A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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.
This just wasn't cute enough for me 🙃
I'd read this earlier in January as I was still in the mood for a holiday romance. I'd seen all the buzz and the ARC had been sitting on my shelves for a long time, so I figured I'd give it a try. It was very steamy with witty banter and quirky characters just as my friends said it would be, but I just couldn't feel the emotional connection between the leads - Bee and Nolan. These two felt like they were just horny for each other and hey, I'll be the last person to complain about insta-lust/insta-love because I don't mind it in my books, but what I do want is relationship development on the emotional front after they start lusting for each other - and this one didn't have that. :/
The premise is that Bianca/Bee Hobbes, a plus size adult film star gets a chance to act in a Christmas movie for a family channel (so it has to be PG-13) and she decides to take it but she'll have to keep her other career under wraps. Her co-star is Nolan Shaw, a former boy band member who desperately needs an image makeover and some money. This movie is the chance for him to turn things around and he has been advised to keep his image squeaky clean. So no onset shenanigans! But what neither of them expected is that Nolan has been a long time 'fan' of Bianca Von Honey and there's an uncontrollable attraction between them.
At first I was so excited for this one - I mean how many books are out there with a plus size adult film star as the main character? And I really liked Bee's confidence, humor and optimism so it was no surprise that I fell in love with her. But, Nolan? I didn't really like him. I couldn't even connect with him at first but what turned me off mainly was how he was constantly objectifying Bee in his head. Like I get it he's been a long time subscriber and has jerked off to her videos for many nights, so this is like a wet dream come true(🤣🤣🤣) but come on just stop talking about how you want to bang her all the time.
Okay so I'll analyze why this irritated me here in this particular book, though I might have let it slide in some other book(I doubt it 'cause I wouldn't but idk). There's nothing wrong in seeing the male lead be sexually attracted to the heroine - like duh it needs to be there for a good romance to work - but when it's 'shown' there must be a fine balance between sexual attraction and emotional attraction to get a good romantic relationship and that was missing here. And this was more important for me in this particular book because of her profession - so many men lust after her everyday so what's setting Nolan apart from them? Putting herself out there is freeing and scary at the same time, so it'd be better if her partner appreciated her for more than her body. I didn't see him appreciating her character traits or anything else beyond a few words. I've read many other books with a porn star/escort as the main character and the romance was handled very well in that, so this one disappointed me in that aspect.
Also, I just found Nolan too immature and somewhat similar to a horny teenager though he's way beyond that. Like I get it, he had a wild period and did many things when he was in the boy band, but now that those days are over there should be some change right? He keeps saying that he's not that person anymore but I didn't see any difference lol😂 He's still impulsive, thinks with his d**k and doesn't take up much responsibility for his actions. And yeah the true story about his previous scandal was good but why did he keep it a secret for so long when it only ruined his image and that figure skater's? A very convenient plot point.
And don't get me started on how unrealistic it was that the characters thought that Bee's identity wouldn't be exposed?😂 Like wth, you don't need to be a data analyst to know that there are high chances of viewer demographic overlapping and in today's age with the internet, it's very easy to find all the details especially when she has a ClosedDoors account or whatever. She wasn't even wearing a disguise or anything so obviously it'll be exposed lol. They had zero preparations for that.
The third act conflict was more annoying(the press finds out that she's a porn star) with Nolan's reaction - he's all like it'll blow over, none of it matters🙄, even though he knows how bad a scandal would be - especially when he experienced one too. And Bee was apologetic about it at first - like as if it's her fault that she ruined the movie for everyone - even though Nolan knew about it and his reputation wasn't any better either. And there's only one character Jack who finally states the truth - the thing would never have been a secret anyway. And I was like 'Exactly'!🤣
On the positive side, I did love Bianca and the other side characters - especially her moms, her best friend and Teddy. The witty banter and the steamy scenes added a lot to the book but it just wasn't enough to make me like this one.
But, you might enjoy it if you're just looking for a steamy rom-com and are ready to suspend some disbelief. On the other hand if you're like me and are searching for a romance with an adult film star, I'd recommend Lingus by Mariana Zapata as it's a slow burn romance with a well developed relationship(and the male lead is the one who is in the profession). I loved the romance and it was laugh out loud funny too. And you'll definitely find many similar books on this list here.
*I was provided with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest
review*
Julie Murphy lives in North Texas with her husband who loves her, her dog who adores 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 and one of TIME’s Best 100 YA Books of All Time), Puddin’, Ramona Blue, and Side Effects May Vary. Dear Sweet Pea is her debut middle grade novel, and If The Shoe Fits is her first adult romance.
Sierra is a voracious reader of all things including the smuttiest smut, young adult, piles of non-fiction for research, and everything Bill Bryson (especially on audio).
She loves writing the dirtiest things that she can think of, King Arthur, sparkling water, Tarot, coffee, jumpers, and learning new words daily.
Her previous jobs have included firing ceramics, teaching living history lessons in one-room school house in full, 1904-approved school marm attire, and working as a librarian for several years—not in that order.
She lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, two children, and two giant dogs. (And two cats, but they're so naughty we don't talk about them.)
Her novels have been published in Czech, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, and Romanian. She's been featured in Buzzfeed, Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, Marie Claire, and Library Journal with a starred review.
The social media she cares about the most are Spotify and Instagram. You can also reach her at thesierrasimone@gmail.com.
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