This was a quick, fun, cute read. It’s the perfect summer book.

When Julia, a journalist, senses that she may be at risk of losing her job she decides to take on an assignment that could save her position. Julia and her two friends Andie and Kat end up at Notting Hill Resort, a place that gives visitors a chance to live out their romantic comedy fantasies. Julia decides to have Kat pretend she’s the journalist so she can get the true experience of the resort. She meets Luke, one of the creators of the experience who is also hiding his true role. He is pretending to be one of the guests. What will happen when their secrets are exposed?

I really enjoyed the friendship between the three women. Their little inside jokes and banter reminded me a lot of my close friends. I also really enjoyed the romance in this book between Julia and Luke. Their relationship is sweet and funny with the perfect amount of heat thrown in.

I really enjoyed this read and would recommend it for anyone looking for a light feel good book.

I initially requested an early copy of this book for one reason - the corgi on the cover. Did I judge the cuteness of the book by the cuteness of the cover? Yes. Was it the right decision? Yes. Because this book was so adorable and everything that I wanted and needed in a romcom book. It had quirky characters, a great group of girlfriends who supported each other, a meet cute that became an amazing relationship, and an ending that left me smiling. I have read books by this author previously, and there is always one consistent thought that runs through my head at the end of each book - I wish I could read it again for the first time.

Julia Carpenter is a walking disaster, especially when it comes to relationships. Between accidentally sending belfies (butt selfies) and going on disastrous first dates, she isn't used to things working out in her favor. When an upcoming layoff has her neck on the chopping block at work, she has to think of something fast to save her job as a reporter, and that's when she discovers a new vacation experience - an immeservice resort experience where guests can experience a romantic comedy in all its glory, as key players in their own story. She jets off to the resort alongside her two best friends, and soon they find themselves with new names, meeting people who may or may not be hired actors, and losing their hearts along the way. Julia, in particular, meets a guy who seems perfect for her - but at a resort where everything is a simulation, is their relationship one too?

Julia was a sweetheart, desperately wanting to succeed at life but constantly running into obstacles along the way. She wanted to do more than write listicles, but she struggled to find her niche. The resort was the perfect opportunity for that, and almost immediately she ran into, literally, the man for her - Luke O'Neal. Luke happened to be a software developer...and one of the designers of the resort experience. It was purely coincidence that they met, but Luke was intrigued by her and decided to be part of the game in order to get to know her and get closer to her friend, who he thought was the real reporter, which Julia allowed him to believe. So their relationship starts off with little white lies that they think are harmless, but as they grow closer, those lies start to show glaring concerns. They both know eventually the romcom experience will end, and they'll have to return to their normal lives. But it's not so simple, and I loved how they grew closer and more in love as time went on. Sure, it's a bit insta-love, given the timeframe, but sometimes you just "know" that the person is the one. Luke was hilarious, not your typical romance hero with lots of muscles and an alpha personality. He was a sweet guy who was more at home working at a computer than lifting weights, and it worked so well for the story. He and Julie were the cutest, and while they had bumps in the road, I was really pleased about how it ended. And there was some extra romance along the way for her friends, which was a nice bonus.

Highly recommend this as a beach read or just something to pick up when you're having a bad day. It's sure to cheer you up!

I love meet cutes, happy ending, and rom com movies, so I thought this book would be perfect for me. While I did enjoy it, I also didn't love it and I think it had to do with the fact that I actually did not like Julia and Luke together. There was something about their romance that just didn't work for me and maybe it had to do with both of them keeping secrets from each other that they knew would blow up everything. And I know that is a common rom com trope, but it just didn't click for me in this book. I also found the storyline to be slow and I think there were just too many rom com tropes thrown in to drag it down.

This was my first Melonie Johnson book and I would give her other books a try despite not loving this one. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Imperfectly perfect - I love this phrase from the book and think it’s exactly right in describing so many things in life.

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire book; the concept was something I would have never thought of, so it made the book that much more fun.

Luke & Julia were adorable right from their meet-cute on.

I loved the extra tropes woven through the book; brother’s best friend and opposites attract.

