This one wasn’t really for me. I occasionally read romance, so this may appeal more to those who read a broad selection of romance! It very much feels like a Hallmark movie but way steamier. The multiple POV didn’t really work for me, but also isn’t a favorite of mine in most books I’ve read.

This is a funny rom-com. It love that it’s a Christmas story, full of naughtiness and spice. I totally recommend reading this one.

This is very fun, and the writing is cute too. I wasn't sure what to expect, though I'm a sucker for Christmas romances, but this was a very fun diversion (I guess I should've known, considering Julie Murphy's background and previous works, that this would be pretty great.)

This was an interesting read all around. I enjoyed the story and the whole hidden romance, and the adult film star angle is one that I have to admit I haven't really delved into for most of my romance reads. Although I did read some call girl and stripper ones, so porn adjacent I suppose.

As always, I love Julie Murphy's writing and her way of describing situations especially humourous ones. Teddy was a hoot, as were the whole cast of side characters which is typical of Murphy as well. Simone was a new voice for me, and generally worked well to integrate her story and writing in with Murphy so that I wasn't conscious of when the writers traded off. I'm assuming Simone wrote the Nolan chapters, although she could also have dabbled in the Bee chapters too.

While I wanted to give this book a 5 star, I did find that the pacing was a bit off for me. The whole book happens in a very short window of time, and yet some parts felt like they dragged. I also really wish that the big reveal of Nolan knowing who Bee was happened differently. It just felt a bit icky no matter how Bee rationalizes it after the fact.

The body positivity was great, because for most of the book, while Bee and others all speak to her size at some point, it's not front and centre and you can just enjoy who Bee is and her appeal as a person. The mains are well flushed out, and the epilogue from Teddy's perspective was fun.

All in all, a good book if you like Murphy. It won't disappoint. And a fun romance all around.

Who knew I needed a book written by Murphy and Simone both?! You can defiantly tell it was written by two different people by the sex scenes and the really funny scenes. Murphy's comedic dialogue is like know other and how Simone writes the heated ones... Need I say more?
The ending of this was a little clunky and I REALLY wanted to see Bee and Nolan play with the toys in the suitcase. Don't tease a person about said objects if your not going to anything with them. But it might've been too much with how many times I saw <spoiler>cunt and pussy</spoiler> written in here. Really surprised Simone got away with it.

I was so not expecting this book to be that spicy and good but I am here for it and I can only hope these two authors team up for more. The main characters are delicious and the secondary characters scream for books of their own. I am definitely going to re read this and that is a sign of a great story to me.

While the cover of A Merry Little Meet Cute is adorable, this is one steamy romance! Bee Hobbes (aka Bianca Von Honey) is a plus-sized, very successful adult film star, and Nolan Shaw is a pop star trying to fix his image. And to do that, the two are cast in an upcoming Hope Channel film, a Hallmark Channel like movie, to help. Only, Nolan is the guy of all of Bee’s childhood fantasies and as a subscriber to her account, Bee is Nolan’s literal fantasy, and the two can’t resist each other. This book is all steam and sexiness. I loved the sex positivity, and I thought Bee and Nolan were great leads. Bee, especially. She is so positive and endearing and I just love how she loves herself and her strength. But both her and Nolan have such compelling journeys—Nolan with his family issues he was trying to help with and Bee trying to find her footing in this new industry—and I really enjoyed seeing them succeed. Their banter was playful and fun and I loved the moments of silliness and joy from Bee when they were together. I did think their emotional connection was a little lacking and I wish they had had more moments together of them just being together in a more vulnerable way. Still, I thought this plot was super fun, all the little Christmas puns were cute and funny, the side characters were eccentric and engaging, and it was just a good, steamy read!

