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A Merry Little Meet Cute
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
88 posts | 72 read | 20 to read
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.
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review
Leftcoastzen
Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

A review from @Reggie made me want to try this!My hold came after Christmas,not a big holiday book reader anyway. The potential star of a hope channel Christmas film has an accident, Bee a plus size porn star sees the chance to become a more traditional actress while a boy band Star who‘s career fizzled is trying to make a living for his mom & little sister. Some sizzle while trying to keep secrets! Happy to see body positivity & LGBTQ+ in this.

Reggie Yayyyy I‘m glad you liked this. I loved all the details in here. I chuckled a lot. 2mo
Leftcoastzen @Reggie I liked that too! There were a lot of chuckles. 2mo
50 likes2 comments
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Sharpeipup
Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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There‘s something about a book with a map, am I right? 🗺️

Mccall0113 Correct! 2mo
Cuilin Absolutely 💯 2mo
dabbe YES! 🖤💙🖤 2mo
30 likes1 stack add3 comments
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xicanti
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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One last holiday read, with Rocco‘s “assistance.” (He decided he‘d rather lick my hand than pose nicely and I didn‘t have the energy to try again.) A MERRY LITTLE MEET CUTE‘s Litsy rating has gone waaaaay down since I stacked it last year, but I‘m enjoying it a lot. I hope it keeps up.

dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 2mo
40 likes1 comment
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Clare-Dragonfly
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Mehso-so

Cute holiday romance. It felt pretty contrived and I wanted more yearning and less smut! I enjoyed the characters and sympathized with their goals of keeping their secrets, but… they were really bad at keeping the secrets.

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RobES
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Christmas nails inspired by Christmas books 💚💛🎄❄️🎅

Tamra Love it! 💚 3mo
Gissy 💅🏻Beautiful 💚💚💚🎄 3mo
40 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Julsmarshall
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

Gave this one the college try, made it 25% in but just can‘t finish. I‘ve seen others tackle this premise more effectively, just not the one for me. #DNF #BookspinBingo #DashingDecember @TheAromaofBooks @Andrew65

Andrew65 Some books are like that. 3mo
TheAromaofBooks Sometimes a book just isn't a match!! 3mo
47 likes2 comments
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Reggie
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

Oh, I liked this. A porn actress is trying to go mainstream starring in a made for tv Christmas movie hoping no one knows who she is. A bad boy ex boyband member is trying to rehabilitate his image with this new wholesome movie. They meet and sparks fly. This was soooo hot and funny. There are so many small details that make this amazing. And as always, romance has a way of sneaking bigger, very valid conversations in their books. Pick!

Bookzombie Great review! 3mo
BarbaraBB Indeed! 3mo
Reggie @Bookzombie Thanks and Merry Christmas! 3mo
See All 6 Comments
Reggie @BarbaraBB Merry Christmas! There is a part in here where I think everybody watched that Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch video where he rolls those stockings down that girls leg in the Good Vibrations video-where he says you feel it baby-yeah I do too. There is a scene definitely inspired by that in here. Lol 3mo
BarbaraBB Merry Christmas! That sounds so great! 3mo
Bookzombie Merry Christmas! 3mo
57 likes1 stack add6 comments
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RobES
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

Twinkly lights, Bailey's coffee and Christmas smut ❤️🎅🎄❤️‍🔥❄️🥵 Merry Christmas everyone....I hope you get lots of good books from Santa xx

Graciouswarriorprincess That mug is so pretty!! 3mo
bookandbedandtea Merry Christmas! 🎄 I love your mug. 3mo
mabell Merry Christmas!🎄 3mo
bthegood Merry Christmas ☃️ 3mo
40 likes4 comments
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ncsufoxes
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Mehso-so

Yes, to body positivity & LBGTQ positivity but this was a so-so for me. It was a cute “meet cute” story. My only qualm was some of the phrases during the romantic scenes were just a little ick to me but that‘s just me. #bookspin

TheAromaofBooks Some books just don't quite click! 3mo
26 likes1 comment
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Roary47
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Mehso-so

