If you love Adam Carlson and Gus Everett, you're going to swoon over Jack Thomas.

Sadie Green is down on her luck when her guaranteed promotion is ripped out from underneath her and she's fired. Mixing up a dating app with a roommate app while commiserating her luck over drinks leads to her meeting Jack Thomas. Jack, who's been grieving the loss of his parents for the last 7 years, presents as a quiet gamer who spends most of his time in his basement; the exact opposite of Sadie's type. Moving into Jack's NY brownstone for dirt cheap rent feels like the perfect time to take on a project she's always dreamed of, her floristry business. Their lives become more entangled as they settle into a new routine and watching them fall in love is an absolute delight!

"When we do this, Sade - and for me, it's a when, not an if - I want to be all in."

The tension is slow build and so palpable you could touch it with your hands. I love the way Sadie and Jack are so clearly into each other from early on, letting things build between them at a smooth, natural progression. We all love a swoon-worthy leading man and Jack delivers in spades.

Fans of "The Love Hypothesis" and "Beach Read" will absolute love this.

4.5/5 rounded up
🌶🌶🌶🌶/5

CW: death of a parent, narcissistic parent, sex on paper

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and Net Galley for this ARC. This is a voluntary review.
**I will check quotes against the published version before posting my review to other websites.**

My girl Sadie is living the dream. After losing her boring finance job she starts her own floral arrangement business, moves in with a quiet, nerdy roommate to his Park Slope brownstone and pays a pittance for rent. Her friends and roommate Jack provide unwavering support and love her unconditionally.

First of all, can I please join this friend group? Everyone deserves friends like Gemma, Harley and Nick to drop everything they are doing to help you deliver flower arrangements and repeatedly tell you that you are worth loving.

And Jack, sweet Jack. Even though the slow burn almost killed me I understood his hesitation and needing time to start something with Sadie. Jack was really the best boyfriend a girl can ask for.

Sadie and Jack's meet cute was one of the best I've read and it made me laugh out loud.

The text exchanges between Sadie and her friends and Jack throughout the book was very entertaining, Overall the dialogue was written so well. It reminded me Emily Henry's.

My only criticism is that conflict came very late in the book and there was a nice build up to the conflict but I think Sadie's reaction to it was blown out of proportion.

But all in all this debut had the perfect balance of snark and chemistry and steam, a delicious slow burn and the best friend group. Halfway through the book I started hoping this would turn into a series and I get to spend more time with them. Gemma certainly deserves her own book. A burnout, underappreciated teacher, she is people.

I loved this story! I read it in almost one sitting. It is funny, sweet, and sexy all at once. I really liked the friends in the story, as well. Usually, I'm not that invested in support characters, but I loved all their personalities and they added depth to the story. Highly recommend this book!

I read this book in 2 days! It was so good. Sadie Green has a stable (but boring) job in finance, a small NYC apartment, and a mountain of crippling debt. When her career path gets suddenly derailed, she takes a chance on her dream of changing her life for the better. With the help of besties Harley, Gemma, and Nick- and a new love interest-can she pull off the ultimate do-over? I hope there's a sequel or two to this one- I'd love to see how Harley, Nick, & Gemma's stories all play out.

When down on her luck Sadie drunkenly mistakes a roommate app for a dating app, little does she know how much meeting Jack for coffee is going to shake up her life and vice versa.

I have to say that I really enjoyed 95% of this book. Sadie is a hilarious and likable fmc, her friends are equally hilarious and great side characters, the chemistry between her and Jack is absolute perfection, and the spice is well done. My issue is that last ditch effort at drama (that was super out of character btw) that kept this for being a 5 star read. It just felt like this ‘plot twist’ was thrown for no reason.

Either way, I still really enjoyed the book & am so grateful for Netgalley & Putnam for sending me an arc!

Sadie gets passed on for a promotion and then ends up drunk and swiping right for what she thinks is a dating app but is a roommate app and she comes across Jack and their story goes from there.
I loved the friend group in this story so much! Sometimes to many characters is hard to write and not get to confusing but the author did a really great job and the friends were amazing side characters. Jack was the sweetest and his back story was sad but believable. Jack and Sadie’s relationship was a slow burn but felt believable and I felt it felt natural and not rushed. I think my biggest hang up with this book was the main character Sadie. I simply just didn’t like her. Couldn’t connect with her. And the conflict at the end felt just felt silly. I’d rather the whole book POV be through Jack.
Thank you netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

this was a fast, sweet, feel-good read, and I really enjoyed it! the main characters, sadie, and jack, were lovable and had amazing chemistry and banter. I really liked their slow-burn romance and how both characters developed a lot before the story jumped into the romance. the side characters were also incredible—I am a sucker for found family.

my only criticism is that the conflict at the very end felt odd, unnecessary, and out of character. there was not a whole lot of conflict throughout the story, so it felt weird that it happened in the last chapters and was felt blown out of proportion.

despite this issue, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story and breezed through it within a few hours— I didn't want to put it down!

thank you to Putnam Books and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

4.5 stars!

