This was so much fun! It has everything that I want from a steamy holiday romance. Amazing chemistry between the main characters, a great premise, and an atmospheric setting that brings the season to life. I really enjoy books (both fiction and non-fiction) that involve the adult industry. So having the plot be about Bee, a porn star, getting the lead role in a family friendly holiday romance and having to keep her adult film persona a secret while filming the movie made for a very fun story. And then to add onto that, having the romantic lead in the movie be a former bad boy from a pop band trying to improve his image just made this a great time.

The characters had so much chemistry and got themselves into so many entertaining situations. There were multiple moments that had me laughing out loud. I enjoyed how a lot of the side characters in the book were also part of the adult industry. I feel like the book portrayed a positive side of the industry while also showing the stigmas that sex workers face in the world. There were good discussions of how men and women are treated differently by the public and the media when it comes to how their sex lives are discussed. I also loved how both characters were bisexual.

I hope that Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy write more books together. This was a great blend of really good steamy scenes, emotional development, relationship building, and silly times. Definitely check this out if you’re in the market for a spicy holiday read.

A porn star looking for new opportunities.
A former pop star attempting to improve his image.
A Hallmark-like Christmas movie.
Doesn't seem like the normal meet cute, but that's what makes this story so fun.

Producer Teddy Ray Fletcher has a problem. The lead for his romance themed movie, Duke the Halls, has been injured and he has days to replace her. When he mixes up his files with his side porn business, the Christmas movie director homes in on one of his porn stars, Bee Hobbes aka Bianca von Honey. For whatever reason, he goes along with this plan to cast her in the crazy hopes that no one realizes who this actress might be. As the reader, you know things will inevitably go sideways, it is just a matter of when it will happen and who it would impact.

What I didn't expect from this story was how the hero, Nolan Shaw, treated Bee, knowing full well her true identity. Obviously, there is some lust there on his part, but he genuinely seemed ok with how she made a living and respected her beyond that lust. As the couple grew closer together during their filming, I liked how they didn't lie about anything with one another and knew how much was on the line should her past be revealed.

When things do go sideways, my heart hurt for both Nolan and Bee, and how the media treated them. But I liked how the authors had the characters overcome that drama to get their well-deserved HEA. While this isn't your standard Holiday romance, it packs some heat to keep you warm *wink wink* during those cold winter days, along with a nice dose of sweet.

If you want a holiday romance with plenty of spice, add this to your list for the season! We get a plus size adult film star heroine who is expanding her acting to a family-friendly holiday movie and starring beside a former boy band member who is rehabbing his image. Our characters have experienced some mutual pining before meeting in real life, so I was okay with the bit of insta-love/attraction. Beyond the steam, we also see them prioritizing family, mental health, and navigating public opinion. It was a fun story overall with a bit of chaos and over-the-top Christmasy charm in a small town.

Thanks Avon Books for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank You NetGalley and Avon for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

4.5/5 stars (rounded up to 5 on here)

Let me just first start by saying that this cover is very deceiving, but in the best of ways! When you see this cover, you think oh it’s so cute and the story is going to be cute. Don’t get me wrong, the storyline was amazing, but the spice level was off the charts! I absolutely loved it!

I loved how this story was so inclusive and the authors did such a great job with the representations around bisexuality, plus size characters, and positivity with the sex work industry. I feel like the authors handled these topics with such respect and did a great job merging them all together into one amazing story. I also loved the growth of the characters throughout the storyline and even when discussing their past histories. Overall, I think this was a great first novel combining both Murphy and Simone’s writing styles!
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This review will be posted to my Instagram blog (read_betweenthecovers) in the near future!

This was so cute and had the right amount of sweet with spice! This is cozy and makes you want to run away with a very hot significant other. I enjoyed the characters, and felt like I was saying goodbye to friends by the time this was over!

Thank you to Sierra Simone, Julie Murphy, the publisher, and to Netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this one. Big girl romance is EVERYTHING, but I never fully got lost in this one.

Of course I adored the fat representation, bisexual rep, and the positivity around sex work, which were great parts about this book. I was definitely invested in the first half of the book or so, but I felt like it might have lost steam in the second half. Maybe their problems didn't seem logical, which had me overthinking.

