Ahh I am so disappointing that A Merry Little Meet Cute didn't work for me! I love Julie Murphy and was excited to see what she does with adult, but I found the character one dimensional and too sex-focused. I don't know how else to put it!

I loved the set up of this one though and I watched a few interviews with Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone and I love their friendship!

This was a fun and cute romance! I loved reading a story about a plus sized FMC that was loved without excuses about her body, and it was great to see all the positivity towards her work in adult films. I enjoyed the overall arc of the story and really liked the funny banter between the characters.

Reader - you need to know this is STEAMY, SPICY, SMUTTY.
Having never read a book from Sierra Simone I wasn't quite sure what I was getting myself into. LOL
With that said, I did enjoy the writing! I liked the story, although I found it to be a little long. I liked the setting and characters, for the most part. I LOVED the body and sex positivity that this book radiates. LOVE LOVE LOVED!

I love these authors, and loved the idea of this...but I couldn't enjoy this one very much.

I am not sure if it was the pushing of the h's size, or just not being able to connect to the characters? I unfortunately didn't care for this one.

I dove into this book (audiobook) without knowing what to expect. I enjoyed reading this one. The storyline is a bit typical, but the characters were well developed and their experiences were real even though we rarely see has been pop stars and plus sized porn stars acting in movies together. Don't get me wrong, it does happen in Hollywood, but the story portrays these characters as real people with real struggles.

This was a bit odd as it was not what I expected from Julie Murphy. I think i ignored the: a steamy plus-size holiday rom-com from the description so I was really surprised by how steamy it is. IT is funny it is a very juxtaposed setting because you have basically a porn star in a wholesome Xmas setting, but it is very open door so be forewarned. As a Hallmark movie lover I enjoyed it, a predictable but nice story, but It was not the best holiday book I read this year, not even close. What did I like: I liked the characters, their flaws were evident but cool and were more nuanced than expected. The story was a bit far fetched, but major points for body positivity empowerment.

I liked the premise of this book and think if it’s done right it could be really good, but I didn’t like the execution of it. A lot of the wording was really cringey and it seemed unrealistic for a holiday romance which is saying a lot. I think overall the book was too long and for being as long as it was, it was also really boring. I wanted to like it, but it was hard to.

This one was okay, but if you don't follow adult film industry, like me, you may not enjoy all the references and insider knowledge about it. A lot of the story line seemed cheesy and not authentic to me. I couldn't really connect with the main character Bee. It was refreshing to see a plus-size heroine in the story though.

I gave this 3.5 stars. I did really enjoy the book but didn't love it. My favorite thing about it was Bee's character. I very much enjoyed her and her story. I loved that she was true to herself and that she was sticking to her dream. Also, all of her friends were hilarious and added a great comical aspect to the story.

I also really loved the representation in this book. Mostly the mental health rep and showing the true life of what individuals that have bipolar go through. I have multiple family members that have bipolar disorder and everything in this book was spot on in how their medications are, the highs & the lows, and more. I really really appreciated that and I hope people take that out of this book along with a good romance storyline.

When it comes to Nolan, i did feel for him and his backstory. And also everything he was juggling in his life while filming the movie. I also really loved reading how he made Bee feel. He boosted her and lifted her up whenever she felt self-conscious and i LOVED it.

Oh and the epilogue was very cute!

Holy smokes what a ride that Sierra and Julie take us on!! Merry Little Meet Cute was delightful at times, irreverent at others and as they describe it a definite raunch-com! I love the world they have created and the characters!! Oh these characters were absolutely amazing and fun and all that. Bee and Nolan were fire together! You have to read this!!

This was a DNF for me. I just couldn't get into the story. I was bored.

Thank You NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The more I think about this book, the more I love it. We follow two adorable (to me) bi main character, both of which have secrets the want to keep hidden.

