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A Christmas Notch #1
A Merry Little Meet Cute
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.
Bee Hobbes (aka Bianca Von Honey) has a successful career as a plus-size adult film star. With a huge following and two supportive moms, Bee couldn’t ask for more. But when Bee’s favorite producer casts her to star in a Christmas movie he’s making for the squeaky-clean Hope Channel, Bee’s career is about to take a more family-friendly direction.
Forced to keep her work as Bianca under wraps, Bee quickly learns this is a task a lot easier said than done. Though it all becomes worthwhile when she discovers her co-star is none other than childhood crush Nolan Shaw, an ex-boy band member in desperate need of career rehab. Nolan’s promised his bulldog manager to keep it zipped up on set, and he will if it means he’ll be able to provide a more stable living situation for his sister and mom.
But things heat up quickly in Christmas Notch, Vermont, when Nolan recognizes his new co-star from her ClosedDoors account (oh yeah, he’s a member). Now Bee and Nolan are sneaking off for quickies on set, keeping their new relationship a secret from the Hope Channel’s execs. Things only get trickier when the reporter who torpedoed Nolan’s singing career comes snooping around—and takes an instant interest in mysterious newcomer Bee.
And if Bee and Nolan can’t keep their off-camera romance behind the scenes, then this merry little meet cute might end up on the cutting room floor.
Bee Hobbes (aka Bianca Von Honey) has a successful career as a plus-size adult film star. With a huge following and two supportive moms, Bee couldn’t ask for more. But when Bee’s favorite producer casts her to star in a Christmas movie he’s making for the squeaky-clean Hope Channel, Bee’s career is about to take a more family-friendly direction.
Forced to keep her work as Bianca under wraps, Bee quickly learns this is a task a lot easier said than done. Though it all becomes worthwhile when she discovers her co-star is none other than childhood crush Nolan Shaw, an ex-boy band member in desperate need of career rehab. Nolan’s promised his bulldog manager to keep it zipped up on set, and he will if it means he’ll be able to provide a more stable living situation for his sister and mom.
But things heat up quickly in Christmas Notch, Vermont, when Nolan recognizes his new co-star from her ClosedDoors account (oh yeah, he’s a member). Now Bee and Nolan are sneaking off for quickies on set, keeping their new relationship a secret from the Hope Channel’s execs. Things only get trickier when the reporter who torpedoed Nolan’s singing career comes snooping around—and takes an instant interest in mysterious newcomer Bee.
And if Bee and Nolan can’t keep their off-camera romance behind the scenes, then this merry little meet cute might end up on the cutting room floor.
418 pages, Hardcover
First published September 20, 2022
About the author
Julie Murphy
35 books6,299 followersJulie Murphy lives in North Texas with her husband who loves her and her cats who tolerate her. After several wonderful years in the library world, Julie now writes full-time.
When she’s not writing or reliving her reference desk glory days, she can be found watching made-for-TV movies, hunting for the perfect slice of cheese pizza, and planning her next great travel adventure.
She is also the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the young adult novels Dumplin’ (now a film on Netflix), Puddin’, Pumpkin, Ramona Blue, and Side Effects May Vary. Her middle grade novels include Dear Sweat Pea and a forthcoming 2023 title. She is also Disney's If The Shoe Fits, a modern day romcom retelling of Cinderella. Her writing partner is Sierra Simone and their romance debut is A Merry Little Meet Cute.
Julie has been featured in places liek Good Morning America, The New York Times, and Teen Vogue. Dumplin' was also named one of the best young adult books of all time by Time Magazine.
When she’s not writing or reliving her reference desk glory days, she can be found watching made-for-TV movies, hunting for the perfect slice of cheese pizza, and planning her next great travel adventure.
She is also the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the young adult novels Dumplin’ (now a film on Netflix), Puddin’, Pumpkin, Ramona Blue, and Side Effects May Vary. Her middle grade novels include Dear Sweat Pea and a forthcoming 2023 title. She is also Disney's If The Shoe Fits, a modern day romcom retelling of Cinderella. Her writing partner is Sierra Simone and their romance debut is A Merry Little Meet Cute.
Julie has been featured in places liek Good Morning America, The New York Times, and Teen Vogue. Dumplin' was also named one of the best young adult books of all time by Time Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 8,604 reviews
November 11, 2022
When did rom coms stop being allowed to simply be rom coms? I’ve been blaming myself for disliking all of the things, but I really don’t think it’s my fault. I want to read these for the cutesie covers and titles, a bit of the slap and tickle (whether fully monty or fade-to-black style), instalove, tired tropes, witty banter, a frustrating break-up/make-up sesh and a happily forever or for now (hopefully without the addition of a whoopsie pregnancy to harsh my endorphin buzz).
What am I ending up with recently? Bait and switch. No other way to call it. So let’s go down the bullet points of why this highly anticipated release is landing on the Naughty List - and spoiler alert - it ain't for the pornstar sexytimes!
1. First, the title. There is no “meet cute” involved.
2. Second, 418 mothafuggin’ pages? Christ on a cracker!
3. Third, the holiday movie premise of a would be bride who doesn’t believe in the spirit of Christmas gets sent back in time by a witch, meets a duke and falls in love? No one in the universe would watch that. Hallmark (or the Hope Channel, as it’s called here) has a formula: tightass corporate broad/dude gets sent to take over a town and falls for not only the daughter/son of the owner of the lodge/tree farm/whatever but the entire idea of small-town living and leaves corporate life behind to wear Fair Isle sweaters and Ugg Boots 364 days of the year. The end. 12 Stars from Kelly if D.J. from Full House is the leading lady.
4. Fourth, as a fat person I am 100000000% into body positivity, inclusion, diversity, whatever you want to label it. But as far as I’m concerned, the only way to normalize fat being okay is to stop beating readers over the head with the flipping’ fat talk. Say the character is fat and then just let them be a regular fucking person. Because we are. Fat authors should realize that more than anyone.
5. Fifth, having a character (who really is pretty much off-screen the entire time and whose only purpose is to bring up mental health (see my opening paragraph above about rom coms just being rom coms FFS) with bipolar disorder who is presented as completely unable to function on her own without her son’s and the government’s assistance (but who has a teenage daughter whose life is miserable due to her inability to manage her medical condition) is a pretty disgusting approach to what mental health disorders truly are like. While there are people who need a little more assistance than others, an overwhelming majority are able to hold down jobs, or raise their children, or at least could survive a few days on their own without calling their adult son eleventy-seven times per day while he's working.
6. Sixth, the little things:
(a) The porny cat is gonna get outta the bag. Unless the time traveling witch curse from the fake movie premise also eliminated the intertubes from existence. There should have been some semblance of a plan on what to do when it happened. Or at least put Bee in a wig or glasses or something as an attempt to disguise her identity.
(b) Any former boy band member whose ring tone IS HIS OWN G.D. SONG is a douchecanoe. Do not pass Go. Do not even think about getting in my underwears.
(c) I’m pretty sure you don’t need lotion in the shower to jerk off. Wouldn’t you just use soap or shampoo or conditioner???? Do I not know how sex things work? Don’t answer that. It’s probably a yes.
(d) And speaking of lotion. FOURTEEN mentions of jerking off with gingerbread lotion. Dear Bath and Body Works: It’s Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone’s fault I will never again buy one of your holiday scents.
So there you go. 2 Stars instead of 1 because I'm in the holiday spirit . . .
Read
November 25, 2022i'm bored
December 4, 2023
Sarcastic, smart, entertaining creative mind of Julie Murphy is teaming up with steamy, stimulating, sexy, tempting writing of Sierra Simone and voila: here’s the most enjoyable and delicious combination of romcom meets semi-steamy erotic romance!