3✨ This book was really not up my alley, but it was sweet. I‘m all for breaking stereotypes and this book was a lot about that. We should not shame women, the double standard thing needs to stop in gender, and everyone deserves Christmas as well as happiness. The spice was a little much for me, but I enjoyed the story. I don‘t mind reading the spicy bits when there is a fun story. I loved the banter too. 😊 #WinterGames #GingerbreadGems

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Roary47
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Not a bad halfway mark for myself! 🤩 My total for #GingerbreadGems #WinterGames is 28,603 🥳💎💛

Roary47 @teebe @Littlewolf1 @BethM @Kshakal @Patchshank Let me know if you need any help on your totals. 💛 3mo
13 likes1 comment
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Lin3han
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

A fun holiday romance filled with witty writing, hilarious side characters, and two disastrous bisexual leads. I was surprised at how much this book meant to me. It‘s representation of bisexuality, a fat protagonist, and bipolar representation truly made this book stand out in my life. I‘m really happy I read this. 4/5!

StayCurious Are you going to read the sequel? I'm looking forward to it 3mo
Lin3han @StayCurious I think so! I LOVED Luca and want to see his love story! 3mo
14 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Lin3han
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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“It was the cruelest thing about bipolar disorder, I thought; there was never one thing that worked forever. No one med, no one dose, no one routine. My mom said it was like walking on a rope bridge, where every step is slightly different from the last and sometimes you had to stop and just hold on until you could find your balance again. But she also liked to remind me that sometimes the view from her bridge are incredible too.”

Lin3han I have bipolar disorder. It is a daily struggle. My life is often filled with panicked thoughts of: Am I balanced enough? Am I stable? Is this a sign of mania? Am I slipping into depression? Is this my life? Why? 3mo
Lin3han And I read this quote in a smut book of all places and it is the perfect description. A balance oh stability. Sometimes I focus so much on this balance that I don‘t stop to appreciate my view. My outlook on life is different. The way I love is different. The beauty of life looks different because I don‘t know if that will be the same when my mood changes. This quote meant a lot to me. 3mo
JenReadsAlot ❤️ 3mo
julieclair Sometimes the right words show themselves just when you need them, even from the most unlikely source. I‘m so glad these words found you. 💙 3mo
Lin3han @julieclair thank you so much💜💜 it was wonderful reminder going into this holiday season when I tend to be more down 3mo
12 likes5 comments
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katiekat311
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Got some mom TLC tonight so I‘m late posting and didn‘t get to watch a family Christmas movie. I‘ll make it up to them! 😉 #dailyphotochallenge and ornament challenge, day 6: North Pole character and green font! #wintergames #RestingGrinchFace

Julsmarshall Cute ornament! 3mo
11 likes1 comment
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Lauranahe
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

I loved this! A plus-size adult film star gets to start opposite her teenage crush—an ex-boy band guy—on a hallmarkesque Christmas film. I kept imagining it was me and AJ McClean…😍 I‘ve loved him for 25 years. Anyway, great fun, wanted more 🌶️🌶️.

Reggie AJ McLean?!!!! It was JC Chasez all the way for me. Lol 3mo
16 likes1 comment
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Emilymdxn
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

This was great fun and I‘m glad I found it through kindle unlimited. I‘m all for more plus size representation in rom coms, and I found Christmas Notch a suitably fun and bizarre town to spend time in. Not flawless but I had a good time.

#wintergames #snowangels

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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Bailedbailed

I got this book for Christmas last year and was saving it for this December, but I'm bummed to say it's not doing it for me. I don't find the humour funny, and the characters are boring. Like, it's great the female lead is a fat porn star, but she also needs a personality?? And the guy is annoying. He's a former boy band member and he has one of their songs as his ringtone? Many a mention of edgy sex stuff does not an interesting book make!

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Roary47
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Hi @Emilymdxn I had the privilege of selecting your #Snowedin books. Here is the most interesting of the bunch. I wish I could say I‘ve read some of these, but I went off of authors I have enjoyed instead. Happy reading! @PuddleJumper

Emilymdxn Thank you thank you! 4mo
28 likes1 comment
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Emilymdxn
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Here‘s my December #bookspinbingo board for some extra #wintergames points! I‘m excited to get through some tbr reads and some festive wintry stuff ❄️

#snowangels @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 4mo
29 likes1 comment
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Nelnjali
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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I scored some holiday romances at the library today. Gearing up for #WinterGames! #HollyJollyReaders

Magpiegem I saw “So this is Christmas” and now I have John Lennon in my head 4mo
willaful Yay, my teammates like romance too. Enjoy your picks!

