DNF @ 62% As with all of my DNF reviews please take this with a grain of salt because this is just my opinion.

After struggling to try to read this one for over a week I just threw in the towel. I truly believe that if you love old school rom coms you will love this one, even if its just for all of the references. Honestly most of this book just felt forced or just plain icky. Julia is a writer for a struggling magazine who goes to a rom com resort to write a review and brings her two friends along. Luke is the "game master" who decides to insert himself into Julia's friend group to get a good review. Cue the problematic plot points. I literally couldn't keep reading once Julia figured out she was "in LOVE" after FOUR days with a person when she didn't even know his last name or job. Literally knows nothing of merit but just knows he is special (biggest eye roll in the history of eye rolls). Don't even get me started on how her friends treat each other and the very questionable behavior of the "actors" of the role playing aspect.

I gave it two stars because maybe there was some character redemption by the end of the book but honestly I didn't care enough to keep reading.

Love the premise of this story -- the main character is a writer, disillusioned by her "bleak" dating experiences, who is offered the opportunity of a free stay at a unique resort in exchange for her review. The mission of the resort is to provide a fantasy, perfect romance. So, lots of fun, and written with humor and wit.

The story of Julia and Luke is a cute romcom which makes for a lighthearted reading in a quick sitting. I received this novel as an ARC from NetGalley.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

I decided to DNF this book. Right from the beginning the simplistic writing style with too much dialogue and not enough description of the surroundings or character feelings and thoughts turned me off. I continued reading because some writing styles grow on you but it just grew tiring to have to sit through conversations that while filled with banter, weren't really funny or engaging to me as a reader.

I was turned off as soon as I got to the love interest, Luke, and he decided to lie about who he was. Not only was it completely unnecessary and apparently out of character for this guy but also tells me that theie whole relationship is going to be built on a lie that will inevitably power up the third act breakup and I'm not a fan of such ridiculous and preventable third act breakups.

Luke and Julia don't have chemistry. From their first meeting, they almost kissed and it was only... Because, it didn't build up with some banter it just happened and I don't want to read a superficial instalove romance.

I received this advanced copy from NetGalley but I’m going to mark it as DNF. The writing and dialogue felt forced and cheesy to me. I just wasn’t feeling it.

“His penis looks like your shrimp.” How can you not want to read a book that starts with that kind of sentence? Such a cute and original premise: A resort for fans of Rom-Coms to star in their own little romantic comedy for a week. Add in a little case of mistaken identity (boss pretending to be a guest). Great secondary characters. Lots of great dialogue and swoony moments. This was my first read by Melonie Johnson and I really had fun reading this book.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read Too Good to be Real, by Melonie Johnson in exchange for an honest review.

Julia, a writer, gets the chance to attend and review a week long LARP, where guests get to pretend they’re in a rom com. She also gets to bring her two best friends to try out the experience as well. Though it’s all pretend, Julia has a real meet-cute with Luke. She decides to keep her identity as a reporter a secret... and Luke has a secret of his own.

I liked this book, but I wish I had liked it more than I did. It was a light and fun rom com but I just didn’t feel super invested in the romance between Julia and Luke. It moved at lightening speed and didn’t go much deeper than chemistry, despite the exchanging of the L-word. But for those who love the insta-love trope, this book could be for you.

I did really like Julia’s friendships. The trio is like a younger version of the women in Sex and the City. I loved their dirty humor and fun banter, as well as how supportive they all were of each other.

I think this would make a great movie. I would love to see the guests experience the simulated rom com movie cliches. And I’d love to see if seagulls can be trained to act like the ones in the book.

Overall, I’d recommend this if you want a fun, quick read.

This book was adorable, at first I wasn't sure because it going pretty fast but it was so good. The ending was so cute and such a good parallel to the beginning of the book.

This book is PERFECT for a weekend. Too Good To Be Real reminds me of a date with a book that we all see at our local book stores because it truly is a date. It is a feel good, hilarious, and quirky romantic novel.

The three best friends literally remind me of my 2 girlfriends. It is so relatable. Having a girls night, some drinks, and watching a movie for the 10th time. Except you aren't really watching because you're too busy chatting and giggling.

The men in this book are fun.

The author visits all different types of personalities and relationships. For it being a weekend trip, it sure was a whirlwind.

Julia can’t get laid off from her job at Trendlist. She’ll do anything to keep it - including take an assignment that brings her to Notting Hill, a resort promising to have your week’s stay feel like a romantic comedy.

The chances of finding true love at a manufactured event are slim to none, but when she runs into Luke on the beach, there was something undeniable... right? Told in dual perspectives, and crammed full of fun romcom references, Too Good To Be Real is the perfect escape.

This book has so much going on - antics, secrets, drama and even thieving seagulls. The paintball scene was my fave, and I especially loved the empty nester couple who came to rekindle their spark. Also, LARPing but in a contemporary romance setting? We stan.

If you’re looking for a carefree summer romance, looks like you found it!

As an echo from another reviewer here, the first pages of this book just turned me straight off. I think I might be getting too old for these contemporary romances. It's definitely me. DNF.

Too Good to Be Real was a delight!

Great rom-com.

I loved the characters, especially Julia. When she comes upon a resort that specializes in having their guest live out their romantic comedy dreams she can't help but join. How can you not love this book? It has seagulls, corgis, kisses in the rain, and of course Luke.

Highly recommend Too Good to Be Real!!

