When plus-sized Bee, a porn star with a lovely sex-positive view of the world is cast in a small town Hallmark-esque movie, she has to keep her other line of work a secret. But the leading man, Nolan, who has some secrets of his own, knows her because he's been a fan of her porn work for a long time. I was not a huge fan of Nolan, as it seems less like instalove and more like he lusted after her when he subscribed to her porn site and was just infatuated with her physically. He doesn't attempt to get to know her on an emotional level. I liked Bee well enough, but she did seem to be almost a caricature of a plus-sized porn star....with less realism than I would have liked. All in all, this book was fine but could have been shorter and been the same story. One thing is had going for it was the spice factor, as it didn't hold back in the sexy department. By the end, that was all the story seemed to be focused on, which could be a positive or a negative, depending on what you search for in a holiday romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this free ARC! So the cover of this book makes it look very innocent but it is not... and I loved it so much. It was spicy, it was sweet, the characters are amazing. I of course loved how sex-positive it is and I want everyone to read it. I hope the authors write more books together because they will I'm sure be just as amazing!

A Merry Little Meet Cute was a fun, hilarious and steamy read. I swooned over the boyband lead and cheered on Bee as she confidently owned the body she was in. This book is definitely open open door so proceed with caution if that is not your thing. Great cover by the way!

This was EXACTLY what I needed when I decided to listen to this audiobook. I was on the brink of saying “I think I’m done with Christmas stories” being Dec 21st… and then WHAM ~ this sexy, spicy, sensually romantic story hits the spot (many times I might add) in all the right feels! ♥️🔥🌶️📚🍷💃🏻

This tag-team author duo was fabulous at getting the perfect concoction at having a reader like me hooked from the beginning, smouldering throughout, cheering for and as a not-so-thin (ok I’m plus size) relatable woman and even having me turn down the volume at stoplights (with my windows closed 😂)!!

I enjoyed this book so much, I’ll be looking to get myself a paperback copy (and gifting copies to others while I’m at it!) ~ I really hope this duo has more books up their you know what (skirts!!) coming soon!

I also mention that the narrators were really great! They can truly make or break a story and the chosen narrators for this book knocked it out of the park!

So I don’t bookmark or tag lines often from books, yet this one line I definitely wrote down to keep because I loved it so much when I heard it, and still think of it now ~ especially as a newly engaged woman 💍💃🏻

Here’s the line I clipped to keep:
“𝑾𝒆𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆.” A metallic sound sliced through the air as the teeth of the zipper connected.
“𝑯𝒖𝒉. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒙𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕.”

Indeed it is! I love this sentiment and will keep this in mind as I shop for my wedding dress 💕

Thank you so much Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone. And to NetGalley as well for my eARC. In return, I have promised to provide an unbiased review.

I really liked this! It was super sweet and totally spicy. I do think it was a bit too long however. Could’ve been 100 pages shorter, but it was certainly a fun ride!

The best thing about A Merry Little Meet Cute is the title of their faux-Hallmark Channel Christmas movie, Duke the Halls. I'd totally watch that. That being said, the rest of the book falls a little flat for me. The plot -almost- holds up - that is, I buy why both characters feel the need to keep apart (for the five minutes they manage to), and why they feel the need to keep their relationship a secret once they get together. What I don't buy is that anyone thought for even a moment that these secrets could actually be kept. Also, the third act conflict relies far too heavily on too many uses of basically the same trope (how many excuses are there for having your phone off?). It's lightly hijinks-y for a romcom, with just a touch of the madcap (give me more shenanigans, honestly, if you're gonna go there at all!), and heavy on the steam (much more so than I expected from the cute illustrated cover and Christmas theme). But the two protagonists' voices don't seem distinct from one another, and I didn't really care much about either of the protagonists as an individual, nor could I bring myself to believe they'd work as a couple long term, either. Nolan's attitude to Bee from the beginning, and the way both of them have spent so many years with the other as a pure fantasy, are never overcome in a way that makes me think they actually got to know one another as real people, despite lip service being given to just that. Plus, for all the spice and steam, those scenes were...not the best written I've ever read. The defibrillator joke is...just...not for me, I guess.

Anyway, just kind of a forgettable read overall for me, but maybe readers with more appreciation for the Christmas vibe and the way the sex scenes are written will enjoy it.

Thanks to the publisher for an advance review copy.

A cute Christmas read. But, I will say it is pretty graphic in the romance department. It took me a little while to get used to it.

Loved the story and the meaning though and it definitely provided some good chuckles!

his. Book. Is. Everything!!⁠
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It is a wonderfully spicy story that follows a corn star into the world of wholesome Christmas movies where she stars opposite her childhood boyband crush. ⁠
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Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy together were a duo I didn't know I needed but now they have me hooked! They created lovable and engaging multi-dimensional characters and kept me laughing, giggling, and reading throughout. ⁠
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This is a book I will be coming back to every holiday season because its just THAT GOOD!⁠
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁠
🌶️🌶️🌶️⁠
🌈🌈🌈 (plus-sized female character, bipolar & mental health discussions, lgbtq representation, sex work representation)

I love love love the fat and sex worker representation in this book, but for some reason it just wasn't for me. The writing felt so basic, which I was not expecting because I usually LOVE Julie Murphy's work. I am so disappointed, but I DNFed this book at 15 percent. I would still recommend it to others because of the wonderful representation. It just didn't click with me and I'm really not sure why.

