an extra spicy christmas holiday movie feast

Teddy has a problem. He’s producing a movie for the pristine Hope Channel, a holiday movie that is being shot over Christmas. He has less than three weeks to complete filming in Christmas Notch, Vermont. And his leading actress has had to pull out of the film at the last minute. And when he was talking to his director Gretchen about a replacement, she noticed someone who caught her eye. Gretchen insisted on her, a voluptuous edgy actress she’d not seen in anything before. So he called up Bee Hobbes and asked her to star in the Hope Channel movie he was producing, Duke the Halls.

Technically, Bee worked for Teddy already. But she worked under for his Uncle Ray-Ray production company that also produced movies with a quick turnaround. But those were adult films, and she starred in them as Bianca von Honey. Now, she’s Bee Hobbes, a young actress with a squeaky clean reputation, or the whole project would be scrapped. And she really wanted to make this movie, especially since he costar is none other than Nolan Shaw.

Nolan Shaw was a member of the boy band INK, the bisexual bad boy who squandered a lot of his earnings before his sketchy manager took off with the rest. Now he’s living in Kansas City and working at a local theater. His mother struggles with her mental health, and he didn’t want to leave her alone with his younger sister Maddie, who is still in school, but filming Duke the Halls is his first step in rehabilitating his reputation and proving he can be a responsible performer. Plus, he could really use the money for his mother’s health care.

Nolan is committed to keeping his head down and his nose clean. But then he finds out that his costar, Bee Hobbes, is the same woman who haunts his fantasies as well as his phone. He is a subscriber to her ClosedDoors account, and meeting Bianca von Honey in person is almost enough for him to forget about why he’s there. Almost.

And then they kiss.

The first scene they film is toward the end of the movie, where the duke and the time-traveling runaway bride declare their love for each other and kiss. And the kiss is far hotter than either Bee or Nolan expects. Or maybe they did expect that, as Bee was a fan of Nolan back when he was in the boy band and she was in high school, and Nolan is a fan of Bianca.

Now all they have to do is keep filming this chaste film for a channel known for its modesty, with a producer who makes adult movies and a script with no ending (the screenwriter, Gretchen’s girlfriend, can’t seem to figure out that last line about what Christmas means), in a town that doubles as a set for holiday movies. Everything has to be by the book. Unsullied. Squeaky clean.

So no one can know when Bee and Nolan start hooking up in secret.

And that’s when Dominic Diamond, the reporter who destroyed Nolan’s career the first time, shows up to town.

Will Bee and Nolan be able to survive all the forces trying to keep them apart? Or will they find their own happily ever after after all?

A Merry Little Meet Cute is an extra spicy holiday rom com with lots of laughs and lots of very hot love scenes. The characters are likable, smart and compassionate and accepting. The juxtaposition of the adult film industry insiders working on the Hope Channel movie offers lots of room for hijinks, but there is also a respect for all lifestyles.

I listened to A Merry Little Meet Cute, with Bee’s chapters narrated by Joy Nash and Nolan’s chapters narrated by Sebastian York. I thought both of them were perfect in their roles, bringing these characters to life, with all their snark and intelligence. However, there were scenes that would make listening to this book awkward in public, so that’s something to keep in mind as you listen.

I loved A Merry Little Meet Cute. I thought it was engaging and charming, and it offers a different perspective on holiday shenanigans and those holiday movies on that greeting card channel. It is extra spicy, so prepare for those ghost pepper moments (or maybe I’m just used to vanilla rom coms). But this book is lots of fun and filled with life and laughter.

Egalleys for A Merry Little Meet Cute were provided by Avon through NetGalley, but I bought the audio book myself through Chirp.