The characterization was the most strong element of the book: both MCs aced! Bee Hobbes a.k.a. Bianca von Honey: riding adult movie star and ClosedDoors’ most subscribed beauty finds herself in a Holidayflix’s Christmas movie about time traveling English gentleman and a modern girl’s love story who experiences true Christmas spirit as they fall for each other. ( reminding of us Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman’s Kate& Leopold)
Bee wants a chance to act at romcoms to give her two moms a chance to talk about her real work without sugarcoating as movie gigs. When she hears her long time crush- ex boy band star- bad boy Nolan Shaw is her co-star, she cannot believe in her luck!
Nolan was successful musician till their Ink Band manager siphoned entire group’s money and disappeared. After the last epic scandal about his orgy with Olympic skaters, he has to fix his tarnished reputation because secretly working at the back stages of local theater projects doesn’t pay enough to compensate his family’s expanses.
He has to support his family : his mother who is still grieving his father, suffering from bipolar needs his help and his little sister who needs to be taken care of!
He needs this movie gig so bad to find more gigs for steady income. But when realizes his co-star is the same woman he’s been obsessed for three years as Bianca vim Honey, his agent’s strict rules about staying away trouble will be more challenging than he expected!
The chemistry between them can put entire small village into flames. How both of them resist to sneak off for quickies, hiding their relationship as secret? If their secret comes out, both of their careers can be ruined!
I have to say: Teddy Ray Fletcher definitely deserved his own book! A producer who is financing adult films having hard time to differentiate his alter Uncle Ray-Ray identity and his Teddy Fletcher- romcom producer act who finances sweet Hallmark-ish holiday movies. I loved to read more about his eccentric back story and his interesting, entertaining family members. ( We already met Angel and I’d like to read the stories about his other family members) He’s definitely secret weapon of the book!
Overall: Sierra’s naughty, stimulating, steamy power combine with ultra entertaining, smart and sweet mind of Murphy! The result is amazing! I had so much fun and wonderful time! I think I’m so open to read sequels! I’d like to read other Ink members’ stories as well!
So many thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager to make my entire week by sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.
The characterization was the most strong element of the book: both MCs aced! Bee Hobbes a.k.a. Bianca von Honey: riding adult movie star and ClosedDoors’ most subscribed beauty finds herself in a Holidayflix’s Christmas movie about time traveling English gentleman and a modern girl’s love story who experiences true Christmas spirit as they fall for each other. ( reminding of us Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman’s Kate& Leopold)
Bee wants a chance to act at romcoms to give her two moms a chance to talk about her real work without sugarcoating as movie gigs. When she hears her long time crush- ex boy band star- bad boy Nolan Shaw is her co-star, she cannot believe in her luck!
Nolan was successful musician till their Ink Band manager siphoned entire group’s money and disappeared. After the last epic scandal about his orgy with Olympic skaters, he has to fix his tarnished reputation because secretly working at the back stages of local theater projects doesn’t pay enough to compensate his family’s expanses.
He has to support his family : his mother who is still grieving his father, suffering from bipolar needs his help and his little sister who needs to be taken care of!
He needs this movie gig so bad to find more gigs for steady income. But when realizes his co-star is the same woman he’s been obsessed for three years as Bianca vim Honey, his agent’s strict rules about staying away trouble will be more challenging than he expected!
The chemistry between them can put entire small village into flames. How both of them resist to sneak off for quickies, hiding their relationship as secret? If their secret comes out, both of their careers can be ruined!
I have to say: Teddy Ray Fletcher definitely deserved his own book! A producer who is financing adult films having hard time to differentiate his alter Uncle Ray-Ray identity and his Teddy Fletcher- romcom producer act who finances sweet Hallmark-ish holiday movies. I loved to read more about his eccentric back story and his interesting, entertaining family members. ( We already met Angel and I’d like to read the stories about his other family members) He’s definitely secret weapon of the book!
Overall: Sierra’s naughty, stimulating, steamy power combine with ultra entertaining, smart and sweet mind of Murphy! The result is amazing! I had so much fun and wonderful time! I think I’m so open to read sequels! I’d like to read other Ink members’ stories as well!
So many thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager to make my entire week by sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.
December 29, 2023
1 ⭐️ I would rather eat coal than subject myself to listening to or reading this book again.
*DNF at 65% but skipped ahead to figure out how the conflict and resolution played out.
I cannot stand this book, but I really tried. I listened to the first 40% on audiobook (didn’t like it but thought maybe it was the narrators). So I switched to the physical book, and . . . OMG. . . it was so much worse. I thought maybe I needed to give it some time, but nope. Besides the fact I can read these sentences coherently, I don’t like a single thing about this story.
1. The plot, characters, and romance are all boring and unbelievable.
2. The setting itself fucking annoying. I'm all for a holiday-themed town but there is a North Pole strip club with a stripper called Prancer....I just cannot believe this story is meant to be taken seriously.
3. The way Nolan is constantly objectifying Bee during his inner dialogue made me want to punch him in the face. Yes, she's the film star you've been masturbating to for the last 6 years, but she's more than her body, you disgusting POS.
4. And the smut was cringe and sex scenes are written so clunkily I legit can’t believe this was meant to be taken seriously. There was zero sensuality! Everything from the words chosen to the actual vibe of the scene completely pulled me out of the story. Examples:
I’m sorry, but please refrain from referring to her vagina as a well and her clit as a button. 🤮
Christmas has officially been ruined for me.
So Bee is basically a “D(ick)mentor” (HP fans may get this lol)
Using the word spear. Immediately no.
5. This story is way too wordy. This is just as bad as a shitty hallmark film, except it is 400 pages long, so you end up spending 7 hours immersed in this god-forsaken Christmas story. There are way many annoying descriptions, unnecessary dialogue with side characters, and repetitive inner dialogue. Legit, this story could have been cut down to 250 pages because it’s just so fucking unnecessarily wordy.
6. The conflict at the end was extremely predictable. I'm so glad I skimmed so I didn't waste another 150 pages to figure out that ending.
The one-star rating is harsh and purely based on my visceral feelings toward this book. I don’t know why I hate it so much. Logically I know it’s written fine, like, I could actually read it, and it made sense, but I just didn’t like it.
*DNF at 65% but skipped ahead to figure out how the conflict and resolution played out.
I cannot stand this book, but I really tried. I listened to the first 40% on audiobook (didn’t like it but thought maybe it was the narrators). So I switched to the physical book, and . . . OMG. . . it was so much worse. I thought maybe I needed to give it some time, but nope. Besides the fact I can read these sentences coherently, I don’t like a single thing about this story.
1. The plot, characters, and romance are all boring and unbelievable.
2. The setting itself fucking annoying. I'm all for a holiday-themed town but there is a North Pole strip club with a stripper called Prancer....I just cannot believe this story is meant to be taken seriously.
3. The way Nolan is constantly objectifying Bee during his inner dialogue made me want to punch him in the face. Yes, she's the film star you've been masturbating to for the last 6 years, but she's more than her body, you disgusting POS.
4. And the smut was cringe and sex scenes are written so clunkily I legit can’t believe this was meant to be taken seriously. There was zero sensuality! Everything from the words chosen to the actual vibe of the scene completely pulled me out of the story. Examples:
“Her wet arousal coated my fingertips as I searched for the tight well between her legs and then skimmed back up to the needy button at the top.”
I’m sorry, but please refrain from referring to her vagina as a well and her clit as a button. 🤮
“She was slippery, wet enough to glisten from the light of the Christmas tree in the corner…”
Christmas has officially been ruined for me.
