The literary embodiment of "sugar and spice and all things nice" 😏

I know this is going to sound strange, but it also gave me strong Twelfth Night vibes. Especially in the first half of the book, the comedy-of-errors gags had me howling with laughter.

A Merry Little Meet Cute is a fun, sex-positive holiday romp where both our FMC and our MMC are bisexual, so it's an automatic yes for me.

I really wanted to love this but it was not for me... I am a huge Sierra Simone fan but this book was nothing like what I've read from her previously which leads me to believe it's tone is driven by Julie Murphy.

I will however be giving the second book a go!

I loved this audio book so much I bought it as soon as I finished!
I did make the mistake of putting it on in the car when I was with my mum (if you know, you know!). I decided after that it was best to listen to this alone, glad I did because I laughed out loud during this book. There was so many unexpected quirks that I just did not expect. I am finding it hard to review this book because I genuinely enjoyed it so much. It was warm and cosy and is going to be my go to book every Christmas. There was so much love and charm it filled my heart!
As someone who is of the "bigger" variety A Merry Little Meet Cute was full of body positivity and it was great to hear it being spoken about to openly in a book. This book also touches on the subject of mental health, sexuality, and a LOT about sex, not that there is anything wrong with that part! These were all approached in a positive way. All these things combined is what I think made me fall in love with this story,
The narrators in this fitted with the characters perfectly in my opinion and were everything I would have imagined.
If anyone is looking for a cosy yet spicy book then this is the one for you!!

Ok so this is NOT the innocent, fluffy book the cover would deceive you into thinking it is. It’s spicy, it’s quirky, it’s funny, and it was a listening 👏🏽 experience 👏🏽.

With super fun and likeable characters, lots of inclusivity (inc positive mental health rep + body positivity) and brilliant representation of the queer community, this was an easy listen + made for great festive escapism.

Between sweet Nolan, who was pretty misunderstood and just trying to provide the best he could for his family + fierce Bee, was battling being judged for a job she chose to do and loved, the characterisation in this book was perfect. The two MCs had authentic chemistry and were supportive of each other’s careers + life goals, and the forbidden romance trope was *chefs kiss* 😙🤌🏽

Joy Nash + Sebastian York did a fab job narrating this and I’d recommend the audio if you pick this up!

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[𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧 + 𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮. 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣. 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 @𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 (𝙄𝙂), 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝.] —— 𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒚 @𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 🧣✨🎄

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone was such a cute light hearted book with some great characters, body positivity representation and even better plotline. I loved both Bee & Nolan and was rooting for them the whole way this definitely gave me some Hallmark Christmas movie vibes, just with some spice which I think is exactly what the authors were going for.
I listened to the audio book which was fantastic and will be looking out for some of the narrators other works in the future.
I cannot wait for the next instalment from these wonderful authors and highly recommend this book.

I feel really bad writing this review as I am aware how much writers pour into their books but I should have known when I didn't really understand the title that this wasn't a book for me. A Merry Little Meet Cute, is that just a jumble of words, or an Americanism or something only the cool kids understand?
I was looking for a cosy Christmassy rom com with some sex thrown in but what I heard on the audio version I received from Netgalley was contrived, cheesy, not at all romantic or even very Christmassy and I just found it boring. Sorry.
I wasn't even particularly keen on the male narrator, his voice seemed more suited to a newsreader rather than the charater he was depicting.

This was a really cute audiobook I loved the Christmas vibes and the romance and really enjoyed! I really enjoyed the narrator easy to listen to, I could very easily just switch off and listen which is always great.

Never really listened to an audio book that contained sex and Ive realised I dont really like it, Ill stick to reading it myself if I want a spicy read. The book cover and the title makes you think this is going to be a cutesy christmas rom com, it isnt!! Dont know if I'd read./listen to anymore by this author, sorry

🌟🌟🌟🌟

A Merry Little Meet Cute is an absolute delight! The authors, Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone, have crafted a heartwarming and hilarious holiday romance that will leave you with a big smile on your face. The story follows Bee Hobbes, a lead actress in a Christmas movie who's hiding a scandalous secret, and Nolan Shaw, her charming and charismatic co-star who's also her biggest fan. The chemistry between Bee and Nolan is off the charts, and their banter is witty and entertaining. I loved how the authors incorporated the secret identity twist, which adds an extra layer of intrigue and excitement to the story. The setting of Christmas Notch is also lovely, with its festive atmosphere and charming small-town vibe. Overall, A Merry Little Meet Cute is a perfect read to get you in the holiday spirit. Highly recommended!

I had witnessed a lot of publicity across bookstagram about this book, it was shown as a romantic meeting by chance which multiple readers had enjoyed and recommended but nowhere the sexual/18+ usage of words and storytelling was mentioned.
I am sorry but I absolutely hated the pornographic/extremely sexual parts of the story. I would not have requested it had I known about the extreme sexual vocabulary. I did not enjoy it at all and will not be posting about it anywhere else keeping in mind the emotions and mental health that all authors put in their works. I did not enjoy the narration as well.

Last week I read Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone having been approved for a copy on @netgalley and I was not prepared for what I was getting myself into…!