This book was SO GOOD! I started reading it shortly before bed which was a mistake because I didn’t want to stop. So I called in to work the next day to finish it. I’ve never read anything by Sierra Simone before but I should’ve expected a book co-authored by Julie Murphy would be more than the typical fluffy romcom (not that there is anything wrong with fluff, I love it, too). A Merry Little Meet Cute had all the best parts of a cheesy holiday love story but with so much more! With a sex-positive, confident, bisexual plus-size porn star leading lady (all of my yes!) and her bisexual bad boy ex-boy band member co-star (so. much. yes), this book also included a beautiful portrayal of mental illness and the importance of mental health, and criticism of how women are expected to be virginal or sluts as if there is no in-between, as if there is anything wrong with either end of the spectrum, and to a much larger degree than men. But with all of the important social commentary, it was still a fun, hilarious, holiday romp with love, sex, friendship, family, and an HEA that left me smiling at my phone, and sad that it was over. I can’t say enough good things about this book! I hope these authors pair up again.

A Merry Little Meet Cute 🎄✨

a former bad boy band member + an adult film star + the making of a hallmark-esque family friendly movie

what could go wrong? 🤪

Although I’ve never read any of Julie Murphy’s books before, I’m a huge Sierra Simone fan, so I had pretty high expectations going into this book, but unfortunately it just fell a little bit flat for me.

What I loved about A Merry Little Meet Cute:
➖love love loved the body positivity & the sex/sex work positivity!
➖the storyline is super original and it immediately drew my attention in after reading the blurb!!
➖the spice was so dang spicy, oh my gosh 🥵 Nolan watching Bee’s videos was >>>> (IYKYK)
➖really loved that Nolan & Bee both had a crush on each other prior to meeting, because it really added that extra layer of tension and chemistry!
➖the humor >>> the side characters were so funny and I adored each one of them!!

What didn’t really work for me:
➖I had a really hard time getting into it ☹️ there’s a lot of inner monologue in the beginning and for me personally, it just made it hard to stay interested in the story
➖The connection between Bee & Nolan never felt very deep to me — they’re hot af and their chemistry is off the charts, but for me it never really moved past that physical connection. I had a hard time with the “why are they together” of it all

Overall, I did really enjoy this book and I did really enjoy the sex/body positivity aspect of it, but I think I was just left feeling a bit underwhelmed with the story as a whole. However, the characters are so so easy to love and it’s such a cute/light holiday read, so if that sounds like your cup of tea then I’d definitely still recommend picking this romance up!

Thank you so so much to Netgalley, Avon, & Harper Collins for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!! 💗

This book was so spicy, I’m surprised the snow in it didn’t all melt. 😂 I love Christmas novels (and Christmas movies) and with it being so hot this summer, I knew I needed a break from the heat with a holiday read. There was a lot in this book, a lot of which I wasn’t expecting haha. I appreciated that there was sex work positivity and body positivity in it. The authors definitely didn’t hold anything back.

I do wish there was a little more of the winter/Christmas/holiday vibe in the book. And there wasn’t a lot of chemistry between the couple in the beginning. But we did get one rollercoaster of a love story in this one.

Also, it’s definitely not for someone looking for a hallmark style book. This is saucy. Many hot peppers. Be warned if you are listening to or reading this in public!

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this Arc!!

I would do anything to just live in this book. Not for Christmas so much, but because it's a dream come true!

Bee is an adult film star with a huge fan base. Nolan is an ex-boyband member who is known for being a bit bad. When they separately agree to do a Hope Christmas movie (kind of Hallmark?), neither is prepared to meet each other. Especially because Nolan is Bee's biggest fan and Bee still nurses a crush for her favorite Ink band member.

I loved this! It's the whole idea of living out a fantasy with a favorite celebrity but, also, how happy this book made me. It's the absolute perfect Christmas read for those of us interested in more than Christmas cheer... like a dirty, sugar cookie scented SMASH!

This is out September 20, 2022!

