I absolutely loved Smitten by the Brit & Once Upon a Bad Boy so I was excited to read this one. Unfortunately, this one just didn’t hit the mark for me like the other ones did. I just couldn’t stand Kat & Mick seemed like a pushover.

However, there was a ton of humor & great relationships between friends which is to be expected in a Melonie Johnson book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Melonie Johnson review but the beautiful cover caught my eye- who wouldn't be intrigued by the hedgehog and the cockatoo? In this book we meet Mick the middle child in a trio of siblings that own a funeral home and Kat the manager of a floral shop- queue the meet cute. Kat is dumped at the start of the book and swears off her usual type (jerks) and she then promptly meets Mick whom she assumes is exactly her previous type so she befriends him instead. Thus the story taking a stranger to friends to lovers story line. The representation in this book gets an A+ as there is a nonbinary character in Ronnie (we love to see them). I also loved the supporting characters in this book. All the family members had such character as well as the friends. Even the previously mentioned pets were such a joy to read and had such presence.

Mick is without a doubt the best part of this book. Him a Seamus were a close tie but as Seamus was a bird I untimely had to give it to Mick. The entire premise behind Kat trying to talk herself out dating Mick seemed wild to me because the only thing 'bad boy' ish that he did was wink at her. The man had a masters in Psychology and helped run his family business. For me this just added to me dislike of Kat because she seemed so unrelatable. Kat started the book off in a not great place but what solidified my opinion of her was that she stayed there the entire book. Nothing was ever good enough for her, she was always the victim and she was always worried that people in her life were having good things happen to them and she wasn't. Kat would have been exhausting in real life. I find this sometimes when reading romance that the MMC is written to hold all the weight of chemistry for the couple while the FMC just exists and thinks that this is enough. Kat literally accepts a date from this man's brother after acknowledging that there is no chemistry with him all because of a check list? I just found it so hard to feel any sympathy for Kat because so much of what she felt was 'wrong' in her life (read: being single) was very much because she was out there making some bad choices.

I noticed pretty quickly that the pacing of the book felt off as well. The characters seemed to spend a lot of time not on page together which if they were thinking or talking about one another would have been fine but as it was I just wasn't feeling any chemistry between them which was quite an accomplishment because Mick was such an amazing character. But by 50% I didn't really feel any pull to them ending up together.

There were also a few points that the writing got really confusing. Kat mentions knowledge of Mick that he never tells her on page which maybe he told her off but why have him do that? I felt like I had missed something so I was searching key words to look for that conversation. Then when the spicy scenes finally did come around I didn't even get a flutter of butterflies. It was somewhere between a medical textbook and a closed door romance in how it was written. I also did chuckle when after they did *some* stuff and kat was have an internal dialog about it in the next chapter she was calling it something entirely different. I don't know why that bothered me and I don't want to get too specific and get my account banned but it's almost like the spicy scene was edited but then the next chapter wasn't updated or something...

I did find some enjoyment out of a few of the characters however and for that it gets a 2/5 stars and 1.5/5 spice.

3.5 stars

Tropes: Strangers to lovers/friends to lovers

Two things I loved about the book. Firstly, I was drawn to this book because I am a sucker for the graphic covers and this one was gorgeous. Secondly, the description is a classic rom-com of wanting to find Mr. Right but wondering if he is right in front of you.

I really enjoyed meeting Kat and then the meet-cute between her and Mick and the friendship that they developed. I really did enjoy have both POV from the characters (always my favourite when I get to see what both characters are thinking/feeling), loved JoJo and Seamus, and I also enjoyed the slow burn.

One thing I found was that the last 20% felt rushed and I was very disappointed with that. There was growth for Kat and Mick but it seemed to be rushed over very fast.

Overall, I found it be a good rom-com with some good laughs.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This was such an enjoyable read! I loved Kat & Mick and how their story unfolded for them. Loved his family and Babcia and how can we forget Seamus and little Jojo! I liked the humor and little references to rom-coms and the little domestic soft moments between Mick and Kat. Just truly lovely!

This was just so enjoyable and I’m so glad I got to read it. I would purchase the physical copy to have in my collection. I’m going to have to check out more from this author when I have the chance!

Thank you to Melonie Johnson and net galley for gifting me a copy of this book.

Personally I didn’t really love Kat and truly wasn’t able to connect with her on a deeper level like I normally do with characters. I thought she was just a little stuck up

The cover is what drew me in and it is very cute.

I knew it was doomed when I realized the book was written in third person. I get so confused about who’s talking and what is happening so I struggled to get through the book.

This story was so cute and heart warming! Kat gets dumped and has a meet-not-so-cute over a body in a coffin with Mick, an Irish cutie that values comfort over professional attire. Kat and Mick become friends, as she needs help finding Mr. Right, and she came prepared with a list. Lucky for her, Mick's brother Joe fits most of her criteria...so why is she feeling sparks with Mick?

I found Kat so relatable (not the drop dead gorgeous part, but the wanting to find her person part). She was watching her friends find their Mr. Rights and really wanting to be happy for them. After dating a string of less that great men, Kat vows that the next one will be the right one. She enlists Mick to help her as a wingman, but he starts to catch more than wingman feelings.

Pros:
- friends to lovers
- strong cultures (Irish & Polish)
- cute and sassy pets

Rom com rom com! Sweet and slow burn and these are my favorite tropes but the ending kinda lacked? I do not want to spoil it a bit too much but the chemistry lacked towards the end like the reconnection felt too distant? One thing I enjoyed was Kat's POV about how her character was detailed in terms of sharing her fears and struggles!