@Magpiegem that happens to me *all the time*. So annoying.
4mo
Nelnjali @willaful Yep! Fantasy is my favorite genre, but I'm a sucker for a cheesy romance (rom-coms are my favorite!), especially around Christmas. I get excited every year to see what the new Netflix Christmas romance movies will be! 4mo
20 likes3 comments
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Kaylamburson
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

This is a fun Christmas romance to gear up for the holiday season! It‘s very steamy with sex scenes every few chapters, and I really liked the plot of a porn star trying to get her next opportunity in a wholesome Christmas movie, while costarring with a former boy band pop star she was obsessed with as a teen. The book went on a bit long and there wasn‘t a lot of build-up to the relationship as it kicked off early on, but I still enjoyed it!

55 likes1 stack add
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litmuggle
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

What a cute and oh so dirty read perfect for us smut lovers at the holidays. This one is oh so corny kind of funny that had me in stitch‘s. He‘s a ex boy band singer and she corn star how accidentally gets casted in a hallmark style Christmas movie. I absolutely loved this book.

#christmasreads #spicychritmasbooks #spicychristmasreads #christmastbr

6 likes1 stack add
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angel1
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Mehso-so

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
This one was just ok, kinda bored…not the Christmas story I was looking for🎄

21 likes1 stack add
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MatchlessMarie
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

I have fallen behind on posting. I had no idea there was a 4th of July scene in this book when I chose it for my #ChristmasInJuly list 😝 and Snow Place Like LA (the next in the series) just released a few days ago. I loved this book. The premise of this book was unhinged fun. An adult film star is cast last minute in a Hallmark-eque movie while trying to keep her identity under wraps, lest its pearl clutching target audience find her out. ⬇️

MatchlessMarie She is over the moon when she realizes her co-star is the former member of the boy band she fawned over as a teen. He has a lot at stake too as he tries to clean up his image. Disaster ensues, obviously 😏 The producer Teddy who called Bee in to fill in for the role is such a character. I would love to read more about him in a future book if the series keeps going. 8mo
50 likes1 comment
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swishandflick
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

The AWESOME premise had so much potential, but it fell a bit flat for me. Bee is a curvaceous porn star who's just got her first opportunity in a non-sexual movie role, but she has to keep her "day job" a secret bc it's a Hallmark-esque movie. Nolan is a former boy band hottie trying to reform his bad boy image - and then he recognizes his new co-star bc be just so happens to be her, um, No. 1 fan. Sparks fly, but it didn't stick the landing 3.5⭐️

swishandflick PS: nothing wrong with a little Christmas in July, amiright?? 8mo
Texreader Excellent review 8mo
swishandflick @Texreader Thank you! It really was a fun read, it just tried to cover SO much ground that it made it harder to feel like the central relationship ever got fully fleshed out. 8mo
81 likes1 stack add3 comments
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LibrarianRyan
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
Pickpick

4.5 ⭐ I have read other Julie Murphy books and they did not prepare me for this one. This is about a porn star who tries to make it on standard side of acting and a former a bad boy boy bander trying to clean up his image. Both of them head to this Holiday movie set intent on keeping their secret, and to start something new. But of course, when they both have to be on their best behavior and fight their natural tendencies, those natural tendencies

LibrarianRyan cause them to smack right into each other. That is meant both literally and figuratively. Is this book full of tropes? Absolutely. Is this book raunchy and spicy? Absolutely! Is this book a fantastic ride that will have one grinning and smiling from beginning to end? Heck yes! I absolutely loved this book and I hope that Julie Murphy and Simone do more books together. The combining of the two authors writing makes for a lively and entertaining 13mo
LibrarianRyan story. You felt the romance, you felt the sex and you felt the Christmas. The Christmas was very present and if I had to describe this this is a Hallmark movie, it‘s a Hallmark movie meets SkinaMax and it works in all the best ways. 13mo
30 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Kshakal
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Clwojick I found that people either loved this one or hated it, but I thought it was great! 😂🥰 14mo
Kshakal @Clwojick same! 🤓 14mo
kezzlou85 I really enjoyed it. 14mo
30 likes3 comments
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SanjanaGhosh
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Panpan

Never too late for Christmas stories!