“Bee Hobbes was sucking my soul out through my dick.”
So Bee is basically a “D(ick)mentor” (HP fans may get this lol)
“He dug his fingers into my hips and prepared to spear my wet cunt with his dick.”
Using the word spear. Immediately no.
5. This story is way too wordy. This is just as bad as a shitty hallmark film, except it is 400 pages long, so you end up spending 7 hours immersed in this god-forsaken Christmas story. There are way many annoying descriptions, unnecessary dialogue with side characters, and repetitive inner dialogue. Legit, this story could have been cut down to 250 pages because it’s just so fucking unnecessarily wordy.
6. The conflict at the end was extremely predictable. I'm so glad I skimmed so I didn't waste another 150 pages to figure out that ending.
The one-star rating is harsh and purely based on my visceral feelings toward this book. I don’t know why I hate it so much. Logically I know it’s written fine, like, I could actually read it, and it made sense, but I just didn’t like it.
Shelved as 'dnf'
December 27, 2022For a book that follows a pornstar, this was… yawn worthy.
53% in and I could not tell you what happened. I should feel something for the both of them by this point. But this was slow moving in an uneventful way.
I think them trying to make a Christmas movie ruined the story for me, because otherwise it had interesting elements.
•A plus-size pornstar wanting to be an actress.
•A washed-up musician trying to turn his life around for his family and having to look after his mother who deals with bipolar disorder.
I much rather that part of his life been delved into and seeing more of what life for a plus-size pornstar is like and what made her get into it in the first place.
The Christmas movie was useless.
And since the story surrounded that plot-line, it felt pointless to continue on. Because I really and truly did not care for it.
DNF at 53%.
53% in and I could not tell you what happened. I should feel something for the both of them by this point. But this was slow moving in an uneventful way.
I think them trying to make a Christmas movie ruined the story for me, because otherwise it had interesting elements.
•A plus-size pornstar wanting to be an actress.
•A washed-up musician trying to turn his life around for his family and having to look after his mother who deals with bipolar disorder.
I much rather that part of his life been delved into and seeing more of what life for a plus-size pornstar is like and what made her get into it in the first place.
The Christmas movie was useless.
And since the story surrounded that plot-line, it felt pointless to continue on. Because I really and truly did not care for it.
DNF at 53%.
November 29, 2022
this had such an amazing concept but the execution didn’t do it for me 😭
i adored all of the different dynamics of the characters + the inclusivity. i also loved having a plus sized porn star as the mc. ✨
i just got so bored throughout the book, maybe if it was shorter i would’ve liked it more? i also just didn’t feel bee & nolan’s connection and love. the plot concept was great tho. and the spice? incredible.
and if i read the words “gingerbread lotion” ever again.. it will still be too soon.
i adored all of the different dynamics of the characters + the inclusivity. i also loved having a plus sized porn star as the mc. ✨
i just got so bored throughout the book, maybe if it was shorter i would’ve liked it more? i also just didn’t feel bee & nolan’s connection and love. the plot concept was great tho. and the spice? incredible.
and if i read the words “gingerbread lotion” ever again.. it will still be too soon.
June 11, 2023
✨They forgot the figging pudding.✨
They also forgot to use any of the lube and toys—mentioned SO MANY TIMES—together??? And it barely even teased ass play. I’m so confuckingfused. It had more fade to black situations than I would’ve thought and idk it wasn’t that steamy. It was steamy but I truly didn’t know who the two people having sex were—he went deep, but the connection was shallow and the book was majorly surface-level. There wasn’t any tension as they’d both been horny for each other for the past several years. The only real tension was him finding out it was her he’d been subscribing too, but that was over so fast.
I think eliminating his POV would’ve done wonders for the plot. I simply did not enjoy anything about his POV sections. Also not knowing he subscribed to her until the end would’ve been balls to the wall better than the premature revelation we got. I also just didn’t like him very much. He seemed kinda like a cardboard cutout. I think I would’ve been way more into the mystery of him than him him.
This book is 384 pages (hardcover edition) and it’s about 150 too long. They had like zero meaningful, memorable conversations. A lot of the book was inner monologue—Inner monologue that didn’t really differ from POV to POV. Without the chapter indicators, they could’ve been the same person thinking. There wasn’t enough sex for me to read 350+ pages of it, nor was there enough plot. Again, why tease us with toys and anal? Why? All I want for Christmas is exceeded expectations my lord. I think it tried to “A Novel” itself into a near 400 page book.
The plot set-up was super fun and I liked Bee, and the representation felt super natural and just really nice to read about. The part where she was sucking in and his response to it was superb. I also really liked this quote: “I never knew my body could feel like it was made for someone else.”
However, it just lost major steam for me even before 50%. The Christmas town and those puns were funny, but it didn’t even really make me want Christmas. The ending and the drama was just lackluster, since it was expected and foolish especially for two people TRYING TO BE SECRETIVE. Like the root cause of it was just so unnecessary and illogical. The writing style also wasn’t really for me but I could’ve ignored that for layered characters and maybe a different break-up catalyst.
I will say, I’d sell my soul for the movie they were shooting PLUS sex with modern toys. Like fuck his 1800s ducal world up with the Hitachi girl. Like if the book was the time travel plot of that movie plus raunchy sex, then we’d be talking. Also the cover is super ducking cute I’d totally jingle its bells. I’ll probably end up buying this purely for the cover.
⭐️⭐️.5/5 🌶🌶🌶.5*/5
*It was steamy but I didn’t really feel their connection nor did I really care that they were having sex. There were maybe four full scenes? I’m really not sure. It’s probably a 3.75🌶 but again I just didn’t care. Him watching her videos online in a separate room was way hotter than them together. And yes I know figging doesn’t make sense for this book but I had to do it for the pun of it all.
Also who the fuck put the Olympics in Duluth, Minnesota lmaoo.
Also I despised that he used gingerbread soap to jerk off. I’ve been horrified of the stuff ever since my grandma had Bath & Body gingerbread man hand soap. I spent the night oscillating between wanting to vomit and wanting to saw my own hands off with a rusty butter knife.
Thank you to the publisher for an eArc via NetGalley! All opinions are honest and my own.
They also forgot to use any of the lube and toys—mentioned SO MANY TIMES—together??? And it barely even teased ass play. I’m so confuckingfused. It had more fade to black situations than I would’ve thought and idk it wasn’t that steamy. It was steamy but I truly didn’t know who the two people having sex were—he went deep, but the connection was shallow and the book was majorly surface-level. There wasn’t any tension as they’d both been horny for each other for the past several years. The only real tension was him finding out it was her he’d been subscribing too, but that was over so fast.
I think eliminating his POV would’ve done wonders for the plot. I simply did not enjoy anything about his POV sections. Also not knowing he subscribed to her until the end would’ve been balls to the wall better than the premature revelation we got. I also just didn’t like him very much. He seemed kinda like a cardboard cutout. I think I would’ve been way more into the mystery of him than him him.
This book is 384 pages (hardcover edition) and it’s about 150 too long. They had like zero meaningful, memorable conversations. A lot of the book was inner monologue—Inner monologue that didn’t really differ from POV to POV. Without the chapter indicators, they could’ve been the same person thinking. There wasn’t enough sex for me to read 350+ pages of it, nor was there enough plot. Again, why tease us with toys and anal? Why? All I want for Christmas is exceeded expectations my lord. I think it tried to “A Novel” itself into a near 400 page book.
The plot set-up was super fun and I liked Bee, and the representation felt super natural and just really nice to read about. The part where she was sucking in and his response to it was superb. I also really liked this quote: “I never knew my body could feel like it was made for someone else.”
