Release Review: Merry Little Meet Cute: Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Release Date September 20, 2022
Julie + Sierra website
Info from the website...
Julie Murphy
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 co-written book is not your typical sweet little Christmas story or meet-cute. It's nice and naughty and everything in between. A quirky cast and crew invade a small Hallmark-style Christmas town and bring secrets and potential for scandals
Nolan Shaw is a broke, fallen, bad boy from ex-boy band fame who needs a new start and gets cast in a squeaky clean holiday movie to rebrand his image. He has made mistakes but wants to be a better man and take care of his family. But things get complicated when he realizes his new ingenue of a leading lady is really his porn star crush.
Bee Hobbs is a sassy, smart, witty, body and sex-positive, plus-sized porn star who has her own popular online channel under another name. She is equally excited about this new mainstream opportunity and worried that her other identity will get out.
Is it fate or a disaster that Nolan already knows all about her online identity and had as much of a crush on her as she did on him during his band days? Unfortunately for them, it might be meeting the right person at the wrong time because they both are supposed to be on their best behavior, fly under the radar, and protect the family-friendly reputation of the movie and the network. But the chemistry between them is undeniable and the fact that they actually like spending time together is equally as dangerous. And if their secrets come out and their worlds collide, it could ruin everything. It's a quick and dirty holiday mess in the making.
This is a forced proximity, secret, holiday romance with plenty of hitches, heat, humor, and heart. They have quite a few issues to deal with and a lot of eyes watching. The scenery is both quaint and has some pockets of debauchery. The side characters add fun, drama, and even more diversity. This is a sugary sweet story within a story that has some edge. I hope that some of the side characters get books because there were interesting especially his boy band mates, Kallum and Isaac as well Luca, Angel, Teddy, Steph, and Maddie.
Nolan Shaw is a broke, fallen, bad boy from ex-boy band fame who needs a new start and gets cast in a squeaky clean holiday movie to rebrand his image. He has made mistakes but wants to be a better man and take care of his family. But things get complicated when he realizes his new ingenue of a leading lady is really his porn star crush.
Bee Hobbs is a sassy, smart, witty, body and sex-positive, plus-sized porn star who has her own popular online channel under another name. She is equally excited about this new mainstream opportunity and worried that her other identity will get out.
Is it fate or a disaster that Nolan already knows all about her online identity and had as much of a crush on her as she did on him during his band days? Unfortunately for them, it might be meeting the right person at the wrong time because they both are supposed to be on their best behavior, fly under the radar, and protect the family-friendly reputation of the movie and the network. But the chemistry between them is undeniable and the fact that they actually like spending time together is equally as dangerous. And if their secrets come out and their worlds collide, it could ruin everything. It's a quick and dirty holiday mess in the making.
This is a forced proximity, secret, holiday romance with plenty of hitches, heat, humor, and heart. They have quite a few issues to deal with and a lot of eyes watching. The scenery is both quaint and has some pockets of debauchery. The side characters add fun, drama, and even more diversity. This is a sugary sweet story within a story that has some edge. I hope that some of the side characters get books because there were interesting especially his boy band mates, Kallum and Isaac as well Luca, Angel, Teddy, Steph, and Maddie.
Julie + Sierra website
Info from the website...
Back in 2014…
When we first met, it was best friendship at first sight. Sierra is narcoleptic, Julie likes to nap and we both love filthy love stories, 2000s pop culture, and absurdist feel good humor. We soon became the kind of friends who finish each other’s sentences and were constantly looking for reasons to span the gap between Texas and Kansas and spend more time together.
On road trips and writing retreats, we quickly found out that not only did we laugh at and fangirl over the same things, but our circadian rhythms were also in tune with one another. Four years ago, we decided to combine our love for Christmas and cozy cabins, and meet up for a December writing retreat with just the two of us. We slept in late, made delicious food, wrote like fiends, and at the end of the day rewarded ourselves with hot tub time, pie, and Hallmark Christmas movies. Now, we’ve gone on our December retreats every year since and our investment in cheesy Christmas content is unmatched. Our Christmas retreats weren’t enough and now we force our families to spend summers together at the lake--though we have yet to receive any complaints.
Like the rest of humanity, over the last few years we’ve found ourselves feeling run down in every way. From professional to personal to social, the burnout is real. Last year, as we spitballed jokes back and forth through yet another ridiculous Christmas movie, the idea for Bee Merry and the town of Christmas Notch was born. Bee Merry became our secret obsession with the sole purpose of either making each other laugh hysterically or gush over the hotness of it all. It was our stupid happy escape, and one of the most joyful creative experiences either of us have ever had.
So now that we have had the time of our lives writing about Bee, Nolan, and the rest of the Christmas Notch gang, we are so thrilled to share it with you. We hope you leave Christmas Notch feeling a little bit nice and a lot naughty.
Merrily Yours,
Julie & Sierra
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Sierra Simone
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.
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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.
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.
*Authors' photos credit: Danielle Nicole Portraits
*Authors' photos credit: Danielle Nicole Portraits
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