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley, and I really enjoyed reading it! This is a very cute spicy holiday romance with great characters. The story revolves around a former boy band member and a porn star (who is trying to keep her porn identity a secret) who are filming a Christmas romance movie in a small town in Vermont, and of course they fall in love. I liked the fact that she had a crush on him since she was a teenager, and he had a crush on her because he had been a subscriber to her exclusive content for years, which I think added a layer to their relationship. Nolan and Bee were so sweet and funny and hot together, and there were so many great side characters. If you like Christmas romance movies, but wish they had a bit more spice then you will probably enjoy this book as well!

I feel like maybe I should have known better that I wasn't really gonna enjoy this one. That is not to say its a bad book, because I don't think it is. However, this book depends on you believing that overwhelming lust can turn in to love in less then two weeks. As an asexual person there is literally no plot less relatable to me then people going against their better judgement due to sexual attraction. Like I literally can not relate to it and it annoys me. A lot.

While the driver of the plot being Bee and Nolan's overwhelming attraction to each other was an issue for me I have to say it might have been more forgivable if I was then able to believe the love story but it just didn't do it for me. While I liked the characters of Bee and Nolan separately together they were more likely to make me cringe. I found the complicated lives and connections of all the background characters made the world feel full and real but only really served to leave the story feeling unfinished and the love story between Bee and Nolan feel even shallower in comparison. Both Bee and Nolan have interesting and full lives without each other and all they seem to have when they are together is Christmas jokes and being fans of each other before they met and wanted to bone. While the authors tried to flatten the issues that can come up between a fan and a celebrity by making Nolan just as big a fan of Bee's adult work as she was of his boyband the power dynamic still was there. And was even emphasized later in the book due to Bee's gender, weight, and stigmatized career.

If there is one thing I really like about this book its Bee as a fat porn star living a good and full life and not letting other people make her feel bad about her self or her body. But honestly I think that is a bare minimum. I gave this book three stars because ultimately for all that it annoyed me and I didn't really like it it was too shallow to dislike. I think if you are a fan of Julie Murphy and/or Sierra Simone and wanna see what they can do writing together give it a shot. However, I'm not really a fan of either one and could have just as happily left this one alone.

Thank you to Net Galley and Avon for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I appreciated that this was a more open story about "disaster bisexuals" (direct quote, don't @ me). They're both trying to clean up their respective reputations with an uber clean Christmas movie on the Hope Channel. I don't know how on earth they believed that people wouldn't recognize her from her other career. There was no shame surrounding their sexual histories and I liked that. They both made choices in their past and didn't regret any of that and honestly, that was so refreshing.

I didn't love this one as much as I expected to though. I didn't really feel like they connected on an emotional level at all. I certainly never want to smell gingerbread lotion ever again after how many times it was brought up alongside his ding dong.

Thank you to Netgalley, Avon, Harper Voyager, Julie Murphy, and Sierra Simone for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

As soon as I saw this, I knew I had to read it. I absolutely love Sierra Simone. Her books give me life and the steamy scenes and layers she delivers in each of her stories leaves me utterly captivated. I’ve never read Julie Murphy before, but I knew I was in for treat and I was not disappointed. This was the perfect combination of everything I love in my romance and everything I love about Hallmark movies (cheesy scenes check, insta-love check, hilarity check, check, check).

Bee was utterly amazing. She was so comfortable with who she is, what she does for a living and how she looks. I felt empowered just reading her because of this. Nolan’s brooding ex boy band ways was the perfect juxtaposition. And the fact that he wanted Bee and had no qualms about letting every single person know was chef’s kiss. I love when the hero doesn’t hesitate, he sees what he wants and just goes for it not caring in the least who finds out.

I honestly had so much fun reading this book. I laughed out loud so many times. And fell head over heels in love with these characters. This book was light, fun, flirty but also steamy and so very sexy. I adored the Christmas town setting it really put me in the holiday spirit even though Christmas is months away. Seriously I can’t wait to read it again around the holidays. There was a little bit in the middle that slowed down the pace and felt kind of sluggish and I was little bummed that the sex toy suitcase never came out to play, but other than that the book was magic.

