Thank you to @smpromance for a copy of the book. I would love to attend a weekend of interactive experiences of rom coms. I love that Luke sounds kind of dorky and is not your typical love interest. There were many funny moments in the book with a seagull named Clyde which was so cute. I think I love the friendships between Luke and his sister and best friend and Julia and her friends more than the romance between Luke and Julia. I always have a hard time with Insta love.

This is my first book by this author, and in general I can say that it was fun to read, but it lacked a little more depth and development, both in the story and in the characters.
Both main characters, Julia and Luke, were likeable from the start, which made for a sweet, drama-free romance easy to believe. On the other hand, there is also a group of girl friends in this story, which is one of my favorite things to read in fiction because it is always so hilarious, especially when they all have different and conflicting personalities.

I really loved this book! It was funny, heartwarming, and charming. I laughed out loud a number of times while reading this book.

I loved the whole concept of a rom com resort, and now I'm wondering where can I find one?? I loved our main characters Julia and Luke, loved getting to know their personalities, seeing them interact together, and so much more. I enjoyed the rom com references and the nods to the "real" part of the title. I also loved the other relationships throughout this book, from Julia's friendships to the other romantic couples as well.

I loved seeing Luke and Julia fall for each other, their ups and downs, and how they eventually got together for real. And an honorary mention to another favorite character of mine, Clyde!!

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Are you a fan of RomCom movies? Have you ever wished you could live out one? Well look no further than this book! This is such a cute, put a smile on your face while reading book. While reading this book I could totally see a movie being made out of this story. Melonie Johnson writes dialog so well that you feel like you're out for a girls night with her characters. I would have just loved to be given a Epilogue cause I needed more of Julia and Luke's story.
Please add this one to your tbr!

Loved this! Full of laugh out loud moments and swoon-worthy romance. The setting of a rom-com themed resort was what drew me to this book, and I was not disappointed. It was as ridiculous and fun as I had hoped for. I adored the inclusion of a strong focus on the MC's relationship with her friends, something you don't often see, and it really added to the story.

BOOK REVIEW: Too Good To Be Real by Melonie Johnson

Crazy seagulls + rom coms come to life? Adds up to great summer read with a walk down Memory "Rom-Com" Lane... ✨😎✨

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All my reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Books, Lifestyle & Home Ideas for Simple Living | Denise Wilbanks at www.thisismyeverybody.com

♡ Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

The ARC copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review ⫸

I thought this book was a relatively cute rom-com read. The concept with the ‘rom-com’ resort was very unique and amusing for fans of romance such as myself. There were a lot of funny and silly scenes. The actual romance was where the book fell a bit short. I didn’t really feel their chemistry and I wasn’t convinced of their connection. Overall I thought this book had a lot of potential but just fell a little bit short.

⫷ The ARC copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange of an honest review ⫸

✔ A week in a Rom-com Resort
✔ Hidden Identity
✔ Dual POV
✔ HEA

I loved the idea of the rom-com resort. Besides the idea was quite unique. The cover with dog. It didn't make sense though.
The writing style and plot was alright. The characters development needed to be improved. Also, the relationship part was kinda hard to like. So, it was missing the smoothness specially the one with Luke, his sister and bestfriend. Overall, it was an okay read.

I love romances from Melonie Johnson because they are laugh out loud funny. This book was no exception.

I LOVED this book! Melonie Johnson was new to me, but I loved this book! It was such a great romance book that I absolutely loved!

I dnf'ed this about 30% in - I might come back to it at some point, but as of right now, I just didn't find it compelling or interesting enough to continue. I can't connect with the characters or the plot and I don't think I like the level of deception we're already encountering.

An ode to rom-coms, TOO GOO TO BE REAL is a super cute romantic comedy where the characters are staying at a resort where the guests participate in a live action role playing game through experiences from famous romantic comedy movies. Guests can reenact scenes from Dirty Dancing, 10 Things I Hate About You, Say Anything, When Harry Met Sally, and more.

The setting leads to so many funny and cute scenes. There were some crazy seagulls, a pack of Corgis, a When Harry Met Sally fake orgasm contest! I loved all of the group experiences and getting to know the side characters in the story.

The actual romance between our MCs, Julia and Luke, fell a little short for me. They had a disastrous (but adorable!) meet-cute, after which they fell into insta love/lust. This trope is not my favorite and unfortunately it didn’t really work for me here. They seemed to lack chemistry, despite saying they were head over heels for one another.

Even though the romance fell a little flat for me, I really liked other elements of the book and I think rom-com movie lovers will enjoy it too! It’s a quick, feel good, easy to read romance.

