Even though I loved the premise and body positivity in this book, something just felt amiss. There is good representation to certain topics, but not things that most people can necessarily relate to. I didn’t find myself getting attached to either character and ended up DNFing about halfway through. I was really hoping this would be a fun Christmas read, but sadly it misses the mark. I am only rating based on what I did read.

Pub date: 9/20/22 (out now)
Genre: romance (insta-love, brush with fame, secret romance, bisexual MCs)
One sentence summary: Adult film star Bee is cast in a Christmas movie with her childhood crush, Nolan Shaw, and they'll both have a hard time keeping things PG on the film set.

Reader beware: this book is far spicier than the cute illustrated cover indicates! I liked both Bee and Nolan - they are both self-proclaimed "bisexual disasters" - and their big personalities were so fun. Insta-love is not my favorite trope, but I felt like they made sense together! Their efforts to be squeaky clean on the Hallmark-like movie set were entertaining and comedic.

My main criticism of this book is that it felt about 100 pages too long - IMO, 400+ pages is too long for a romcom. But I still enjoyed the read, and it was a fun Christmas-y story! 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

This was fun, spicy and cute! I didn't expect anything less from these two authors. I loved the characters especially Bee. Knocked a star off because I thought it was a little to long at parts.

I was desperately curious to see how Sierra Simone (scorching hot) and Julie Murphy (who I knew from YA and one closed door Disney book) would do together. And we definitely get the scorching hot set in Christmas town.

I started off strong with this, but it became kind of stressful because you know the other shoe is going to fall eventually. It's more a matter of who will drop it and how hard will it hit. It took me a long time to finish it because I just wasn't motivated.

Sex positive, good fat rep. Recommended if you want a Hallmark Christmas movie to star a former boy band bad boy obsessed with his plus size secret porn star co-star, and don't mind the stress of knowing it's all going to fall apart before it's put back together.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The premise is super fun. There was plenty of balance in the story as well. There were plenty intimacy, spice, and humor. I did have difficulty connecting with the characters, but it didn't have a huge effect on my enjoyment of the story. There are plenty of laughable moments. I really liked Bee. She's smart, funny, and her self acceptance is absolutely wonderful. She embraces her body and makes no apologies for her work in sex films. I also liked that she was self assured and knew exactly what she wanted for herself in and out of the bedroom. Overall, a fun read with a wonderful lead, strong humor and just the right amount of spice for my liking.

I really like the concept of this one and was so excited to read and review it. When I started reading, I had to restart this book several times. I'm not sure why, but I was just NOT understanding it.

As I got in to it, it was ridiculous, sarcastic and abusurb (but, in a good way!) It was more steamy than I expected for a book called 'Merry Little Meet Cute' (which is probably on me, it's literally about a porn star haha). The premise was good, I liked the bi representation and overall thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Super loved this sexy little book.

Here’s what you get:
*Christmas cheer
*Hallmark meets steamy romance
*Great FMC
*Instant attraction
*A fun plot

Definitely recommend.

Laugh out loud funny, explicitly sexy scenes, and a town that I want to live in year-round. Can't wait to read more romances taking place in Christmas Notch.

A bubbly, super cute and sweet romance that I finished in one setting. Adored the casual fat rep, the spiciness, and all the holiday references. A must read!

Not your typical Christmas story, but a fantastic read!!! I love Nolan Shaw, the bad boy from the boy band INK, and Bre Hobbs is the porn star who dreams of being more. When they are both cast in a wholesome Christmas movie, things are bound to heat up!
This is a book that I couldn't put down once I started. A must read for any romance lover!
I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

3 stars. This was an okay read for me, not great. A Merry Little Meet Cute is not particularly merry or cute. This is a standalone book and is Bee and Nolan's story. Bee is a porn star with a separate "only fans" type side gig who has decided to dabble in regular acting when a lead role abruptly opens in a Christmas Hallmark-like movie. Nolan is a former boy band member with a bad boy reputation that has signed on to be the male lead in the film. Bee doesn't want anyone on the film to find out about her career as Bianca Honey, but when she and Nolan meet he immediately recognizes her as he is a huge fan. Sparks fly between them, but Bee is worried about being found out, while Nolan is trying to repair his reputation and look squeaky clean. Still, they can't stay apart from each other. They have to figure out a way to make things work between them so they can be together.

This story was not bad. It is sexy and the premise was cute with potential. But I had a hard time with the non-monogamy and unsafe feeling, which is not my preference in romance. There is so much talk of attraction to many other people that it took away from the romance between Bee and Nolan. I did think they liked each other, but I found them to be somewhat immature and not possessive or monogamist enough for my reading taste. They were just okay characters to me and I wasn't sure they were committed to making their relationship last. Every person in the book is gay or bi, which I found unusual. I thought this was going to be a cute, fluffy holiday rom-com based on the cover, but I found it to be more angsty than cute.

Overall, this was not my favorite Holiday book and not what I was expecting based on the cover. Still, if you are a fan of non-monogamy, it might be a good book for you. That's just not what I like to read when I read romance.

What I Liked: This is one of the most sex positive, main-stream romances I’ve ever read, something that was expected given the synopsis of the book, but never the less very welcome to see in a large romance release. The characters talk openly and honestly about the sex trade profession, there are conversations about body positivity, gender equality, and realistic expectations about fame, celebrity, and privacy. When the main character is a porn star (and one of the authors is Sierra Simone) I expect a certain level of smut and sex and was NOT disapointed. Bee and Nolan have some very hot sex and lots of it. Without giving too much away, I like when the conflict in romances feel real and not contrived or something that could be solved by a simple conversation between the H and h. In this book, Bee and Nolan face real-life issues and while they could handle them better, their issues weren’t drawn out or idiotic. Murphy and Simone have already stated their intention to make this a series and as such have filled this book with a multitude of side characters, so many that I think they could easily write ten more books and still have a few characters left. So it’s a credit to their writing abilities that every character felt fully realized and that I liked them all enough to want to read their own books.