This book was cute and sweet, but also super sexy - its a combination that often doesn't hit right but Melonie Johnson did with "Too Good to Be Real". I wish we could have spent more time with these characters. I felt like I didn't get to know them as deeply as I wish (I guess that means a sequel is necessary?) Julia and her friends are great and the premise of a rom-com themed resort was icing on the cake. This book is perfect for rom-com lovers, those who love Kerry Winfrey's books, and those who want to laugh while reading. Because you will do a lot of that, starting with the first line.

This book was dare I say too sweet? It was fantastic for a rom com lover...the nods to scenes from When Harry Met Sally etc was super fun. I found it a bit too predictable which I understand is what we would typically expect after a meet cute but I think I was hoping for a bit more.

3.5 stars

Julia is a self-described Murphy’s Law on legs and Luke is a 6’4” computer/gamer nerd. What could go wrong?

Things I liked:
• Luke & Julia; they are very sweet and down to earth
• The seagull antics throughout the book
• The Ben Affleck comment in ch. 7
• The rom-com resort where Luke and Julia’s story unfolds; it might be the most unique premise for a book I’ve ever come across

The whole thing was a little twee and cutesy for my taste but it definitely had its bright spots.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press  for providing the ARC.

If you are a fan of romantic comedies, then you will love this book! The story follows a reporter named Julia who heads to a resort offering the full romantic comedy experience. She brings her rom-com loving friends along and hopes that her review will secure her job. But when she gets there, she is immediately thrown off base by a literal run in with a man named Luke.

As the week continues, Julia and her friends are thrown into romantic comedy paradise, with grand gestures and themed activities everywhere they look. Will they be able to separate the real from the fantasy?

I am a huge fan of romcoms, so I loved the idea of the resort, and I really enjoyed all of the romcom references throughout the book. From the movie quotes to the grand gestures, many iconic movies are referenced. I found myself laughing out loud several times, and wanting to hide my face in embarrassment a few times too. Each of the characters is forced to face some deep issues of their own, and the way they work these out and compare the different types of unhappy relationships they know was very interesting. I will definitely be rereading this one and visiting these characters again.

Have you ever wanted a rom com to be real life? Julia and her two best friends spend a week living in a romantic comedy world at a beautiful lakeside resort organizer by Game Master Luke, his sister, and his best friend. Julia, a reporter, is there to cover the resort's grand opening and hopefully save her job with layoffs on the horizon. Julia has always been skeptical of finding love, let alone at a curated experience, but after an adorable meet cute with Luke she syarts to wonder if maybe she's finally met the one. But can a relationship forged at a curated experience last? Or is it too good to be real? This was a fun and creative rom com with very quirky and likeable characters and some cute laugh out loud lines! I liked that the story was told from both Julia and Luke's perspectives. I struggled a bit to get through this one, though, because it moved a bit slow for me. But overall a fun summer read. Thanks to @netgalley @stmartinspress and the author for the ARC! This hits shelves July 6

Julia is a reporter who needs a great story to save her career. She discovers Notting Hill, a resort that features rom-com-themed LARPing, and decides that it would make the the perfect travel story. She, along with her two best friends, Kat and Andie, visit the resort. Of course, they know it’s all pretend. Of course, they don’t actually expect to find true love….or do they?

The book was super cute. My love for most rom-coms didn’t last past my early 20s, but Notting Hill is my all-time favorite movie, so I will admit that parts of this book had me in tears, remembering my 20-something self watching that movie over and over.

This is a cute read, not a deep read. Sure the characters were a little shallow, but this is a light, quick, fun read. I don’t want character attachment. I want cute. And I got cute.

I would definitely recommend this book to people who understand the intent of the book. It will make you laugh. It will make you smile. It most likely won’t change your life, but, hey, you never know! 😉

Pub date: July 6, 2021

Thanks to Melonie Johnson, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.

These red cover books are doing me dirty lately. I requested this book from Netgalley because it's the cutesy cartoon rom-com cover and this one had a Corgi and I had high hopes for a solid 4 star read. This one took me most of the month to get through and I contemplated DNF-ing multiple times. I struggled. It put me straight into a slump.

I started off struggling with the writing style. The first bit was a lot of dialogue between the female MC and her two best friends. I have read books with multiple characters (Lyssa Kay Adams is one that comes to mind) and had no issues. I could not figure out who the MC was at first and who was saying what. Once I got it figured out, these characters were thrown into the LARP at the Notting Hill Resort and they changed their names to characters' names from rom-coms. It was really confusing. I have never seen a better example of telling instead of showing. It really brought me out of the story. I also would stop often because I thought my ARC was messed up and repeating passages, but that's just how it was written. Things were repeated/rephrased very similarly - it was like beating a dead horse to read what was going on in a scene or how a character was feeling. Overall, these aspects really created a clunky reading experience.

