A MERRY LITTLE MEET CUTE (PUB 09.20) 
He's a boy band bad boy.
She's a plus-sized adult film starlet.
They've been pining over each other for years but have never met. 
Until they are both cast in a wholesome holiday movie. 
Cue the sizzle. 

I found this to be a fun (and spicy) read. I loved the tension and banter between Nolan and Bee.  The supporting cast was delightful and provided hilarious dialogue. I appreciated the way the authors normalized conversations around body positivity, sex, sexuality and sex work. I think they knocked it out of the park in a sex/body-positive way while maintaining the rom-com levity of the story.

While the cover is adorable, it is also deceiving because HO HO Holy schnikes, the sizzle would melt Santa's suit right off. For this reader, it was allll the steam (brisking fans herself).

This was absolutely adorable! I think this will be the perfect book for romance lovers this holiday season, this book gave everything to get in the mood for the festivities. Not only was the chemistry between these characters and the spice truly immaculate, but there was also just so much heart to this story that made it shine. Murphy and Simone are truly an unstoppable author duo and A MERRY LITTLE MEET CUTE proves just that.

Thanks to Avon/Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this eARC.

Christmas in July finale (the epilogue of this one was actually set in July, so I think it all worked out).

This was super cute! Bee and Nolan (a porn actress and former bad-boy member of a boyband) both end up as the leads of a (basically) Hallmark Christmas movie. Bee is hoping she can keep her other roles a secret and take her career in a new direction, and Nolan is hoping to escape his bad boy image so that he can support his mom and sister. I really liked both of these characters and I liked them together - I basically gulped this book down like a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows on top! I WOULD like to watch Duke the Halls, the time travel Christmas romance at the center of the story. I would also like to go to a snow-covered Christmas Notch, Vermont to escape the actual Texas July I'm living in. Basically, this was the perfect time to read this, and I'm actively resisting the urge to watch a Christmas movie tonight - I know the leads won't be as cute as these two.

A Merry Little Meet Cute follows Bee, a plus-size adult film star, and Nolan, an infamous ex-boy band member in a steamy rom-com. I enjoyed reading their relationship form, as well as, reading each of their backstories. The side characters were also well written, I would read a book about them! Overall, great balance of banter, romance, and steam.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Trust Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy to deliver a cute, steamy read featuring an plus-size adult film darling and an infamous ex-boy band member.

A Merry Little Meet Cute follows Bee Hobbes and Nolan Shaw as they fall in love after being casted in a Christmas movie.

This book has forced proximity, childhood celebrity crush, and secret romance to help you get hooked from the start!

A huge thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC copy.

This book was so much fun to read. I loved the premise and was so caught up in the story. The chemistry between Nolan and Bee is next level! I loved all the steamy scenes and that it’s an open door romance! Loved everything about this book and highly recommend it! Thank you so much NetGalley and HarperCollins for the advanced reader copy!

The first page of this had me hooked! The writing was great and the banter even better!

There were definitely moments it was easy for me to put down but I think that’s just because I was so worried about what would happen next with all the characters lol. Both of our main characters’ Bee and Nolan were well fleshed out and their backstories solidly in place that made them feel like real people. The choices they made and things they did had meaning and didn’t seem pointless or random.

There were times (spoilers) like when Nolan had to alter his own costumes for the movie that I really questioned. It is mentioned that he was taught to sew but I found it a bit hard to believe that he could sew well enough for it to also look good on film. However, it at least served as a plot device for Nolan to get to know Luca better which I appreciated.

The bisexual representation was really nice to see.
I liked how Bee’s life as a sex worker was written, (spoiler) just because she and Nolan fell in love didn’t mean she needed to quit and the way he described how he wasn’t possessive of her body just her heart really resonated with me. What a lovely way to think of it.

The sex scenes were incredible, very hot (spoiler) but even though Bee and Nolan claimed at first that they were just “getting it out of their system” there was clearly a deeper connection between them and I adore that trope haha.

The last note I have is that I’m really glad that the miscommunication trope isn’t overused the way it is in some contemporary rom coms. (Spoiler) While Bee seemed unsure just how much Nolan loved her towards the end they hadn’t kept secrets about the reasoning for doing the Christmas film. Bee knew that Nolan was in trouble financially and Nolan knew who Bee was from the beginning.

Special thanks to netgalley for an arc in exchange for this honest review.

I chose not to finish this book. I knew it was naughty but I didn’t realize it was heavy on the porn. This is my fault. I saw a free Christmas book on here with an adorable cover and grabbed it before reading the synopsis.

Here’s what I liked from the first 100 or so pages I read. I loved the body positivity, the vibrant characters and the basic premise of two MCs having secret crushes on each other before meeting.

