December 2022 Standalone BOTM - A Merry Little Meet Cute, by Julie Murphy

[Alaina]

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 BOTM thread will be open until January 5th @ Midnight (in your time zone)**

[Alicia]

I've started, and so far this is very different from what I thought it would be. I just read Julie Murphy and the title. Probably should have looked at the blurb as well 😄

[Alicia]

Chapter five (view spoiler)[ I popped a breath mint and tried to imagine I was the duke. A Hope Channel duke who'd never even had sex and who never thought about sex and who'd never even seen two horse doing it in a field or whatever.
The duke of no boners. The softest duke who'd ever softed. That was me.
Noah's acting skills are on point.(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Alicia]

Chapter 14 (view spoiler)[ They're still trying to find a finishing line? Just leave it open to interpretation where it currently leaves off. (hide spoiler)]

[Alicia]

Chapter 17 (view spoiler)[ Any idea why they're treating the mom with bi-polar as an invalid? Yes, she's going to have hard days, but this seems really extreme. (hide spoiler)]

[Alicia]

Chapter 18 (view spoiler)[We stood there framed by his open window. Well that's an uh oh moment. (hide spoiler)]

[Alicia]

End (view spoiler)[ Well that had a lot more spice to it than her YA stuff, and even If the Shoe Fits, which was adult but still pretty PG. Who knew she had it in her?
I did think the epilogue shouldn't have been from a different character's POV, because it's clearly just a set up for more novels, even though this isn't pitched as a series. But there's at least two more books pencilled into that scene. (hide spoiler)]

[Angela]

So how does this work? We all complete the reading by the specified date and then we discuss it ?

[Alicia]

Angela wrote: "So how does this work? We all complete the reading by the specified date and then we discuss it ?"

Everyone just reads it in their own time. You can post updates or parts you like as you go. (If you're using it for a challenge, there is a minimum number needed. I think it's four or six.) Hide it as spoilers so that when others read they can't see it yet. Usually once a few people have read you can reply to previous comments and start a conversation that way.

[Esther]

20% - (view spoiler)[I have some mixed feelings about the book so far. I feel that it's not boring exactly, but I don't know how the book is supposed to get better as I continue reading. I don't foresee the conflict being interesting enough to enjoy the book. I will say though, that I was surprised by the book's content. That was my fault because I did not read the synopsis before starting, so I didn't really have any idea what the book was about. So that was a bit of a shock, but I'm used to it now and slightly enjoying myself. (hide spoiler)]

43% - (view spoiler)[I am afraid that this relationship won't have any substance by the end of the book. I hate relationships solely based on physical attraction, and that's all there is so far. There is still a lot of time for the relationship to develop, and I hope it does. Also, I hate the little miscommunication that is going on right now. It's not in the forefront, but Nolan thought that Bee was seeing someone which made him mad. However, Bee is single. It just pissed me off seeing him react that way to something that wasn't even true. (hide spoiler)]

61% - (view spoiler)[Every character is extremely annoying. I think I hate everyone, I'm not going to lie. The writing is pissing me off, Nolan and Bee definitely want to get caught, and Sunny is the most irritating friend I think I've ever had to read about. I am praying it doesn't get worse. (hide spoiler)]

80% - (view spoiler)[This entire relationship is getting so messy. Why are Bee and Nolan acting like they want to get caught? It can’t be that hard to keep your situation private, especially with that weird reporter stalking you guys. Groping each other in front of an open window, being extremely touchy in public, Nolan being unprepared for questions about Bee, and having sex in a church! It feels like caution was thrown to the wind at this point. However, I am kind of enjoying this book. Some parts of the story make me cringe, but I still want to see what happens with the reporter, and I want to see how/if Bee and Nolan get their HEA. (hide spoiler)]

End - (view spoiler)[I think this entire relationship was based off of physical appearances, preconceived opinions, and lustful gazes. It's tiring reading about relationships like this, but it's my fault for picking up this book in the first place. (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Chapter 1-5: (view spoiler)[This is certainly different from anything I have read before and took some time to warm up to but I am enjoying it now being able to ignore some stuff. I am just a bit put off by the length of this book considering I don't think there's that much in the story to cover (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 6-10: (view spoiler)[This book is spicy, there's no doubt about it and despite my reservations, I am liking it for the most part but I just don't see how Nolan would fall for Bee as a person because so far they haven't had a single conversation that doesn't involve sex in some capacity. Their whole connection is purely physical which just doesn't hold the same appeal for me (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 11-18: (view spoiler)[Well this isn't get any better. I got one ray of hope when they started talking about Nolan's family but then they went back to sex yet again and all the progress went down the drain. I am thinking that I made a mistake giving this book a chance, normally christmas romances are so full of feelings and emotions but this one is nothing short of irritating (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 19-24: (view spoiler)[Well can't say THAT came out of nowhere I mean why did they even trust that their pictures would not be posted? Obviously anyone clicking a picture with a star is going to share them. Bee and Nolan weren't exactly being discreet with whatever was going on between them as well. Now I just hope Nolan doesn't blame Bee for the situation they are in. Teddy not letting Bee taking the fall for everything was actually kinda nice (hide spoiler)]

Finished: (view spoiler)[I was hoping for something substantial to come out of all of this but sadly it was still just about sex the whole time. I liked what Nolan said about why he was jealous but it still didn't make it any less odd considering they weren't even dating by that point. I still am not convinced that they "love" each other and it was nothing more than phsyical attraction for me till the end. (hide spoiler)]

[Alaina]

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