In addition to the writing, I didn't care for any of the characters. They didn't feel fleshed out enough. The chemistry between characters just wasn't there for me and didn't make sense. There was a lot of instalove and miscommunication trope going on. I liked the premise of the rom-com resort and there were aspects that were fun to think about (like recreating scenes/tropes from rom-coms - the paintball scene from 10 Things I Hate About You - omg sign me up!) and I really liked the seagulls, but overall there was so much lacking and it did not click with me. I wish it did. It may for others for sure, but not for me.

Where can I start!!! This is a really fun rom-com the characters are so funny and I how was their development!
Luke is such a cutie you know? He is everything someone wants in their life even with his insecurities also Julia is so cute 🥰 both of them are so cute together.
Everything about this book is hilarious and makes you want to keep reading it!
Im really looking forward to reading more from Melonie!

Do you ever just fall in love with a cover? Okay I don’t know why I would even bother to ask. Of course you have. How could you not??? But this one. Her dress. The dog. The birds. It’s just too precious for words. I’m obsessed.

After the nightmare of a book I just finished, I needed something light and funny and sweet to erase it from my memory. Well 2% in and already laughing seemed like a pretty good sign to me.

Have you seen the movie Austenland? Well this book it that, but instead of an immersive Austen resort, it’s a rom-com retreat! Guests to Notting Hill get to live out their very own rom-com movie dream.

When reporter Julia realizes her job is on the line, she comes up with a crazy idea to prove herself extra valuable to her boss. She and her two friends, Kat and Andie, will head to Notting Hill for the full experience. Before she even checks in, she runs into Luke in a rather epic meet cute, only problem is, their introduction was never part of the game.

Honestly, I was expecting this to be just like Austenland (which side note: is an epic movie) but it surprised me! I absolutely loved this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Too Good To Be Real comes out July 6th!

Too Good to be Real
By Melonie Johnson

I read an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you enjoyed the immersive roll playing of Austenland by Shannon Hale and/or love rom coms - this is the book is for you.

As far as the role playing went they spent less time “in character” than in Austenland but the concept was reminiscent though taking place in a modern world.

This is my first ARC. I was drawn to this book first by the cover and second by the description. For me the books that I have read with this animated style cover have been in the line of rom com humorous reality based stories that have a sense of relatability and while there is a swoon factor, are not what some might consider overly steamy and that is an accurate representation of this book.
To me the thing that really sparked my interest with this specific cover was not the couple but the corgi because I find corgis hilarious. They have so much personality!

The corgi portion of the book was giggle inducing but for those who feel dogs and pets can sometimes be used as a crutch plot device in a book that was certainly not the case here. Their presence was more in the nature of laughable background scenery but definitely worth including.

I very much appreciated that there was not an over reaction to a predictable misunderstanding. There were a few times where I thought ‘oh no! they’re going to see this thing and take it the wrong way and it’s going to be a whole unnecessary drama’ which can be wearing in some books but that did NOT happen. The conflict that did occur stemming from miscommunication was understandable in the way that miscommunications on some level are natural in the course of all developing relationships.

The rom com book and movie reference game was strong, accurate, well researched, and thoroughly delicious.

Alternating points of view were utilized for the primary love interest which I always appreciate hearing what they each think of each other. There was not an epilogue. I almost always love an epilogue and while sometimes I am down right put out when one is not included especially if future goals or unsolved problems are left hanging (- well what about this though? I need to know!) This was not the case for this particular book. While an epilogue would have been perfectly appropriate. The resolution for this book does not feel lacking because of the absence of one. It is easy to imagine the path that is taken.

The hero was refreshingly not a chiseled specimen of man that we see in so many romance books. Being from the Midwest myself, like these characters, I can tell you I personally have literally never seen a 6 pack in real life. He reminds me remarkably of my husband and was terribly endearing. The heroine was smart and her behavior reflected her intelligence, pragmatism and sense of humor; unlike some heroines who are billed as smart but then make choices we do not understand.

