This was such a fun Christmas romance. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get in the Christmas mood reading this in June, but I was too excited about this ARC to wait.
This is such a unique romance too. Okay, so you have Bee, who’s a plus sized porn star that was just cast as a lead in a Hallmark-Channel-esque wholesome Christmas movie.
Then you have Nolan, a former bad-boy of a boyband that dismantled years ago due to a shady manager. He’s cast as Bee’s love interest in said movie. Oh, did I mention he’s a loyal subscriber of her cam girl porn site?
This book was a delight to read. The side characters were even interesting, I appreciate that in a novel. I’m kind of hoping for a Kallum and Isaac book in the future.
Bee’s moms were everything and I loved Nolan’s mom and sister.
I also really loved that both Bee and Nolan are what they refer to as “bisexual disasters” because, relatable?
This will be the perfect pick me up for gray cold days this winter.

What a fun and spicy romance. The romantic couple are openly bisexual and one of the authors is also LGBTQ+. The female main character has an OnlyFans-type channel and also occasionally works in more traditional porn; she calls herself a sex worker. Her close support circle and, refreshingly, the male main character are very enlightened. In one scene when the male main character mistakenly assumes the female main character is with someone else, it's the emotional intimacy he's jealous of, not what she's doing with her body.

The female main character is a fat person, but this could have been handled a little better. When she's first introduced, the reader feels beaten about the head with the fact, the word "fat" in every other sentence (it feels like, anyway) of her first chapter. Her body is described as "curvy," "plush," and "soft," but the body shape is never specified. Differently-shaped larger-bodied people experience different kinds/levels/types of discrimination. Not that it would make a major difference to the story for most readers, but as a sometimes plus-sized person, I was curious if the heroine was larger but very defined hourglass vs. apple-shaped, for example, or 2X vs. 5X.

In general, a fun contemporary romance. Suggest to readers who liked The Roommate.

eARC from NetGalley.

This was just the book I needed to free me from the depths of a romance rut. I absolutely adored this holiday romcom and I can’t wait to reread it this holiday season.

I loved both of our main characters - Bee, a porn star who is hoping to branch out into mainstream acting, and Nolan, a former bad boy pop star looking to revive his career. The story is told in dual POV, which is my favorite, and I loved the small Christmas town setting. A Very Merry Meet Cute was incredibly sweet, surprisingly funny, and full of spice 🌶. Don’t let that cute cover fool you! I really hope Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone continue to work together, because this was a lot of fun.

I will also add that the representation was great - both main characters are bisexual and there are several queer supporting characters. A Very Merry Meet Cute is also incredibly body positive and sex positive, which you love to see!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon for an advanced copy.

loved this romance told in different point of views of a Nolan and Bee. Nolan is a washed up pop star and Bee is porn star. They fall in love while making a hallmark movie. He has always been a fan of her's. She has been a fan of their boy band. I hope that there is book on the rest of the members of INK . I also wouldn't mind reading about Terry either. I loved the cast and family members. Great book.

Fun holiday read. Dual POV with plenty of body positivity and steam! Julie Murphy is an amazing author and this book is no exception

At a first glance, I already knew A Merry Little Meet Cute was my type of book because Julie Murphy is an auto-buy author for me, it's got a holiday romcom setting and its a former boy band singer finds love story, so sign me up. Told in dual perspectives, it is full of compelling language that is so intriguing that makes for such a fun Hallmark-esque holiday romantic comedy. The spice content is a lot higher than Murphy's YA past as it is an adult romance read, so fair warning. It's fun, indulgent and enjoyable. Plus, a sex positive and body positive romcom? What more could you want in a modern romance?

Quick, very steamy read. The chemistry between Bee and Nolan did not blow me away but I did like the sex and body positivity. I also enjoyed the writing style of the two authors. (2.75 ⭐️)

This one wasn't really my jam, but I can totally see how it might be yours! Bisexual plus-sized adult film start falls for bisexual Hollywood dreamboat, and they have to find a way to not let their pasts - and the way other people feel about their pasts - interfere with what could be a beautiful future.

Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy are just a writing team made in heaven. The writing is so funny and fat and queer and sex-positive, and I'm so excited to see future collaboration between these two.

I just didn't find myself particularly interested in the story or invested in the relationship at the center of it, but I think it's a me thing, not a book thing. If you're interested in a BISEXUAL, PLUS-SIZED, SEX-POSITIVE CHRISTMAS ROM-COM (I mean, who isn't??), I definitely recommend giving this one a try.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for this ARC.

I've been a fan of Sierra Simone for a bit but this was my first book by Julie Murphy and I absolutely enjoyed it!

What could happen when a porn star, who has to keep a secret and a ex band bad boy. Whose revamping his image, meet up and work on a movie together?

This book was funny, spicy and a overall joy to read. It's got a "fat" girl mc and it also has LBGTQ representation.

Highly recommend this one!

Wow this was everything I wanted in a cute Christmas romance. I loved that this story was sex positive and played on the typical hallmark Christmas trope. This story had wonderful spice scenes and multiple of them. I hope to see this story continue with some of the side characters from this story and I look forward to reading this again before Christmas

This book was a fun romp covering some serious topics. I loved how the romance was handled and how the main character felt sexy and confident gene before the hero came into the scene. There was some slight lag in the 3rd quarter but it really all came together in a fun way! Is a super fun and sexy seasonal (and all the time) read,

ACK.

A former boy band member and a p*rn star. YES PLEASE.

I loved every bit of this (well except for when Nolan was an a$$hat b/c well .... a$$hat)

I want -NO STRIKE THAT- I NEED more of these two. I need them both to star in ClosedDoors content. I need more house party material....

So many side characters I want more of. Like seriously this needs to be a series.

Nolan and Bee are FIRE. I loved the little bits, the banter, and of course the s3xy bits. We didn't even get them exploring her suitcase of toys. Yeah that's a major NEED MORE type of material.

A MERRY LITTLE MEET CUTE was a cute and steamy read full of boyband nostalgia and delightful wink-wink-nudge-nudge jokes (mostly about porn), but I didn't find myself compelled to root for Bee and Nolan to be together. Both of them having fantasies about the other prior to meeting left me feeling unconvinced that their connection ever truly evolved beyond the fantasy perception. It was LOVELY to see a romance book with TWO bisexual protagonists and a fat heroine though. Absolutely loved the representation!

2/5 ☆

This was okay. I just wasn't feeling the whole plot line I guess. It is very originally, I'd give it that - an adult film star and former bad boy from a boy band coming together (pun intended) to film a Hallmark like movie. Just wasn't my favorite and found myself really bored and struggling to finish. I wasn't connecting to their chemistry at all and it felt hard to keep track of all the side characters in the book too.

'Some things are worth more than a reputation.'

Self admitted Bi Disasters Bee Hobbes and Nolan Shaw end up both cast for 'Duke the Halls', a Hope Channel Original Movie. Nolan is trying to get past his bad boy persona to get the money needed to take care of his mom and little sister. Bee is a cam girl and porn star who knows the timer on her career is ticking and it's time to start something new.
This book was chaos (in a good way!). A ClosedDoor Premium Membership, ginger bread lotion and a morality clause all lead to rising tension between Bee and Nolan that start to influence their work relationship.

I had fun reading this book! Bee is unapologetically fat and sexual, something Nolan (and many others) greatly appreciate. 😏 I loved the fat representation and the important conversations of fatphobia and slut shaming in the sex work and movie industries.

The queer representation was awesome and something I didn't know of going into the book. It made me so happy to see two bisexual characters just living their lives.

