The plot dragged, the romance felt forced, and there were way too many side characters to keep track of. I wanted to love the premise, but between the eye-roll moments and lack of emotional depth, it fell flat.

2.5⭐️—cute idea, weak execution.

#TheMrRightChecklist #NetGalley

Received an ARC for an honest review.

How freaking cute! It had been a minute since I read one of Melissa's books that wasn't part of the Whiskeys/Dark Knights series and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read this one. A hopeless romantic who only wants to help people have the most romantic moments and someone who is romance averse? Sign me up. Watching Fletch and Destiny come together was so fun. Yes, they were the complete opposite of one another, but as Fletch worked to help Destiny's business thrive, the two became something more. I was getting annoyed by how sweet Fletch was being, especially given that this was all about fake dating, but I loved the choices he was making to support her.

The Mr. Right Checklist by Melissa Foster is what I was looking for and I found it. It's a hilarious grumpy/sunshine rom com and I Loved it.

Destiny and Ryan unexpected situationship leads to so much more. I Enjoyed reading this story so much and Highly Recommend it to all readers.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️/5

This was the first book I read from Melissa Foster and I enjoyed it! Destiny was a ray of sunshine and her positive outlook was infectious. Sometimes it can definitely be a little too much though. She went through so much heartache but managed to come out on the other side. She's exactly what Fletch needed. Grumpy Gus Fletch is the sweetest man ever. His character development was great. He really opened up and his love for his dog is adorable.

Overall, The Mr. Right Checklist is a great standalone grumpy x sunshine fake dating romance. There's so much love between these two.

Though Destiny and Ryan’s (Fletch) story can be read as a standalone, you will recognize quite a few people from the Sugar Lake and Harmony Pointe series. Destiny is a dog groomer who is also starting her own business and Fletch is a divorced professor who vows never to fall in love again. They know each other through his dog, Molly….Destiny thinks of him as a Grumpy Gus and he thinks she’s flighty and doesn’t listen to her customers.
They quite literally run into each other during her disastrous first attempt at her new business (no spoilers!) and ultimately he agrees to help her with her business and she agrees to “fake date” him to keep his well-meaning family from trying to set him up with a date for his brother’s wedding.
As they spend more time together, get to know each other better, it’s a true opposites attract scenario. She is a complete ray of sunshine, despite the hardships she’s faced and he certainly acts like the Grumpy Gus she first thought him to be. But Destiny is able to begin breaking down all those walls he’s built up around himself without Fletch even realizing it’s happening. They did the friendship thing well and they do the couple thing even better!
This is a fun read with fantastic main characters and a the best ‘supporting cast’ that includes his family, their friends and, of course, Molly and Clementine.

Sometimes we need a good laugh and Destiny and Ryan's book did that for me. I loved that Destiny was a breath of fresh air, she wasn't afraid to speak her mind and had a hard time keeping her feelings bottled up. Ryan Fletcher "Fletch" was burned by an ex-wife and has maintained his desire to remain single afterwards. When a stalker sets up a proposal with his Molly's groomer, well circumstances make his life go a little out of path he had planned. I loved how the relationship between these two grew naturally. There were times I was tearing up right along with Destiny and even a couple of the other characters throughout the story. I loved how realistic all of the characters were and you can't help but love them all. I loved that the sweet relationship that they had showed each other that no matter what you have planned for your life, it can always change. Including a Mr. Right Checklist. This was a sweet story and I loved it. I hope we get to see more from the characters in the future.

Received ARC in exchange for voluntary honest review from NetGalley.

I loved reading this book.
This book is the story of Fletch and Destiny. Fletch is a college professor and Destiny is a dog groomer who wants to start her own marriage proposal business. Fletch knows Destiny because she grooms his dog, Molly, and then they have a run in when Destiny’s first proposal client actually turns out to be Fletch’s student/stalker. Their friendship begins when Fletch offers to help her make sure that kind of mistake never happens again and it grows from there. To return the favor of Fletch helping her with business she agrees to fake date him to get his family off of his back. Destiny has a checklist of things she wants in her forever man and Fletch has sworn off love after a divorce so they decide that that somehow makes them perfect to fake date. When fake dating crosses into a more intimate relationship the real fun begins.
Like every Melissa Foster book I’ve read, I absolutely loved it and I am a big fan of the leading man. This is the first book of Melissa’s that’s written in first person and I loved it just the same as her 3rd person style. I definitely recommend this book, I recommend Melissa as an author overall. If you’re anything like me reading one book will get you hooked and the next will have you addicted and down the rabbit hole of her books. And this rabbit hole is a fantastic place to be!

