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

“Everything smelled like sex, and coffee, and Christmas, and I didn't want it to end.”

➽ A Merry Little Meet Cute is a fun, steamy Christmas Romance! I loved the premise of a Hallmark-type Christmas movie being secretly produced by the owner of a porn studio who accidentally casts one of his clients in the lead role! The potential for chaos was there from the beginning, especially as part of the cast and crew gets in an accident and has to be replaced with his own people who have never worked in a traditional movie before. The setting of Christmas Notch was also nice, it's a festive small town that is often the set for Christmas movies and consists of appropriately themed stores and streets! 🎄 The writing was witty and fun, so I had a good time reading this!

➽ Bee is an adult film star under the name of Bianca Von Honey, but now she wants to branch out! She's proud of her work and ClosedDoors Account (something like OnlyFans), but dreams of acting in a mainstream movie. Her producer Teddy gives her the chance to do so, but no one can know that she does porn, as the Hope Channel is known for its squeaky-clean image. I really liked Bee as I felt her passion for expanding into acting, but also her sex positivity and pride for her job. As a plus-size performer, she knows the fatphobia of the industry too well, especially coupled with the misogyny that's also present.

➽ Nolan is a former boy band idol ... but now he's broke! He has a reputation as the bad boy, but he's trying to clean up his image. Despite his rough edges, I liked the love he has for his family and how he's doing his best to use the Christmas movie in order to be able to support them better. It was nice to see the close bond with his family and how he tried to be there for his little sister Maddie and his mother, who is struggling with bipolar disorder. He loves Bee, but knows that dating a porn star could very well be the end of the revival of his career!

➽ I really liked the romance, Bee and Nolan had some great chemistry! I liked that it wasn't only Nolan who was a secret fan, but also Bee who used to moon over him when he was in the boy band. The fact that they were both hiding a parasocial crush that turned into real attraction made their dynamic feel more even! I personally liked the balance between their more steamy scenes and also them getting to know each other. There was some slight miscommunication at times, but having a dual POV really helped it not get too frustrating!

➽ The book felt slightly too long though! With over 400 pages it's on the longer side for a Romance and at times the pace slowed down, so shortening the book slightly would have helped. It was also a bit disappointing that there was so much talk about Bianca's toys and the lube she specifically brought in her suitcase ... yet it never gets used in any of the sex scenes.

Content Warnings

ms_elchert's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.25

Content Warnings

yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

This was a cute read. Lots of feminism and representation which was so nice to see. There were some times where I felt like Bee and Nolan didn’t have a lot of chemistry

and it felt like they were fangirling each other the whole time. Also it seemed a little silly they thought no one would figure out who she or Teddy was when she’s so public in the adult film industry. I also feel like Nolan and Bee needed more time to fall in love with each other. They were fantasizing about marriage by the end of the two weeks lol

alas I was here for the vibes. The Christmas themed strip club was cute and there were definitely some cute and funny moments throughout the book. Not my fave but not bad.

Content Warnings