It took me a little bit to get into the book and I took some breaks for personal reasons, but once I actually got into it, I was finishing it that night! What caught my attention and made me want to read this book originally were the authors: Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone, and the cute cover. If I’ve learned anything from past reading experiences is that the cute cartoon covers are always the ones with the best spice and this book did not disappoint. Besides the spicy action, Bee and Nolan were so cute! With both of the celebrity fantasies coming true (Bee with Nolan and vice versa) and the fact that Bee (an adult film actress) was (accidentally) casted to be in a family friendly Christmas movie… what’s not to love!

Be sure to read it when it comes out September 20, 2022!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Harper Voyager for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for an honest review!

This book was enjoyable but unfortunately I just can't bring myself to wholeheartedly recommend it. I'm a huge Sierra Simone fan and don't think either of the authors are the slightest bit anti-semitic personally, but the combination of all the ways Jews and Judaism were referred to in this book just ended up kind of turning me off to the whole thing enough that I didn't want to review it earlier. I don't know if the editor or any of their sensitivity readers were Jewish, but if not maybe next time remedy that lack? (Assuming anyone even reads reviews like this that come in after pub date!) I'll still read and support the other books in this series, but I probably won't recommend this particular one to anyone, at least not without a warning for Jewish readers--instead, I'll continue to suggest THE INTIMACY EXPERIMENT by Rosie Danan, which remains an all-time 5 star read for me.

I read A Merry Little Meet Cute in one sitting on the same day I got approved for this story. I'm a fan of Julie Murphy's story and have always been intrigued by Sierra Simone so I was excited to read this book! The cover of the story was what first got my attention and I'm a sucker for holiday romances. A good mix of cuteness, romance, spice, and more, I really enjoyed reading Bee's and Nolan's story!

Sorry. Too tacky. Too many stupid butt references. Could not make myself read it. Plus, there is no mesa in Terlingua Texas. If you’re going to refer to a place at least get the geography right. There are some little mountains or large hills but no mesas.

A Merry Little Meet Cute is a rom-com perfect for fans of Olivia Dade and Rosie Danan. This is book is all about body-positivity and a steamy love story. Ex-boy bander, Nolan Shaw, is trying to turn over a new leaf and resuscitate his new career, while Bee Hobbes is looking to attempt an acting career with more family-friendly roles. The only problem is Nolan recognizes Bee from her adult film star career. They must balance the squeaky-clean image needed for their careers with the powerful attraction they are both feeling that makes it difficult to keep their hands off each other.

The chemistry between the characters was good and there were plenty of times where I found myself chuckling out loud. However, I wished that their relationship had developed a bit further beyond their physical attraction to one another. Without that I didn't completely fall in love with these two as a couple. I liked the body positivity message being at the forefront and the fact that Bee was completely comfortable being herself.

This was cute and steamy, and the cozy winter vibes were fantastic. I did enjoy this, it was cute, but not something I’ll reach back for again. Some of the details of the relationship between Bee and Nolan and some of the book’s logic rubbed me in a weird way.

If you’re looking for a cute winter story about living out your fantasies though this would be a great pick.

This was a good festive romance with a difference - I loved that Bee is a fat porn star, and she's bisexual! I especially loved that Nolan is also bisexual - it's very rare to read an M/F romance where both the characters are bi, so that was special!

Absolutely loved this book. This gave me everything I’ve ever wanted in a Hallmark movie! I loved that we got both a contemporary Christmas romance but also the delight of historical costumes! Julie and Sierra have really given us a perfect gift this holiday season.

3.5 stars
This book was pretty cute and an easy read. I was a huge fan of the insta love after only two weeks, but I enjoyed the way the ending turned out.
Porn star Bee, ends up getting casted in what is like a Hallmark movie with ex-pop star Nolan. They quickly become enamored with each other, but no one knows Bee is a porn star and Nolan desperately needs to keep a clean image.
There was a lot of great takes on sexuality, mental illness, and fat/slut shaming that I really enjoyed about this book. This book is great for someone looking for a new adult/ holiday romance!

This was such a cute book. It was funny, spicy, and captivated me from the first chapter to the every end. I hope there are more books from the 2 of them, they are a great duo!