I fancied a Christmassy read and it’s a book that is ALL over Booksta atm with its cute cover that has been described as a fellow bookstagrammer as ‘nothing like the story’. This is definitely a case of don’t judge a book by it’s cover!

𝒲𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝓂𝓎 𝓇𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓂𝒶𝓎 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓉𝒶𝒾𝓃 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓈𝓅𝑜𝒾𝓁𝑒𝓇𝓈…

I liked the setting on location for a Christmas movie film set, I adore trashy Christmas movies and loved that there are locations that I pretty much film these all year round. I took some issue with the timeline though, they’re filming OVER the Christmas period and a lot of the story revolves around the actors won’t be home for Christmas but there is little mention of when the film will actually be released… one assumes the following Christmas but this doesn’t really tie in with other bits of the stories timeline.

Then we have the cast of the film - a retired boy band member trying to rebuild a career (with crazy expensive health insurance 🤷🏼‍♀️) and a pornstar accidentally launching a mainstream movie career as an actress who seems completely deluded that people won’t find out she’s a porn star because ‘people who watch porn don’t watch Christmas movies’?!?! And she’s cutting down the porn / only fans content WHILST filming the movie to prevent her being outed - surely the issue will come when the film is released?! And realistically it’s going to come out. There are also so many references to her being overweight and fat which I assume were intended to be read as body positivity but really just felt like she was unhappy OR deluded and likely a size 10 rather than a size 6.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Im not usually a fan of audio books however thought the blurb of this storyline looked good fun however it just didn't grip me and I found it quite boring. The main character is a plus sized porn star and the book tries to include different dynamic characters, and the plot set up started out really fun but it just dragged before it even got 50% of the way through and didn't feel the connection between the main characters.
I also never want to see gingerbread soap anywhere ever again! haha

Thank you for the opportunity to review this story however unfortunately it just wasn't for me this time.

Finished this in just a couple of days over Christmas. While enjoyable, the narration for Nolan wasn't what I expected and he sounded far more mature than he was. I think this was my only issue with the book. Otherwise, it normalised sexwork and approached sex positively, which was quite refreshing, especially when the FMC was plus size!

This wasn't really what I was expecting at all. The title and cover seem to hint toward a Christmas based rom-com. There's no meet cute, there's not really any Christmas.

I listened to this audiobook - and unfortunately it didnt grip me like I would have hoped. Seemed like the main characters were already in love with the idea of each other - not really any romance.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great fun and spicy rom com set at Christmas that was fantastic read for the festive period. There were many moments that I was not expecting and I had a great time along the way.

This was so not what I was expecting. From the title and the cover, I was expecting a cutesy, warm, happy, Christmassy book. What I actually got was fun and laughs and a whole lot of raunchy sex! Not a bad thing, just not warm and cosy!

I listened to A Merry Little Meet Cute as an audiobook, read by Joy Nash & Sebastian York. The story was fun, Bee, a porn star who was trying to diversify into family-friendly movies alongside her co-star, Nolan, who used to be a pop star but is now trying to tame down his image. Of course, they are each other’s fans and of course, they fall in love along the way.

If you want something hilarious to read or listen to, then by all means, grab yourself a copy of A Merry Little Meet Cute, but is it something to buy your Great Aunt Ethel for her birthday? Probably not, unless you know she’s going to like a whole lot of sex, sex and…more sex!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Audio For the opportunity to listen to and review a copy of A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone.

DNF - I did not enjoy this story unfortunately which was so disappointing because I was so looking forward to a good Christmasy story. I tried until about an hour in but I just found it a bit boring. I’m so sorry.

I loved this book it was cute, sexy and a great premise. I adored the plus sized female main character and especially loved how she was written as a beautiful and desirable woman. This was a refreshing Christmas read that made me smile.

3*
Thank you Harper Collins/HarperVoyager and NetGalley for providing me with an audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review.
So, I thought I knew what I was getting myself into, but I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.
I feel like this would appeal to people who read one direction fan fiction, take that how you will.
I went into this hoping to find a cute, simple hallmark inspired romance but it became far too convoluted when it didn’t need to be.
The blueprint was there, but the execution fell a little flat. I never felt really invested at all.
I will say, I still enjoyed this as a Christmas read and loved seeing plus size representation but this felt too long, and quite cringy at times.
If you want a spicy Christmas romcom this will work for you, but it just wasn’t for me.

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone was a pleasant surprise.

There was a lot of other things to like about this. I appreciated that the book was all about female empowerment. It was sex positive, body positive and featured queer characters without them feeling 'slotted in'. I also liked that the MCs were both fans of each other before working together too, as it maintained a balance and kept any disparity at bay.

What I will say though, is that I think it was a touch too long. I didn't care for the third act issues and I felt that it ended up dragging a little by the end. This was a bit of a shame as I did enjoy it, but it won't stop me reading further books in this series.

I liked the narrators (Joy Nash and Sebastian York) and I appreciated that there were two as it made it easier to follow the story. I found that I needed to speed it up though as it felt quite slow.

Thank you to HC for providing me with a copy of this book, and the audiobook- I ended up buying a physical edition too!