This was a light easy-read! I was drawn to this book due to the cover. Felt like it would be something I would enjoy. The first half of the book had me. Personally, as the book progressed, I felt less connected to Kat. I really enjoyed the background characters. I am definitely going to explore Melonie Johnsons other books. Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with a copy to review.

Kat finds herself at the end of another sh*ty relationship that went nowhere, leaving her in a perpetual cycle of bad relationships that ended just as fast as they started. So after being dumped she sets off on a mission to end that cycle and find Mr. Right - making a list with all of the qualities she wants in her dream man. Mick is the middle sibling, that doesn't really know how he fits into the family business always molding himself to what others want instead of following his own dreams. Until he meets Kat that is.... He doesn't just find her EXTREAMLY attractive and amazing but he sees himself with her BUT Kat has other plans. On her mission to find MR. Right she friend zones him because he stands for everything she should stay away from; at least that's what she thinks... Hooked and want to know more?! Guess you need to read it for yourself!

I absolutely loved this book!! This was an adorable slow burn [fade to black], strangers to friends to lovers [with a not so cute meet-cute] and I couldn't get enough. This book just felt like a warm hug in all of the best ways. Not only do you fall in love with the friendship between Kat and Mick, you also fall in love with every single supporting character, Jojo the hedgehog and Seamus the foul mouth bird. Every single character in this book human and not had the best personalities ever and it had me laughing out loud so much - it was such a fun book to read. Normally I like my romcoms with a bit more spice but with this book I didn't feel like I was cheated in any way AT ALL, the plot was so great and I loved everything about it. My ONLY complaint was the bigger skips in some scenes because I wanted more sequential details but with any jump in the timeline I was pulled back in and totally forgot about the jumps [just me being greedy and selfish]

This is my first book by this author and it will not be my last. The writing style was fun and witty! It drew you in and kept you interested in the story the entire time. Highly recommend.

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

this book's cover sold me instantly.. like I mean look at it?

miss kat has been dumped and she decides to swear off the type of guys she usually dates so she can find mr. right. and that's where mick who comes in and knocks kat off her feet.

couldn't get onboard of her telling to pursue his brother because she thought mick was just like her ex's when the chemistry was so good.

didn't fall in love with the characters but I enjoyed reading the book.

thank you netgalley and to the publisher for providing an arc <3

OMG! Are you looking for a fun rom-com? If you are, then this is the book for you! This book has it all, friends who become more, a wonderful set of friends and family, and a bird that doesn't know when to be quiet. Melonie Johnston is one of my favorite authors and this book is a great example of why.

Such a super cute rom com. the characters are funny and I love the writing. The trope in this book is becoming a favorite of mine

This book was funny and had a great premise, but I found the structure and organization too chaotic for me to truly enjoy.

This gem of a book is out now and you should definitely pick it up!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

💜 Strangers-to-friends-to-lovers slow burn
⚰️ Disasterous meet-cute
🦔 Amazing sidekicks (friends, family & animals)
❄️ Snowed in
🤕 First kiss gone wrong
🥃 Whiskey incident
🎤 Karaoke staring contest
🦜 The best salty Irish parrot

This book was just one hijinx after another and I loved it! But what I also loved was that this book was different. It wasn’t your typical - ones a writer, ones a lawyer or whatever, in this book the heroine owns a flower shop and the hero works at his family’s funeral home. So I liked right away that we were seeing people in atypical romance book professions.

I also loved the Polish rep! As someone who used to live in Chicago I know how big the Polish community is there so it was fun to see that with Kat’s relationship with her Babcia and their kolacky baking.

Mick’s growth and relationship with his family was great to see too as he worked on his relationship with his brother. And it was great to see Kat’s acceptance that friend groups do grow apart as life changes occur but it doesn’t mean you don’t stay friends.

Was there miscommunication in this book, yes, but everything else I loved about this book overshadowed it. Please pick this up if you’re looking for something fun & lighthearted and also a little deep.

Did I mention there’s also a talking parrot that swears like a sailor?

Obligatory 3 stars for DNF
I don't know how old the characters are supposed to be, but I think 12
I could not

I was so excited when I saw Melonie Johnson had a new book out. I didn’t love it as much as Too Good to be Real, but I still enjoyed it! I thought the book was done well, there were definitely some LOL moments in it. I did find it to be a little slow to start, but it picked up once you got going. The meet cute in this book was hilarious, and I found the love triangle trope worked well in this book. I think if you’re looking for a quick and easy romance book to read with a little bit of steamy you’ll love this one. I recommend checking it out!

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

From the very first sentence, this book keep me laughing so much. I loved the characters and the storyline, it flowed so fluently.

Spring is in the air and there is no better time to start this feel good romcom! The story of a florist, Kat, who is tired of selfish jerks on her way to finding the perfect relationship, I couldn’t stop myself from rooting for her every step of the way. Kat was smart, witty, and interesting from the very beginning just by being herself. However, the addition of an adorable hedgehog and absolute sweetheart of a grandmother never hurts!

One of my favorite moments of the book was the introduction of the immediately lovable, Mick O’Sullivan. He and his family were such a joy to read about and I really felt like I was actually attending one of their family parties with the vibrant descriptions. The O’Sullivan family also allowed for the perfect amount of tension when Mick’s perfect brother entered the equation.

From the moment they meet, their chemistry is evident. Through a series of adventures, Mick and Kat learn about who they really want to be and what they want from a relationship. I loved the elements that helped the characters learn about themselves, but some of the plot points felt forced, rather than given the chance to grow organically. This was especially apparent in some of the spicier scenes. It felt like some of the earlier spice was simply to add spice, rather than adding to the character development.

⅘ Stars for this wonderfully easy read!