My one gripe was how rushed the conclusion felt. I feel like everything was wrapped up super quickly and you didn't get to see the whole outcome of some of the situations that were mentioned in the story. I'm hoping that means we get a Book 2 that follows one of Nolan's ex boyband friends. Fingers crossed. I'd kill to read more about Mr. Dad Bod Kallum 👀😅

Ok, one more problem I had with this book, but I feel like its a very valid one. For all that talk of the bag of sex toys and a rechargeable vibrator, we never actually get to see them in use so that's a huge disappointment. Like come on! She's a sex worker who loves toys, he loves to watch her use toys... why did they never use a toy. 😭 Weird issue to have with the book I know. 😅

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books for sending me a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own. 🖤

As a fan of both of these authors, I had high expectations going into A Merry Little Meet Cute. Plus who doesn't love a good Christmas rom-com? I enjoyed the novel's original story ideas - and I think normalizing both sex work and its acceptance in a mainstream release is a encouraging step for a topic that may be considered controversial in a traditionally published book (although indies have embraced it for years). The book will have appeal to those who enjoy holiday adventures and may help open some readers' eyes or minds.

Cute book. Not really my “thing” but the writing was good. Just not much into rom coms anymore for some reason.

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


I. Love. This!!!! I honestly hope this happened irl and Hallmark, Netflix, or Amazon Prime has to make slightly spicier movies!

So, this book is about a pornstar, and I give it 4 out of 5 🌶. If you like cheesy Christmas movies but you also really like spice this is your read this holiday season! The main trope is "secret romance" and I liked how the authors did it. There were enough prominent side romances to tell me there will be more books, but idk whose is next and I love it!

There is some LGBT representation, but this is still a hetero romance.

This was one of my most anticipated releases and oh my gosh, it was everything! Sweet, funny, steamy…I couldn’t get enough of this story. I’m already looking forward to an audiobook reread during the holidays!

The two main characters were fantastic. Bee is an adult film star who is considering breaking into the mainstream film world. I loved everything about her! She is fierce & unapologetically herself! Nolan is an ex boy band member who is trying to rebrand after an unfortunate mishap. I loved how much he cared for his family. He was so kind but there were definitely times when he annoyed me. He made some pretty questionable decisions & did not use common sense.

There was also a wonderful set of side characters! They really helped make this story laugh out loud funny. I particularly loved Teddy!

The romance was perfect to me. I loved Bee & Nolan together. Their banter and the way that they were huge fans of each other was adorable. Don’t let this very cute cover fool you though, this book is hot! Things get steamy and I enjoyed every second it! That church scene…yes please!

Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone make an incredible writing team! I’m hoping there will be more to come from them in the future. Maybe companions that feature the other members of INK?? I’d love to read that!

This book was so freaking delightful! I loved every second that I was reading it. A Merry Little Meet Cute had spice, emotion, humor, quirky loveable characters, and Christmas themed strip clubs. It was just so much fun to read.

The story is set against the backdrop of the creation of a Christmas themed historical romance movie for a squeaky clean network. A freak accident leaves the movie without a heroine and many crew members. The movie’s producer has a (relatively secret) past in porn production, and with the film at risk, he decides to bring in some of his porn industry friends to save the day. Hijinks ensue, and it is absolutely hilarious.

The hero is Nolan Shaw, a former boy bander who’s manager took all his money and is trying to rehab his image and restart his career. He has a sick mother and teenage sister to worry about. Our hero is Bee Hobbes, a plus sized porn star who goes by the name Bianca Von Honey. She had a major crush on Nolan when she was younger. Bee is excited to have her shot in a mainstream movie role, and is trying to hide her porn past. Interestingly enough, Nolan immediately recognized her and is a huge fan of hers as well.

The characters really shine in this story. I love how layered Bee and Nolan are, and I love how they compliment each other. Their relationship could compromise the movie, and the forbidden aspect raises the already delicious tension. I also love each of their relationships with their families and how sex positive everyone is. The side characters in this book truly shine. They open so many doors for future books, and I want to explore each and every one.

I highly recommend this book!