What I Didn’t Like: I expert a certain degree of unbelievability in my romances but the characters in this book speak in a way that is completely over the top. Some of the phrases they used were so ridiculous it pulled me out of the reading. No one talks in real life like how some of these characters talk.

Who Should Read It: Fans of both of the authors will really enjoy this book (although Julie Murphy fans may be shocked by the graphicness of the sex scenes!) Anyone who likes Hallmark Christmas movies but wishes they had more sex will also love this book.

Review Wrap Up: Despite a few minor issues, I really enjoyed this first collaboration between Murphy and Simone. The representation felt natural and not forced while also feeling realistic to the real world. Bee is a fantastic romance heroine and Nolan is a swoon-worthy hero. I recommend this sexy and funny book

I loved this!!!! A MERRY LITTLE MEET CUTE is a sexy holiday rom-com packed with heart, heat, humor, fat positivity, sex positivity, queer joy, and all the small town festive coziness.

A fat porn star and a former boy band member come together (pun intended) to play opposites in a Hallmark-like Christmas movie? And they are both bisexual and fans of each other’s work???? Sign me up! This book was just as fun (and steamy) as its set-up. I loved both Bee and Nolan as leads, and the story’s dual-POV was executed very well.

I look forward to more books set within this world. I hope Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone continue to collaborate, as this was A HUGE WIN for steamy rom-com lovers (like me)!

Received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

This was a fun time. Maybe a little closer to a 4.5 stars, but I'm rounding up because Bee got to hook up with the boy band member of her dreams...living the life I tell ya. I love that this was spice meets Hallmark. As someone who spends most of their October-December watching Hallmark Christmas movies, this one got me right in the feels and made me wonder about what goes on when the cameras aren't rolling. Add in some fun secrecy and some hot spice and you have a rollicking good time.

I think I appreciated these two characters and what they were going through, but I was a little disappointed they chose to keep it quite. I understand why they did it (with Nolan needing to reform his image), but it still felt a little shameful for Bee. At the same time, she knows what's at stake if there's even a whisper of her not being this fresh-faced ingenue.

The love scenes were nice and spicy and we got some nice resolution for all the characters involved. I liked this hybrid Murphy/Simone book.

i loved thiss and a romcom from a favorite author of mine teaming up with a new author to me.. this worked!!
this is a story about a adult film star with a onlyfans vibe (i actually dont know what that looks like but i feel thats what they are describing)lands a normal film role where she is the MC of sweetness, virginity and kissing is naughty and she is trying to keep her two film lives seperate. the male role is also book boyfriend goals !!!
this was a perfect little christmas book for me!!!

This is one Christmas romance that is unlike any other. The premise alone is hysterical – a female adult film star is accidentally cast in a cheesy Christmas movie. As Bee tries to keep her identity under wraps, she falls hard for reformed boyband member, Nolan.

The kinky things these two get into while working on the film made me blush. Add in a film crew that is half regular industry and half secretly adult film industry and you have a book that is absolutely hysterical.

Do NOT read this one if you are faint of heart. It’s definitely not a romance for your grandma…or maybe it is for the right grandmom. 😉

A fun adventure take on a hallmark Christmas story with a side of steam! This one was enjoyable and sex positive if you like you’re hallmark movies with more spice than you get on TV!

I knew if Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy were writing a book, I instantly needed it. The spicy and plot were some of the best! I’m already planning a reread this holiday season!

Thank Harper Collins for providing me with ARC to read and review.
This is not your everyday holiday book, or romcom by any stretch.  It starts off as if it might be.  It's a story about two people who are trying to take their careers in new directions.  Nolan Shaw was in a boy band in his youth but his wild lifestyle and shady manager halted his career.  He's hired a publicist and has been given an opportunity to star in a Christmas Holiday story on Hopeflix.  Bee Hobbes is a porn star and run her own ClosedDoor account which has been successful.  She is a plus sized actress and didn't expect to ever act in mainstream movies until she got cast in the story.
I was expecting a holiday romcom, but this is not that.  This is a very steamy book and is the steamiest book that I have read in a very long time.  This is definitely a very open door book, with multiple points of view.  The story itself was a sweet story about many marginalized groups.  My only wish for this book was that it was heated as it was.  I would recommend this book for those that like spicy reads.

When I first started this book, I was absolutely not in the mood. A cheesy Christmas romance story featuring a Hallmark-esque film where the actors are a porn star and an ex-boy band member? So I took a break. And when I returned, I was so glad that I did. Despite being over 400 pages long, this romance was a breeze, and kept me turning pages well into the night. In fact, once I hit the final third of this book, I found myself staying up until 3am to finish it.
This book gave me a lot of feelings. A fat positive romance, set in Vermont (the state I've lived in for the last five years), featuring a porn star and is therefore sex-positive, with both main and side queer characters. Now mix that slurry into the set of a Hallmark film and you have a delightful playground for interesting scenes and character development. The authors do a fantastic job of highlighting how even actors can have messy lives. I loved how many facets there were to this story, and what a great job of balancing all of it the authors did, so that it never felt extraneous or overwhelming. Each challenge was meaningful to their story arc and enhanced their romantic relationship with one another over time.
Even though I've finished the story, and have even given myself days to let the story percolate, I still find myself thinking about it. Not that there are mysteries left unsolved, but more so that I enjoyed spending time with the characters and hope they are doing well in their Happily Ever After.
P.S. This story was very explicit, in case you didn't gather that from the porn star actress. If you're not interested in full detail sex scenes, this is not the book for you - despite the cozy and innocent looking cover.