Note: Review contains spoilers.
Before reading “A Merry Little Meet Cute”, I wouldn’t have thought a book capable of conveying the words “horny” and “wholesome” simultaneously and so effectively. I’ll admit right off the bat to being a bit of a hopeless romantic. Though I haven’t been able to read romance novels in a long time. This is mainly due to the unfortunate reality with most romance novels perpetuating unhealthy and even abusive relationships. At best, the relationships in romance novels are unrealistic and, at worse, highly toxic (even straight up abusive). While I won’t pretend that this book is always realistic or logical, it does a lot of things that most romance novels don’t.
This is the only romance book I’ve read or heard of that I can easily put in the sex positive camp. It discusses sex work, protection, consent, and even ethical porn. Our female protagonist is an adult film actress who has made quite the name for herself in that industry, but she craves more. When she’s cast in a cozy holiday film, it’s like a dream come true. It doesn’t hurt that she’ll be co-starring with her long-time boy band bad boy crush, Nolan Shaw. The dramatic twist is that Nolan is a big fan of her work in the porn industry.
Is the plot a bit contrived? Sure. Does it have predictable moments? Absolutely. But what this book does better than so many other romance novels is establish a sweet and realistic relationship between Bee and Nolan. Yes, part of that relationship involves a healthy dose of sex. The major difference is how they are when they aren’t physical with each other. Bee and Nolan have a genuine interest in the other person’s life. They’re vulnerable with each other and talk to each other. Nolan feels comfortable telling Bee about his mom’s mental health issues. Bee asks Nolan how he feels about her continuing with her ClosedDoors (this universe’s version of OnlyFans) work, if they’re together. He responds honestly and asks her how she feels about it.Couples having honest and difficult conversations with each other shouldn’t be outside of the norm. Unfortunately, it is. That’s a major point in this book’s favor. We get the chance to see Bee and Nolan being vulnerable with themselves, their families, and each other. There seems to be this misconception in the romance genre that being vulnerable involves being naked. It doesn’t. It’s Bee and Nolan’s vulnerability with each other outside the bedroom that makes their relationship one of the better ones I’ve read in a romance novel in a while. I, personally, would love to see more books like this in the romance genre.
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