cinderella. Her writing partner is Sierra Simone and their romance debut is A Merry Little Meet Cute.
Julie has been featured in places liek Good Morning America, The New York Times, and Teen Vogue. Dumplin' was also named one of the best young adult books of all time by Time Magazine.
When she’s not writing or reliving her reference desk glory days, she can be found watching made-for-TV movies, hunting for the perfect slice of cheese pizza, and planning her next great travel adventure.
She is also the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the young adult novels Dumplin’ (now a film on Netflix), Puddin’, Pumpkin, Ramona Blue, and Side Effects May Vary. Her middle grade novels include Dear Sweat Pea and a forthcoming 2023 title. She is also Disney's If The Shoe Fits, a modern day romcom retelling of Cinderella. Her writing partner is Sierra Simone and their romance debut is A Merry Little Meet Cute.
Julie has been featured in places liek Good Morning America, The New York Times, and Teen Vogue. Dumplin' was also named one of the best young adult books of all time by Time Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 931 reviews
July 19, 2023
Snow Place Like LA by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
A Christmas Notch July novella. Series #1.5. M-M romance with erotica elements. Can be read as a stand-alone.
Angel and Luca met in Notch, Vermont on the movie set of Duke the Halls. Their affair was hot, steamy and irresistible. Luca fell in love. But when the movie shut down, Angel left for Paris and Luca was left heartbroken. Back in LA the next summer, Luca and Angel are on another Teddy porn movie lot trying to avoid each other. Could their breakup have been a mistake? Talking and clearing up misunderstandings is the next item on their lists.
A fun, romantic setup with a grand diva and plenty of angst. With lots of sexual innuendo and steamy m-m loving. Amusing quotes and play on the original movie, Pretty Woman.
A luscious tale of finding your own darling man.
A Christmas Notch July novella. Series #1.5. M-M romance with erotica elements. Can be read as a stand-alone.
Angel and Luca met in Notch, Vermont on the movie set of Duke the Halls. Their affair was hot, steamy and irresistible. Luca fell in love. But when the movie shut down, Angel left for Paris and Luca was left heartbroken. Back in LA the next summer, Luca and Angel are on another Teddy porn movie lot trying to avoid each other. Could their breakup have been a mistake? Talking and clearing up misunderstandings is the next item on their lists.
A fun, romantic setup with a grand diva and plenty of angst. With lots of sexual innuendo and steamy m-m loving. Amusing quotes and play on the original movie, Pretty Woman.
A luscious tale of finding your own darling man.
August 16, 2023
Cute, incredibly erotic yet not entirely memorable little novella about my favourite character Luca from A Merry Little Meet Cute and his miscommunication/second chance romance with porn star director Teddy's son, Angel. For once I actually liked the pop culture references (probably because it was Pretty Woman) and the sexy scenes were 🔥🔥but overall the plot wasn't particularly exciting or anything new. Still cute though.
December 27, 2024
i agree with other reviews that this novella is fine but forgettable. i liked book one in this series a lot but found this addition kind of unnecessary, especially since it was m/m romance written by two women (but hey at least it's not incestuous like some of sierra simone's other m/m romance!) the writing was sometimes (a lot of the times) millennial cringe with overly-explained pop culture references and punchlines, but this just felt like an excuse to write gay porn with no real purpose or furtherment to the series' plot.
April 2, 2025
(⭐1.5)
DNF @45%
why did i buy this book... my $2.99... give it back 😭
please forgive me for my language but i could not muster a single fuck to give about these characters. they were bickering endlessly. they were so detestable. i kept zoning out mid-page because holy mary sweet mother of god i'm bored.
usually a novella is easy for me to knock out, but this one is such a drag!!!!! i never usually dnf books but i really cannot be bothered with this one.
definitely dnfing the christmas notch series. everything is always 'p*rn p*rn p*rn, sex, sex, sex', it adds NOTHING to the plot, and it just SUCKS!!!
