Well I was NOT expecting this book. Honestly, it was hilariously refreshing and amazingly fun to read.

A Merry Little Meet Cute is the absolute perfect holiday read! It’s cute, sweet, with just the right amount of naughty 😈

What would you do if you had the opportunity to film a sweet Christmas movie with your celebrity crush?? Bee & Nolan get to do just that💕 and maybe a bit more😉

Definitely gets “Five out of five Yule logs”😍

Fave scene:
I squeezed gently on Whitneigh Houston’s ribcage with my legs as I took a deep breath and forced my body to push through the anxiety and become a woman in love who couldn’t be more thrilled to be riding a murder beast through a snowy valley as her love interest playfully chased after her on his own murder beast.—-poor Bee her fear is real but y’all ‘murder beast’😝

#AMerryLittleMeetCute #NetGalley

It is so stinking cute!

There is nothing not to like about this book. Everyone loves Christmas, even the grinch grew to love it.

Nolan Shaw or Kowalczk if you want to use his non-stage name was the bad boy in the boy band INK. Now he’s turning his hand at a bit of acting and he’s going to be a duke in a period drama. Of course I’m imagining that sexy piece of ass in Bridgerton (I mean Anthony). Fall front breaches should definitely be back in fashion.

Nolan hits the jackpot when his co-star is replaced at the last minute by the girl of his dreams, Bee Hobbes, also known as Bianca Von Honey. She’s a glorious plus sized model and porn star. Bee is beautiful. Oh those lush curves. She owns them! Oh to be Bee!

Sierra and Julie have written a lovely heart warming book, full of gingerbread goodness and candy canes and, dimples and corsets. If only Duke The Halls was an actual film, I would absolutely watch it. Again and again and again. God I love breaches and corsets and buxom girls with peachy soft curves.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: death of a parent (past), parent with bipolar disorder, fat phobia, biphobia, threat of revenge porn (past), tabloid gossip

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f workplace romance
-insta attraction
-lets bang it out of our systems
-childhood celebrity crush
-mutual pining
-elements of forbidden relationship
-fat, bi, porn star
-bi, former child star

This was such a wonderful escapist read that I enjoyed every moment of. Just the right amount of bonkers of having a pornstar star in a Hallmark-like movie, crew needing replacing and of course replaced by members of the porn filming crew. In a small town. And two people who have been lusting after each other for years and are supposed to be living quiet celibate lives. It is a recipe of disaster, romance, and epicness.

All tied in was a gorgeous story of body positivity, sex positivity, amazing secondary characters, and so much sexual chemistry. Bee and Nolan were alike in so many ways, trying to figure out a new path in life, prioritizing family, and in complete denial they were falling for the other. Every moment of them together, filming, trying to pretend they weren't wildly attracted to the other, just filled with so much laughter and heart.

This book also deals with some heavy topics with ease and sensitivity. Nolan's mom's mental health diagnosis, the responsibilities he felt for his family, how he and his former bandmates were dealing with fame, how the world treats sex workers and people who don't fit within the typical Hollywood expectations.

A wonderful holiday romance, full of heart, steam, and laughs, I'm hoping this is the first in a series.


Steam: 3.75

This book was so cute and quite frankly exactly what I needed. A sweet, romantic story of two unlikely people trying to overcome the views the world has of them and how they see themselves. Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone did a wonderful job telling this story from the characters to the plot - it was a joy from beginning to end.

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. 🖤