Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - A Merry Little Meet Cute

Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone

108 reviews

sydapel's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Another book that was absolutely right what the doctor ordered leading up to Christmas! I liked how sex work and sexuality and fa culture was handled in this, and I'm incredibly impressed by how cohesive the writing feels especially with two authors coming from different backgrounds. Made me want to winter in Vermont again, and super excited to see where this series goes!

Content Warnings

jourdanicus's review

Go to review page

lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

HOT N SPICY

This was a fun read and I'm looking forward to the sequel. I think the topics were handled well by the writers. I usually like a romance where the conflict is outside of the lovers, rather than between them, but I found myself wishing for a little more tension (not the sexy kind) between the two MCs when

Nolan reveals that he knows that Bee is Bianca Von Honey.

The way it happened made me think it was going to play out to be more of a conflict between them, but it was seemingly just brushed off.

Other'n that I liked it. I'm a sucker for "celebrity crush fantasy come true" romances. Also, as someone on the asexual spectrum idk if people are that horny in real life but it's fun to read about LOL

OH AND this book handled having bisexual main characters (especially the male MC) THE BEST of ANY romance I've read recently! It was A+!

All -ist and -phobic content warnings are from parts of the plot, not any wrongs committed by the authors.

Content Warnings

fanboyriot's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Read For:

😬 Insta Love

☃️ Holiday Theme

🫠 Annoying Characters

🎄Christmas Movie Filming

🤢 Overuse of Holiday Lotion

I bought the book on accident (confusing it for a different book with a similar cover) I didn’t notice until I was home and live too far from the bookstore to return it. So this was a spite read if I’m being honest… and I hated this book. Where was the “Meet Cute” in this book because don’t remember reading one? It wasn’t even a Christmas book either it was like the whole title was a lie or joke or something.

Merry ❌

Little (418 pages) ❌

Meet Cute ❌

It was so cheesy and the characters gave off that whiny YA kind of vibe even though it wasn’t a young adult book. The first person point of view made it feel so one dimensional and flat. It was really difficult to care about what happened. I hated everyone the longer I read.

I have never read good fat rep in a book so I didn’t think this would be the exception. You want to normalize fat characters then please stop bringing up all the fat talk, mention it and move on. You don’t need to bring it up all the time. As a fat person it’s super annoying to read about it as if these characters aren’t just normal people at the end of the day. I’m here for the inclusion but my gosh you don’t have to make it their only personality point.

I have no idea how this was 418 pages because it takes half the book for anything slightly interesting to happen, and even then it’s pretty boring. It dragged out for no reason, but I’m so happy to note all the times the one character jerked off with gingerbread lotion so thanks for ruining that holiday scent for me. And don’t get me started on who uses lotion in the damn shower?! That should be a crime.

On that note it was super weird that Bee was way too over sexualized to the point Nolan kept using her porn name in his head all day the time. It like she was just an object the entire time.

“You can take the girl out of the sex work, but you can’t take the sex work out of the girl.” - (Chapter 18, Page 249)

Like what did I just read?

Nolan was so damn annoying and there was more chemistry between Bee and a random stripper than him if I’m being honest. They were just horny. There was zero romance and I’m not sure how the authors thought romance and sex are that same thing but here we are.

Sure there were things like mental health rep, LGBTQIA+ rep, body and sex positivity, sex work and each of these were written so poorly. For example when Bee was bisexual and in the porn business. News flash most people in porn are bi (or gay for pay), why is this so shocking?? Girl on girl is literally fetishized all the time and it’s treated like Bee is the only bisexual porn star.

How was the done so badly?! I knew I wouldn’t like it because it seems very heterosexual (even with bi characters) but my gods, this was so much worse.

So in conclusion this book was awful and felt like banging my head against a concrete wall.

Release Date: 20, September 2022

POV: Dual, First Person

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (mentioned nearly every page)

Rep: Bi (MCs), Trans (SC), Bipolar (SC)

Content Warnings

kleinekita's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted

4.0

Cute and funny yet 100% R rated.

