Sierra Simone is an author that I really enjoy and although I've heard so much about Julie Murphy, I've never read her work until now. The secret romance between costars was fun. I loved that he was her biggest fan just as much as she was his.

Bee Hobbs is a beautiful plus sized porn star that agrees to help her beloved producer, Teddy Flecther who is trying his hand at producing vanilla (mainstream) films. The female lead has to back out at the last minute and Bee is the new co-star in the film; a Christmas movie for the Hopeflix Channel. Her male lead is former boy band member Nolan Shaw who is attempting to rebrand himself after years of bad boy antics and recent sex scandals by starring in a wholesome Christmas movie. The two meet and sparks fly. She obviously knows who he is but to her surprise he is a fan of hers. They have wonderful chemistry but this book felt like it was a bit too long. Some parts could have been cut and just didn't seem to flow well for me. I'll be honest and say that I've never been a fan of co-authored books and that remains the case after reading this one. The chapters alternate between the two leads which is great but depending on who wrote what can lead to uneven flow.

I loved the puns and one liners, the dive into mental health treatment and how a family is effected, exploration of grief, and more. The way Nolan Shaw, a popular, hot rock star, desires Bee Hobbs, a confident, plus sized woman who owns her sexuality is so sexy. For me this was a rollercoaster read that was at times fun and then flat and then exciting and then meh.

I loooooooved this book! Fun, spicy, and tailor-made for those of us who wish the Hallmark movie MCs would just kiss already!

I went into this book completely blind, & I loved it so much ! I am a huge fan of Christmas romances and this one did not disappoint. I completely fell in love with the characters, especially since there was a good variety of different representations & characters. Such as, LGBTQIA+ rep, Jewish rep, plus size rep, & sex industry rep. I also loved that it has the perfect mix of sweet , cozy Christmasy romance, and smut. It reminded me of a naughty Hallmark Christmas movie. Which is perfect because the premise is about a porn star Bee, who is casted to star in a Hallmark like family movie with her childhood celebrity crush, Nolan Shaw. Nolan is known as being the bad boy in his boy-band and is working on changing his image. Bee runs a successful ClosedDoors account, (similar to an OnlyFans account) which Nolan is subscribed to and instantly recognizes her. The chemistry & sexual tension is crazy, especially because both are oblivious to the effect the other has on them. The forbidden romance aspect was the cherry on top to this steamy love story!

It was the perfect read for Christmas in July. If you enjoy holiday romance & smut, this one is for you! Also, if you’ve enjoyed any of Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone’s books, you’ll definitely want to check this one out!

You can expect:
* Plus Size Heroine
* LGBTQIA+ rep
* Forbidden Romance
* Open Door Romance (Multiple Scenes, Explicit)
* Bi Heroine & Hero
* Hilarious Banter
* Forced Proximity
* Christmas Romance
* Sex Positive Characters

A Merry Little Meet Cute
by Julie Murphy; Sierra Simone
Pub Date: September 20, 2022
Avon
Thanks to the authors, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
Cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Murphy and USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone—a steamy plus-size holiday rom-com about an adult film star who is semi-accidentally cast as a lead in a family-friendly Christmas movie, and the former bad-boy pop star she falls in love with.
* LGBT
Highly recommended for fans of Rosie Danan, The summer of Christmas by Juliet Giglio, or The close up by Sarah Smith.Definitely not your typical closed-door, "clean" Hallmark movie-Esque romcom, this book packed a punch featuring Bee Hobbes (aka Bianca Von Honey), a plus-size adult film star who is trying to break into the mainstream film industry, and Nolan Shaw, a former Rockstar trying to reform his bad-boy image by starring in a wholesome Holiday movie. Not my favorite book. 3 stars

Don’t let this cutesy cover fool you. This is 🥵! Bee is a porn star and Nolan is a former bad boy of pop music. Together they are trying to make a Christmas movie for the Hope Channel. It’s spicy and hilarious while being heartfelt. 4 stars, loved it. Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC. Happy Christmas in July!!

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***