sorry about the hate review, but good lord this is sapping the braincells out of my head
i hate both angel and luca. i hate the miscommunication/misunderstanding plot, it's so overused and not even done well... yawn, snore, honk shoo mimimi.
only adding a .5 of a star because there were a few quotes that were kinda cute. still couldn't bring myself to care about the characters tho 😭
DNF @45%
why did i buy this book... my $2.99... give it back 😭
please forgive me for my language but i could not muster a single fuck to give about these characters. they were bickering endlessly. they were so detestable. i kept zoning out mid-page because holy mary sweet mother of god i'm bored.
usually a novella is easy for me to knock out, but this one is such a drag!!!!! i never usually dnf books but i really cannot be bothered with this one.
definitely dnfing the christmas notch series. everything is always 'p*rn p*rn p*rn, sex, sex, sex', it adds NOTHING to the plot, and it just SUCKS!!!
sorry about the hate review, but good lord this is sapping the braincells out of my head
i hate both angel and luca. i hate the miscommunication/misunderstanding plot, it's so overused and not even done well... yawn, snore, honk shoo mimimi.
only adding a .5 of a star because there were a few quotes that were kinda cute. still couldn't bring myself to care about the characters tho 😭
July 14, 2023
3.5 stars! Snow Place like L.A. is a new romance novella from Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy, that exists in the same series as their previous book A Merry Little Meet Cute. This is a mm, second chance, novella!
We first met these characters in AMLMC! Angel and Luca meet while working together on the set of Duke the Halls. They had a whirlwind month-long romance while together in the cutesy Vermont, snow-globe town of Christmas Notch. Luca fell hard and fast and thought things were getting serious. But when filming was over, Angel left for an art school semester abroad without a word and Luca was heartbroken. We then cut to 7 months later and Angel is back in L.A. and they find themselves around one another working on a set together again!
This was just a quick little second chance novella that takes place in the same cute yet spicy world of the first book, more adult film sets, and side characters!
We first met these characters in AMLMC! Angel and Luca meet while working together on the set of Duke the Halls. They had a whirlwind month-long romance while together in the cutesy Vermont, snow-globe town of Christmas Notch. Luca fell hard and fast and thought things were getting serious. But when filming was over, Angel left for an art school semester abroad without a word and Luca was heartbroken. We then cut to 7 months later and Angel is back in L.A. and they find themselves around one another working on a set together again!
This was just a quick little second chance novella that takes place in the same cute yet spicy world of the first book, more adult film sets, and side characters!
December 24, 2023
This was my favourite in the series.
I adored Luca & Angel throughout both books so I was totally geeked to get my hands on this one.
It did not disappoint!
I adored Luca & Angel throughout both books so I was totally geeked to get my hands on this one.
It did not disappoint!
July 10, 2023
- miscommunication
- forced proximity
- second chance
Angel and Luca got hot and heavy during the filming of Duke the Halls, but things fell flat when Angel ghosts Luca upon their return to LA.
Luca is devastated when he doesn't hear a peep out of Angel and blocks him everywhere after spotting a picture of him with his ex, thinking that will be the last of it.
Until it isn't and he learns that he'll be working on set with Angel for the next several weeks, and the pair are forced to work through their issues.
Their story is hilarious, chock full of great banter, and wonderfully steamy! I so wish they'd gotten a full length novel though!
- forced proximity
- second chance
Angel and Luca got hot and heavy during the filming of Duke the Halls, but things fell flat when Angel ghosts Luca upon their return to LA.
Luca is devastated when he doesn't hear a peep out of Angel and blocks him everywhere after spotting a picture of him with his ex, thinking that will be the last of it.
Until it isn't and he learns that he'll be working on set with Angel for the next several weeks, and the pair are forced to work through their issues.
Their story is hilarious, chock full of great banter, and wonderfully steamy! I so wish they'd gotten a full length novel though!
July 7, 2023
This was just about the cutest story I've read in a long while!!
#FunFact: Pretty Woman is one of my all time favorite movies!
