Too Wrong to Be Right

November 21, 2022
Johnson (Too Good to Be Real) packs this will-they-won’t-they romance between a florist and the owner of a funeral home with her signature wit and sexy banter. After florist Kat Kowalski gets dumped by her egotistical actor boyfriend—and stranded with his pet hedgehog—Kat officially swears off dating “Mr. Wrong” and compiles a list of traits meant to help her identify “Mr. Right” instead. She dismisses handsome, witty Mick O’Sullivan as the former after a meet cute disaster while she’s dropping off flowers at his funeral home. Mick, however, is instantly smitten. A business arrangement between the O’Sullivan funeral parlor and Kat’s flower shop keeps them in each other’s orbits, but Kat refuses to go back on her resolution, friend-zoning Mick and pursuing his “solid” but stuck-up older brother, Joe. But how long can chemistry be denied? There’s a bit of weirdness to this one, as Mick never comes across as a bad boy at all, making Kat’s determination to avoid her attraction to him feel a bit unmotivated. Still, Johnson nails the pacing of Kat and Mick’s relationship, which goes from lighthearted and fun to sensual and sweet. This slow-burning rom-com is a treat. Agent: Pamela Harty, Knight Agency.

January 1, 2023

Kat Kowalski's boyfriend just dumped her (along with his pet hedgehog), proving that Kat's choice of men continues to be faulty. Every boyfriend of Kat's has been a jerk, and she's had enough. She makes a list of qualities she's looking for and plans to search, exclusively, for potential candidates that match. But then she meets Mick O'Sullivan. Mick is confident, with dark hair and twinkling eyes, and a smirk that shouldn't turn Kat on, but definitely does. He's exactly who she should run from, while Mick's brother, Joe, embodies every quality on her checklist. Mick is immediately attracted to Kat, but she needs a friend more than a romance. So he will be the best friend he can be, even if that means setting her up with his brother. The protagonists in this friends-to-lovers romantic comedy are very well-developed and three-dimensional. Their low-drama backstories are relatable, giving the characters realistic humility and insecurities that will resonate with readers. Delightful secondary characters and hilarious situations round out the story. VERDICT This hard-to-put-down book from Johnson (Too Good To Be Real) is recommended for general purchase.--Heather Miller Cover

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2023
A florist must reassess her idea of the right partner before true love can bloom. In the span of a single day, florist Kat Kowalski finds herself abruptly dumped by her self-centered boyfriend, saddled with his pet hedgehog, and forced to make a trip to a funeral home to deliver an order. Already having a terrible day, Kat is thrown off the deep end when she bangs into Mick O'Sullivan at his family's funeral home. Although she is instantly attracted to him, Kat takes a step back because she wants to radically rejig her approach to romance. Convinced that she has a thing for men who are absolutely wrong for her, Kat decides to be wary of instant chemistry and--aided by two friends who have recently found love--outlines the qualities of her Mr. Right. Mick is the exact antithesis of Kat's idea of a perfect partner, but when the two bump into each other again, they begin to strike up a warm friendship. Even though Mick is attracted to Kat, he decides to set his feelings aside to help his friend find the right man. But both Mick and Kat will have to radically reevaluate their ideas of rightness and goodness before they can find real happiness. Brimming with references to 1990s Hollywood rom-coms, the book paves the couple's path to true love with clich�s; while some are heartwarming and sweet (endearing family members and comforting descriptions of home-cooked food), others quickly tip over from quirky to cutesy (a difficult-but-beloved cockatoo). Mick is refreshing in his capacity for warmth and understanding, but Kat is caught in the mold of the prototypical clumsy-and-lonely single heroine. Johnson is witty and affecting when she details evolving dynamics, such as the couple's growing closeness and Kat's gradual acceptance of changes in her equation with her closest friends. But she is less convincing when she addresses the factors that keep the couple apart. A romance whose handling of friendship is more charming and insightful than its treatment of love and companionship.

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Starred review from January 1, 2023
When it comes to men, florist Kat Kowalski has a type, good-looking jerks. Case in point, her latest boyfriend, Tad, a self-absorbed actor, who dumps Kat and leaves her with his hedgehog, JoJo, and too many memories of where she went romantically wrong. Determined to break her bad dating habits, Kat decides it is time to go after someone entirely different. An end-of-the-day floral delivery to O'Sullivan's Funeral Home puts Kat in touch with Mick O'Sullivan, who seems to be everything Kat has sworn off dating. Kat is certain she can keep things with Mick in the "friend zone" while she looks for a man who ticks off every box on her newly revised dating checklist. But what if Mick isn't Mr. Wrong but is really her Mr. Right? Smartly deploying her flair for comic timing and considerable gift for witty banter, Johnson once again dazzles and delight readers with a perfectly executed rom-com featuring a delightfully quirky cast of characters that includes a hot-cinnamon-roll hero and a heroine with a totally relatable, messy personal life as well as a cockatoo with a sailor's vocabulary and an adorable hedgehog.

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