I couldn't even make it through the prologue of the eARC, yikes.

"My butthole clenched." ... Why was this necessary in the middle of a conversation? It wasn't even in a sex scene, where I could've let it go.

I forgot just how ridiculous and immature Julie Murphy's writing is. This would've been better if it was only written by Sierra Simone.

If you like spice, this one is a pretty solid read! Porn star turned into a Hallmark movie is what the synopsis is across 99% of the reviews, and its pretty spot on. I wish we had more than two weeks with them (gimme some of that spicy suitcase action please), and I wish we had more time in general (this book read REALLY fast for me) but it was a super good read. AND the fact that two authors joined forces and knocked this one out of the park, made me laugh more times than appropriate for an airport, and had a plus sized sexy af MC, thank you <3

Many thanks to Avon and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Can I just say, before I get into the plot and premise, this book WAS SO DANG FUN! You know when you watch a movie and you can just tell that EVERYONE on set was just having the best time? This book feels like that. Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy must have had a ball writing this book because it radiates joy and bonkers amounts of fun.

Bee was 10/10 would kill for her, book girlfriend material. I will love her as an MC and all around heartthrob until the day I die. I also really enjoyed Nolan and think that they had smashing good chemistry.

There were so many nods to all sorts of tropes and truly wild situations that I couldn't help but have fun for this entire book. A Christmas movie staffed with porn workers (hilarity ensues), 90s boy bands, Hollywood starlets, subtle digs at ABC/Hallmark, boinking in a fake church, Christmas themed strip club. Plus it's just so well written.

If you've read this far, you're probably wondering: geez Lauren you're gushing about this book, why not 5 stars? 1) the grovel at the end just didn't do it for me. 2) THEY HAD A SUITCASE FULL OF SEX TOYS AND NEVER USED THEM! Automatic -1. I don't know what I've got to do to normalize use of sex toys in contemporary romance, but it makes me feel better to take a star for my own arbitrary rating system. MORE SEX TOYS PLEASE!

The best of both worlds (Christmas and Steam). I truly hope this is only the first collaboration by these authors. This book was was over the top hysterical (I couldn't stop laughing).. Sierra Simone is one of my favorites when if comes to steam, She know how to stoke the fires.
While plus size reads usually aren't my jam I feel in love with how Bee embraced her body and career. Nolan was your brooding bad boy who made no apologies wanting Bee.

This book captured my heart from page one. Is it too much to say that I felt like this book was written just for me?! For all the hallmark movie watchers, feminist porn enthusiasts, and chaotic bisexuals, this book is what holiday dreams are made of!

There are only two things that could make this book better:
1) if it were longer - 2 weeks of Bee and Nolan on set together just wasn’t enough for me, and they didn’t even get into her suitcase of sex toys!
2) Or if this book was real life. Because I really want to watch Duke the Halls now.

Moments where I found myself in this book:

“What tattooed, fair trade coffee drinkers with their body-safe silicone toys were also tuning in to sexless holiday schmaltz?” This one sure is!

“I hadn’t been so turned on by a kiss since Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart kissed at the end of Twilight with Iron and Wine playing in the background. (Turned out I wanted to be and kiss both Edward and Bella. I still mourn the fact that the porn parody of Twilight was shot before my time.)” I agree, whole heartedly (and this book was read at the same time that I picked up a copy of the Twilight series from my local used bookstore for a re-read!)

“we were dog-sitting Snapple, and Snapple turned any vibe into a something between trapped in line behind a customer who wants to talk to the manager and that scene in Return of the Jedi where Luke Skywalker has to fight a rancor with an old monster bone.”

I cannot recommend this book enough. I loved it. I absolutely loved it and I will absolutely be re-reading it at Christmas time!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!