Lease on Love is an adorable romantic comedy about Sadie, a formal financial analyst starting a floral business, and Jack, her landlord/roommate still grieving the death of his parents. Complete opposites. And somehow it works.

This book is hilarious. Some "rom-coms" end up being not really funny, but this book is genuinely hilarious. Sadie's internal dialogue? Yes. The friend group? Yes. THE NICKNAMES??? YES.

Every relationship in this book was well done. Everything between Sadie and Jack felt natural and real, and all of the friendships were really fleshed out. Every single character could've stood on their own - it's impressive how much complexity the author was able to fit into these pages.

The only thing keeping this book from a complete 5 stars for me is the ending. The final act tension didn't fit the pace and tone of the novel, and it was out of character enough to throw me at the end. Despite this, the book was an absolute joy and I highly recommend it!

If I were to recite this book's review as a recipe, (which idk why I'd want to do but oh well) I'd say three parts love, two parts lust, a cup full of beautiful friendships and a teaspoon of drama mixed it all up, only to add one last secret ingredient - a bucket load of angst, (because this book might've just won the slooooww burn competition of the year) and there! it's done.
Extra points under presentation, for that gorgeous cover indeed!

4.37/5✩

What a great debut novel from Falon Ballard! I rated this 4/5 stars overall.

Things I loved:

There’s a lot to love from this story! First off, Jack is the perfect book boyfriend. He’s ridiculously supportive, selfless, thoughtful, and seems to know what Sadie needs at any given moment. Oh, and it helps that he’s rich and can spoil his girl. Lol. Sadie and Jacks relationship is swoon worthy and also HOT. Their spicy scenes were 🔥🔥

I also loved every single person in the friend group. The found family in this story is just phenomenal - I want to be in this friend group! The text message conversations added an extra layer to the book and I was totally obsessed. I would read a whole book of just text conservations with this friend group!

Things I didn’t love:

I felt the third act conflict wasn’t really conflict-worthy. It just felt out of character and not a big enough deal to warrant such a fight. However, I did enjoy the texts towards the end of the book that Sadie sent Jack. They were so sweet.

I also thought that everything for Sadie’s new business came too easily? Maybe thats nit-picky, but that just felt way too easy for me.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Would recommend!

QOTD: Do you have a green thumb?
My A: Yes, but no because I kinda cheat. I have an abundance of happy indoor plants, but they’re all low-light, neglect me for three months and I’ll still grow plants, so they only half count.
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It's funny...For somebody who doesn’t like cities, I really love reading romances set in them! A sweet opposites attract that takes two accidental roommates and turns them into best friends and eventually, so much more. Big Warning: This book will pull at ALL of your heartstrings. I loved witty and big hearted Sadie, her hilarious friends and the relationship between Sadie and Jack. Sadie was the loud to Jack’s quiet in every aspect. Jack was smart, sweet and selfless, the perfect match for Sadie IMO! This is a slow burn, taking place over *I think* around 9 months? This twist is, they are both aware of their feelings for each other. Jack is still healing from the loss of his parents as a single child. He’s spent the last few years completely isolated and deep in grief. Even with all of that, he still finds ways to go above and beyond for Sadie... BaBs, takeout, The Real Housewives... SWOON. That’s all I can say about Jack. The career path Sadie takes is super fun and I could picture it all perfectly! I do wish we'd been given a dual POV. I just think that romances are ALWAYS better with them and we would be able to connect with Jack even more if we see things from his POV as well.. All in all, a super fun book everyone will love!
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BLURB:
After getting passed over for an overdue—and much needed—promotion, Sadie Green is in desperate need of three things: a stiff drink, a new place to live, and a one-night-stand. When one drink turns into one too many, Sadie mixes up a long-ignored dating app for a roommate-finding app and finds herself on the doorstep of Jack Thomas’s gorgeous Brooklyn brownstone. Too bad she’s more attracted to his impressive real estate than she is to the man himself.

Jack, still grieving the unexpected death of his parents, has learned to find comfort in video games and movie marathons instead of friends. So while he doesn’t know just what to make of the vivaciously verbose Sadie, he’s willing to offer her his spare bedroom while she gets back on her feet. And with the rent unbeatably low, Sadie can finally pursue her floristry side hustle full-time. The two are polar opposites, but as Sadie’s presence begins to turn the brownstone into a home, they both start to realize they may have just made the deal of a lifetime.