A grumpy/sunshine, lighthearted romcom complete with a cute dog called Molly as a stalker brings together college professor Ryan Fletcher and Destiny Amor, a part time dog groomer and wannabe proposal planner. When Ryan hears about Destiny’s dreams and learns that she doesn’t have any idea of what she’s doing he can’t help himself and steps in to help her with a business plan and in return she agrees to attend his brother’s wedding with him and get his meddling family off his back. I loved Ryan and his relationship with his dog, any man who loves his pet like Ryan did was definitely a keeper and while I liked the quirky Destiny who I kept picturing as a young Dolly Parton, I couldn’t help but feel she’d annoy me in real life with her perpetually cheery Pollyanna type character. She also tended to bulldoze people when told not to do something thinking she knew better. I did love her Southern home spun charm and colloquialisms such as “butter my butt and call me a biscuit” which had me laughing. Neither Ryan or Destiny any intention of starting anything, divorced Ryan was cynical over love and he didn’t hit any of Destiny’s criteria on her infamous list, but neither could they fight the pull between them. With a feel-good story and no angst as Destiny enchanted everyone she encountered, including Ryan’s family and friends, a touch of poignancy involving her dead parents and after reading several dark romances recently, The Mr Right Checklist was a fantastic palate cleanser.

This is such a brilliant read.
I loved both the main characters, Destiny and Fletch but Fletch is grumpy to Destiny's sunshine.
When the first attempt at setting up.her new marriage proposal business goes horribly wrong she vows to end the business, that is until Fletch offers to help her.
They are perfect together but he is divorced and never wants to get married again so he keeps himself closed off. Whereas Destiny has a checklist for her Mr Right.
They soon grow closer but will he admit his feelings before it's too late.
Loved the ending.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.

Fletch and Destiny, what can I say? This was definitely a grumpy sunshine romance! Destiny's interactions with the dogs was so cute. At first I was on the fence about Fletch. He was a little to bland and grumpy but it got better. Either way it was a fun and cute read.

Well I need a Fletch in my life. Gosh these two were cute as a button 🥰.

She’s a hopeless romantic. He’s a cynic 🙄. Together they’re adorable.

This book is sweetly filled with laughter, desire and respect. The way Fletch accepted Destiny for who she is and respected her was refreshing.

They were so different yet fit together so well.

He is definitely not her Mr. Right Checklist Guy but he is Mr. Try Real Hard.

These two sweethearts got 4,25 🦋

Destiny and Fletcher were absolutely adorable! For how much destiny had to endure in her life, the way she still believed in love and happy endings was fantastic.

I loved watching her and Fletcher fall in love with each other and face their fears in this journey.

The story was greatly written and the plot was really good as well!

Melissa Foster can truly do no wrong! This book was a delight to read, and is perfect for all lovers of romance.

Dual POV
Southern heroine
Grumpy professor
Cute pup Molly
Proposal mix-up
Fake dating
Romantic comedy with all the feelings!
Close proximity
Grumpy x sunshine
Standalone


Oh! And there are connections to Harmony Pointe series, which was such a fun callback!

Holy absolutely spectacular romcom! This baby has you laughing the entire way through, completely melts your heart, and gives you that full to bursting with happiness feeling. It’s fake dating with a dash of quirky, fun, and outrageous, mixes in soo much adorable found family, and gives you the MOST perfect grumpy and hates love/sunshine in love with everything about love romance ever.
Oh my gosh this read, it just does a heart good! Ryan and Destiny are the best everything they never wanted in a partner couple. Ryan gets insanely high marks for best boyfriend ever pretty much by accident but he does it with so much sincerity and thoughtfulness and Destiny that girl is amazing, vivacious, and just the right girl to remind Ryan love can be messy and beautiful. And every part of their romance is fun, sexy, and so freaking adorable, it’s completely unputdownable. With swoony gestures, a lightness that just seeps out of every page, and moments that put hearts in your eyes it’s a read I would say you need to run, not walk, to get your hands on.