What I didn’t like was the heavy part porn/“OpenDoors” played in the book. This is 100% a me thing. To each their own but I just don’t relate to it and didn’t enjoy it playing such a large role in the story.

This was an adorable romance novel for those interested in a Hallmark Christmas movie that isn't PG-rated. Bee and Nolan experience immediate chemistry when they meet on set, and they keep sneaking off to act on that chemistry. However, they cannot let their bosses/executives find out about their romance, and things only get more difficult when a nosy reporter shows up.

I really liked Bee as the protagonist. She was funny, smart, and confident. I appreciate that she would always go after what she wanted. I wasn't as big of a fan of Nolan, but I could see the appeal.

I will definitely suggest this to friends as a good book to read this upcoming holiday season!

This book wasn't as Christmas-y as I would have hoped, but I did like the message behind the story. I think it's an important one about our society, especially the way we treat women and sex workers. Also the romance was cute.

Wow! This book has so many great aspects I don’t know what to focus on. Our setting is a Christmas town, a Christmas movie, and all things raunchy Hallmark. I do not think you need to read it during the holidays. The plot and characters remove you from the Christmas setting enough that this can be read year round. I LOVED our two main characters. They had depth, and humor, and maturity. I love when characters act their age and their emotions are realistic. I felt these characters come to life, and I adored that there was no “miscommunication” trope in the 3rd act.
The spice was amazing, of course it is with Sierra Simone, and I couldn’t get enough.
The book talked about sex workers and the struggles of Hollywood, and fat shaming and slut shaming. And it really shone a light on real issues that society has with these taboo subjects.
Highly recommend.
Thank you to Netgally and the Harpercollins for the ARC

A sweet, but steamy holiday rom-com...what else could you ask for? I've read both these authors separately and together they're pure magic. This book is exactly what you want to read curled up by the fire with a mug of something warm in your hand. It's cozy and funny and so charming. Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I have been so excited for this book and it did not disappoint! I am a sucker for Christmas stories and this was perfection!

Let me start off by saying, I am a huge Sierra Simone fan. I have not read anything by Julie Murphy yet, so this was my first book to read by her. I had high expectations for this book. I really wanted to love it. Unfortunately, I did not. I found myself getting bored and not being invested in the characters or what was at stake for them. This book is marketed as a "raunch com" and I found that to be untrue. There were steamy scenes in this book, which I definitely appreciated. But not to the level of "raunch" or steam that I know Sierra Simone books normally take. I didn't find any comedic moments in this book, but did see where they tried to make some happen. For me, those moments fell flat or felt awkward. I didn't believe our main male character, Nolan's, bad boy image. It is brought up so many times, and how his image needs to be reformed. But nothing in the present made me believe that. There are a couple of moments from Nolan's past that are mentioned vaguely that would allude to him being a bad boy, but no follow through. If anything, he felt like a boring character to me. I appreciated his effort and drive to take care of his mother and sister and doing what it takes to provide for them. His love for them was believable as was his desire for our main female character, Bee. Totally believable. However, as the book progresses, I found the relationship between the two of them to be unbelievable. I wasn't invested and I found myself not really caring what happened. I loved the representation of Bee along with her profession and her support system. The stakes for these characters were just so low, in my opinion, and the characters were not hashed out enough for me to really care. I felt by the end of this book that I didn't really know them or believe in their love for one another. I found myself more interested and intrigued by Nolan's two other band members, Kallum and Ian. Lots of little tidbits through this book could lead you to believe that they might be getting their own book or a follow up book with their stories more wrapped up. If not, they should because that's what I wanted by the end of this book.

I loved this book! Author Sierra Simone & Author Julie Murphy gave us such a sweet, funny, totally cute sexy story that I read in one sitting.

This book has just the right amount of steamy rom com and I loved the forbidden love filled with sneaky hookups all while trying not to get caught which were totally hot!

Bee and Nolan are my new favorite book couple to love!

Wonderful, lovable characters that after reading this book, I’m totally hoping we will get more books about the other characters.


5🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒popped!

***ARC provided by NetGalley***

Who doesn't like a little holiday steam in their life? Looking for two bi sexual main characters, a clean Christmas movie to be shot and one porn stars photo to almost ruin everything then pick this up! I really enjoyed Nolan and Bee! Their chemistry together was great filming and not filming. I really enjoyed the whole making a movie concept while trying to keep Bee's porn star life under wraps. Not to mention the steamy scenes! 🥵 I definitely recommend picking this up this holiday season.