However, it just lost major steam for me even before 50%. The Christmas town and those puns were funny, but it didn’t even really make me want Christmas. The ending and the drama was just lackluster, since it was expected and foolish especially for two people TRYING TO BE SECRETIVE. Like the root cause of it was just so unnecessary and illogical. The writing style also wasn’t really for me but I could’ve ignored that for layered characters and maybe a different break-up catalyst.
I will say, I’d sell my soul for the movie they were shooting PLUS sex with modern toys. Like fuck his 1800s ducal world up with the Hitachi girl. Like if the book was the time travel plot of that movie plus raunchy sex, then we’d be talking. Also the cover is super ducking cute I’d totally jingle its bells. I’ll probably end up buying this purely for the cover.
⭐️⭐️.5/5 🌶🌶🌶.5*/5
*It was steamy but I didn’t really feel their connection nor did I really care that they were having sex. There were maybe four full scenes? I’m really not sure. It’s probably a 3.75🌶 but again I just didn’t care. Him watching her videos online in a separate room was way hotter than them together. And yes I know figging doesn’t make sense for this book but I had to do it for the pun of it all.
Also who the fuck put the Olympics in Duluth, Minnesota lmaoo.
Also I despised that he used gingerbread soap to jerk off. I’ve been horrified of the stuff ever since my grandma had Bath & Body gingerbread man hand soap. I spent the night oscillating between wanting to vomit and wanting to saw my own hands off with a rusty butter knife.
Thank you to the publisher for an eArc via NetGalley! All opinions are honest and my own.
October 27, 2022
3 stars
Based on the cover I was looking forward to a sweet holiday rom-com. This wasn’t quite that. There was nothing wrong with this book, it never pulled me in. I love both Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone's writing, but the story just didn't grip me.
Based on the cover I was looking forward to a sweet holiday rom-com. This wasn’t quite that. There was nothing wrong with this book, it never pulled me in. I love both Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone's writing, but the story just didn't grip me.
Audio book source: Libby
Story Rating: 3 stars
Narrators: Joy Nash & Sebastian York
Narration Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 11h 5m
December 6, 2022
Ugh I wanted to love this , I just got bored.. I felt like it was so long for no reason. I loved the idea of the plot but I couldn’t feel the connection between bee & nolan. I wanted more romance tbh. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
December 24, 2022
this was really cute and actually made me laugh out loud a few times! by far the most christmassy book i read this month, and just the right amount of heat vs heart. i'm surprised i liked this so much because i typically cringe at contemporary romances, especially ones containing celebrities as characters, but this really pulled it off. if you can somehow squeeze this into your reading agenda before the 25th, i would definitely recommend.
December 11, 2022
A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Contemporary romance with erotica elements. Dual POV. Romantic comedy.
Nolan, once a childhood pop icon, agrees to play a Duke in a romance movie. He’s trying to restart his career as he juggles his mother’s health issues and his sister’s teen years.
Bee Hobbs is an adult porn star working under the name of Bianca Von Honey. She is cast under her real name by her producer and they hope to keep her porn career separate and secret. But Nolan knows who Bee is immediately and the two soon find their chemistry is combustible.
Steamy and amusing, the antics of Nolan and Bee as they try to keep their relationship private are failing. So much fun as the two try to be discreet yet can’t keep their hands off each other. A Romcom about a Christmas movie without the usual G rating! Lucious and heartwarming. Don’t take it seriously. This is a light hearted romance with a rather unique, but improbable setup.
Contemporary romance with erotica elements. Dual POV. Romantic comedy.
Nolan, once a childhood pop icon, agrees to play a Duke in a romance movie. He’s trying to restart his career as he juggles his mother’s health issues and his sister’s teen years.
Bee Hobbs is an adult porn star working under the name of Bianca Von Honey. She is cast under her real name by her producer and they hope to keep her porn career separate and secret. But Nolan knows who Bee is immediately and the two soon find their chemistry is combustible.
Steamy and amusing, the antics of Nolan and Bee as they try to keep their relationship private are failing. So much fun as the two try to be discreet yet can’t keep their hands off each other. A Romcom about a Christmas movie without the usual G rating! Lucious and heartwarming. Don’t take it seriously. This is a light hearted romance with a rather unique, but improbable setup.
December 8, 2023
We've written several times about how we love made-for-TV (or should that be "made-for-streaming" these days?) Christmas movies, but that they can be a little too chaste for us. So we are probably the perfect audience for A Merry Little Meet Cute, featuring two decidedly unchaste characters currently starring opposite each other in "Duke the Halls." Nolan is a washed up former boy band member trying to clean up his act so he can earn enough money to support his family. Bee is a current sex worker - both as an adult film star and by running her own "ClosedDoors" fan account. Of course Bee is one of Nolan's OG fans, and Nolan is one of Bee's current fans.
As we read, it was fun to imagine that Bee and Nolan exist in a slightly skewed version of our reality, one in which the Winter Olympics took place in Duluth and boy bands created by reality TV shows actually made it big. Also one where our two lovable doofuses of main characters actually believe that the holiday movie aficionado fanbase doesn't interact at all with the adult industry fanbase. Look, is it ridiculous that they believe they're going to get away with making a completely chaste Christmas movie without a single person recognizing Bee from her (quite popular!) CloseDoor account, much less her (even more popular!) adult films? YES, it is ridiculous. But it's ridiculous in the same way that a time traveling ducal romance that teaches you the meaning of Christmas is.
All that is to say we had a TON of fun reading this book and highly recommend it to anyone who can suspend their disbelief for 25 chapters. It's truly an Xxxmas book for anyone who loves romance AND the holidays. (Yeah we've been trying for 3 paragraphs to work that pun in, sorry if it doesn't land.)
38-Word Summaries:
Laine: Bee and Nolan are each other's fantasy crush, and who doesn't love people pretending to fall in love actually falling in love? The G rated Christmas set becomes NC-17 when they figure out reality is even better.
Meg: Nolan is starring in a family-friendly movie to rehabilitate his image. Bee is a sex worker starring opposite him. Somehow no one thinks that viewers of Bee’s stuff and family friendly viewers overlap. Everyone’s a little dumb here.
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.
As we read, it was fun to imagine that Bee and Nolan exist in a slightly skewed version of our reality, one in which the Winter Olympics took place in Duluth and boy bands created by reality TV shows actually made it big. Also one where our two lovable doofuses of main characters actually believe that the holiday movie aficionado fanbase doesn't interact at all with the adult industry fanbase. Look, is it ridiculous that they believe they're going to get away with making a completely chaste Christmas movie without a single person recognizing Bee from her (quite popular!) CloseDoor account, much less her (even more popular!) adult films? YES, it is ridiculous. But it's ridiculous in the same way that a time traveling ducal romance that teaches you the meaning of Christmas is.
All that is to say we had a TON of fun reading this book and highly recommend it to anyone who can suspend their disbelief for 25 chapters. It's truly an Xxxmas book for anyone who loves romance AND the holidays. (Yeah we've been trying for 3 paragraphs to work that pun in, sorry if it doesn't land.)
38-Word Summaries:
Laine: Bee and Nolan are each other's fantasy crush, and who doesn't love people pretending to fall in love actually falling in love? The G rated Christmas set becomes NC-17 when they figure out reality is even better.
Meg: Nolan is starring in a family-friendly movie to rehabilitate his image. Bee is a sex worker starring opposite him. Somehow no one thinks that viewers of Bee’s stuff and family friendly viewers overlap. Everyone’s a little dumb here.
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.