Julia is a writer who works for a website that does reviews for different things. Julia and her two friends decide to go to on a week long rom-com themed vacation and write about it for her work. While there she meets Luke and the two hit it off right away. Both Luke and Julia are keeping secrets from one another but they both grow closer over their week long vacation. Overall this felt very typical for a contemporary romance, there wasn't anything that really surprised me and me love this one. It is a fun read and I highly recommend picking it up if you are wanting a fun and easy read. I also really enjoyed all the tributes to some of my favorite romantic comedy movies. Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for my gifted copy for review.

Anyone who enjoys rom com movies will enjoy this clever romance. Julia needs to write about a new resort speciailizing in the rom com experience to save her job, and her two friends join her for a memorable event. But it begins early for Julia when she literally runs into Luke on the beach.

Luke works for the resort but after meeting Julia decides he wants to participate.

So many clever references and details are built in this delightful, sexy story. I always enjoy Johnson's writing and it is fun to see her career grow.

This was a very interesting concept. I was excited to read about the rom com resort, however it was not the execution of the concept that I was hoping for.
The meet cute was cute but the romance then went very heavily into Insta-love/ insta-lust territory which I am not a fan of.
The romance it self also felt very one dimensional. It never dug deeper than the surface and so I didn’t fully believe or get invested in the romance and therefore the story.

I really wanted to love this but unfortunately it was a miss for me.

I loved this novel! It was cute and enjoyable. It was the perfect beach and vacation read. I started it at the beginning of my holiday and finished it on the plane ride home! Such a great book! I love this authors writing and will definitely be checking out their other novels!

If you could go to a resort that offered a rom-com experience, would you be interested? Julia goes to write about it in an attempt to keep her job and brings along a couple friends.

Luke is one of the designers of the experience and they are finally ready to open to the public - and then learn the added pressure of a reporter attending their first week. Luke decides he needs to pretend to be a guest to keep an eye on things.

Things proceed exactly as you’d expect and that doesn’t bother me. I was along for the ride. But I never really felt chemistry between them and found it hard to believe their declarations of love after just a few days. I loved the references to movies but think I will quickly forget this one.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

My first Melonie Johnson book and definitely not my last!

Books like these are why I love romance. For years and years, people poke fun at romance for being full of tropes and cliches. What does Melonie Johnson do? Write a book revolving around the many rom-com tropes, thank you very much.

I couldn't get enough of Too Good To Be Real, and I laughed nonstop while reading it. Desperate for a story that will knock her boss' socks off and also desperate for inspiration, Julia and her friends take a vacation in a resort, complete with a game master and actors, specializing in letting its guests live out their rom-com fantasies. Julia is of course undercover, and her she meets fellow guest Luke, and you guess it - all the tropes ensue. Like Julia, however, Luke is hiding a secret... Dun dun dun.

Too Good to Be Real was a lot of fun. I adored the many references to rom-com movies, and I also loved how great and supportive friends to each other Julia and her friends are. There are multiple romances covered in this book, not just Julia and Luke's, and that makes this read even more enjoyable. While I loved how Julia and Luke's romance developed and how it was portrayed, I wanted just a teensy tiny bit more. I wanted just a little more depth.

All in all, Too Good to Be Real is the perfect light-hearted read. This is my first Melonie Johnson book and it definitely won't be my last!

📕: Too Good To Be Real
✍️: Melonie Johnson
🌟: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

📝Synopsis:
Julia is maybe about to lose her job. She doesn’t want it to get that far though. So she needs something inventive to write a story about. In come Notting Hill a romantic comedy resort! Here you can live out all your romantic comedy fantasies, and who knows you may meet someone along the way. Luke is the game master and he is here to make money so he can finally have the financial freedom to pursue his dreams. When he inserts himself in the game thiugh, he doesn’t quite expect to meet someone like Julia.

✅📚Check Out This Book if you like:
•Romantic comedies, especially movies! So many references.
•Seagulls
•Live Action Role Playing games! Which is what this resort essentially!
•Girlfriends because Julia really has some great friends!

💁🏻‍♀️💬 My Thoughts:
I seriously read this so fast. It had me hooked from the first page. Let’s just say it involves shrimp, and some pictures you may or may not want sent to your phone 😂 Julia and her friends are heartwarming. I loved having alternating POVs with Julia and Luke, and seeing both sides of the LARPing game with the romantic comedy theme. Bonnie and Clyde really steal the show, I won’t tell you more, but they are great 😂 Any romcom fan movie, book, or both will enjoy this one and all the laughs it brought me!


Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

After reading this book I really would like to find one of these romance resorts because how fun! I really liked this story and the cast of side characters we got. Julia and Luke had a very interesting road to their relationship that was fun to follow but also kind if nerve wracking and had a big will-they won't they feel to it. I wish a few more elements had been developed further but this book was still quick and cute read!
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.