A Merry Little Meet Cute

Bestseller Murphy (If the Shoe Fits) and Simone (A Lesson in Thorns) take readers on a bumpy but enjoyable ride in this playful holiday romp. Notorious former boy band star Nolan Shaw is on a mission to rehabilitate his playboy image by starring in a wholesome family Christmas movie. Though he’s determined to remain as “pure as driven snow” throughout production, this proves difficult when the producer unknowingly casts Nolan’s favorite porn star, Bianca von Honey (real name Bee Hobbes), as the leading lady. Hardly anyone else on set knows of Bee’s other profession, and though she’s proud of her career as a plus-sized sex worker, Bee knows it would be catastrophic if her secret leaked to the conservative streaming service producing the movie. As chemistry ignites between Bee and Nolan both on- and off-screen, however, it becomes impossible for them to resist each other. There’s a lot of promise to this amusing premise and the authors admirably touch on many feminist themes, but Bee and Nolan’s narrative voices are virtually indistinguishable, and the romance itself remains disappointingly surface level. Readers wanting romance with substance should look elsewhere, but for cheery holiday fluff this works just fine. Agent: John Cusick, Folio Literary Management. (Sept.)