This was a fun rom com to read. I liked the characters, and how grounded their personalities were with their heritage and motivations! It’s not every day you read about characters with Polish names doing actual things from Polish traditions.

On another note, there were a handful of quotation issues while reading. It didn’t take away from the story, but it made it a bit confusing during some moments.

*ARC Review*

3.5

Too Wrong to Be Right is a sweet, slow burn rom com with plenty of potential, but not quite enough pizazz to keep my interest. It had the makings of an excellent story with a strong female lead, a wholesome quirky male, and a lovable hedgehog. I feel like rom coms usually have dogs in the plot, so Jojo the hedgehog was an awesome addition. I loved hearing about the sweet little creature and their donut shaped bed.

I felt that the slow burn was fun to read, but the ending was pretty lack luster and unsatisfying. I didn't like what drove the two characters apart, and felt that the reconnection was rather boring. It was a cute and quick read, but for a book with such a vivacious cover, it didn't wow me.

Simply put, this was wonderful!

Too Wrong to Be Right is a warm and wacky story that follows Kat Kowalski, an aspiring flower shop owner, as she makes a list of qualities she hopes to find in a potential Mr. Right after a recent breakup. On the same day her relationship ends, she acquires a pet hedgehog and meets Mick O'Sullivan, a lovable weirdo that runs his family's funeral business with his siblings. Following their unconventional meet-cute, the two form a fast friendship and I truly could not get enough of them.

Going in, I truly didn't have any expectations for this book since I had never read any of Johnson's novels before this one. But I knew I was in for a good time after just a few chapters!

In equal measure, Too Wrong to Be Right had its silly moments where I couldn't help but giggle and its sweet moments that made me blush. Ngl, I think I need a Mick of my own! He had the cutest personality and I really appreciated that the book was dual POV, giving the audience the chance to get a look inside his head as he wrestled with his feelings for Kat.

One of my favorite elements was the focus paid to Kat's fears surrounding her future. As her closest friends begin to move away or get married and her own career is on the verge of change, Kat is feeling confused and scared. As a woman in my 20s, those feelings felt honest and relatable. I wanted to jump inside the story to give her a big hug during those parts.

After loving this romance, I am absolutely going to check out more of Johnson's work to see what else she has to offer.

— thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Griffin and Melonie Johnson for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

This book was such a delight to read. It had me laughing from the very beginning. The characters were so quirky and fun. I felt like they could be a part of my friend group. Kat gets dumped by her boyfriend when she thought things were going great. She then decides that since she has a type she will make a check list to find a man that isn't that typical type. In steps Mick.. could he be Kat's type?

I have to admit I was really excited when I got approved for this one, but it fell a bit flat for me. It was an average, cute, romantic RomCom!

So, Kat hasn’t been lucky in the relationship area, but she thinks it’s because she is attracted to assholes. She loves weddings and romcoms. Kat always thought to be the first one of the bffs to get married. Turns out, she won’t. Now, Mick is a nice guy that works in his family business and tries to fight his feelings for Kat to be the friend she needs. That’s the little summary I feel that I can write without spoiling too much 😂 I have to admit that reading in third person is kind of hard for me, but this book was different and easy to read. Loved the romcom references, and I felt identified with Kat when she was scared of losing the routine and the relationship she had with her besties. I also liked how both main characters had to work on themselves to be together. It’s a fun story with love and spicyness. So happy that I got this eARC, thank you netgalley and St. Martin

This book gave me all the feelings.
What a emotional and sweet love.

I really enjoyed this book.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review it.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I liked the plot. The meeting between the love interests was super funny. I really like how their relationship developed. Unfortunately, that's about all I liked.

I found the characters to be annoying, both the main and side characters. What little character arc there was felt forced.

The ending felt rushed, which makes sense considering there was only one scene between Christmas and Valentine's Day. The third act breakup was ridiculous and could've been solved with a conversation. Plus Kat gets upset when Mick leaves after she told him to leave. There was no apology before they got back together; Mick says he was an a-hole and then they confess their love.

Too Wrong to Be Right had potential but it was not executed well. I would still recommend this book.

This was the first book I read from thos author and it was so much to read I loved it from the very beginning it hooks you right in thanks for letting me read

I enjoyed this sweet and emotional love story. This author never disappoints, and I hope we get more from these special characters.

Kat, a florist, and Mick, a funeral home director, are an odd couple, but they work. Really enjoyed this one, although the issue with the brother seemed unnecessary to the story. She thought Joe fit her list of what she needed, and Mick was jealous. Loved the hedgehog, as it was a fun pet. Would recommend.

If loving a gregarious talking bird is wrong I don’t want to be right. But that’s not all I loved about this book… I fell in love with the fun, friends-to-lovers dynamic between Kat and Mick! I would absolutely recommend this book!

Strangers to Friends to lovers
He falls First

I was so interested in the potential of this book. We immediately meet Kat who is just being dumped and she decides to swear off dating her typical type to pursue a Mr.Right list, in doing so she meets Mick (who is honestly a great catch from the beginning, so im not sure what she is thinking there) and instead decides to pursue his brother who seems really boring. I was so interested in the beginning but toward the middle and the end of this book I just struggled.

Mick's brother is boring, and she has this instant chemistry with Mick but she waves it off in spite of that, even though Mick has proven to be nothing but nice. She overall seems sort of selfish as a character in her relationships and when her and Mick finally do pursue something only to have it end in such a trivial way I can't help but want better for him.

I really appreciate the opportunity to read this one and while it wasn't my favorite im sure some will really love it!