I couldn’t put this rom-com down! What a genius plot—what happens when a porn star gets cast in a Hallmark Christmas movie? The heroine, a plus-sized porn star who wants to branch out into mainstream acting, is chosen as a last-minute replacement by the director who doesn’t know about her other job. The hero is a scandal-plagued former boy band singer who needs to rehabilitate his reputation to provide for his unwell mother and young sister. Neither one can mess up this movie opportunity…and they definitely can’t afford to fall in love! You’ll gobble up this sweet and sexy sex-positive holiday rom-com like you’re in a Christmas fudge eating contest, and you’ll have no regrets.

I liked this a lot, though it felt very much like a YA novel with sexual content. Still, a cute holiday romance that is a great recommendation for patrons.

I expected more out of this book than I got. The book was fun and fluffy, with enjoyable characters, but I expected it to be more humorous. The book is a spicey Christmas romance, but it didn't have the laugh-out-loud moments I expected from a Julie Murphy book.

A cute Christmas story! I love that both characters have crushes on each other, and though they’re both famous in their own right, they’re both grounded characters who have dreams and want to help others. I love the body positive messages, and the focus on family and romance development between the two characters.

I’m the sort of person who loves ridiculous holiday romcoms and wishes they contained more romantic content. A Merry Little Meet Cute should have been aces for me: a steamy plus-size holiday rom-com about an adult film star who is semi-accidentally cast as a lead in a family-friendly Christmas movie, and the former bad-boy pop star co-star she falls in love with. This has potential!
The basic plot builds on that potential. We have Bee Hobbes, a successful career as a plus-size adult film star paired up with Nolan Shaw, an ex-boy band member in desperate need of career rehab. When Bee’s favorite porn producer casts her to star in a Christmas movie he’s making for the squeaky-clean Hope Channel, Bee’s career could move into a more family-friendly direction, something she’s been thinking about as her time in porn will eventually come to an end. For his part, Nolan’s goal is to be able to provide a more stable living situation for his sister and mom and the only way he can see to do that is to step back into the limelight, if he can manage to get his reputation to stop being the first thing every one associates with him.
But… while Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone show themselves to be highly adept writers who do a fantastic job balancing their authorial voices to create one for the book, the execution is uneven, leaving me feeling a bit let down. I loved everything about the fat rep (including Bee’s vacillating between being confident and not), and the sex and sex work positivity. But for the sheer number of times Bee’s sex toys and Nolan’s proclivities and preferences are mentioned on page, much of the raunchier sex was off page if alluded to at all. It was strange to me to read a book that was so up front in its positions regarding presenting less frequently mainstream topics in romance, but not following through on including them in the actual relationship that the book is focused on.
I had fun while I was reading the book, got pulled into the ever more complicated goings-on of the characters. But… I never felt that urge to get back to them after I put the book down, and I had to talk myself up to getting my review written, having ignored it for the better part of a week once I was finished. I think I’ve gotten to the heart of the matter, though. While I loved all the parts of this book, the reason I don’t love the book is because the emotional component of the relationship building between Bee and Nolan is the least present thing in the book, and that’s a damn shame.

Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Merry Little Meet Cute
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook / Physical
Date Published: 9/20/22
Author: Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Publisher: Avon Books
Pages: 418
GR: 3.94

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Avon Books and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

My Thoughts: This was a fantastic read cover to cover, that was fun, and I throughly enjoyed. The story is narrated in a dual POV by Nolan and Bee with a bonus narration at the end. The chapters were short, which was great for leaving off on. Nolan and Bee were the perfect couple. I loved the plus size representation, and the fact that she is a porn star just tops the cake. The authors also tackled mental health wellness and did it very gracefully. Humor + Christmas + Hot Romance = The PERFECT Romance to kick off the holidays. This was my first book by this power duo, so I will be adding more to my TBR. The supporting characters were top notch and I can see several of them getting their own book, such as Teddy Fletcher, Angel, Sunny or Luca. The story was sweet, spicy, funny, and beautiful, all rolled into one. The characters were developed well with depth, witty banter, steamy scenes, insanely deep chemistry, and built up amazingly. Bee is strong, confident, and independent. Nolan grew tremendously through the book, becoming less selfish and more supportive. The authors’ writing style was a power duo that was complex, funny, spicy, and just brilliant. I highly recommend this book!

