✨BOOK REVIEW✨
A Merry Little Meet Cute
By Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

When I attended the Harper Collins Canada Fall preview for Influencers, I got the chance to watch Murphy and Simone speak about this up coming book! What I heard had me intrigued, to say the least!

This book was 🔥 ….and I was all for it! I read it so fast and couldn’t set it down!

This one drops on September 20th!! When you’re freezing cold this Winter, grab this book,it will definitely heat you up 🥵

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨/5
Spice factor:🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶/5

Huge thanks to @harpercollinsca and @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

#bookreview #amerrylittlemeetcute #hot #spicy #hccinfluencers #bookinfluencer #bookrecs #readthisbook #sohot🔥 #🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 #bookreviewer #netgalleyreads #canadianbookstagrammer #canadianbookcrew #readthisnext #addtotbr #toohotfortheholidays #books #booklove

Okay, here’s the set up: Nolan Shaw, a notorious former boy band member with a bad boy reputation is in image clean up mode when he signs on to do a Hopeflix (think Hallmark Channel) Christmas movie with one of America’s most wholesome actresses. After a freak accident at UnFestival (think Burning Man) renders the star and several key crew members unable to participate in the movie days before production, quick decisions must be made.

Enter Teddy Ray Fletcher (secretly known for Uncle Ray-Rays porn production studio) who is trying to diversify his income stream and keep his past and his new venture with the Hope Channel completely separate. At a harried airport meeting hours before production is set to begin, Teddy accidentally hands over the resume for one of his most successful adult stars, Bee Hobbes (aka Bianca von Honey) to the film’s director, who is immediately drawn to Bee but unaware of her current career. Knowing Bee’s intense desire to branch out into more mainstream film and his inability to sway the director towards a different choice finds Teddy reluctantly giving in. While he’s at it, he sends over a few other crew members from Uncle Ray Rays to fill in the rest of the gaps. How hard could it be to keep all of this a secret for a three weeks on a film set?

Everyone is sworn to secrecy and Bee and Nolan are forced to make promises to be on their best behaviors by their respective managers. However, sparks immediately fly when Bee, who happens to be holding a decade long crush on Nolan and Nolan, who is one of Bianca von Honey’s most dedicated fans on ClosedDoors (think OnlyFans) meet for the first time on set. Nolan has to hide his increasingly aggressive erections while pretending he doesn’t know that Bee is Bianca and Bee has to pretend like she isn’t losing her actual mind every time he looks at her. If the Hope Channel finds out about Teddy or Bee they’ll almost certainly drop the film, cutting off Teddy’s new income stream and Bee’s chances of branching out. If anyone finds out that Nolan is aware of who Bee actually is, it’ll ruin his attempts to clean up his image and cut off his new desperately needed income stream. Should be fine.

Narrator - It was not fine.

Listen, is this scenario believable or feasible in any way? Absolutely not. Did that bother me? Not even for one moment. I devoured this holiday treasure in two sittings. A Merry Little Meet Cute is ridiculous in all of the best ways, steamy and queer as hell, super sex positive, body positive, and absurdly swoon worthy. We had two chaotic bisexual leads with fantastic chemistry, a hilarious and rich cast of side characters, and a story that I would absolutely love to see adapted to film. This one brought me a lot of joy and is the perfect read for any time of year. Thanks so much to Avon for the opportunity to read an early copy. A Merry Little Meet Cute comes out on 9/20 and I sincerely hope this is the beginning of a very long partnership between Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone.

Having read Julie Murphy's YS books, the content of this work was a bit of a surprise. The story is, in essence, another retelling of Cinderella albeit with an unusual twist. Instead of being a victimized stepsister, the main character, Bee/Bianca feels ostracized for being overweight and because she is a sex worker. Her Prince Charming is a 'bad boy' singer trying to revitalize his own career.

The theme of many of Murphy's book has to do with weight. and this book does as well. It's fairly predictable, as Cinderella stories are.