September 19, 2022
I wanted to be able to give this one a higher rating solely because of the inclusion of a fat FMC who also happens to do sex work (like, hell yes, more of this rep) but ultimately the good bits, which were more in concept than any kind of execution, just didn't make up for the rest. And in that sense I mean mostly that this was boring, frustrating, and unbelievable.
While I wish I could've enjoyed the surface level festiveness of a Christmassy/holiday-themed movie being filmed over the holidays, the promised fun and hilarity and tension of both the bad boy ex-boyband member trying to rehab his image paired up with an actual sex worker trying to branch into a different kind of film -- and also stay wholesome so as not to let anyone in on the secret of her career -- just never panned out. This wasn't really fun, there was only some token forced humour (which wasn't funny), and the tension was flimsy at best considering how painfully oblivious the non-sex industry folks were to who was both starring and working on this movie. Also, I feel like every conflict could've either been avoided or was brought on by the dumb actions of the main characters (the picture in the strip club? you've got to be kidding me).
Added to all that, the chemistry between the leads was given a leg (or four) up because they had both crushed on each other prior to meeting; Bee idolized Nolan during his boy band days, and Nolan happened to be a fan of Bee's sexy online persona. So they didn't need to fall for each other, or even have personalities, because the "connection" was established off-page. Instead it was just very lust-driven with sexy times or thoughts of sexy times and full disclosure I started skimming those real fast.
What made this stranger is that this felt.. YA-y. I realize it's an typical claim to make considering one of the co-authors is coming from YA, and most female authors are lumped into this category, but still. These characters didn't feel like they had adult problems and the problems that did feel adult had non-adult reactions to them (I think they are supposed to be mid to late twenties? don't quote me). I don't know how else to describe it. But Nolan and his phone.. drove me up the wall. I don't even care that they attempted to work it into the story, blah blah, no. I was over it -- though I do have to say, there was one scene where his younger sister chastises him for trying to micromanage a crisis from afar after she calls him in the middle of a scene to freak out on him and get his help to manage a crisis. So, like, yeah, he did get the short end of the stick sometimes and that certainly didn't help anything. But while he had sympathetic backstory/motivations, I didn't enjoy how he was made to handle them or, really, him as a character. Even Bee, the stronger of the two, just wasn't able to shoulder the burden of this story and I don't feel enough time was really spent with her enjoying the filming and acting process. Instead it was just about keeping this poorly-hidden secret and being into Nolan. She was just as surface level as he was, really. And as for the rest of the cast.. honestly, no one stood out. And while a few should be called out for their pointlessness, I don't even have the energy to bother.
Overall, this was a bummer. I do think a lot of readers will enjoy it for what it is -- spicy holiday zestiness -- I just expect a lot more from my romance than this. Having said that, I would warn any mostly-YA readers from jumping into this one. For all that it read YA-ish, there is a lot of adult and sex content, so maybe work yourself upto this one if you're new to the steams. Or don't, YOLO!
** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
While I wish I could've enjoyed the surface level festiveness of a Christmassy/holiday-themed movie being filmed over the holidays, the promised fun and hilarity and tension of both the bad boy ex-boyband member trying to rehab his image paired up with an actual sex worker trying to branch into a different kind of film -- and also stay wholesome so as not to let anyone in on the secret of her career -- just never panned out. This wasn't really fun, there was only some token forced humour (which wasn't funny), and the tension was flimsy at best considering how painfully oblivious the non-sex industry folks were to who was both starring and working on this movie. Also, I feel like every conflict could've either been avoided or was brought on by the dumb actions of the main characters (the picture in the strip club? you've got to be kidding me).
Added to all that, the chemistry between the leads was given a leg (or four) up because they had both crushed on each other prior to meeting; Bee idolized Nolan during his boy band days, and Nolan happened to be a fan of Bee's sexy online persona. So they didn't need to fall for each other, or even have personalities, because the "connection" was established off-page. Instead it was just very lust-driven with sexy times or thoughts of sexy times and full disclosure I started skimming those real fast.
What made this stranger is that this felt.. YA-y. I realize it's an typical claim to make considering one of the co-authors is coming from YA, and most female authors are lumped into this category, but still. These characters didn't feel like they had adult problems and the problems that did feel adult had non-adult reactions to them (I think they are supposed to be mid to late twenties? don't quote me). I don't know how else to describe it. But Nolan and his phone.. drove me up the wall. I don't even care that they attempted to work it into the story, blah blah, no. I was over it -- though I do have to say, there was one scene where his younger sister chastises him for trying to micromanage a crisis from afar after she calls him in the middle of a scene to freak out on him and get his help to manage a crisis. So, like, yeah, he did get the short end of the stick sometimes and that certainly didn't help anything. But while he had sympathetic backstory/motivations, I didn't enjoy how he was made to handle them or, really, him as a character. Even Bee, the stronger of the two, just wasn't able to shoulder the burden of this story and I don't feel enough time was really spent with her enjoying the filming and acting process. Instead it was just about keeping this poorly-hidden secret and being into Nolan. She was just as surface level as he was, really. And as for the rest of the cast.. honestly, no one stood out. And while a few should be called out for their pointlessness, I don't even have the energy to bother.
Overall, this was a bummer. I do think a lot of readers will enjoy it for what it is -- spicy holiday zestiness -- I just expect a lot more from my romance than this. Having said that, I would warn any mostly-YA readers from jumping into this one. For all that it read YA-ish, there is a lot of adult and sex content, so maybe work yourself upto this one if you're new to the steams. Or don't, YOLO!
** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
November 13, 2022
3.5 stars
This was a cute and unique holiday read! The hero is a curvy adult film star and the hero is a former boy band member trying to fix his reputation. They end up starring in a holiday movie together and it's so charming! A lot of workers from the adult film industry end up working on the holiday film and some funny moments happen. I loved how both the hero and heroine already new of each other and had crushes, and things developed into more as they worked together. The middle was a little drawn out and I found my mind wandering as I read, but I really enjoyed how there were opportunities for predictable and cliche plot points to happen, but the authors avoided that and had the couple communicate. Overall this was a fun holiday romance and perfect to pick up if you want something outside of the normal holiday romancee!
This was a cute and unique holiday read! The hero is a curvy adult film star and the hero is a former boy band member trying to fix his reputation. They end up starring in a holiday movie together and it's so charming! A lot of workers from the adult film industry end up working on the holiday film and some funny moments happen. I loved how both the hero and heroine already new of each other and had crushes, and things developed into more as they worked together. The middle was a little drawn out and I found my mind wandering as I read, but I really enjoyed how there were opportunities for predictable and cliche plot points to happen, but the authors avoided that and had the couple communicate. Overall this was a fun holiday romance and perfect to pick up if you want something outside of the normal holiday romancee!
December 14, 2022
This was such a fun holiday romance and it was so unique! I loved that Sierra Simone decided to write a holiday romance (with Julie Murphy), and thankfully, they didn’t hold back from the steam. The premise of this book is hilarious. The heroine Bee is a curvy adult film/porn star, and she’s been cast into a very clean, Hallmark-like Christmas movie. So now she has to work as Bianca to make sure that the people in charge of this movie don’t know what she really does for a living.
Her costar is Nolan, who is actually a childhood crush of hers - he was in a popular boy band years ago, but now he needs help with his career and money. That’s why he takes on this movie… and unfortunately for Bee, Nolan instantly recognizes who she is, because he’s definitely watched her ✨ spicy ✨ films, AND he has a huge crush on her.
Bee and Nolan were adorable together and there was plenty of good chemistry between them. I loved the fact that both of them had crushes on each other without the other knowing! I thought the whole idea of the Christmas movie set was hilarious because half the staff came from porn, and the other half came from the wholesome network. Overall, it was a fun rom-com and put me in the perfect mood for Christmas. I’m also really excited that the two other members of Nolan’s former boy band are also getting their romances. I can’t wait for those!