The spice was pretty warm, but never really felt super exciting.

I did think that the narrators did a fantastic job on the audiobook. Loved the dual point of views in the plot and the narrators made it even better.

I was really looking forward to reading this book but the authors threw in way too much - porn stars, bisexuality, innuendo, and much more. The story was buried under it all and I couldn't finish it. Skip this one.

As a long time Sierra Simone lover and a first time Julie Murphy reader, I had super high hopes for this one. Did it meet my expectations? Not really. Co-writes are so difficult especially if you have different writing styles. Sierra is a queen among the wonderful mythological eroticism and Julie is known for her super engaging YA material. Merging the two should have been difficult. While it is not my very favorite of stories, it was still engaging, fun, exciting, steamy and swoon-worthy. I don't expect stories like this to be "real-life" so the fact that there is no way Bee (or Teddy for that matter) would ever fly so far under the radar that a wholesome TV channel wouldn't know what they were getting doesn't bother me in the least. I loved having the non-traditional movie actress and crew made the story much more fun for me and I quite enjoyed the side characters. All in all a fun holiday "What is Christmas all about?" story.

Per the tile, this is very cute. The book is about an adult performer and a disgraced pop star trying to go mainstream and shake off scandal, respectively. Just like in Hillary movies that provide the setting, the insta-love feels forced and scandal easily overcome. The book is trying to do a lot of things at once and doing them okay. A tighter focus would have benefitted the story.

Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone are fantastic! You would never have known this was their first time working together because the writing is exceptional.
Porn star ,accidentally cast in a family friendly feel good movie with a former bad boy band member, she falls in love with.
Flawlessly written , with heart, humor , sexy good times. Nolan and Bee are a perfect pairing, loved how they each had a thing for the other and after meeting realized just how perfect they were for each other. Loved how Bee being plus size is beautiful and brave and Nolan couldn’t get enough of her!
Such a beautifully good story!

This was so stinking cute! I really loved the relationship between the main characters, plus all of the sex positive and fat positive rhetoric. Julie Murphy is such a great author, but this is the first time I've read anything by Sierra Simone and I may be hooked! Lovely combo of authors, hopefully they find a way to collaborate again.

What an excellent story! I love Julie Murphy and was excited to see her write an adult novel with Sierra Simone. This book felt very much in Julie and Sierra's style with more spice than I'm used to with Julie. I am a sucker for spice and "Hope Channel" style Christmas movies, so I knew I would love this title right away, and it did not disappoint. One of the best romance novels I've read all year!

When plus-size adult film star Bee Hobbes is cast in an upcoming Hallmark-esque Christmas movie, she must keep her identity under wraps from the producers. Her task is easier said than done when former boy band singer Nolan Shaw, who is familiar with Bee’s film history, is cast opposite Bee in the movie. Chemistry in their scenes quickly turns into a romantic whirlwind off screen, but a snooping reporter threatens their relationship and Bee’s carefully guarded identity.
A Merry Little Meet Cute is an absolute delight of a romantic comedy! There was definitely a lot more erotic elements in the book than I was expecting, but it made for some really steamy scenes between Bee and Nolan who have such good chemistry. There’s so much to love about this book, including the body and sex positivity, LGBTQ representation, and the witty banter between characters.
My only major dislike of this book was that it felt too long and could have cut down on inner monologues to improve pacing. Overall, this book was really entertaining and definitely not your run-of-the-mill Christmas romance.
Thank you times a million to @AvonBooks for the ARC!

When it got there, I really enjoyed reading about the developing relationship between Bee and Nolan. There was attraction, lots of funny moments and I just loved the supporting characters. The concept itself is unique and it was done well. However, it felt way too lust at first sight and then the relationship building came after that and I'm not too keen on that. I enjoy reading more about deeper than surface feelings in a romance novel . And so, the order of events felt out of order for me.

Oh. My. Lord.

I went into this book expecting a Hallmark movie in book form, which I love. Turns out: THIS WAS HOT.