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Lauredhel
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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This one has all the pinks, and I reckon her jacket matches #PinkCosmos for #pantone2023 @Clwojick

Also works for Holiday Themed prompt of #NoShameReadathon23@Nessavamusic

And #simonefacts of #hbreadingembrace

Clwojick Great job! 💖 14mo
52 likes1 comment
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Lauredhel
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Mehso-so

Me:"A Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone collab? Huh?"

Plus-size progressive-porn star looking for her next chapter gets a twee Xmas movie role starring with boy band star looking to rehabilitate his image. Both are long-time fans of reach other. Both disaster bisexuals. Shenanigans ensue.

Great set-up, mixed pay-off. Not enough tension, the conflict is 'meh', TSTL issues, and the sex is weirdly vanilla given the 'suitcase full of sex toys' setup.

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Gissy
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Panpan

Late reading for #LittensLoveRomance book arrived super late (December 2022 book) @Staycurious
I didn‘t like much the story, neither the ending. But I liked Nolan, his family story and how he supported them. Also, how he respected Bee‘s work. Few funny scenes. 1.5/2⭐️it didn‘t work for me but I loved this cover.

Gissy January 2023 #BookSpin (#17) @TheAromaOfBooks
#ISpyBingo January2023 (coffee-she is holding a tiny cup of coffee☺️) @TheAromaOfBooks
@clwojick
#NoShameReadingChallenge (holiday themed) @Nessavamusic
14mo
Gissy January 2023 #BookSpin (#17) @TheAromaOfBooks
#ISpyBingo January2023 (coffee-she is holding a tiny cup of coffee☺️) @TheAromaOfBooks
@clwojick
#NoShameReadingChallenge (holiday themed) @Nessavamusic
14mo
Clwojick Great job! ❤️ 14mo
Nessavamusic Great job! I also found this one to be very meh. 14mo
TheAromaofBooks I saw a lot of mixed reviews for this one. 14mo
46 likes5 comments
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peanutnine
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

Finally posting my last review of 2022 reads. I started this early in December with #littensloveromance but it took me a while to get into. Overall I enjoyed it. The plot was fun- a reformed bad boy and a secret porn star as the leads on a Hallmark movie project. What could go wrong? A bit predictable but the characters had depth and it was nice seeing two openly bi characters in a straight-passing relationship without erasing their queer identity

Andrew65 Brilliant, this has been a very popular book during the Readathon. ☃️☃️☃️ 1y
DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 1y
63 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Nessavamusic
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Mehso-so

I‘m so bummed I didn‘t love this. A plus size porn star and a disgraced former boy band member make a Hallmark-esk Christmas movie? It sounds so fun right? There were some very steamy scenes, but like so many new romances this past year, it‘s TOO LONG. Which makes it weirdly boring, so I started skimming to finish it as my library book was due. I think this writer duo book just did not work. 2.5⭐️
#Jumpstart2023 #bookspinbingo

MoonWitch94 That was my biggest issue: it drags in certain places & killed the momentum. It had a good premise and I liked it, but having multiple authors is probably the issue. 1y
Nessavamusic @MoonWitch94 💯 especially they write such different styles of romance 1y
Clwojick Great job! 1y
47 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Kshakal
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

Love, love, love this book! Body positive, sex positive and LGBTQ positive! Great characters and a great story… hope that there is more of these characters!

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Fun cover ❤️🤍 1y
30 likes1 comment
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Kshakal
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Apparently pumpkin doesn‘t want me to read tonight! #catsoflitsy

Ruthiella Nope! 😹😹😹 1y
TheDaysGoBy So adorable! Those pesky cats though love to interrupt our reading time lol 1y
peanutnine 😻😹😻📖 1y
45 likes3 comments
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Kshakal
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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I love when there is a map in books and this one is especially cute!

LoverOfLearning Adorable!! 1y
Itchyfeetreader Love a book map 1y
31 likes1 stack add2 comments
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kimmypete1
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

Loved this one! Sex positive, LGBTQ positive (and normalized, which I love!). Cute romance and loveable characters.