I almost gave up on this story within the first few pages. I'm glad I kept going with it, as the story was good. But I really dislike books that involve a lot of profanity. It's just not needed. Call me old school, but I'd never call anyone, much less a friend, "bitch."

The story itself was clever. I enjoyed the dynamic between Sadie and her friends, the mystery that Jack added to things. I especially enjoyed how Sadie's friends were there for her, even when she found herself revisiting old wounds. They had her back, no matter way, and were invested in seeing her dreams come true, just as she was invested in theirs.

Did the storyline itself make up for all the f-bombs throughout the book? Not in my opinion. May be fine for a younger audience though. (I'm Gen X.)

When Sadie drunkenly swipes right on Jack in an app she doesn't end up with as date as she had expected. She ends up with a roommate. However Jake is not like any roommate I have ever had. Kind, supportive, and a bit of a hermit, Jake makes Sadie's stomach do flip-flops the size of which she cannot ignore. He seems to care for her too, although he holds her at a distance. Is this simply the best housemate situation ever or the start of something even better?

This book is not short on appeal. My particular favorite thing is Sadie's group of friends. They are the ride or die troop that everyone dreams of having to rely on. The type of friends who will drop everything to help you in a moments notice and also have fun and engaging group texts every day. I would love a Thanksgiving invite from that crew.

Sadie is a complex character, strong but also self-doubting mess. Everything always seems to go her way easily but she is still going to indulge in self-sabotaging thoughts constantly. Jack is a bit of a generic hero. Tragic back story but all he really does is admire Sadie and make her life easier. He has no real personality of his own out side of being endlessly accommodating. The dynamic between them was so uneven it made me uncomfortable. In the beginning Sadie buys Jack a lot of coffee but he gives her so much all of the time while dealing with her emotional baggage. Sadie took a lot from everyone, and I understand that at times in all relationships the person needing and the person giving goes in cycles but it was hard to not find her pretty selfish and self absorbed.

I love a slow burn so I appreciated they took things slowly but it didn't increase my anticipation at all. I think I kind of preferred them as roommates. I wanted Sadie to work a little harder and not be given everything, including Jake feeling that he had to be the one to fix himself. The inevitable but unnecessary conflict at the end did nothing to change my thinking.

I like Ballard's wit and writing and am looking forward to what she writes next. I was pleased to receive a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have some mixed feelings about this book. I loved the first half of this book, but then towards the end, I found myself slowly losing interest.

Some of the things I loved about this story: I felt like this book started strong - strong women in a great friend group who were going through the realistic ups and downs of adulthood. I loved that it took place in Brooklyn, I loved that she is a florist, I loved that all of the characters have depth and separate storylines that were easy to follow. I loved the meet cute between Sadie and Jack, and I loved Jack - sweet sweet Jack.

Things that I didn’t love - the slow, slow, slowest burn. I don’t mind a slow burn, but I think this one affected the pace of the story. I didn’t like the conflict at the end, I felt like the story just didn’t need it. I didn’t love at the end how insecure Sadie and Gemma seemed. I felt like they started out strong and although they had a lot of self-doubts, it seemed crippling towards the end. I do think the things I didn’t love are just “me” things, and would still recommend this book, it has a solid story, it’s funny, and the romance is sweet.

Lease on Love comes out February 1, 2022! Thank you netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! I absolutely loved this book. Once I started, I could barely put it down and I finished it in one day.

Sadie thinks she’s up for a promotion and ends up losing her job instead. During her alcohol-fueled pity party, she gets on a dating app, makes a match and sets a coffee date for the next day. Only when she shows up it turns out she actually made a match on the roommate finder app. Jack is renting out a room in his brownstone for next to nothing and Sadie can’t pass it up. She makes a total 180 with her career trajectory because of it. She loves the brownstone but she can’t figure Jack out. He barely talks to her and never shares anything about himself.

Things progress over time (a really really really long time) and they both start sharing about tragedies in their pasts. Their friendship eventually grows into more. Jack is really the sweetest most doting hero! And Sadie is so full of life and love even though it takes a lot for her to realize it. I also really identified with her feelings about owning your own business and was inspired her tenacity. I loved their cute nicknames for one another, too.

The conflict towards the end of the story seemed a *tiny* bit blown out of proportion, but I’m not really in a place to make any statement like that since I can’t relate personally to what either of them went through at young ages (which ultimately played into their reactions). But don’t worry, there’s a HEA!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was So. Much. Fun. The first line of the very first chapter had me laughing and there were plenty of laugh out loud moments throughout.