The Mr. Right Checklist by Melissa Foster is a standalone, steamy rom-com and what a read!

Fletch and Destiny are total opposites, but when he offers to help her with her business it she helps him for his brother’s wedding..read on for family interference, banter, grumpy/sunshine, miscommunication, laughter, faking dating and so much more…

I voluntarily read a copy of this book from NetGalley, Greys PR. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Aside from author Melissa Foster ripping my heart out towards the end of this book...this book was the perfect blend of happiness and sunshine. With a grumpy dog owner, Fletch, not looking for love AT ALL, Yet Destiny had it's (or her) own plans.

I loved this romance!!! It was a great combination of romance, great characters, belief, and storyline. This is a book I would love to read again for the first time. All the feels!!!

The parts about Destiny's parents made my heart hurt for her. I could feel everything she felt. The dog groomer with a dream of becoming a perfect proposal planner and a divorced professor come together...is it for the sake if the dog, Molly? LOL

This is an absolutely wonderful read!!!

I've read a decent amount of Melissa Foster books and always love them. This wasn't my favorite of her books to be honest, I just didn't feel the connection the way I wanted to, at least not until the last 10% of the book. But that being said, I didn't hate it at all, it just felt rushed and a tad juvenile to me. But I liked the plot, I just wish they would have gotten together a bit sooner. Mr. Grumpy Gus ended up being a total closet romantic and I actually even cried at one point in the book. I will definitely still be reading more books by Melissa, this just personally missed the mark for me but you should absolutely give it a read still, it could end up being your favorite book!

Destiny hasn’t let her past define but rather it has only reinforced her wanting to help others find love. She has come up with a unique business idea where she will help her clients plan their proposals however her first assignment didn’t turn out the way she planned. The one bright spot is that it brought Ryan into her life, and he has agreed to help her with her business if she will help him with a situation.

Ryan is a successful businessman who has decided that love and relationships aren’t for him. Even though the circumstances that brough Destiny into his life were less than ideal he comes up with an idea that will get them both what they want. What could possibly go wrong?

I loved these two together as even though they were opposites when it came to their views on love and their personalities, they are exactly what the other needs in their life. This is a touching romance that is filled with humor and so many feels as what started as an arrangement turns into so much more.

What a heartwarming, grumpy/sunshine romantic comedy this is.

Destiny is our extremely loveable Southern heroine. An aspiring proposal planner and part-time dog groomer, she's extremely happy and empathetic despite her sad back story. She meets Fletch through Molly, the dog she is grooming at the time.

"I glance over my shoulder at Fletch talking on his phone. Nope. No butterflies. But his pinched brow and far-too-serious face do make me smile."

Ryan 'Fletch' Fletcher is a grumpy professor of the 'once bitten twice shy' kind. He has a good friends-and-family network but shies away from romantic relationships.

"I like quiet, and her mouth moves faster than the Energizer Bunny. Still, there's something about the sweet, sensitive, over-the-top beauty that reels me in and makes me want to do a hell of a lot more than talk."

Destiny was hilarious with her whimsical colloquialisms and sunny outlook. Fletcher was alternately teasing and kind. The most important character driving the narrative was Molly, Fletcher's Bernese Mountain Dog.

This story had me invested in Fletcher and Destiny. I empathized and laughed out loud with them and was inspired by them and the cast of supporting characters. I wanted to live in their community for a bit longer.

All in all this story reinforced my opinion that opposites do indeed attract and the relationship is all the more fun for it!Another winner from the wonderful Melissa Foster.

This was the book I needed to lift my day. Ryan “Fletch” and Destiny are perfect examples of grumpy/sunshine.
Ryan needs a fake girlfriend for his brother’s wedding to get his family over the “matchmaking” thing. He’s been married before and it didn’t work out, and he’s not looking right now.
Destiny believes that one day she will find her true love. Never could she suspect it would be the grumpy, yet hot, professor.
I was hooked from the beginning. I’ve read many books by Miss Foster, but reading a romcom by her, just made my day. She’s done a wonderful job with those two opposite characters, making them a perfect match, finding love at an unexpected time.