It was swoony and sexy and full of ridiculous banter.
There's nothing more you need to know.
DO THE THING
#FunFact: Pretty Woman is one of my all time favorite movies!
It was swoony and sexy and full of ridiculous banter.
There's nothing more you need to know.
DO THE THING
July 22, 2023
A spicy second chance M/M celebrity romance novella set in the same universe as a Merry little meet cute. Great pansexual rep with tons of steamy and heartfelt moments. This was a delicious little pre-holiday season snack that was great on audio!! Plus alll the Pretty Woman references were perfection🔥👌🏻🔥👌🏻🔥👌🏻🔥👌🏻🔥!10/10 recommend!!
July 26, 2023
This was super cute! Luca and Angel from Merry Little Meet Cute get their HEA after Angel jaunts off to Paris without telling Luca, breaking his heart for seven months. Luca is hilarious, Angel is sweet and earnest, and I loved seeing Bee again!
August 9, 2023
3.5⭐️
A few laugh-out-loud moments in a short, low-commitment novella.
I could take or leave this one.
A few laugh-out-loud moments in a short, low-commitment novella.
I could take or leave this one.
July 11, 2023
Luca + Angel
We already met those two in A VERY MERRY MEET CUTE.
And Luca thought their little intense month-long thing was turning into something very serious once they left Vermont for Los Angeles.
But nope. Angel left for Paris without a word.
And now - seven months later - he's back.
And he wants to start where they left off...
Uhm ... Luca doesn't think so. Right?!
══════════════════
This was a very cute and fast M/M romance set in the world of porn movie making. Lol. If you haven't read the first book, you definitely should. I forgot half the people and what all happened in Vermont!
Now we're in LA on the set of a new movie and both Luca and Angel are on the job - behind the scenes!
Luca is still in love with Angel but he doesn't want to forgive him just like that. He was really hurt. But Angel was hurt too, because Luca completely blocked him everywhere after only a couple of days!
Will we get out happily ever after??
Well - like I said. Really cute and funny and sparky and sexy novella. I wouldn't have minded a full-length story for those two. But this was a really cute read for a saturday afternoon!
SNOW PLACE LIKE LA was a cute and funny and sexy little M/M novella set in the porn movie world - behind the scenes! LOL! READ IT!
💜
💜
August 2, 2023
3.75/5 ⭐ Rounded Up
My Spice Rating: 🌶🌶🌶🌶🍆/🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶
Snow Place Like LA by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone may be a novella, but there is a lot packed into this short read! First of all, it is VERY spicy and even surpassed the spice level in the first book (A Merry Little Meet Cute). And second, there is a whole lotta relationship between Angel and Luca to get through as well. I would have loved this to be a full book, and the romance itself felt pretty rushed since it is a novella. The audiobook isn't even 4 hours long, and it was a super quick and easy listen as well as a nice addition to what I already knew about Luca's character.
Max Meyers narrates the audiobook, and I absolutely adored him as the voice of Luca. I thought he really brought him to life in a wonderful way, and I could have listened to him for so much longer. He did a great job of making Luca's personality jump off the page as well as getting every single emotion across in a way that fits perfectly with the character. This is a fast and steamy ride that didn't really touch on Christmas besides the fact it mentions Christmas Notch, Vermont where the couple first met. I think you could read this at any time despite the title mentioning snow, and if you are a fan of the A Christmas Notch series, you should definitely throw it into the mix.
My Spice Rating: 🌶🌶🌶🌶🍆/🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶
Snow Place Like LA by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone may be a novella, but there is a lot packed into this short read! First of all, it is VERY spicy and even surpassed the spice level in the first book (A Merry Little Meet Cute). And second, there is a whole lotta relationship between Angel and Luca to get through as well. I would have loved this to be a full book, and the romance itself felt pretty rushed since it is a novella. The audiobook isn't even 4 hours long, and it was a super quick and easy listen as well as a nice addition to what I already knew about Luca's character.