The MC, Sadie, gets fired from her job after f-bombing her way through a work meeting where she wasn't given the promotion she worked hard to earn. Sadie is snarky and confident on the outside, but a mess on the inside, due to an emotional past. She's surrounded by her friend group from college, who are all stand-out supporting characters. Their in-person interactions and group text messages felt so natural and realistic...reading this book will make you feel like you're one of "the gang".

Enter Jack, the mysterious tall, dark, and handsome stranger, who offers Sadie a room to rent in his brownstone for mere pennies. Their "meet-cute" is hysterical and you will be rooting for Jack from day one. We don't learn much about Jack very quickly, and to be perfectly honest I would have loved to learn MORE about Jack and Sadie's pasts. Their romance is a sloooooooowwwwwwww burn, which honestly felt right, given the circumstances.

This book is a hilarious, heartwarming story that proves family is more than blood, but the friends and people who love you, support you, and stay with you, no matter what.

Thank you to @putnambooks and @netgalley for the ARC. Lease on Love will be available February 1, 2022.

This was a super fun, laugh out loud rom com that for the most part delivered the goods. Sadie (also my eldest daughter’s name) had a big ol’ potty mouth which was a bit much at times, but she had a heart of gold. It’s a slow burn but delivers the steam once it gets there. Sadie was endearing in her own self-deprecating way, spunky but sensitive. If you love a good friend group this is your book. Sometimes I wish the friends would get out of the way but not here – great personalities, banter among friends and the group texts cracked me up. There was some great texting between Sadie and Jack. Jack was pure perfection and the perfect balance to Sadie’s loud personality.

Sadie’s road to success felt a little too easy (partly because of Jack but also because of how quickly the business took off) but two other things nagged at me a bit more. I wish we went a little deeper into Jack and Sadie’s past and the events that shaped them. It was lightly touched upon but a little more dimensions would have been good. It didn’t feel like a big miss but left me wanting for more.

My biggest beef was with the end of the book. I felt the build up to a big reveal/conflict/wrongdoing and it fell short. I just didn’t think it was that big of a deal, especially given what we knew about Jack’s story by that point.

Overall though I really enjoyed it. It was fun and energetic and a great cast of characters which is why I ended up with 4 stars. There is a fair amount of cursing so if that’s not your thing go in with caution. Also light touches on parents death and child abuse.

Quote: “Oh god, let this be the moment he kisses me. Because there’s a good chance I might die if he doesn’t kiss me. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything as much as I want, right now in this moment, for Jack Thomas to kiss me.”

Song for Sadie and Jack: Forever After All by Luke Combs: “Just a t-shirt in the kitchen, with no make-up and a million other things that I could look at my whole life. A love like that makes a man have second thoughts. Maybe some things last forever after all.”

What a fun slow burn romance! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve loved characters this much. Sadie, Jack and friends have my full heart.

Sadie is a financial analyst who’s up for a promotion. When she gets passed up for the promotion and asked to train the new guy with no experience, she loses it and gets fired. After spending her night getting wasted - as one would in that situation - she agrees to meet someone on a dating site. Except she was drunk and it wasn’t a dating site at all. She instead finds a new roommate. Enter Jack-of-Hearts.

The whole cast of characters form a friend group that anybody would want to be apart of. (I’m really hoping for a sequel or two!) Though they cuss like sailors and drink copious amounts of wine, they are super mature in how they support each other and work through their issues. (Therapy is great y’all!)

If you want a good laugh and a sweet slow burn romance, look no farther and add this to your TBR for 2022!

Sexy AF hot dang! I loved this story and this prose was everything. Absolutely everything. As I get into romance more and more, I find myself gravitating toward this type of story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

“You’re beautiful… I know you’ve heard that before, how beautiful you are. Because it’s true.” He lowers his head, placing a single kiss on the flat divot at the center of my chest. “But your heart is the most beautiful thing about you, Sade.”

Lease on Love was a truly adorable roommates-to-lovers romance between two people with traumatic pasts. I loved the help and healing they brought to each other and the personal development they made amidst the romance storyline. The slow burn was just that - slooowwww - including finger locking as a stage of physical affection. But it was perfection and made absolute sense with Sadie and Jack’s story, and their relationship was realistic, sweet, and steamy. The friend group that acts as chosen family was wonderful, the banter and nicknames were fantastic, and I loved the roomie and job situations. The one thing I thought could use more development was Sadie’s abusive background causing her to lack self confidence and be self-deprecating. It could’ve been helpful to give more context to her calling herself “selfish” all the time. Regardless, really enjoyed this book! Highly recommend.

Thanks to Putnam Books for the ARC!