I love bi4bi couples!

Content Warnings

cozycritiques's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

”And then, there it was: the collapse of all my gingerbread-infused effort. With a single kiss from Bee, all my control burned away, and my body stirred for her. I was going to have a problem hiding my response after this, but that didn’t stop me from deepening the kiss, from holding her tight as she explored my mouth with a soft, sweet greed. I’d figure out what was going on later.”
- A Merry Little Meet Cute

Thank you, NetGalley and Avon, for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tropes: Holiday Romance, Celebrities (Porn Star, Actors, Former Musician), Forced Proximity, Secret Identity, Hidden Relationship, Image Rehab, Small Town, Childhood Crush
Representation: Plus Size, LGBTQ+ (Bisexual)
Spice Scale: 🌶🌶🌶🌶
CW: Mental Illness (Bipolar Disorder), Fatphobia, Body Shaming, Sexism, Medical Content

I requested this ARC because I loved Julie Murphy’s If the Shoe Fits last year. I’ve never read anything by Sierra Simone before, but I know from BookTok that her writing is ✨spicy✨ so I had to see how their two styles worked together. It did not disappoint.
I absolutely loved the Christmas town setting and holiday references. You would think a holiday-themed strip club or gingerbread line would be a little over the top, but it worked so well. I also loved how positive this book was about body and sex. Bee was completely comfortable with her size and career choice. Her size was just one aspect of who she was, not her entire person, and although she kept her job secret for the majority of the book, she never felt shame for working in adult film. More importantly, her love interest never made her feel shame for either of these things either, which was a major green flag.
Bee and Nolan’s relationship was the perfect mix of sweet and spicy. The fact that they were both each other’s celebrity crushes was adorable, and their chemistry and banter were off the charts. Also, they were both bisexual disasters, which I am a total sucker for.
If you’re looking for something that captures the spirit of a Hallmark Christmas movie but is smutty as hell, A Merry Little Meet Cute is a must-read. Simone and Murphy’s writing flowed so seamlessly that I honestly couldn’t tell it was written by two people. I loved the world they created and can’t wait for more in this series.

Content Warnings

monicalaurette's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Cries because this book was so cute and so much fun to read around the holiday season. I even found myself loving the fluff moments more than the smut ones because it was just so heartwarming to see those two in love and sneaking around in this small, Christmas-loving town.

I think it was also fun to see a character like Bee/Bianca that was so confident in her body and into an industry like that because it’s not as common. And that Nolan was just so into her before they even met. I think both of them having an obsession with the other before they met helped it be like…not as creepy when you think about it. Like it cancels each other out.

One thing that got me in this book to not give it a full 5 stars would be how some of the characters behaved because it just seemed too much and too over the top at times. But maybe that was also just me because I wanted more scenes of Bee and Nolan cuddling together.

Also, it was nice that we got to see the truth of the events in Duluth too because it showed that Nolan was always just a caring person and not just with his family or bandmates. And is it wrong for me to compare Dominic Diamond to another certain tabloid-esque person that is just a terrible person? I don’t want to name names but they popped right in my head and I think a lot of people would agree with me.

For the ending the coming back down from the climax (pun sort of intended) I really liked how it was a biggish moment and then it was more personal with the cross-country driving. Having the book also start and end with Teddy’s POV I thought was a fun way to begin the tale and then bring it to a close while opening us up to the next book with Kallum (who might be my favorite?).

Content Warnings

theverycraftyvegan's review

Go to review page

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a spicy holiday book about a plus sized porn star and an ex boy band member. Really, there’s not more to say about it! It was funny, it was sexy, it was predictable, it was a perfect book for December. Bi positive MC’s with other LGBTQIA+ characters in the mix.

I really didn’t like the epilogue and I don’t know why the authors through it was necessary to add it? Really did nothing for the book or me. But a solid 4 star read.

Content Warnings