Her costar is Nolan, who is actually a childhood crush of hers - he was in a popular boy band years ago, but now he needs help with his career and money. That’s why he takes on this movie… and unfortunately for Bee, Nolan instantly recognizes who she is, because he’s definitely watched her ✨ spicy ✨ films, AND he has a huge crush on her.
Bee and Nolan were adorable together and there was plenty of good chemistry between them. I loved the fact that both of them had crushes on each other without the other knowing! I thought the whole idea of the Christmas movie set was hilarious because half the staff came from porn, and the other half came from the wholesome network. Overall, it was a fun rom-com and put me in the perfect mood for Christmas. I’m also really excited that the two other members of Nolan’s former boy band are also getting their romances. I can’t wait for those!
August 1, 2022
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up
3.5 🌶
As soon as I saw the cover and authors, I knew I had to get my hands on this! A Merry Little Meet Cute is Julie Murphy's and Sierra Simone's first book collab! And it is a Christmas Book! I adore holiday books and am so happy to have read this because I’ve been missing the holidays! Christmas in July!!!
short summary:
Bee Hobbes is a porn star with a big ClosedDoors platform (like OF). She is cast as one of the leads in Hopeflix’s Duke the Halls, a family Christmas movie, and cannot wait to start her acting career. She’s told not to mention her current occupation because of the backlash she’ll receive. She absolutely cannot hookup with any of her coworkers. Little does she know, her coworker/ co-star is THE Nolan Shaw. Her celebrity crush; the same one she’s had pictures of on her walls since she was a teenager.
Nolan Shaw is a former INK star (a boy band, 1D vibes) and was deemed the group's bad boy. However, his career has been going downhill since he had a couple of scandals after the band broke up. He finally has the opportunity to clear his name when he is cast as a lead in Hopeflix’s Duke the Halls. He has to be on his best behavior and cannot mess up. Little does he know, his coworker is THE Bianca Von Honey from ClosedDoors. The same one he’s been subscribed to for years.
Once they set their eyes on each other, their attraction is INSTANTANEOUS and absolutely steamy! Could they put aside their attraction for the movie? What could go wrong?
thoughts:
This was such a fun book to read! I adored the plot; whats not to love about the MCs filming a Christmas movie together!! It adds a lot to their tension, mainly because of the forced proximity! The setting adds a lot to the romance! I love the small town romance aspect, but not just any small town, one of the small towns we see in Hallmark movies! Honestly, the whole book was one (extra) spicy Hallmark movie, and I loved that!
Bee and Nolan had a lot of chemistry, which I enjoyed (and the smutty scenes)! I really liked that they both had crushes on each other and were nervous. It was so cute!! I adored Nolan’s character development; seeing his growth throughout the book was great! Bee is a QUEEN! She’s confident, unashamed of who she is, and knows her worth! I loved her so much!
Something I really enjoyed and appreciated about this book is all the body positivity and sex work positivity. They’re not topics I often see together in books, and I adore the authors for writing about them!
Overall, a fun and extra steamy Christmas rom-com with lovable characters! Definitely read if you like:
→ Christmas romance
→ Forced Proximity (costars)
→ Dual POV
→ Instant attraction
→ Steamy romance
→ LGTBQ+ reps
→ Plus Size fmc
→ Explicit open-door romance
CW: fatphobia, slut-shaming
Thank you, Netgalley and Avon and Harper, for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! <3
3.5 🌶
As soon as I saw the cover and authors, I knew I had to get my hands on this! A Merry Little Meet Cute is Julie Murphy's and Sierra Simone's first book collab! And it is a Christmas Book! I adore holiday books and am so happy to have read this because I’ve been missing the holidays! Christmas in July!!!
short summary:
Bee Hobbes is a porn star with a big ClosedDoors platform (like OF). She is cast as one of the leads in Hopeflix’s Duke the Halls, a family Christmas movie, and cannot wait to start her acting career. She’s told not to mention her current occupation because of the backlash she’ll receive. She absolutely cannot hookup with any of her coworkers. Little does she know, her coworker/ co-star is THE Nolan Shaw. Her celebrity crush; the same one she’s had pictures of on her walls since she was a teenager.
Nolan Shaw is a former INK star (a boy band, 1D vibes) and was deemed the group's bad boy. However, his career has been going downhill since he had a couple of scandals after the band broke up. He finally has the opportunity to clear his name when he is cast as a lead in Hopeflix’s Duke the Halls. He has to be on his best behavior and cannot mess up. Little does he know, his coworker is THE Bianca Von Honey from ClosedDoors. The same one he’s been subscribed to for years.
Once they set their eyes on each other, their attraction is INSTANTANEOUS and absolutely steamy! Could they put aside their attraction for the movie? What could go wrong?
thoughts:
This was such a fun book to read! I adored the plot; whats not to love about the MCs filming a Christmas movie together!! It adds a lot to their tension, mainly because of the forced proximity! The setting adds a lot to the romance! I love the small town romance aspect, but not just any small town, one of the small towns we see in Hallmark movies! Honestly, the whole book was one (extra) spicy Hallmark movie, and I loved that!
Bee and Nolan had a lot of chemistry, which I enjoyed (and the smutty scenes)! I really liked that they both had crushes on each other and were nervous. It was so cute!! I adored Nolan’s character development; seeing his growth throughout the book was great! Bee is a QUEEN! She’s confident, unashamed of who she is, and knows her worth! I loved her so much!
Something I really enjoyed and appreciated about this book is all the body positivity and sex work positivity. They’re not topics I often see together in books, and I adore the authors for writing about them!
Overall, a fun and extra steamy Christmas rom-com with lovable characters! Definitely read if you like:
→ Christmas romance
→ Forced Proximity (costars)
→ Dual POV
→ Instant attraction
→ Steamy romance
→ LGTBQ+ reps
→ Plus Size fmc
→ Explicit open-door romance
CW: fatphobia, slut-shaming
Thank you, Netgalley and Avon and Harper, for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! <3
December 3, 2022
This book was batshit insane. Like, I felt like I was drunk while reading it. But I had a great time???
December 18, 2022
Book cover is a lie. This writing is horrendous. I only finished because I paid for this crap. Don’t recommend at all and don’t get the hype. Worst holiday romance ever!
November 11, 2023
DO NOT BE CONFUSED BY THE CUTE CARTOON COVER; THIS BOOK IS NASTY ✨
December 27, 2022
✩ 1 star - dnfed 30% in
~
i hope i can come back to read this book later,
but right now i just can’t get into it…
~
#moodreaderstruggles
~
i hope i can come back to read this book later,
but right now i just can’t get into it…
~
#moodreaderstruggles
Shelved as 'dnf'
December 5, 2023dnf @ 10… this was boring as hell which is crazy like how can you fuck that up? also where was the so called “meet cute” don’t piss me off
November 25, 2022
DNF at 23%
I’m sorry but what the f*ck did I just read? And a woman wrote this as well?!?!!! I’m honestly lowkey disgusted. Alright let me back up for a bit.
I went into this book completely blind, saw it a few times on tiktok and stuff and I was like alright let’s just read it. When I found out it was about a corn producer (not the main male character) and corn actress doing their first wholesome Christmas movie, I was like okay this is going to be so good and fun if done right. It wasn’t done right lol. Bee’s (corn actress) co-star is Nolan, he’s a fan of Bianca von Honey, her corn name, so he obviously knows her. Again I thought oh this could be fun, it wasn’t. Bee was literally portrayed as the biggest s*x object ever and all Nolan could think about was how h*rny and h*rd he was when he thought of her/was around her. Like as if woman aren’t s*xualized enough already?!?! Bee is so much more than that, I actually liked her personality. Oh and the facts that he kept on calling Bee by her corn name in his head all the time? To me that’s so disrespectful. So yeah no I couldn’t deal with the whole “this woman is a s*xual object only” anymore and I 0/10 recommend this.