Plus-sized representation means a lot to me, and going into this book blind left me pleasantly surprised.

This was my first book from both Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone, but it won’t be my last!

Pick this up, curl in next to a fire, & have a good night, friend.

This was a delight! I’ve never read any Sierra Simone and have only read one Julie Murphy, but I was intrigued to see how these two writers, known for being on either end of the spicy romance section, would work together.

The premise of this book was wonderful—filming a Princess Switch-esque movie for a Hallmark-ish channel—throw in an adult film star and an ex boy-band-member and this really has it all. Christmas adjacent but you could enjoy this book year round (I just finished it in August.)

I really enjoyed the conversation and care around sex work—I was worried it would get a little fetish-y and it really didn’t. There’s some solid steam in this book! The writing was also really sharp and made me laugh.

My only gripe is that there’s a lot of internal monologue in this dual POV, so it took me a while to get on board with the romance. I wish we had had some more actual interactions and conversations between the two MCs.

Overall, really fun and would recommend for some ~happy holidays~

I don't think I had any idea what to expect going into this book, but I know it wasn't this. ha ha. I freaking loved this book.

Plus sized porn icon, Bee Hobbes (aka Bianca Von Honey) loves what she does, but when she is asked by one of her friends and favorite producers to star in a Christmas movie for the Hope Channel (think Hallmark Christmas movies) she can't pass up the chance to get some more main stream work. Her co-star is former disgraced boyband member Nolan Shaw who is trying to re-start his career in order to make money to help out his family. He is a huge fan of Bianca's adult work and immediately recognizes her as soon as she steps on set, even though she is acting under the name Bee and is keeping her adult work under wraps. It soon becomes apparent that Bee and Nolan have some amazing chemistry both on and off the set. But they are both under strict orders to be on their best behavior as they proceed with this main stream Christmas movie. They are soon forced to confront their growing relationship, their pasts, and what they see for their future.

This book was so wonderful! As someone who doesn't particularly like the gooey Christmas books or movies this one was perfection. It was funny and steamy and just so much fun to read. I love Bee and her moms and friends. They all has such a fun, loving, and supportive energy and I wanted to hang out with all of them.

Nolan was more uptight but as the book goes on you learn more and more about his current situation and his past that really makes you feel for him. I loved his love for Bee and how he was with her.

And guys, this book is STEAMY! I mean, whoa.

I loved the writing pair of Julie and Sierra and hope we see more from them together soon. I will definitely read whatever they write!

HUGE thank you to Avon books and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the ARC of this novel. I was lucky enough to be pre-approved for this that showed up in my email as I doubt I would have requested it. I enjoy Christmas and the Hallmark Channel is something in my periphery but not things I go out of my way to enjoy. This, however, just requires you to know these exist in the world and will catch you up on the rest. I really enjoyed this sweet read that had a lot of steam. I could feel Julie Murphy coming through in the writing to fight against fatphobia and it makes me want to look for some works by Sierra Simone. If you want Christmas themed with a lot of heat. this is for you.

This was a super cute book for fans of Hallmark Christmas movies! I flew through this one and loved the banter between main characters. Will definitely look for more from this author!

CW: parent with bipolar disorder
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When this book was first announced I knew I had to read it as soon as possible; I’m so appreciative that I got the chance to read an ARC. An plus-size adult film star and a former bad-boy pop star who have unknowingly pined over each for years meet when they’re cast to star in a Hallmark-esque Christmas movie? Are you kidding me? This is everything I’ve ever wanted!
I liked Bee and Nolan together. I do think their romance could have gone a little deeper, but I enjoyed their chemistry. I loved seeing how much Nolan cares for his family, he’s wiling to sacrifice almost anything for them. I adored Bee’s moms, too. This book was *filled* with interesting characters. I would love to see books following the other two band members, and I also need to know more about Angel and Luca!
I have read (and loved) books from Julie before, but Sierra is a new-to-me author. I’m excited to explore her backlist! I thought their writing paired wonderfully in this book.
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4/5 stars, A MERRY MEET CUTE by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone is available September 20. Thank you to HCC Frenzy, Avon and Netgalley for the change to review an ARC.