When plus-sized adult film star Bianca von Honey and former bad-boy Nolan Shaw, a boy band member turned actor, get cast opposite one another in a Hallmark movie-esque time travel rom com, she’s under orders to not reveal her porn industry connection, and he’s under orders to maintain a squeaky-clean image for rebranding. Bee keeps her composure when she meets the fantasy-inspiring man whose photos are still taped all over the walls and ceiling of her childhood bedroom, and Nolan pretends not to recognize Bee as the alt-porn star who has been not only feeding his spank bank for three years, but hides his super-fan top-tier support of her members-only ClosedDoor (think OnlyFans) account. The chemistry seems to be there, but she thinks the funny look on his face when they meet is because he thinks she’s fat (he doesn’t).

No one except Bee knows Teddy Ray Fletcher, producer of the film under the newly minted Fletcher Productions, is also Uncle Ray Ray, budget porn mogul. Due to an unfortunate accident that takes out several original crew members, Teddy substitutes behind the scenes crew members gleaned from the adult film industry for hair, wardrobe, and gaffer. Mums the word, because no one can know the streams have been crossed, or the family-friendly Hope network will drop the Duke the Halls project and Teddy will be out a lot of much needed cash.

BrillIantly plotted, inclusive, diverse, sweet and raunchy, the narrative is fucking hilarious and full of quick comebacks, racy references, cultural allusions and laugh-out-loud funny moments. It’s entirely likely authors Murphy and Simone alternated the chapters as Bee and Nolan, but the voices and narrative, while different, are cohesive. I have sense that Murphy brings along the YA drama and angsty, pop culture allusions and movie-making know how, while Simone adds in the romance and historical aspects to create a really seamless whole; when Bee and Nolan are arguing over which BBQ reigns supreme (Texas or Kansas), the authors might be making their own preferences known, but it works.

Characters were multifaceted and diverse in background, ethnicity and sexuality, all normalized and embraced. Most of the Christmas romances I read exist in a vacuum of other religions and cultures not existing, but A Merry Little Meet cute references multiple Jewish-adjacent characters, which was refreshing and affirming. This holiday romance novel also deals positively with mental illness, sex work and slut-shaming, body positivity and fat shaming and feminism.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #MerryLittleMeetCute from #NetGalley.

this book shocked me in so many good ways! funny, heart felt, and a step away from the usual christmas romance book, a merry little meet cute was a fun read! bee and nolan’s quick banter jumped off the page.

Rating 4/5
Plot 4/5
Spice 4/5
Writing 4/5
Character Development 4/5

[I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book]

“A Merry Little Cute Meet” by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone tells the story of Bee Hobbes (aka Bianca Von Honey) and Nolan Shaw. Bee is a well-known plus-size adult film star. When Bee’s favourite producer casts her to star in a family-friendly Christmas movie, her career changes directions. Bee tries her best to continue her adult film life while also starring in this “squeaky-clean” film however she finds it challenging to do both. Nolan is an ex-boy band member who is in desperate need of redemption for his career in order to support himself, his sister, and his mom. Nolan is Bee’s childhood crush and discovers that he will be co-starring in the Christmas movie. The two start off on their best behaviour however when Nolan recognizes Bee from her ClosedDoors account, things quickly heat up. The two begin a secret relationship, however, when the reporter who sabotaged Nolan’s music career comes snooping again, the two must work to continue to keep their relationship a secret or perhaps reveal their status and deal with the consequences.

This was such a cute rom-com! I loved how sweet and spicy the book was and the plot was interesting! Whoever decided on “Nolan Shaw” as the name deserves some reward because it sounds crisp asf LOL The banter was good and Nolan Shaw was hot asf. Overall, a fun read, cute, sweet, and spicy read!

Thank you so much to the Publisher and Netgalley for an arc of this book!

This book was really fun and I loved this writing duo. I also loved how sex positive this book was. Bee and Nolan were both great characters and I enjoyed reading about them. The cast of characters was also great! And I loved that the prologue and epilogue were narrated by a different character!

I felt like the book was a bit long and there is one spoilery part that kind of made me feel a bit awkward/cringe but it didn’t bother the characters, and so I can definitely overlook it myself! This book is fun, super steamy, a little Christmas-y and I love the diverse cast. I definitely recommend!