Rant over.
I’m sorry but what the f*ck did I just read? And a woman wrote this as well?!?!!! I’m honestly lowkey disgusted. Alright let me back up for a bit.
I went into this book completely blind, saw it a few times on tiktok and stuff and I was like alright let’s just read it. When I found out it was about a corn producer (not the main male character) and corn actress doing their first wholesome Christmas movie, I was like okay this is going to be so good and fun if done right. It wasn’t done right lol. Bee’s (corn actress) co-star is Nolan, he’s a fan of Bianca von Honey, her corn name, so he obviously knows her. Again I thought oh this could be fun, it wasn’t. Bee was literally portrayed as the biggest s*x object ever and all Nolan could think about was how h*rny and h*rd he was when he thought of her/was around her. Like as if woman aren’t s*xualized enough already?!?! Bee is so much more than that, I actually liked her personality. Oh and the facts that he kept on calling Bee by her corn name in his head all the time? To me that’s so disrespectful. So yeah no I couldn’t deal with the whole “this woman is a s*xual object only” anymore and I 0/10 recommend this.
Rant over.
March 20, 2023
I picked up A merry Little Meet Cute because it gains popularity on the social media. I am disappointed to be honest. Miss Murphy does not give her readers the vulnerable moment between the characters to connect more deeply. Both Bee and Nolan only hot in the bedroom.
Until the end, I am not feeling it, especially Nolan feeling toward Bee. I think he is more obsessed with Bee due to her secret occupancy. Even the banter is only more on the comedy then the real feeling development.
Overall, it is still OK book.
3 stars
Until the end, I am not feeling it, especially Nolan feeling toward Bee. I think he is more obsessed with Bee due to her secret occupancy. Even the banter is only more on the comedy then the real feeling development.
Overall, it is still OK book.
3 stars
February 6, 2023
This was a cute spicy funny read. The storyline was a bit stupid and not entertaining but the characters were great! Nolan and Bee were super hot ! And all the side characters: directors, agents, friends, crew were hilarious. Would recommend if you want to laugh and read some body positive spiciness.
August 2, 2023
4.5/5 (rounded up)
When I saw the cover of A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone, I definitely thought it was going to be packed full of Christmas cheer and holiday spirit. And while they do so happen to be filming a Christmas movie, I don't know if I would go so far as to say this is a Christmas book or even a holiday book, at least in the general sense. There are some holiday aspects that I loved, the movie and filming location to name a couple, but if you don't want to read a full-blown Christmas romance, this is an excellent choice. And do be warned, it is STEAMY guys, which I mean I ultimately expected from the fact that one of the MCs is an adult film star. However, based on the buddy read I was in for this book I don't think everyone expected it and it was a shock to the system for some. You've been warned!
I loved that this was a co-written book, and you honestly wouldn't know it at all just from reading it. I thought Murphy and Simone did an exceptional job of making the story completely seamless and their styles blended together perfectly to make a funny, emotional, and HOT cohesive story. Another thing that maybe made me love A Merry Little Meet Cute even more was the audiobook which is narrated by Joy Nash & Sebastian York. They made the characters even better, and I LOOOOVED York's voice. It was such an enjoyable read and listen, and the romance was top-notch. I would also say that if they made this a closed-door romance, I could totally see it on the Hallmark channel. If you are ready for a hot and heavy story with some holiday vibes, I urge you to get your hands on this book. Bonus, the physical copy is beautiful and includes a map of Christmas Notch, VT! You're welcome.
I received an advanced listening copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
When I saw the cover of A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone, I definitely thought it was going to be packed full of Christmas cheer and holiday spirit. And while they do so happen to be filming a Christmas movie, I don't know if I would go so far as to say this is a Christmas book or even a holiday book, at least in the general sense. There are some holiday aspects that I loved, the movie and filming location to name a couple, but if you don't want to read a full-blown Christmas romance, this is an excellent choice. And do be warned, it is STEAMY guys, which I mean I ultimately expected from the fact that one of the MCs is an adult film star. However, based on the buddy read I was in for this book I don't think everyone expected it and it was a shock to the system for some. You've been warned!
I loved that this was a co-written book, and you honestly wouldn't know it at all just from reading it. I thought Murphy and Simone did an exceptional job of making the story completely seamless and their styles blended together perfectly to make a funny, emotional, and HOT cohesive story. Another thing that maybe made me love A Merry Little Meet Cute even more was the audiobook which is narrated by Joy Nash & Sebastian York. They made the characters even better, and I LOOOOVED York's voice. It was such an enjoyable read and listen, and the romance was top-notch. I would also say that if they made this a closed-door romance, I could totally see it on the Hallmark channel. If you are ready for a hot and heavy story with some holiday vibes, I urge you to get your hands on this book. Bonus, the physical copy is beautiful and includes a map of Christmas Notch, VT! You're welcome.
I received an advanced listening copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
August 28, 2022
I'll round up to 3.5 stars - This was very fun! I appreciated that this did not feel like a "same old same old" in terms of a holiday romance. Loved how sex positive and fat accepting it was, and Bee was wonderful. The main thing that kept me from fully loving this was that I felt like Nolan's voice was too similar to Bee's - they read like the same character. And while the voice Bee had made since for her character, I thought it made less sense for Nolan. It made him feel blah and his sections less funny
Still, I had a good time in this one and again, snaps for a different flavor on a Christmas romance
Still, I had a good time in this one and again, snaps for a different flavor on a Christmas romance
September 28, 2022
3.5 stars rounded up
A Merry Little Meet Cute is a fun romantic comedy with two disaster bisexuals falling in love. It is very steamy and also absurdly wacky at times. The premise is excellent- a plus-size porn star accidentally gets cast as the lead in a family-friendly holiday romance film, playing opposite a former boy-band star who was her teen crush. And as it turns out, he's also a big fan of her NSFW work. But for reasons, both of them are supposed to keep things under wraps and absolutely NOT heat up this PG movie set...
I had a good time with this, although you definitely have to suspend your disbelief and just go with the ridiculous things that happen. And the things that wouldn't fly at an actual movie set. But if you can do that, it's a fun and sexy romance with a great setup, body positivity, casual queerness, and positive depictions of sex work. Definitely worth a read if this sounds like your thing! I do wish it had been a little less over the top and a little more slow burn with the sexy times, but overall I liked it. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.
A Merry Little Meet Cute is a fun romantic comedy with two disaster bisexuals falling in love. It is very steamy and also absurdly wacky at times. The premise is excellent- a plus-size porn star accidentally gets cast as the lead in a family-friendly holiday romance film, playing opposite a former boy-band star who was her teen crush. And as it turns out, he's also a big fan of her NSFW work. But for reasons, both of them are supposed to keep things under wraps and absolutely NOT heat up this PG movie set...
I had a good time with this, although you definitely have to suspend your disbelief and just go with the ridiculous things that happen. And the things that wouldn't fly at an actual movie set. But if you can do that, it's a fun and sexy romance with a great setup, body positivity, casual queerness, and positive depictions of sex work. Definitely worth a read if this sounds like your thing! I do wish it had been a little less over the top and a little more slow burn with the sexy times, but overall I liked it. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.