Bee, porn star/cam girl, wants to act in mainstream movies and finally gets a break in this (may as well be) Hallmark Christmas movie, produced by her current boss (also porn producer wanting to go into mainstream). The moment I was introduced to Bee I fell in love! She is the sunshine woman of my dreams. Confident in her plus size body, head-strong and knows what she wants! Then we meet Nolan! Ex-boy band bad boy wanting to turn a squeaky-clean leaf, and what's a more perfect way to do that than star in a sweet, wholesome Christmas movie!? He was another character I fell in love with almost immediately. Although he could come across as a jerk at times, I couldn't help but think of him as a sweet, misunderstood boy... who just also happened to be a bad boy, but still misunderstood lol

Trust me when I say antics ensured as they get closer and closer! Their romance (and smut) was believable. I could feeling their pull towards each other and the tension!

But it wasn't just the two mains I loved. The side characters were interesting and had depth - I'd love to follow a few of their romances!

The audiobook was well done. Joy Nash and Sebastian York made Bew and Nolan believable and gave then the depth and personality you want from a smutty RomCom.

I really could gush for hours about this one right now! I was worried that I had fallen into a Holiday book slump, but this is what I've been waiting for! If you love Hallmark Christmas movies and Christmas book, but wanting to up the anti-so-to-speak, then you will love this one!

I'm waiting for my physical copy and I will be tempted to immediately reread it!

Fun and steamy story- I would love to watch the movie being made! This wasn't so much a Christmas book- more of a book set during Christmas time.

I have some ambiguous thoughts after reading this.

It had a total wholesome Hallmark movie meets Fans Only vine and I surprisingly loved the juxtaposition! The spice level of this one was off the charts but I must say I didn’t think it was too much and worked well with the overall theme!

I loved Murphy’s focus on body positivity in If the Shoe Fits and this one is no different! I applaud her & Simone for taking it even further in writing such a sex positive plot as well.

Now what didn’t work for me. While it’s not a long list, it was mostly just because of the length. I prefer my RomComs short and sweet and this one being over 400 pages started to feel pretty dragged out and unnecessary.

Overall it was still a fun and entertaining holiday romance!

3.5 stars rounded to 4

✨ ARC Review ✨
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Thank you to Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone and Netgalley for the ARC to review.
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A Merry Little Meet Cute was so good. The storyline took my by surprise (I never read the blurbs) but it was so good. This book was a little spicy, sweet, and a whole bunch of fun. I loved Nolan and Bee. Their chemistry was off the charts and their story was so cute. I loved their mutual obsession for each other. I loved the body positivity and acceptance in this book. All the characters were unique and I loved them all. The ending was so sweet and definitely left me with a smile.
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I think this book was going to be a little bit too spicy for me and I wasn't sure if I would be able to get into it. I also am a mood reader and will get back to this at Christmas time next year.

DNF - I tried a few times to read this and I just couldn't get into the story. I think that the cover sucked me in even when I had doubts because my reading preferences have changed so much. I just adore Sierra Simone and really wanted to read and love this, so I'm actually sad.

*2 Star because I have to give a rating and the cover itself is worthy of 2 stars

“I don’t need you to love me in private. I need you to love me in public for the whole world to see.”

Bee and Nolan. He’s a former boy-band bad boy that’s trying to fix his reputation after a scandal. She’s an adult film star that’s accidentally been cast to replace the lead role in a family holiday film and must hide who she really is. The only problem is that Nolan is familiar with Bee’s work and they’re both not allowed to get involved with anyone.

❄️READ IF YOU LIKE❄️:
- dual POV
- childhood crush to co-stars
- forbidden romance
- Christmas movie
- friends with benefits (secretly)
- adult film star x former boy-band bad boy
- LGBTQ+, body positivity & mental health rep
- Vermont setting
- gingerbread lotion

cw: death of loved one, fatphobia, slut shaming,

Thank you to @netgalley and @avonbooks for the advanced copy! A Merry Little Meet Cute is now available!

This book was an interesting combination of sweet and steamy. There was a lot of interesting commentary to me - with the narrative around overweight heroines, both a bisexual hero and heroine, celebrities and the scandals that surround them, and also on sex workers - and specifically sex workers as a hero or heroine in a romance. It was a cute holiday read too and was really centered around Christmas since it was about them making essentially a Hallmark Christmas movie right before the holidays. I liked it and it was definitely super steamy but I can't say anything about it really stood out to me as outstanding.

A Merry Little Meet Cute was a wonderful book. I loved the characters and the plot. Would highly recommend.