Susan's Review of Melonie Johnson's Too Good To Be Real

She plans to prove there's a dozen reasons why life isn't like a romantic comedy, only to discover the one reason it is…

While her friends wish for meet cutes worthy of their favorite rom-coms, Julia is ready to give up on love. Swiping right has replaced getting swept off your feet and good old-fashioned romance has become, well, old-fashioned.

A writer for a popular website, love becomes the last thing on her mind when impending layoffs threaten her job. As Julia searches for the ultimate pitch to impress her boss, she stumbles upon a resort offering guests a chance to live out their romantic comedy dreams. Real life dating is so bleak, who wouldn't want to spend a week in a fantasy rom-com world with your best friends?

At the resort, Julia literally falls into a not-quite-meet-cute involving an aggressive seagull and an adorably awkward guy named Luke who is also participating in the rom-com experience. Julia hides the fact she is there to do a story, but Luke harbors a few secrets of his own. Among further encounters with thieving seagulls, a gaggle of corgis, kisses in the rain, and even a karaoke serenade, their feelings deepen quickly. But could their love be real when they haven't been honest about their true identities? Once the fantasy is over, can they have a relationship in the real world?

Romance 

Fun, Flirty Dialogue

A Pack of Corgis

Melonie Johnson combines these story elements perfectly in her novel Too Good To Be Real. Julia and Luke’s first meeting was hilarious and drew me into the story immediately.

TrendList reporter Julia Carpenter has been given the heads up that layoffs are imminent. She needs to think outside the box for the perfect story idea to bring to her boss. She finds the perfect idea and pitches it —a week at the Notting Hill resort where the guests can step into the world of romantic comedy.

Luke O’Neil and his sister Penelope and best friend Vijay have created a romantic comedy game for the Notting Hill resort owner Mrs. Weatherfork. Each guest receives a folder which contains their character name, an itinerary and a list of romance inspired activities. The author does a fabulous job crafting this piece of the storyline-it was so much fun to watch the characters come to life. I loved this trio of best friends and their over the top boss and her many, many corgis.

Loved all the references to the romantic storylines and that the author crafted similar scenarios for the main characters. The author cleverly blurred the lines between the game and the real love stories in the novel this kept me engaged in the story. Luke created the resort’s program and knew how things should play out—but, life and love doesn’t always happen like a big screen romantic comedy.

Lots of mix-ups and misunderstandings which along with the references to popular movies made the reading experience so much fun. Melonie Johnson’s voice appeals to me—just love her clever dialogue whether it’s the heart to heart conversations between Andie Julie and Kat or the laugh out loud conversations as each of the book’s characters (who are in character) discuss the nuances of popular rom coms. The chemistry between Julia and Luke sizzled and the secondary characters added so much depth and humor to the story.

Too Good To Be Real is the perfect beach read—it’s an entertaining romance filled with engaging characters and smiling, impy corgis!

Reviewed by Susan Groman

ARC from publisher