A Merry Little Meet Cute - Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

I'm a big fan of Julie Murphy's books. I saw the cover and title of her latest book - A Merry Little Meet Cute, and thought oh, a Christmas tale! And a collaboration with a new to me author - Sierra Simone.

So, here's the premise...

Bee Hobbes is a successful, plus-size adult film star. Her favorite producer gives her the lead in a Christmas movie he's making.... for a clean, family channel. Her co-star ends up being  none other than her childhood crush, Nolan Shaw, an ex-boy band member in desperate need of a career boost. Oh, and that he recognizes Bee from her online gig - ClosedDoors. Uh huh....you can see where this might go, right?

So, I hit play and started listening. I really liked Bee. She's unapologetically herself. She's a great daughter, a wonderful friend and good at her job. I wasn't one hundred per cent sold on Nathan in the beginning, but he grew on me as the book and romance progressed. There's some over the top stuff on the movie set that's just plain fun. Bee and Nolan each have a voice and as listeners, we're privy to both of their thoughts. 

So, the plot was a surprise to me and is definitely not my usual genre. But it's good to step out of the usual path once in a while, isn't it? I thought the positive portrayal of sex workers and plus size characters was so good to read. The sex scenes? Well, not something I really read, so I'll say Murphy and Simone know better than me and that it's well done.

I've enjoyed Murphy's books in audio before and chose to listen again. The readers were Joy Nash and Sebastian York. Both performers were the perfect choice for their roles. Nash has such an expressive tone to her voice. She embodied the mental image I had created for Bee. Confident, proud, matter of fact and yet still unsure. York's voice has a deeper gravelly tone that's, well it's pretty sexy. He too absolutely fit the mental image I had for him. Both narrators easily bring Murphy and Simone's book to life with their expressive voices. Yes, that includes the steamy bits! Hear for yourself - listen to an audio excerpt of A Merry Little Meet Cute. 

I was a little obtuse when it came to the title. What is a meet cute? Here you go if you're a little out of the loop like me! "(in a movie, etc.) a humorous or interesting situation in which two people meet, that leads to them developing a romantic relationship with each other." Ahh - that makes sense now!

Check out what other readers/listeners thought on Goodreads.