A Merry Little Meet Cute was a great change of pace from the "typical" romance novels where boy meets innocent girl and falls in love. The FMC was strong and independent--and unashamed of her non-traditional career. The issues that arise in the book were believable given the way the sex industry is stigmatized and often frowned upon.

I do wish that there was a bit more "meat" at the end to build up to the conclusion or build from the HEA. I felt as though the main barrier to the couple being together happened and then resolved immediately (although the barrier was more believable than most --i.e., no one was kidnapped and/or a prior surprise child didn't appear).

There was also the signature spice that I've come to expect from a Sierra Simone book, and the banter between the main characters and supporting cast actually had me laughing out loud.

There are honestly no words for how much I loved this book! There is rep for everyone - from a fat heroine (who is confident in her body - and a sex worker to boot!), to a bisexual hero, a Jewish side character, a bi-polar parent, two lesbian moms - and this is just the representation, don't even get me started on the story! In the first joint novel from Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone (who are each powerhouses in their solo genres), Bee (also known as Bianca Von Honey to her ClosedDoor subscribers) and Nolan, former boy-band heartthrob come together to film a Hallmark-esque film.

Both Bee & Nolan have their own multitude of reasons for signing on for Duke the Halls, but the last thing either of them expects is to find love. AMLMC has all the steam and all the substance (all the things I love in my books) and I cannot urge you enough to pre-order this book in advance of it's September release.

Thank you to Avon for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Do not let this cute cover fool you! Although I did read the synopsis, I still thought that this was mainly a holiday cute love story. And don't get me wrong, it kind of was.

Bee is a very successful plus-size adult film star. She is unapologetic about who she is and I love that about her. Her favorite producer is trying to go a little more on the cookie cutter route and casts Bee as his leading lady for a very squeaky clean and family friendly Christmas movie. The only catch, she has to keep her adult activities
VERY under wraps. Things become complicated when the chemistry heats up with her co-star, ex-boy band member and crush of a teenage Bee, Nolan Shaw. Nolan is in desperate need of a career rehab. Hence filming as the Duke in Christmas Notch, Vermont. He promised his publicist that there will be no scandals on this set. Nolan planned on sticking to that before he discovered his new co-star is his favorite ClosedDoors star. With so many jobs and livelihoods on the line and a gossipy reporter searching for a story on the loose, what could possibly go wrong?

Overall, I thought that this was a very good read. Some parts were too repetitive for my tastes. There was a lot of mention of how sexual both characters were but it only hit surface level for me. I did not feel there was a real connection between the characters either. He was obsessed with the fantasy of her and she with the fantasy of him and that doesn't make a relationship real to me. I would have liked for them to have deeper conversations and connections. They honestly were both more concerned about their careers and the people who were relying on them than anything else. Which, of course is fine, but I wanted to romance and all I really got were some steaming scenes and a few cute conversations.



Thank you NetGalley, Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone, and Avon for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

A Merry Little Meet Cute, by Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5

THIS WAS SO GOOD. I was surprised to see an author pairing of Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone, but y'all... this duo is phenomenal. I highly recommend adding some spice to your Christmas with this book — it was fresh, funny, and fat- and sex-positive. What else do you need?

A Merry Little Meet Cute is a sweet and steamy holiday rom-com about Bee Hobbes, an adult film star who is semi-accidentally cast as a lead in a family-friendly Christmas movie, and Nolan Shaw, a former bad-boy pop star in desperate need of career rehab. Nolan is Bee's childhood crush and Nolan is a huge fan of Bee's ClosedDoors account — so of course when they meet, there's an immediate chemistry, attraction and lots of tension.

I loved this book so much. There's bisexual representation from both our (super likable) main characters, a glimpse into the sex work industry, fantastic families and communities that surround the two leads, and a heartwarming story about pushing against the status quo and going after what you really want. This also covered some heavier topics like the negative sides of fame, mental health disorders, and taking care of family members. Nolan and Bee are so cute and they really are perfect for each other.

My only critique (and reason why it's not 5 stars) is that there was too much insta-love for my preference. I understand falling in love quickly, but the two week timeline didn't do it for me. I definitely think there needed to be more time and conversations between Nolan and Bee — something that would push their relationship beyond the immediate attraction level and get to more of the heart of a love match.

That said, I absolutely loved everything else. A running joke throughout the novel is about the "unlikely cross-over of people who watch porn and also wholesome Christmas movies," and it just made me think about everyone who loves romance with spice. I read another review that summed it up perfectly: This is perfect for "someone looking to add a little cayenne pepper in your hot chocolate this holiday season." (You can totally read this year-round, though!)

Thank you to Avon, Harper Voyager and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review! This one is out Sept. 20, 2022.