Loved this--combined the vibes of Rosie Danaan's The Roommate, Olivia Dade's Spoiler Alert, and...something else I can't remember right now. Maybe Alexis Daria's You Had Me at Hola?

Dual POV narration is quite well done.

Sweet, smart, size-friendly, funny, sexy AND sex-positive...

A Merry Little Meet Cute will give you Hallmark channel in December vibes with spice. It doesn’t follow the same pattern as most romance and the third act breakup resolves itself fast and it’s different than other Christmas storylines which is entertaining.

Enjoyed that Bee had an amazing support system in her moms and bestie. Nolan was little boring in a way and I enjoyed the secondary male characters more.

This co-written book is not your typical sweet little Christmas story or meet-cute. It's nice and naughty and everything in between. A quirky cast and crew invade a small Hallmark-style Christmas town and bring secrets and potential for scandals

Nolan Shaw is a broke, fallen, bad boy from ex-boy band fame who needs a new start and gets cast in a squeaky clean holiday movie to rebrand his image. He has made mistakes but wants to be a better man and take care of his family. But things get complicated when he realizes his new ingenue of a leading lady is really his porn star crush.

Bee Hobbs is a sassy, smart, witty, body and sex-positive, plus-sized porn star who has her own popular online channel under another name. She is equally excited about this new mainstream opportunity and worried that her other identity will get out.

Is it fate or a disaster that Nolan already knows all about her online identity and had as much of a crush on her as she did on him during his band days? Unfortunately for them, it might be meeting the right person at the wrong time because they both are supposed to be on their best behavior, fly under the radar, and protect the family-friendly reputation of the movie and the network. But the chemistry between them is undeniable and the fact that they actually like spending time together is equally as dangerous. And if their secrets come out and their worlds collide, it could ruin everything. It's a quick and dirty holiday mess in the making.

This is a forced proximity, secret, holiday romance with plenty of hitches, heat, humor, and heart. They have quite a few issues to deal with and a lot of eyes watching. The scenery is both quaint and has some pockets of debauchery. The side characters add fun, drama, and even more diversity. This is a sugary sweet story within a story that has some edge. I hope that some of the side characters get books because there were interesting especially his boy band mates, Kallum and Isaac as well Luca, Angel, Teddy, Steph, and Maddie.

A Merry Little Meet Cute is everything that I want in a holiday romance. Don't let the cutesy cover fool you. This has all the smut that you've come to expect from Sierra Simone. This was her first time c0-authoring with Julie Murphy and it was a match made in heaven.

Bee Hobbes (aka Bianca Von Honey) has a successful career as a plus-size adult film star. She is contacted by the owner of the porn studio who is trying to diversify his brand by making sweet holiday romcoms on the Hope Channel. There's been an emergency and he needs a new star for his film Duke the Halls. Bee decides this might just what her career could use to transition to more mainstream films. The only catch is that no one can know about Bee's background. Bee meets her co-star Nolan on set. He instantly recognizes her from her adult film work. She's been his fantasy girl for years. She knows Nolan from being the bad boy bander of her childhood. They both have so much to loose if a relationship is discovered but their chemistry is undeniable.

This book was so much fun! I cannot gush about this book enough. I loved all of the body positivity. Nolan has fantasized about Bee for years Their chemistry is initially lust motivated but it's her genuineness that keeps him interested. And he is definitely interested. The world building of Christmas Notch Vermont is perfect. It sets the stage for a holiday themed movie set. I'm a sucker for those holiday romcoms and the way the movie is described with its absurdity is so on par. Details like the North Pole Club with strippers named after the reindeer and horses named Whitneigh Houston had me cracking up. This was my first book by Julie Murphy and I'm looking forward to reading more from her. Sierra Simone is always a good time in my book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone, and Avon Harper Voyager for an eARC. All opinions expressed are my own. #netgalley #sierrasimone #juliemurphy #avonharpervoyager #amerrylittlemeetcute

This was such a wonderful holiday romance without an over abundance of Christmas thrown at you.