I would love to get to know the side characters in other books. They were full dimensional characters that I enjoyed spending time with.

The writing was clean, not repetitive, drew you in and kept you turning pages. The copy I read was uncorrected but even with that, I only noted 6 minor errors. One punctuation out of place and 5 small words like “I” or “as” that were either deleted or doubled.

This is the kind of book I want to read when I need cheering up. I read with an almost continuous grin. It rated for me on par with The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey, Beach Read by Emily Henry and the entire Boy series by Meg Cabot. With the exception that the lows were not as low and therefore the second hand stress/anxiety was minimal. Which sometimes you need. This is not to say that the characters did not know hardship in their lives. They did and the revelation of their histories felt like peeling back layers to know them better. However while they were affected and shaped by their past, as we all are, they were not tragically emotionally scarred as can be the case in romance. Their reactions, reflection and growth were understandable and relatable.

This is 5/5 for me. Will purchase and read again and again.

This book was truly a romcom. It was zany and moments of what the heck. It also incorporated traditional romcom references which I LOVED!

Each of the main characters had strong relationships with their friend groups and each side character had their own things going on. A few times I wished we could see more what was happening wit them in addition to the main story.

It was Austenland meets romcom with more steam. This story left me smiling and believing that the two MC's will live happily in romcom bliss.

A hotel with a rom-com role playing week is the setting for this imaginative book filled with great characters and an engaging plot.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Too Good to Be Real by Melonie Johnson
I enjoyed Julia and Luke's story. There are so many wonderful characters in this book and all of them have their own interesting stories. There is the "Ron Com" play acting week, angst, deception, laughter, tears, insecurity, family hang ups, some crazy things, cute dogs, seagulls, falling in love and steam to get us to their HEA.
Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Steamy Entertaining Wonderful characters Funny Original Whimsical Romantic Page-turner Happily Ever After Great world building Easy-to-read

Julia is a writer for a popular website. When she finds out there are layoffs looming for her company, she asks her boss for a chance to prove she belongs with the company. Julia stumbles upon a resort that promises a rom-com LARP (Live Action Role Play) experience and when she pitches to her boss that she will stay at the resort for a week and write a review for the website, her boss agrees. Julia and her two friends spend the week at the resort, playing the romantic comedy game and everything that it has to offer, including finding romances of their own. Julia's meet-cute with awkward but handsome Luke is not exactly the stuff rom coms are made of, but it definitely is the beginning of a ZING filled connection.

This was such a cute book! The premise reminded me a bit of the move Austenland, which I loved.
A week in a resort where you get to live all of your rom com scenarios and tropes? SIGN ME UP!!! All of their little games and activities were very cute and I wish this place actually existed.

I loved Julia and her group of friends. They were wildly inappropriate and their lack of boundaries regarding sex and their own sexual escapades was hilarious. I knew when within the first three chapters they were talking about dick picks and BDE (Big Dick Energy), I was going to like this book! They threw themselves into the resort's immersive experience and it was quite entertaining!

Luke was a sweet and charming male lead. I loved that he was really cheesy and a romantic at heart. From the moment he and Julia met, they had an instant connection that was fast tracked into something that both of them doubted could be real. They were so darn cute together but when things got physical, their sexual chemistry was off the charts!

This book was an awesome mix of cute, cheesy, and steamy! This is a great book to add to your summer reads.

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥
⚠️: cancer

This was a light, fun summer read that focuses as much as on the romantic element as it does on the friendship and relationship among the 3 women in this story. I had just finished reading a rather heavy and emotional read before reading Too Good To Be Real so this was the perfect transitional read for me. I really enjoyed the interactions between Julia, Andie and Kat -- hilarious at times, but I didn't completely feel the "chemistry" between Julia and Luke. It's for this reason that I'm giving this a 3.5 star read. I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC for NetGalley.

This book had me at the premise but kept me with the execution. It was delightful and charming, and the nods to some of my favorite romcoms throughout were so much fun. I loved that the book was not only about Julia and Luke, but also Julia's friends and Luke's sister. I'd love a story about Kate next - hint/hint. The animals were wonderful secondary characters. While I'm partial to dogs and enjoyed all the corgis, Bonnie and Clyde the birds were a hoot! In summary, this was such an enjoyable story with old school romcom roots and some steamy times. It's my first book by Melonie Johnson but wont be my last.