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sebrittainclark
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

5/5

Bee has just been cast in a g rated made for TV Christmas movie, except no one but the producer knows she's also adult film star, Bianca Von Honey. She's going to be starring along side her teenage crush former boy band bad boy Nolan Shaw. Sparks fly in the small Vermont town where they're shooting.

This is my favorite Christmas romance of the year. It's a super steamy, super fun rom com.

52 likes3 stack adds
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sebrittainclark
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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A little #audiobaking today.

LeslieO Yum! 1y
Tamra Those are may favorites! 1y
sarahbellum One of my favorites too! 😋 1y
51 likes3 comments
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TheBookHippie
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Bookwormjillk So true! 1y
Trashcanman Hi ☺️ 1y
TheBookHippie @Trashcanman 👋🏼 I hope you‘re doing well! 1y
See All 6 Comments
Trashcanman @TheBookHippie I took a lot of gabapentin so I'm numb and feeling ok, thank you for being so kind to me.I appreciate it. 1y
71 likes6 comments
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behudd
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Bailedbailed

It is too long - I made it just over halfway & was so bored.
Occasionally funny, trying to be very spicy though not actually well-written spice, and did not keep my interest: that far in & nothing had changed except that people who already had crushes on each other were hooking up... 😑
If this wasn't for book club,I would have stopped after ch 1.
ALSO - There is zero meet cute in this book. What is this title?? I just have a lot of issues here.

TheSpineView I agree! Bailed on this one too. 1y
BethM Yaaasss to all of that! 1y
30 likes2 comments
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ShananigansReads
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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I started this one this morning. I‘ve been wanting to read it because of the hype but I‘ve never read the blurb so I was 😳😳😳 for a couple of chapters. 🤣🤣🤣

Lauranahe I want to read this! I LOVE Sierra Simone, and my fb smut group has been gushing about how great this is. 1y
ShananigansReads @Lauranahe yes. I picked it up because everyone says a it so good. I like it so far but I‘m only a few chapters in. 1y
20 likes2 comments
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BethM
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Bailedbailed

Not for me. Felt like it was trying too hard, and I didn‘t connect with any of the characters. Loved the attempt at inclusivity but it fell far from the mark for me.

Jas16 This one didn‘t work for me either. 1y
behudd Trying SO hard, I agree! 1y
39 likes2 comments
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MoonWitch94
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

3⭐️
Okay, so upon further reflection, I have changed my rating of this book. During our #littensloveromance discussion, I didn‘t care for it & bailed. However, I am glad I finished it bc it took some time to get moving. If you can get passed the first part, the rest is a fun, festive, sexy romp that Hallmark movies should aspire to “Bee” 😇😂 I don‘t think I would read about other characters if this becomes a series, though. Only Nolan & Bee.

StayCurious Glad you finished it and enjoyed it! It did take a bit of time to get into I found. 1y
36 likes1 stack add1 comment
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LibrarianRyan
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

This review is embargoed until Harper Collins Publishers End the Strike!

julesG What's going on? What did I miss? 1y
LibrarianRyan @julesG The Workers at Harper Collins Publishers have been on strike for over a month. HPC won't even come to the table. The workers are asking for 3 main things: wages in line of where they are required to work and live (NYC), diversity initiatives, and I am blanking on the 3rd one. There are lots of authors who have joined their side. This strike could set the norms for the rest of the industry since they are the only unionized company. ⬇ 1y
LibrarianRyan the striking workers have not asked people to stop buying books because in the long run that hurts the authors and makes their jobs harder. What they asked of the public is to no review HPC titles (in any format or imprint) until the strike is over. Once the strike is over then post reviews giving HPC a windfall of good news.

It's pretty bad. There is supposed to be a pretty big demonstration today. i believe the writer or Babel and Poppy
1y
See All 6 Comments
LibrarianRyan war are supposed to do book signings at the strike line to benefit the strike fun. HPC says it's negotiating but so far all they have put out is that the union is being unreasonable in it's demands. Most staffers for HPC make between $45-$55,000 USD. That is not enough to live on in NYC. But at the same time the company has publicized that they want to buy Simon and Schuster now that the Feds have blocked the PRH acquisition. 1y
LibrarianRyan Odds are this strike will go into the new year. The HPC union even purposefully scheduled the strike during the slow part of the year to make things easer for HPC and still they are being treated like poo. 1y
julesG Wow. That's the first time I hear about this. 1y
51 likes6 comments
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MoonWitch94
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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#WondrousWednesday Thanks @Eggs @TheSpineView for the tags!