The title of this romance is pretty misleading- yes, it's a take on a holiday movie. Yes, there are many tropes employed. But this is one super steamy romance that has a plus-size porn star and a former bad-boy pop singer at its heart. Hallmark movie it is not! Insta-love or not, I was enthralled by these two leads who know themselves, but need some time and space to know and trust each other. The background characters were hilarious, the mutual admiration society of the couple was well-done, and I was surprisingly invested in them growing as a couple. Four super hot and steamy stars!

This one was a serious miss for me. Nolan really oversexualizes Bee and he's just generally unlikeable. It's patently absurd that anyone thought they were going to release a "Hope channel" film with a porn star as the main character while meanwhile the INTERNET EXISTS.

It was all sex (described in a way that made me personally grossed out) and no romance and really didn't combat anti-fatness in the way it was attempting to.

Disappointing. I felt myself cringing and feeling awkward whilst reading, and ended up skimming my way to the end. A strange premise that was not done well.

Positively the most fun Christmas book I read this season. I loved everything about this one! A Hallmark type movie is filming staring an ex boy bander and an up and coming actress, who also works as an adult film star, but that is on the down low.
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This book is pure spice, but has so much heart, wonderful inclusion, body positivity, an amazing cast of characters and I couldn’t have loved it more.
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Thank you #avon and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

The cover deceived me! To have such a fun cartoon cover it gets dirty! The plot was hilarious and I really enjoyed the concept. I love hallmark movies and obviously the fictional movie company is modeled after that. To throw the porn stars in his comedic genius and I just really enjoyed it!

Adult film actress 'accidently' gets picked to star in wholesome Christmas movie with a conservative background.

Former bad boy singer looking to clean up his image in the same movie.

Thought the cover was most definitely deceiving 😂 Looks like it's going to be a cute Hallmark-y book, and it kind of is BUT WITH SPICEEEEEE!

Loved it! Thought it was cute and something different! I also always enjoy learning new things, however 'dirty snowball' is maybe something I shouldn't have Googled... 😅

This was not your typical sweet holiday book. This was more like holiday meets xrated. While it was cute it had more spice than I like. I want my holiday books to be like watching a Hallmark movie. Romantic and sweet with a happy ever after.

I was so incredibly excited about Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone’s Christmas book, A Merry Little Meet Cute, that I actually read it really close to its publication date. Which was, um, September 20. And here we are in *checks calendar* December and I’m finally writing about it. Oops. I’ve been shouting about to everyone who will listen though (and even some who won’t…) because I found this holiday offering so entertaining!

Here's the book’s description:
Bee Hobbes (aka Bianca Von Honey) has a successful career as a plus-size adult film star. With a huge following and two supportive moms, Bee couldn’t ask for more. But when Bee’s favorite producer casts her to star in a Christmas movie he’s making for the squeaky-clean Hope Channel, Bee’s career is about to take a more family-friendly direction.
Forced to keep her work as Bianca under wraps, Bee quickly learns this is a task a lot easier said than done. Though it all becomes worthwhile when she discovers her co-star is none other than childhood crush Nolan Shaw, an ex-boy band member in desperate need of career rehab. Nolan’s promised his bulldog manager to keep it zipped up on set, and he will if it means he’ll be able to provide a more stable living situation for his sister and mom.
But things heat up quickly in Christmas Notch, Vermont, when Nolan recognizes his new co-star from her ClosedDoors account (oh yeah, he’s a member). Now Bee and Nolan are sneaking off for quickies on set, keeping their new relationship a secret from the Hope Channel’s execs. Things only get trickier when the reporter who torpedoed Nolan’s singing career comes snooping around—and takes an instant interest in mysterious newcomer Bee.
And if Bee and Nolan can’t keep their off-camera romance behind the scenes, then this merry little meet cute might end up on the cutting room floor.
Personally, I’ve been describing this book as a sex-positive, fat-positive, holiday rom com with A LOT OF STEAM. It’s light on the actual Christmas celebrations and heavy on the sexy times. Prepare your reading mood appropriately.

Is this book perfect? Oh, definitely not. I didn’t get a good enough sense of Nolan and the two characters’ voices just didn’t quite seem distinct enough. The whole premise is laughable if you think about it too much (so I suggest you don’t – that’s part of the fun). But it’s so damn entertaining that you can’t help but love it, at least a little. That’s why I’ve been recommending it to so many people. It’s fun and a really great escape for a hectic time of year.

What also helped was I really liked both Bee and Nolan. They were great main characters, and I was deeply invested in their lives – both together and as separate people. Murphy and Simone created two people who were flawed, who had to fight against their circumstances, and were just such a joy to read about.

Anyone who enjoys festive-lite reads that are smart, funny, and sexy must pick up A Merry Little Meet Cute. Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone have created a novel that’s delightful and fun but also full of heart and important topics. The novel doesn’t take itself seriously but it’s not a joke, either. It’s so much fun and perfect for curling up with this holiday season.

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

This book was just so so. The characters were kind of flat in my opinion and weren't ones that I particularly liked. Honestly the book wasn't all that memorable, even after finishing it I already pretty much forgot what happened.

I will not be reviewing any HarperCollins titles until the HarperCollins Union (Local 2110 UAW) has a fair contract. I support HarperCollins employees and believe they are not currently paid a living wage.

This was so much fun! This has all the Netflix/Hallmark Christmas movie vibes and is also HOT 🥵🥵🥵 I loved the dynamic between Nolan and Bee and how crazy they were about each other. I hope these authors plan to write more with each other!

**thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review**