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinions

I absolutely adored Melonie's previous book. It was swoony, funny, and the banter was great. This book had some key elements from that. I really enjoyed Kat and Mick. Mick's family was a great element to the story. I just felt that the romance part was struggling. I think Kat had such a strong denial of Mick's feelings and was so adamant to try to be with his brother that it was almost off-putting. I loved the friendship they built and how Mick fell first, but the back and forth just got a tad annoying and despite the trope I just wanted them to get to the end of the book quickly where I knew the problems would be resolved. So I found the journey to that part annoying.

I think Melonie is a fantastic writer and will continue to support her, but this book just didn't quite do it for me. But I still definitely recommend Too Good to Be Real which is the companion novel before this one!

I really loved this story! I loved the connection that Leah and Eli feel. I love Eli’s friend group and how they are all supporting one another, while also being all up in each other’s business. Their friendship that blossoms into more is wonderful, I love that kind of connection and romance.

We meet Leah, who is a young woman who has been taking care of her foster mom for the past year while she struggles with cancer. Her foster mom passes away and Leah is left alone in the world with no friends or family besides the biological son of her foster mom who she never connected with.

We also meet Eli, who proposed to his girlfriend, Victoria, after only four months of dating and right before she leaves for Europe to study art. Eli’s friends and family are helping Eli transform himself both inside and out, so that he can be ready for when Victoria comes back and he can sweep her off her feet.

After getting new clothes, over the course of the next few months Eli has to work on his internal transformation by watching every movie on a list that his sister and friends made. Leah ends up helping him with this and they watch many movies together. After awhile of them being friends, along with her being accepted by Eli’s crew, they both realize they have feelings for each other, but Leah is planning to leave and hasn’t told any of them and Eli is still planning to win Victoria back, but the question now is, does he still want to?

A few quotes I highlighted while reading:

Eli to Leah: “But, I mean, how many jobs do you have? Am I going to keep seeing you all over town? Because if that’s the case, I’m going to start calling you Kirk.” “Kirk?” “They guy who had all the different jobs on Gilmore Girls.”

“Don’t be a pessimistic pouty pants.”

“I’m sorry.” Leah took a breath but didn’t meet his eye. “It’s okay.” “Apparently it’s not.”

“I consider myself Team Books and Movies.”

Cute story with a fun premise, I read it in one night!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

I really thought I would love this one sadly it wasn’t meant to be, I did however enjoyed the writing and side characters more than our main character named Kat who is searching for a “Mr right” after her two best friends are “leaving her behind” in the romance club.
Kat has had bad experiences with men and she just wants someone to be “the one,” she works in a flower shop with two other employees and a boss who’s usually lets them run it and one day one of her lovers breaks up with her to pursue his dream and move somewhere and literally gives her his pet hedgehog who’s a bundle of sunshine!

Kat then has to go to the funeral home for a flower delivery and runs into Mick and the two obviously have a zing moment, but since Kat wants to find her “Mr right” she friendzones him and the two become friends, but we all know that won’t last right?


My opinions/ spoilers:
I don’t know why but I feel like there wasn’t much of me to love about Kat and micks relationship it felt like not much really happened even though it did?

I feel like Kat shouldn’t be following her friends with trying to “find Mr right” and just focus on being single once again and grow on her own, she doesn’t need a man to be happy and feel left behind by her friends! We all grow differently in life!
I also hated how she was saying mick should’ve fought for her but literally girl you put him in the FRIENDZONE!! And made him your “wingman,” and going after the BROTHER GIRL- I literally wanted to shake her awake and I’m not very found of her character but I do however loved how Ronnie (non binary) is literally spitting facts to Kat! One of my fav side characters along with Mr S who has a sweet soul.

This was a 3.5-star review. The cover alone got my attention, and I decided I was going to read this without really KNOWING what it would be about. I soon discovered this was a stranger to lovers and friends to lovers trope-inspired story. Based on the cover, I was ready for some angst and banters but was conflicted midway through the book. The first half of this book was so fun and had me turning the pages, but Kat's search for "Mr. Right" became tedious as I read. She DOES find a guy named Mick, and Kat convinces herself that Mick is too similar to her past taste. She's trying to turn a new leaf by finding someone NEW. I feel bad for Mick throughout the story because he is literally perfect for her but she's trying to look past all of their connection because he's too similar to what she's dated in the past, which has never worked. I just couldn't connect with the story because I kept getting frustrated with the FMC, which is why the rating is so low.

This was cute and had plenty of lightness mixed in with the more serious moments! I loved watching their friendship develop and how both of them were totally watching each other out of the corner of their eyes without realizing it. Also, they have pet sidekicks 😂

I read this in one sitting, so it’s definitely a breezy read and feels low-stakes without being too fluffy. The miscommunication trope is not my favorite but I do love when neither person realizes the other one feels the same way they do, so I will allow it 😂

I really enjoyed this book! A florist and a funeral home owner/former therapist (family-owned business) have their "meet cute" over some bickering ex-wives at a wake and their friendship blossoms. Kat is taking a step back from dating, while Mick is certainly interested in her, but sees that she's truly looking for a friend. The two find themselves working together through various circumstances and ultimately, they realize that what they've both been looking for has been right in front of them the whole time.

Cute little romcom with cute cheesy parts us romcomers adore! Not the biggest miscommunication troupe person which is why I’m giving it 3.5. I’m so glad it gave a happily ever after

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted e-copy.

I had high hopes for this book, but it was a struggle to get through. I had a hard time getting into it, and thought the love triangle was kind of weird. I loved JoJo and Seamus though, they were by far the best parts.

Not much to say about this one other than it's a slow burn, and I think some romcom fans will enjoy it. Not great, not terrible.