1) Lunch with my Uncle & Aunt; then celebrating with my Dad‘s family in the evening.
2) Our meal always changes each year, but it‘s always something fancy that we don‘t eat regularly.

🎄Who hasn‘t played? Everyone welcome to play! Tagging some friends to play if you haven‘t already @wanderinglynn @Librarybelle @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @slategreyskies

Eggs Sounds wonderful 🎄📚❄️ 1y
TheSpineView You're welcome! 1y
Librarybelle Thanks for the tag! 1y
wanderinglynn Thanks for the tag! 1y
28 likes4 comments
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Sarahreadstoomuch
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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Pickpick

Sex positive and body positive holiday romance! This was a lot of fun, with a kinky take on some favorite tropes. It did feel a little too long, tbh, and several secondary threads were left unresolved (why bring them up?) but overall still enjoyable.

17 likes1 stack add
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StayCurious
A Merry Little Meet Cute | Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
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#LittensLoveRomance December book discussion: some of us enjoyed this book and some of us…not so much. But honestly that‘s what makes a book club exciting! Here are some starter topics but feel free to discuss anything you want. I will be drawing a name for our participation prize this week and I will be posting the new voting form for our January read sometime this week. Thanks for being awesome!

Read4life I care way more about the details in mysteries and thrillers than I do in fluffy romances. I loved that Bee was plus sized and loved. She was comfortable with who she is. So many books comment on “the heavy lady” or “it was difficult for him to sit comfortably with all the extra pounds he‘s carrying”. I‘ve been noticing it a lot by certain authors and it‘s annoying. I‘m glad we saw very different MCs in this. 1y
Read4life I felt like they were setting some of the supporting characters up for future books but I don‘t know that I‘d read them. It would be a mood pick vs I can‘t wait for another story with these characters. 1y
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PageShifter I think I prefer more realistic romances because romance novels made me as a teenager believe in unrealistic things and I only got myself hurt that way. That's my reason why I want realistic romances. Fantasy is fantasy and everyone knows it isn't something that can happen in real life. 1y
julesG Well, there's unrealistic and there's improbable. And I think the authors wanted to go for improbable but ended up with unrealistic. I like body positive characters. And I like my romance novels on the more realistic side. Bee was well-written, but I just didn't care for her. Nor for Nolan. Which, I think, was more due to the very unrealistic setting of the story rather than the characters themselves. 1y
MoonWitch94 @Read4life I agree with you! I liked how Bree was written, how comfortable she was with who she is, and that this was a different MC. We need more representation like this. I don‘t think I would read addition books, either. 1y
MoonWitch94 I love a spicy romance, and am not prudish in any way. HOWEVER, I got so annoyed in the first part of the novel with Nolan—we get it! You wanna f*** her, she‘s your fantasy, you wake up “frustrated”, etc etc. It was repetitive and irritating. You‘re 31, Dude. Get it together 🤦🏻‍♀️😂 1y
MoonWitch94 I don‘t need it a romance to be realistic, but this one was too fairytale forrest for my tastes. I personally think there isn‘t anything wrong with being a sex worker (I could never! But if you can, your paid well, your happy—all the power to you!) but I doubt very highly that in real life, Nolan would be cool with Bee continuing her work in porn. Maybe ClosedDoors stuff, but not the work with others. 1y
MoonWitch94 As a plus-size woman, I really appreciated the representation, and how Bee being plus size was part of the story, but not THE story. It was refreshing to read about a confident, bigger bodied MC. I really wanted to love this novel: it had good potential. But it was just so unrealistic at times that it made me like it, not love it. I like reading different types of romance and did appreciate this choice. 1y
KristiAhlers See and I like it for all the reasons many don‘t. I love that the authors took on a FMC who was realistically not perfect and a size zero. That they made her an adult film star again why not. One of my favorite authors Kristen Ashley has a series of books where the FMC are all exotic dancers and they find their happy ending. I read to escape so these kinda reads don‘t bother me at all. 1y