December 10, 2023
dnf.
i can see why people enjoy this book but, in my opinion, i didn’t enjoy it as much as i hoped. for me, it lacked plot and i wasn’t attached to the characters as much as i usually am when i deeply enjoy a book.
the lack of plus sized representation is so real in books, but not in A Merry Little Meet Cute. the main character, Bee Hobbes is a plus sized girl who is ready to lead in a romantic christmas movie with a secret to hide, she has to co-star with Nolan Shaw, a former ex-boyband member who has a secret desire for Bee. they must find a way to work together professionally to ensure nothing is ruined on set.
i did go into this book blindly, which was my mistake. i’ve heard a lot of good things about this book and sadly, it fell quite flat for me. i was quite disappointed. it was a big struggle to finish it, i ended up just skimming the pages and dotting my eyes all over them.
i can see why people enjoy this book but, in my opinion, i didn’t enjoy it as much as i hoped. for me, it lacked plot and i wasn’t attached to the characters as much as i usually am when i deeply enjoy a book.
the lack of plus sized representation is so real in books, but not in A Merry Little Meet Cute. the main character, Bee Hobbes is a plus sized girl who is ready to lead in a romantic christmas movie with a secret to hide, she has to co-star with Nolan Shaw, a former ex-boyband member who has a secret desire for Bee. they must find a way to work together professionally to ensure nothing is ruined on set.
i did go into this book blindly, which was my mistake. i’ve heard a lot of good things about this book and sadly, it fell quite flat for me. i was quite disappointed. it was a big struggle to finish it, i ended up just skimming the pages and dotting my eyes all over them.
January 10, 2023
I don’t think I’ll ever reread this one, but it was perfect for the holiday season (especially if you’re wanting some spice).
September 20, 2022
✨They forgot the figging pudding.✨
They also forgot to use any of the lube and toys—mentioned SO MANY TIMES—together??? And it barely even teased ass play. I’m so confuckingfused. It had more fade to black situations than I would’ve thought and idk it wasn’t that steamy. It was steamy but I truly didn’t know who the two people having sex were—he went deep, but the connection was shallow and the book was majorly surface-level. There wasn’t any tension as they’d both been horny for each other for the past several years. The only real tension was him finding out it was her he’d been subscribing too, but that was over so fast.
I think eliminating his POV would’ve done wonders for the plot. I simply did not enjoy anything about his POV sections. Also not knowing he subscribed to her until the end would’ve been balls to the wall better than the premature revelation we got. I also just didn’t like him very much. He seemed kinda like a cardboard cutout. I think I would’ve been way more into the mystery of him than him him.
This book is 384 pages (hardcover edition) and it’s about 150 too long. They had like zero meaningful, memorable conversations. A lot of the book was inner monologue—Inner monologue that didn’t really differ from POV to POV. Without the chapter indicators, they could’ve been the same person thinking. There wasn’t enough sex for me to read 350+ pages of it, nor was there enough plot. Again, why tease us with toys and anal? Why? All I want for Christmas is exceeded expectations my lord. I think it tried to “A Novel” itself into a near 400 page book.
The plot set-up was super fun and I liked Bee, and the representation felt super natural and just really nice to read about. The part where she was sucking in and his response to it was superb. I also really liked this quote: “I never knew my body could feel like it was made for someone else.”
However, it just lost major steam for me even before 50%. The Christmas town and those puns were funny, but it didn’t even really make me want Christmas. The ending and the drama was just lackluster, since it was expected and foolish especially for two people TRYING TO BE SECRETIVE. Like the root cause of it was just so unnecessary and illogical. The writing style also wasn’t really for me but I could’ve ignored that for layered characters and maybe a different break-up catalyst.
I will say, I’d sell my soul for the movie they were shooting PLUS sex with modern toys. Like fuck his 1800s ducal world up with the Hitachi girl. Like if the book was the time travel plot of that movie plus raunchy sex, then we’d be talking. Also the cover is super ducking cute I’d totally jingle its bells. I’ll probably end up buying this purely for the cover.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶🌶🌶.5*/5
*It was steamy but I didn’t really feel their connection nor did I really care that they were having sex. There were maybe four full scenes? I’m really not sure. It’s probably a 3.75🌶 but again I just didn’t care. Him watching her videos online in a separate room was way hotter than them together. And yes I know figging doesn’t make sense for this book but I had to do it for the pun of it all.
Also who the fuck put the Olympics in Duluth, Minnesota lmaoo.
Also I despised that he used gingerbread soap to jerk off. I’ve been horrified of the stuff ever since my grandma had Bath & Body gingerbread man hand soap. I spent the night oscillating between wanting to vomit and wanting to saw my own hands off with a rusty butter knife.
Thank you to the publisher for an eArc via NetGalley! All opinions are honest and my own.
They also forgot to use any of the lube and toys—mentioned SO MANY TIMES—together??? And it barely even teased ass play. I’m so confuckingfused. It had more fade to black situations than I would’ve thought and idk it wasn’t that steamy. It was steamy but I truly didn’t know who the two people having sex were—he went deep, but the connection was shallow and the book was majorly surface-level. There wasn’t any tension as they’d both been horny for each other for the past several years. The only real tension was him finding out it was her he’d been subscribing too, but that was over so fast.
I think eliminating his POV would’ve done wonders for the plot. I simply did not enjoy anything about his POV sections. Also not knowing he subscribed to her until the end would’ve been balls to the wall better than the premature revelation we got. I also just didn’t like him very much. He seemed kinda like a cardboard cutout. I think I would’ve been way more into the mystery of him than him him.
This book is 384 pages (hardcover edition) and it’s about 150 too long. They had like zero meaningful, memorable conversations. A lot of the book was inner monologue—Inner monologue that didn’t really differ from POV to POV. Without the chapter indicators, they could’ve been the same person thinking. There wasn’t enough sex for me to read 350+ pages of it, nor was there enough plot. Again, why tease us with toys and anal? Why? All I want for Christmas is exceeded expectations my lord. I think it tried to “A Novel” itself into a near 400 page book.
The plot set-up was super fun and I liked Bee, and the representation felt super natural and just really nice to read about. The part where she was sucking in and his response to it was superb. I also really liked this quote: “I never knew my body could feel like it was made for someone else.”
However, it just lost major steam for me even before 50%. The Christmas town and those puns were funny, but it didn’t even really make me want Christmas. The ending and the drama was just lackluster, since it was expected and foolish especially for two people TRYING TO BE SECRETIVE. Like the root cause of it was just so unnecessary and illogical. The writing style also wasn’t really for me but I could’ve ignored that for layered characters and maybe a different break-up catalyst.
I will say, I’d sell my soul for the movie they were shooting PLUS sex with modern toys. Like fuck his 1800s ducal world up with the Hitachi girl. Like if the book was the time travel plot of that movie plus raunchy sex, then we’d be talking. Also the cover is super ducking cute I’d totally jingle its bells. I’ll probably end up buying this purely for the cover.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶🌶🌶.5*/5
*It was steamy but I didn’t really feel their connection nor did I really care that they were having sex. There were maybe four full scenes? I’m really not sure. It’s probably a 3.75🌶 but again I just didn’t care. Him watching her videos online in a separate room was way hotter than them together. And yes I know figging doesn’t make sense for this book but I had to do it for the pun of it all.
Also who the fuck put the Olympics in Duluth, Minnesota lmaoo.
Also I despised that he used gingerbread soap to jerk off. I’ve been horrified of the stuff ever since my grandma had Bath & Body gingerbread man hand soap. I spent the night oscillating between wanting to vomit and wanting to saw my own hands off with a rusty butter knife.
Thank you to the publisher for an eArc via NetGalley! All opinions are honest and my own.
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