I somehow didn't know this was about a porn star, so that was a pleasant surprise. Much like in The Roommate, the porn industry is presented positively as sex work, which I think is fine. I don't think it's as successful as The Roommate in the actual romance, though. Bee and Nolan are both performers AND they're both fans of one another with celebrity crushes. This shallow attraction didn't seem like it changed all that much, despite attempts to show that. It is much spicier than The Roommate, but if you're going to introduce sex toys onto the page, you should at least use them. 🤷

This was my first time reading a collab book from Sierra Simone. She & Julie did an amazing job on this story. Love that they tackled subjects that people tend to steer away from. I love that they have a plus sized heroine who is a sex worker. Loved Bee & Nolan. Their chemistry was intense! Hope that Julie & sierra write more books together!

ooooohhhh lawd *fanning myself*…….this book was like if pornhub and hallmark had a baby and I’m not sure how to feel about it. I loved the dual POV, the sweet, smitten feelings of both characters, and that their chemistry is explosive. Smutty books don’t bug me, but some of the vocab used here made me cringe. Overall adorable and worth the moments that made me uncomfortable to read it on an airplane.

Thank you NetGalley & the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was such a fun and witty read! This type of plot could easily be turned into a movie. I appreciate that Bee Hobles was a character that shed light on the sex work community because it’s often looked down upon. Bee is a character that knows her self-worth and I really do admire that. I also love the celebrity trope so the fact that Bee got an acting job with her celebrity crush, Nolan Shaw, was top-tier content for me.

This was so cute! A wonderful romance, filled with witty banter, delightful characters, and just enough steaminess. A must read for romance lovers!

I have read about half of this book, and I am not comfortable with the amount of pornography and sexual references in the novel, so I will not be reviewing this on my account. I do like the small-town Christmas setting, and there are some scenes with the characters that I have enjoyed.

Not gonna lie, I found this to be a bit too long and a tad bit boring, but also, I didn’t hate it.

Perhaps my expectations were too high, or maybe it really was the length of the book, but I really wanted to love this and I’m sad I’m not typing in all caps right now in adoration.

The romance was also not really doing it for me? I mean, two weeks? It was giving more “you’re my fantasy” than it was “I’m in love with you”, you know? I mean, I’d claim love if I ever came face to face with my favorite pornstar, but would I already hear wedding bells?? Hmm.

Ok ok, I did say I didn’t hate this and I didn’t! It was pretty hot, but nothing to reach my bedside table over. I think a lot of people will really love this though, and I really hope they do!

The premise of this rom com is totally unique and one I haven't read before -- a very successful porn-star and a former Boy Band personality end up starring in a Christmas movie.

This is one of the funnier books in this genre that I have read -- it had me laughing and smiling throughout. I adored both Bee and Nolan and the supporting characters are all great as well - very memorable, and I found myself missing everyone when I finished.

The setting for this is a perpetual Christmas town, called Christmas Notch, in Vermont. The setting was one of my favorite parts - I could visualize Christmas Notch so well, all the different parts of the movie set as well as the town itself.

The sex in this book is pretty detailed and if that's not for you, definitely skip this one!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

Another masterpiece with bisexual disasters at the helm! 🥰

I had so much fun reading A MERRY LITTLE MEET CUTE by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in since I know both of these writers write varying levels of romance but wow, I was surprised.

This book is full of sex positivity and utter confidence. And the Christmas vibes were everything I never knew I needed! There was so much chemistry between Bee and Nolan and I could’ve read their antics for the rest of my days. All the shenanigans I could’ve wanted did happen and because of their chemistry - the smut was up there, for sure!

I can’t wait until everyone gets a copy in their hand because I just adored this one so much!

I wanted to enjoy this more than I did. I was so tired of reading slow burns and I enjoyed reading these two be almost immediately hot for each other but ultimately it fell short for me.


I liked that Bree and Nolan were pretty well versed in who the other was - didn’t have to waste time with “wow who is this mysterious person that I’m drawn to” (he revealed he knew who she was pretty quickly and she didn’t even flinch - much of the conflict is like that). They both had a parasocial relationship with the other - he, former boy band bad boy she was obsessed with and her, a porn star he subscribes to - so they knew they were attracted to each other before they even met. If that sounds like fanfic, it’s because it reads a lot like fanfic (there are references to fic in the story as well). I liked the premise of them filming a movie together. I love made for tv Christmas movies although maybe that skewed how I felt about how the story came together.

There was so much seemingly going on in Nolan’s exterior life to the point where his phone interrupted his work. He probably could have found another job doing something else and supported his family just fine. Not much seemed to be going on with Bree other than wanting to act which is fine, I don’t need angst and drama for every character, but I wanted more from her as a character. I also thought it was odd that her moms would want physical copies of her porn scenes (not to watch, of course). There was something about the writing that bugged me. For Bree and Nolan to get to actually know each other as people and not as entities that even 50% of the way where they’ve had sex many times I still didn’t feel like they had any real conversations. From there I found myself skimming to get to the juicy bits (I didn’t really care about the movie but I don’t blame the book for that).

Don’t let the cutesy cover fool you, there are at least 4-5 open door scenes within the first 50% (solo or together). I probably would have liked it more if it were a novella, cutting out a lot of the unnecessary and undeveloped side characters because I think I could have really liked Bree and Nolan. I felt like there were constantly new characters being introduced that made me wonder if they’ll be getting their own stories soon? Managers, directors, writers. friends, cast, crew, mothers, sisters, ex-bandmates (one in a severe depression), strippers, you name it - there’s at least one named character covering each of those and they all have dialogue at some point. I couldn’t keep them straight.

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!