Max Meyers narrates the audiobook, and I absolutely adored him as the voice of Luca. I thought he really brought him to life in a wonderful way, and I could have listened to him for so much longer. He did a great job of making Luca's personality jump off the page as well as getting every single emotion across in a way that fits perfectly with the character. This is a fast and steamy ride that didn't really touch on Christmas besides the fact it mentions Christmas Notch, Vermont where the couple first met. I think you could read this at any time despite the title mentioning snow, and if you are a fan of the A Christmas Notch series, you should definitely throw it into the mix.
July 22, 2023
Nice, quick read
June 28, 2025
cute, fun, short read perfect for summer and pride month.
September 15, 2025
3.25/5 ⭐️
2.5/5 🌶️
2.5/5 🌶️
November 28, 2023
Luca and Angel are adorable... but I can't give this more than 3 stars due to the zero communication skills. I do love, though, that this literally picked up where the epilogue in Merry Little Meet Cute left off, and we still get this overarching storyline with the Hope channel and what they're up to still. But yea, in regards to the main characters in this I just can't stand zero communication, it's worse than miscommunication (because at least then there's SOME communication), and I didn't feel a whole lot of personal character growth. Of course there was a good amount of spice, some more out of pocket/cringey lines (looking at you, bathtub scene) as well, but pretty hot for the most part. Overall, feeling "meh" about it.
December 8, 2023
Nors pirmos šitos serijos dalies nesugebėjau užbaigti - nepatiko, erzino, nekabino, tarpinė novelė su kita pagrindinių veikėjų pora suėjo kaip saldainiukas. Pasakojimo tonas nerimtas, perspaustas, dramatiškas kaip ir pagrindinis veikėjas Luca, iš kurio perspektyvos istorija pasakojama. Bet kaip jį atsveria ramus, susitelkęs, žemiškas Angel, uch! Labai norėčiau, kad istorija būtų buvusi ilgesnė, ir dabar net smalsu užbaigti tą pirmąją serijos dalį, dirstelėti į pagrindinių veikėjų priešistorę. Beje, istoriją labai pakylėjo puikus įgarsinimas - emocingas, įvairiaspalvis, puikiai perteikiantis visus veikėjus.
November 16, 2025
Too much sex and not enough character development. This reallyyyyy would have benefitted from a dual POV. I didn't feel like I knew either character that well, not even the one whose head I was inside of! This was a miss for me.
December 24, 2023
This was cute and I enjoyed the two characters (again) with the chaotic and hilarious porn shoot in the background. It was very emotionally angsty, which I appreciated in the beginning, but I needed a bit more of a breather between the angsty episodes.
July 21, 2023
Luca is the definition of EXTRA. If you look up the word “dramatic”, his photo will be there. He’s fierce and fabulous and sure, he may jump to erroneous conclusions far too easily but that's just part of his charm. I’m mad I can’t be friends with him in real life. His second chance romance with Angel was a delight to read! An easy frothy concoction of a novella. Bonus: the Pretty Woman porn remake might be happening behind the scenes at work but it also has plenty of allusions here, right down to Luca’s interpretation of some pivotal scenes.
Characters: Angel is a gay white animator in his early to mid-20s who wears glasses. Luca is a 24 year old pansexual white porn studio costume designer. This is set in Los Angeles.
Content notes: perceived infidelity (Luca leapt to conclusions based on an Instagram photo of Angel and his ex-boyfriend), parental estrangement (not a big deal but Luca doesn’t have much contact with them), past parental divorce, MCs work for a porn film maker, off page allergic reaction to melon (not MCs), past death of pet hermit crab, on page sex, pool sex, alcohol, inebriation
Disclosure: I’m friendly with Sierra Simone online.
Characters: Angel is a gay white animator in his early to mid-20s who wears glasses. Luca is a 24 year old pansexual white porn studio costume designer. This is set in Los Angeles.