With two bisexual characters with their own secrets, this was a fun, hilarious read. As a reader who lived in Kansas City for years, I loved the BBQ references, long live the Z-man.

Nolan definitely has that book boyfriend material down pat, and though he made a few questionable decisions, you can just tell he was trying his hardest to do the best for his family. The way he worships Bee is undeniable.

Bee was an absolute delight, and I will forever love these two authors for having a fat heroine that loves herself. This book is sex positive, and takes the reader into the life of a sex worker, who ends up in a Hallmark-like movie. You can only imagine the shenanigans that occur in this book.

I am already crossing my fingers for additional books following some of the side characters we were introduced to!

Hallmark Christmas Movie Meets OnlyFans

📖Book: A Merry Little Meet Cute
⭐️Rating: 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✍🏼Author: Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone
📚Genre: Romance
🗏 Pages: 412
💕Tropes: Celebrity Crush, WorkPlace Romance, Get it out of our systems, Forced Proximity
⚠️Warnings: Mental Illness, Body Shaming, Death
🔖Readability: 4/5 italic font
🥇First Line: "I think six bottles of flavored lube might be overkill," I told Sunny.

Things to expect:
✨Plus-size Representation
❤️Sex-work Representation
💞Bisexual Representation
💛SPICESPICESPICE
🪴Personal Growth

What happens when an adult film star is cast as the wholesome hallmark Christmas movie lead? A Merry Little Meet Cute follows Bee, a famous closed-door app creator (like only fans) that wants to be something more. When she is given the opportunity to star in a rated G Christmas film with her childhood celebrity crush, bee jumps at it. Nolan is a former childhood boy band star that has had issues with the spotlight and requires a significant image change and money. He can make it through the movie without causing any issues, as long as he has his favorite closed-door app creator Bianca von Honey. What could go wrong? Not Bee being Bianca Von Honey. This novel is SPICEY with a capital S. It is not for the faint of heart, and the cover is deceiving. Some of my favorite quotes are:

"I don't think I've ever seen a headshot with nipples before."

"You once did a sex scene on a jet ski. With a life jacket on"

"I lock eyes with the women I'd jerk off to more times than I could count."

"I always said sex was my cardio, but this worked too."

And these are just before page 50. I loved every second of reading this. The body and sex positivity are chef kiss, and I adored how the authors weren't scared to write about a culture that is so looked against. The only issue I had was that it seemed like if you weren't sex-positive, you were wrong. Besides that, this novel was a 10 out of 10. Best things in the corn department and needs to be on everyone's read list.


Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for the advance reader copy in exchange for

First of all, I never want to see or smell gingerbread lotion again in my life after this so jot that down.

Secondly, this book had a super fun concept that I just don't feel like the authors delivered on. The pieces are all there but the characters often felt like caricatures rather than people and the dialogue was Too Much more often than not. Bee and Nolan, our two leads, each have POVs and tbh their inner monologues didn't really feel like very distinctive voices.

Some moments are genuinely funny and I am always here for subverting some Christmas tropes but ultimately this one just didn't land for me.

Thank you @avonbooks for AMLMC. Don't let this cute book cover fool you, this is one fun steamy rom com. This romance between Bee and Nolan is off the charts with their instant attraction from Bee's crush on Nolan as heartthrob from a boy band to Nolan being a fan of Bee's work on an adult subscription site.

I love both of the reasons for changing their image and how it impacted their attraction. The supporting characters were a lot of fun too and I hope there will future stories of these characters.

This was wayyyy too edgy for me and my shop 😅
It did make me laugh though!