KristiAhlers I get bored with traditional reads sometimes. I mean let‘s face it the boy meets girl they argue they make up and voila happy endings are they format for romance. When an author takes an opportunity to put a fresh spin on it I‘m there for it. And I love a good spicy romance. 1y
BarkingMadRead I love hallmark movies so obviously I don‘t need books or movies to be realistic 🤣 1y
Clwojick @Read4life SAME! I agree with everything you said. I‘m pretty lax with what I feel I “need” out of my romance reads, since they tend to be comfort reads for me. It‘s more about the characters than the plot for me when it comes to romances, verses needing plot driven books for mystery/suspense/thriller. I loved the rep, and the fact that this tried to do something new. This wasn‘t just a repeat of literally every other rom com I‘ve already read. 1y
Clwojick And I just read a book called Stalked by Santa, so clearly I don‘t always need realistic storylines to find it enjoyable. 😂 I‘m very open to all types of romance books which is why I love this group so much. We‘ve read books that I didn‘t initially feel a pull towards, and ended up loving them. ❤️ 1y
MoonWitch94 @KristiAhlers I absolutely agree with you. 1y
BethM I haven‘t finished and I probably won‘t. I agree with pretty much everything above. I don‘t need realism, but this felt flat, almost like trying too hard to be different? I‘m just honestly not loving the characters, except the moms. I love Bee‘s body positivity but I don‘t love her, and Nolan seems like a putz. I appreciate the representation but goodness did it feel cliched at times. If you‘re going to shoot for representation do it we‘ll. 1y
BethM I wouldn‘t want to read more at this point unless@maybe it was about the moms. By and large I‘ve liked a bunch of what we‘ve read. I think boyfriend material might have been my favorite. As an overall comment, I‘ve had to skip a few bc the library wait was too long for me to get it on time so maybe we can take publish date into consideration? 1y
BethM And @Clwojick I‘m off to find the Santa book 😂 1y
tdrosebud This was a so-so for me. I liked it enough that I wanted to know how it ended, but I wasn't gung ho about reading it. 1y
PageShifter This was so-so for me too! And for me this wasn't especially good spicy either. I was lost when “she almost came because she was in the same room with him“. Really?? 🤣 1y
PageShifter I also like how there starts to be more books with plus size characters. Especially as a teenager I remember how hard it was when all women in books were tiny and tall. Well I didn't have over weight but I have never been tiny tiny. Nor tall. (edited) 1y
StayCurious @BethM I definitely would like to read some older books and not just new publications. I think I will make some months dedicated to older reads in the new year. 1y
PageShifter I have to say that I am quite rarely interested in other romances with familiar characters or setting in the same world. All those stories still are so independent so the whole “series idea“ is always a bit lost. 1y
PageShifter I just now started to think that if this would be a series I might be more interested in stories of other characters' than INK memebers. I mean that who made costumes, a make-up artist etc. They had personalities 🤣 1y
OriginalCyn620 I totally forgot about the final discussion for this book! This wasn‘t my favorite romance by any means, but I do appreciate that the authors were going for something different, not just a standard rom-com. 1y
OriginalCyn620 1. For me, romance novels are purely for escapism, so I don‘t need the entire thing to be strictly believable. If I like at least some of the characters, I can pretty much roll with it. Bee was a great character. She was a strong, smart young woman, but internally, she had doubts and insecurities. And don‘t many of us? Plus, when it came down to it, she stood up for herself against Nolan, and I loved that! 1y
OriginalCyn620 2. This book did have great representation! I do think the authors got that right, if nothing else. 1y
OriginalCyn620 3. If there were stories about Kallum and Isaac, I‘d probably be interested. The members of INK all clearly have very different stories, and the other two could be fun! 1y
OriginalCyn620 4. A romance doesn‘t have to be “traditional” for me to enjoy it, and I did enjoy this book. I don‘t think the perfect ending took away from the book and/or whatever the authors were going for. In romance, I think HEAs are expected. And yes, in real life, it doesn‘t always work out that way. That‘s why for me, romance is escapism. In books or movies, the journey to getting to the HEA is the fun of it all! 1y
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