Content notes: perceived infidelity (Luca leapt to conclusions based on an Instagram photo of Angel and his ex-boyfriend), parental estrangement (not a big deal but Luca doesn’t have much contact with them), past parental divorce, MCs work for a porn film maker, off page allergic reaction to melon (not MCs), past death of pet hermit crab, on page sex, pool sex, alcohol, inebriation
Disclosure: I’m friendly with Sierra Simone online.
October 28, 2023
Ok I'll start by saying I liked the book, so there is that, but I could see the different voices, and no scene more obviously then when Angel and Luca take a bath together and a butthole is referred to as a pleated aperture. I will never be well again after reading that line.
December 28, 2023
4.5 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5 (rounded up)
"This feels big. We feel big. I can't let you give up on us."
Unfortunately, I found this one after I read the second, but I still had to go back and finish because I needed to know more about Angel and
Luca! If you were a fan of the first book, then you need to read this one.
"Just you wait," I told him, too come drunk to sound smug. "I have plans for you tonight." "Sexy plans?" "The next best thing." His voice brightened. "Food?" "Si, certo."
You get:
• MM
• Novella
• Holiday
• Spicy
• Character growth
• Loveable characters
"They say there's no place like home - and its true that there's no place like LA. But there's really no place like being right in front of the person you love, knowing there's nothing but kisses and the rest of your lives ahead of you. That - that is home. And worth every huge step it takes to get there."
"This feels big. We feel big. I can't let you give up on us."
Unfortunately, I found this one after I read the second, but I still had to go back and finish because I needed to know more about Angel and
Luca! If you were a fan of the first book, then you need to read this one.
"Just you wait," I told him, too come drunk to sound smug. "I have plans for you tonight." "Sexy plans?" "The next best thing." His voice brightened. "Food?" "Si, certo."
You get:
• MM
• Novella
• Holiday
• Spicy
• Character growth
• Loveable characters
"They say there's no place like home - and its true that there's no place like LA. But there's really no place like being right in front of the person you love, knowing there's nothing but kisses and the rest of your lives ahead of you. That - that is home. And worth every huge step it takes to get there."
July 21, 2023
This was SO PERFECT! Cute, funny, sweet novella. Angel and Luca deserved their moment. Also the spice was grade A 🔥🌶️🔥🌶️
November 25, 2023
Fun and sexy and adorably heartfelt! A perfect little novella for Luca and Angel! Definitely worth reading! 4 stars
January 4, 2025
Dnf'd at 49%
Something about this particular book – characters? the pacing? dialogue? – didn't sit well and I ended up skipping full pages and before I knew it I was at 49% and disliking it.
So rather than force myself to read this anymore, I'm just dnf'ing it now.
Something about this particular book – characters? the pacing? dialogue? – didn't sit well and I ended up skipping full pages and before I knew it I was at 49% and disliking it.
So rather than force myself to read this anymore, I'm just dnf'ing it now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 21, 2024
I still cringed out of my mind, but at least the relationship had a smidgen of substance to it!
November 30, 2023
(Maybe more like 3.5 stars?)
This was cute and fun, and I'm happy I got to see what happened for Luca and Angel. That said, while I had a perfectly fun time reading this, I don't think I'll ever think about it again. I liked it!! But just liked it, you know?
This was cute and fun, and I'm happy I got to see what happened for Luca and Angel. That said, while I had a perfectly fun time reading this, I don't think I'll ever think about it again. I liked it!! But just liked it, you know?
July 20, 2023
2.5 ⭐️ I enjoyed A Merry Little Meet Cute, the first book in this series, but this in-between novella didn’t do anything for me. In my opinion, the length worked against it. At under 150 pages, everything moved a bit too quickly and I never felt attached to the characters or invested in their story. I definitely think this is skippable unless you really liked Luca (the costume designer) or Angel (the producer’s son) after reading book one. I’ll still read book two in the series though!
(Also, three two star books in a row!? Can a girl catch a break!? 😂)
(Also, three two star books in a row!? Can a girl catch a break!? 😂)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 931 reviews