Dnf at 20% unfortunately. I felt too clueless about porn and couldn’t follow all the references to it

What happens when an accident forces a Hallmark like channel to unknowingly, "accidentally" cast an adult film/sex worker as their lead for this wholesome vanilla Christmas movie? Surely she can keep her past work affairs under the lime light... right? Did I mentioned that her boy band dream crush not only is her costar but also an avid follower or her adult work? 😜
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The represenation in this book was outstanding! LGBTQ+, mental health awareness, sex workers, plus size, you name it and all were portrayed beautifully!
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Being set in a small christmas village allowed this book to really go over the top with Christmas theme, which I found adorable, clever and even more laughable. The overall writing was witty and charming.
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Bee was strong, charismatic and funny. Nolan had me swooning as he tried to take care of his loved ones. The dynamics of the adult film crew had me... laughing all the away 🎶⛄️ (eh eh see what I did there!? I couldn't help myself)
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This is the cheeky sexy charming rom-com (sprinkled with some nice spice) you need to get into the christmas spirit this season! 🔥⛄️
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My only grudge if any, is the constant mention of lube and a suitcases of toys they didn't get a chance to specifically use in the story.
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PS: Does Angel and Luca need their own book? Yes, they do! I need an explanation for that epilogue behavior! I honestly wouldn't be mad having a book for each supporting character because they were all amusing!

Delightfully unusual rom-com

Bee and Nolan were terrific together, even if one has to suspend disbelief just a bit to buy into their "trying to keep things secret" while not showing much restraint at all in where and when they allowed their frisky sides to shine. I loved the fact that they both had celebrity crushes on each other, and the humor sprinkled throughout kept the story from getting bogged down under the threat of exposure.

Their HEA was terrific, if somewhat predictable (as most of these "hope the public doesn't find out" stories go) and I enjoyed the way it incorporated secondary characters as well. It's a fun read, and one I recommend if you're looking for a light, frothy holiday rom-com. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

I was surprised by this one and enjoyed it more than I expected to! The sex-positivity was nice to see, especially that Bee wasn't being shamed for her sex work or expected to leave it behind. Bee and Nolan were both fun characters that I enjoyed getting to know more throughout the story.

This was a cute and fun time, but nothing super memorable. I think the authors said there might be more books coming following side characters and I can't say I'm super interested in those, but this has made me interested in perhaps checking out Sierra Simone's books as I know she's usually self-published and I'm more intrigued to see what she does outside of traditional publishing.

This book was just the right amount of spice to plot! I loved the plus sized representation. It wasn't triggering at all and I loved that Bee loved her body and career! The sex positivity was amazing. This book is gonna be one of my favorites of the year! It was just sooo full of happiness and love. Bee and Nolan had amazing chemistry that made me feel all the love. I can't wait for everyone to read this book and feel the holiday sprit!!

This book was absolutely phenomenal! It's one of my favorite romances of the year. It's so sex positive and I loved the plus size representation. The characters felt fully developed and the Christmas elements never felt cheesy. I can't recommend this book enough!

A spicy-non traditional Christmas romance, that is all about self acceptance, self love and how sometimes being who you really are, rather than who people think you should be is the best gift ever. If you have an aversion to sex scenes this book is not for you.

This collaboration with Julie Murphy was excellent!!! It was equal parts funny and potential drama. I mean what can you expect when you have an ex bad boy from a boy band and an adult film performer?!
Bee had begged Teddy to let her be in the Hope Channel Christmas movie he was producing. He was trying to break away from his adult film company so he has extra income to support his children’s dreams. An unfortunate accident takes out quite a few of members of the production crew and the lead actress. The director sees a head shot of Bee and demands she be the replacement. Gretchen has no idea what Bee’s actual profession is!
Nolan Shaw is trying to reform his reputation. His many, Steph, demands he not do anything to tarnish this new start. This becomes increasingly harder to accomplish when he sees that his new co-star is Bee, aka Bianca Von Honey. He’s one of her biggest fans, but he can’t let her know that he knows who she is!
Filming gets very interesting as these two try to fight the attraction to each other. Bee has been obsessed with Nolan since the beginnings of his career in the boy band INK! Craziness happens as more crew replacements show that Bee recognizes!
I love that Bee is a plus size character. I love the representation of the LGBT community within this book! I truly hope that we get more stories with Kallum, Teddy, Luca, Angel, and Sunny!