Too Good to Be Real by Melonie Johnson was too good for words! I LOVED this book! Three best friends staying at a charming rom-com inspired resort with hijinx and handsome leading men, what's not to love? The writing was smart and sweet! This book leans into the rom-com tropes, but doesn't feel totally fantasy. I loved the realness of the world Johnson created and would visit Notting Hill Resort in a heartbeat if it was real! Please write a follow up book I need to spend more time with these characters!

What a cute storyline. Julia winds up at a resort that promises to make you feel like you’re in a romantic comedy.
Surprisingly, it is because of her worry about job security that leads her there. She offers to go write an article about Notting Hill (the resort) and their rom com experience.
She might also be a bit cynical about love and wondering if even she can enjoy the experience.
She certainly isn’t counting on meeting Luke the minute she shows up there with her friends.

Luke wasn’t planning for his kind of meet cute with Julia either. This is his place of work after all. He isn’t one of the actors but he does work for the resort abc wasn’t going to be part of the “game” as they call it. But he thinks Julia’s friend is the reviewer and he thinks it’s best to keep close to the group of women to make sure they have a good time and a good review is written.

Lines get blurry as the girls start wondering if they are actually falling for the men at the resort. They can’t tell exactly what parts are true either because the whole rom com experience is a game. How can they trust their feelings?

With Julia and Luke both intentionally misrepresenting themselves to each other, it’s putting quite an obstacle in the path of something that could be the real thing.

I thought the recreations of popular scenes from rom coms was quite cute. I watch a lot of them and I hadn’t even noticed his common some of the storylines are.

I’d like to recommend that if you like the idea of this storyline that you should definitely, definitely read Austenland and also Well Met (and the other books in that series).

I won a copy of the physical book from Goodreads and an ebook copy from NetGalley. Thanks! I enjoyed it. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was another book in this series set at the same resort at Christmastime.

This book was adorable! I never thought I'd end up reading a romcom about romcoms, but here I am. And I regret nothing. This was worth every minute I spent on it!

My favorite part of this isn't even the characters. It's not the plot. It's a pair of seagulls named Bonnie and Clyde. It's our cockblocking friends who made a living off of theft. It's the seagulls that brought our characters together. In case you don't get it yet, I love these guys. Every time they showed up on the page, I knew it was about to be a fun scene.

I figure that's enough about the seagulls, and I should probably discuss the romance. Like every other romcom, the romance is pure fluff. Fluff is a good thing though! This was a super quick read, and it kept me hooked the entire time. Luke and Julia had so many iconic romcom moments, which I loved. I also loved that they communicated, and their problems weren't dragged on.

Finally, Mrs. W made this book even better than it would've been otherwise. She was an absolute character, and between her corgis and fashion sense, I was dying every time she stepped onto the page. Seriously, I'd read an entire book about her alone.

If you're in the mood for a fluffy romance, I'd definitely recommend this! It had all of the iconic moments I look for in romcoms, and added it's own special flare to them. I'll definitely end up rereading this one!

Thanks to Melonie Johnson and Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me. I had a hard time getting into it, especially in the beginning. It wasn't my type of humor and that always impacts my ability to get into a book. I also couldn't connect with Julia which is the MC. Because of these two reasons I decided to dnf. I just wasn't enjoying my reading experience and didn't feel like pushing through for the sake of it. I am sure others will enjoy this book. It's just the case of, "it's me, not you."

Okay that was a lot of fun. It was a rom-com on steroids! It highlights so many of my favorite things about rom-coms. A light and fun summer read that is guaranteed to leave the reader smiling. Great dialogue and fun characters and situations.

Your one-stop shop for humor, steam, and corgi butts. There's no point lying about the fact that I requested this book from NetGalley based solely on the corgi on the cover and didn't even read the description. Thankfully, I was not disappointed.

There are a lot of great things in <i>Too Good to Be Real</i>, but my favorite element was the humor. Talk about putting the com in rom-com! Melonie Johnson's dialogue and situations had me laughing out loud. If there's one thing you should read this book for, it's the seagulls. Every time the seagulls showed up, I ended up in a fit of giggles. The sheer goofiness of so many situations encountered by the main characters brought me pure joy. As someone who grew up in Wisconsin and has made a similar mistake, I got an extra kick out of Julia deciding to swim in Lake Michigan in June. If you know, you know.

3.5 stars. I enjoyed the concept for this rom-com. The setting being a rom-com movie LARP experience was pretty unique. I felt the two main characters had good chemistry and it was fun to both see them interact and to get both their points of view of said interactions. It wasn’t completely clear on what drew them together, and looking back, their relationship moved in light speed. Almost kissing someone you haven’t even really met yet? Sleeping with someone you’ve known for a couple days? Maybe I’m a bit old-fashioned, but those things seem like potentially a little problematic. However, because both characters came off as so likable and level-headed, I was able to get past it. I really enjoyed the side characters and finding out who was paired up in the end. I can definitely see a sequel happening with Julia’s friends.
Anyone who is into rom-com movies would probably get a kick out of all the references during the LARP experience. There could probably could have been even more included for the true true rom-com fans, but for someone like me, who is only a casual fan of rom-coms, it was sufficient. I’d recommend this to pretty much anyone who is a big fan of rom-coms books, but for anyone wanting some depth in what they’re reading, this may not be for you. This was a fun, light read.

This was such an adorable fun read. I loved every minute of it, and I couldn’t put it down! The romance between Luke and Julia was written so well! This story made me smile so many times, and laugh as well. Definitely recommended for romance readers!

Thank you Netgallery for this arc!