Member Reviews
“It was better this way. Kat told herself. Better to know now. Better to let go before she had anything to hold on to.”
Thank you Melonie Johnson, St. Martin’s Griffin, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Too Wrong To Be Right will be available 2/28/23.
After her latest jerk of a boyfriend dumps her (and ditches her with his pet hedgehog), florist Kat Kowalski is done chasing after Mr. Wrong. With her two best friends moving on to more serious relationships, she's ready to stop repeating the same mistakes that are leaving her stuck in the single lane. Armed with a list of qualities for her perfect Mr. Right, Kat swears off dating until she finds him. Then in a meet-disaster involving a corpse and a salty cockatoo, she stumbles across Mick O'Sullivan at his family's funeral home. Their immediate chemistry warns Kat to keep things platonic; after all, following her heart never worked out in the past, and this time she's determined to listen to her head. But can Kat and Mick be just friends? As she gets to know him better, the lines blur, and Kat starts to wonder if she's gotten it wrong and Mick is exactly who she's been looking for...
A not so cute meet cute that leads to a strangers to friends to lovers romance with witty banter and a sassy, swearing cockatoo! I thought that characters were likable and that it was an overall cute story. It did get a little slow at once with one of the love interests. They had so little chemistry that we literally skip a month over their relationship. The book has dual POVs, but is written in third person and I wasn’t a huge fan of that. I gave “Too Wrong To Be Right” 3 ⭐️s.
I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review. I am a first time reader of a Melanie Johnson book and I would say I was semi-satisfied. My main hold up with the plot was that there was not enough attention put to why Kat, the female protagonist, felt that Mick, the male protagonist, was “too wrong”, which ties back to the title and promise of the story. The book chronicled the personal reflection and development of the two characters over about five months after meeting in Mick’s family funeral home. Kat and Mick agree to be friends from the beginning but experience shifts in their friendship along the way. I would recommend but would be more apt to if there was a shift to the marketing of the story. I also found that, while the plot of the pet hedgehog provided color and fit within the story, the cockatoo was just an added distraction that did not need to be included.
A florist, a funeral director and a hedgehog seem to be ingredients for a funny and unique rom com. There were definitely fun moments in the book and the writing was fairly good. But something was just....missing. The plot was both unrealistic and lackluster, Kat and Mick seemed both overdone and underdeveloped, and the reasons Kat and Mick don't get together for the majority of the book are fairly flimsy. Overall it was ok, but not my favorite.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
Too Wrong to be Right is the second book I’ve read by Melonie Johnson. A meet cute over a casket between a florist and an owner of a funeral home. Throw in a foul mouth Irish cockatoo and a cuddly hedgehog and you have the recipe for a fun easy read. But be prepared to want to smack both MCs who desperately need to work on communication.
I was expecting more out of this book. I love dual POV books, but with this one, it felt as though the characters weren't seeing each other the entire time. There was a lot of miscommunication, which I really don't like. There was an entire backstory of Mick's character that affected the present, and while it was brought up many times, it was never fully explained. The issues in the book would go on for a very long time and then suddenly resolve in one paragraph which didn't make sense to me.
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
I loved the uniqueness of the mains meeting in the funeral home setting! I don’t believe I have ever read a romance with that before! A cute, quick read that I would definitely recommend to others.
I will say there is some redundancy in parts but overall a wonderful read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to get an advanced e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Cute story about a florist and an owner of a funeral home. Cheesy and sweet. But the whole time I wanted to yell at the characters to just TALK TO EACHOTHER it was so frustrating
I DNF’d this book at 15%. It just didn’t pique my attention right off the bat and I felt like it would require more effort than I was capable of putting in at that time. Slow burn romances aren’t typically my thing so that could be it. Also some of the dialogue reminded me of the rapid fire quick wit ala Gilmore Girls. This book seems like it would definitely appeal to readers of typical contemporary romances, especially if they have an interest in slow burn romances.
Too Wrong to be Right follows Kat who is an aspiring flower shop owner and Mick who runs his family’s funeral home along with his siblings. They’re “meet-cute” definitely was something, they are both unique characters and it was refreshing to read a sort of different storyline. But I will say that it was a bit too slowburn for me, And even though everyone has their own insecurities and fear but I think that Kat and Mick’s were a tad bit overpowering. I wasn’t expecting much going into this book, and yes it was swoony and funny at times but it’s just lacking in some parts.
I found myself losing interest in the middle--I think the beginning was so fun, fast-paced, and funny that, when the middle came around and it was quieter in terms of both pacing and humor, I found myself not connecting as much and DNF'd around the 30% mark.
This book had some good potential plot lines, but it was all build up. There were so many pointless side stories that took away from the main theme. And it threw in concepts, line pronouns, just foe the sake of putting it in, it added nothing to the storyline. I was expecting a fun lighthearted romance, but it had only a few steamy sections that weren't even that steamy.
I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book is a perfect book to read if you want something light and easy. It genuinely made me laugh during certain parts of it. If you're interested in the friends to lovers trope then this book is 100% perfect for you.
The one thing I truly loved about this book was the bird Seamus. I smiled anytime that bird said anything.
Overall the book was good, it just wasn't a favorite of mine.
Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher for this eARC. I loved "Too Good to Be Real" and I was really drawn to the cover of this book, so I knew I needed to read it.
The book follows Kat who is recently dumped by another horrible guy, conveniently named Tad. Because of this, Kat vows to stop dating until she meets the perfect guy. As part of her job as a florist she bumps into Mick, who works at a funeral home. Mick is super obsessed with her and she likes him too but he doesn't meet the criteria of her perfect guy.
The book is just fine, but I didn't especially like the main characters. Kat was very annoying which made it hard to get into the book. Also, how does she openly flirt with his brother when she clearly likes him? Red flags everywhere. Seamus is the highlight of the book!
**I recieved this book as an ARC!**
Wow, such a good book! I absolutely loved all of the characters in this book, but I would have to say Seamus the bird, by far is the best! For me he made the whole book!
I loved this book from start to finish. My reason for giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I felt that the main characters coming together took WAY TOO LONG! I needed way more Mick and Kat. I will always appreciate a slow burn, but I felt robbed from knowing life with Mick and Kat together and in love. I will admit that the ending was absolutely adorable though!
My favourite part was seeing the character development in Mick and Kat, especially with both of them finally standing up for themselves and for demanding their needs and wants be a priority! In the end because they did this they found their soul mates within each other!
Such a good book and I look forward to checking out more by this author!
Bravo 👏
I love Melonie Johnson’s ability to make you live her characters. This is the story of Kat who is dumped by her selfish boyfriend. She makes a list of qualities for her Mr. Right. She then meets Mick who is doing all the wrong things, but there is just something there. Love is supposed to be easy to fall into, and they discover that all they have been looking for is right in front of them or is he Mr. Wrong again?
Kat has everything- the job she’s always wanted (florist), a boyfriend (Tad), and time with her best friends (movie nights). In one evening, her boyfriend dumps her, leaves her with his pet, and she swears off men who don’t fit her new list of Mr. Right. Then, she meets Mick O’Sullivan over a corpse at his funeral home. She immediately puts him into the friend category since he doesn’t fit her new list, but as they grow closer, she may discover he was the right one after all.
A very cute and enjoyable read. I flew through this in a couple of days while sick. I would recommend if you’re looking for a friends to lovers trope.
I was sometimes frustrated with Kat because she’s a grown woman, but sometimes behaved like she was in high school, acting a little immature. This wasn’t enough to detract from my overall enjoyment of this book.
Content warning: a lot of death-related stuff at the funeral home, some language, some sexual content
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I really enjoyed this rom-com, for starters it had me laughing out loud 80 percent of the time and the other 20 percent I was swooning over Mick O’Sullivan.
Kat was a super relatable main character. She’s broken hearted and trying to figure out life and love. Her friends are all moving on and she feels completely lost and forgotten. She had insecurities and fears and I loved how realistic it all felt.
“Scruffy, messy, weird and wonderful Mick”
Mick was the sweetest, he promised to be there for Kat as a friend and he kept his promise all through out even when it wasn’t beneficial to him. The way he called her “princess” and just wanted the best for her despite it all. I mean come on I was swooning so hard for this man. 😍
Overall I liked all of the characters, the writing was creative and hilarious. I had a great time reading this and I absolutely will be reading more of Johnson’s work.
—
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Griffin and Melonie Johnson for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
Too Wrong to Be Right was funny, sweet, and swoony.
Kat gets dumped and decides she is always falling for the wrong guys. Instead of swearing off all men, she decides to make a list of what makes up Mr. Right.
When Kat meets Mick, she is instantly attracted to him and realizes he is just like all the other guys she dates and therefore, totally wrong for her. However, his brother Joe is Mr. Right on paper.
I enjoyed seeing Kat and Mick navigate their friendship while fighting their attraction for each other. Add in all of their members and their eccentric personalities, it was the perfect friends-to-lovers rom-com.
I gave this book 4 stars purely for the setting, side characters, and the hedgehog.
Set in Chicago, Mick works at his family’s funeral home and Kat works at a florist shop, which set up a hilarious meet cute. They literally fall for each other multiple times in this book! The detailed descriptions of each setting made me feel like I was in the room.
He’s Irish and she’s Polish - and they both have grandmas who steal every scene they are in. Mick’s sister Mary Kate is my favorite framily member and she definitely deserves her own story! Throw in co-workers; besties, and extended family, and this becomes a wonderful framily affair.
So the hedgehog is completely unnecessary, but I always love an adorable pet/owner dynamic and Kat is just gaga over this thing.
However, I couldn’t get past my dislike of Kat and the decisions she made. I wanted her to build a bridge and get over herself already, Her decision to date Mick’s brother when she was obviously in lust with Mick was just icky for me. And Mick was supposed to be just shy of a doctorate in psychology/counseling which completely surprised me every time it was mentioned because he definitely didn’t act like that was his passion or calling until the very end. Mick and Kat’s path to together just fell a little flat for me. I hope the author writes more books about the side characters.
Thanks to the publisher and author for the eARC to read and review.
The angst and the tension this book had was quite palpable and had me hooked on to it since the very first page. I absolutely loved the main characters and their slowburn romance. Also, the ending was sweet too.