Have you ever gotten fired from your job when you totally expected a promotion so to drown out your anger you get super wasted and decide to do some dating app swiping and WOOHOO you match someone, so you set up a coffee date for when you’re less inebriated but when you show up you discover - whoops - you actually clicked on your roommate finder app and now this man is interviewing you for what you’re realizing is not a hook up but in fact an opportunity that could potentially change your life?
*deep breath*
Because that’s exactly what happens to Sadie, leading her to Jack.
Jack, who is so not her type.
Jack, who only seems to own comic book shirts.
Jack, who lives in a gorgeous brownstone in Brooklynn? And the rent is like….basically nothing?

This book was a hit for me from the get. Two utterly damaged MC’s with trauma holding them back in their lives? Found family in Brooklyn? Mysterious past but in a “I’m too scared to open myself up” way and not a manic pixie dream person way. Text exchanges that make you feel like you’re part of the group chat?
SIGN. ME. UP.

Not to mention the TENSION. You know that weird limbo before a relationship when you both like each other but haven’t taken that next step? And the buildup is fucking intoxicating and even though you’re dying for something to happen, you also enjoy the stolen looks and brief touches because they make your head swim? Lease On Love gives you that and so much more.

So like anyways…. Five stars. Obviously.

I adored this book. It had me laughing out loud so much and I related so much to the insecurity of feeling like you should have your life figured
out by now and just not. Sadie was so relatable, deflecting with sarcasm, how loudly she loved, but struggled to accept it. Fiercely independent almost to her detriment I enjoyed her journey of falling in love with Jack. with herself. and with her business. This book is as much a love letter to the work of letting yourself be loved and the work of finding your passion.

This was one of my favorite romances that I've read in a while! Watching Sadie put herself first and chase after her dreams, both career and romantic, was so perfect. I could honestly read a million more books just about their friend group. Everything seemed so genuine between Sadie and Jack and there was always the perfect amount of tension. The pacing of the slow burn was ideal because both Sadie and Jack are recovering from past trauma. I honestly couldn't put this book down and I loved it so so much! Definitely recommend for anyone who wants to read about a group of best friends in New York, encouraging one another to chase their dreams, and find true love.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was sooo super cute!! Sassy Sadie drunkenly swipes right only to realize later that it was on a roommate app instead of a dating app. But her mistake comes at the perfect time - she just lost her job, the house on offer is stunning, and she decides to change things up. She also decides to pursue her lifelong dreams of being a florist, all while *trying* not to fall for her new roommate, Jack.

I loved the New York/Brooklyn vibes on this book. Seriously, apartment porn 😍 and I love all things flowers/plants/gardening and small businesses, so this was just so fun to read. Not a lot of angst in this, which was perfect. Sadie and Jack also have really good conversations about taking their relationship slowly which I appreciated. I knocked off a star because the ending felt a little rushed with some time jumps, and was resolved fairly quickly. But overall this was a really fast and heartwarming read!!

Lease on Love is out February 1st, 2022. Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

And they were roommates. This fresh, lighthearted romance is sure to please many with its likable characters and solid plot.

Enter Sadie, a down on her luck in desperate need of something good to happen who happens to meet mysterious and seemingly perfect Jack with a room to rent at a stupidly low price. How can you not love the characters Ballard shares with us.

While the plot is mostly light and fun there are some heavier themes of self-discovery and starting over when everything falls apart that are very well thought out.

In some parts the dialogue was a bit much for my tastes. And the nicknames started to feel cringe worthy after a while but all in all a solid romance option for those in the quarter life crisis.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

What a delightful read! I loved the themes of self-discovery and starting over present in this book. Sadie is fired from her corporate job and is forced to reevaluate her life and what she wants to make of it. Enter Jack, who, after some hi-jinx, offers his spare bedroom at a pittance price Sadie can't resist. They're roommates coming in with their own set of baggage, but they're also inexplicably drawn to each other, which is dangerous for all sorts of reasons.

I'm a fan of angsty romance, and though the tone of this story overall was lighthearted, there were definitely some angsty moments between Sadie and Jack that pulled at my heartstrings. Sadie as a main character also grew on me. There were a lot of points where I could relate to her situation and the constant beating herself up for the tiniest reasons. I also loved her interactions with her friendship group and the ways they all had her back and supported her when she needed it most. It was really beautiful to see.

Overall, I highly enjoyed this story and look forward to reading what Falon Ballard comes out with next!

Witty, sexy, sweet, heartwarming, roommates to lovers, second chances novel I devoured in one sit! This is GOOD! I went back and forth between 3 stars and 5 blazing stars during my laugh out loud reading journey with lots of awww, hmmm sounds!

It was so close to get five stars: because both Sadie and Jack O’lantern ( or in the box: I have serious issues about those nicknames Sadie gave) were adorable, damaged from family dramas, so likable characters!

Sadie a quick witted, energized, focused, hot tempered, entertaining, sarcastic and Jack; quirky, ultra sensitive, shy, observant, extra sweet, caring.

The group texts in this book deserves five stars! The author also publish a sequel consists of those texts and I’ll happily read it!
The chemistry between the MCs are steamy, powerful!

And Sadie’s full gang earned brownie points with their support to their friend who’s struggling with her life decisions ! Caring public defender Harley, mischievous, spontaneous Gemma with her dark and witty sense of humor ( she’s my favorite) and extra nice, handsome Nick are the best fictional friends you dream to hang out with!

Those are the strengths of the novel.

But there are some facts made me hesitate to enjoy this book more;

Sadie is portrayed like a young woman who is so confident, powerful, knowing how hot she’s and her effect on the men. We understand she comes from toxic family and she has her own insecurities but some of her manners define her characteristics conflict with her insecurities. She is raised by a narcissist father and she keeps saying she’s asshole. But her father has coded that she couldn’t achieve anything good or deserve any better. If she thinks so little about herself, she cannot act like selfish asshole.
Her beliefs and the way of sabotaging her relationships aren’t matched!

And Jack’s extra trauma about losing her parents were a little overrated. Of course losing your loved ones affect you differently and the wounds of losing someone never heals but after seven years, I didn’t understand his reasoning to wait too long to decide looking for a roommate. ( he does what his shrink told him) I just looked for something more earth shattering, traumatic about his life and his reasoning to stop living at young age.

Another thing picked my interest is after the big revelation, why Sadie apologized too much! She’s gone a little too far but things she’s said we’re completely right!

And my final question is: the meeting way of MCs. The idea of drunk Sadie’s mixing dating application with roommate finding application was brilliant! The friendship starts with misunderstandings is great troupe. She meets with Jack at cafe shop while she’s thinking she’s on a date with nerdy guy with weird hairstyle and lord of the rings t-shirt ( actually I’m looking exactly like Jack on my lazy Sundays so Shane on Sadie for being so judgmental 😂)and she realizes Jack is looking for a roommate for his dreamy mansion ( this amazing place deserved to be called as mansion) at Park Slope for really funny amount of rent. It’s extra too good to be true. And poor guy still wanted to move her in after her humiliation and breakdown!

I think there was lack of conflict between the characters. Of course they had their own issues and Jack keeps things himself but there are not big obstacles to keep them apart.

But in my opinion positive things about this book exceed the plot holes so I’m still rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 entertaining, hilarious, heartfelt, hilarious stars!

I liked the brilliant mind and sense of creative humor of the author! I will definitely love to read her future works!

Special thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP PUTNAM/ G. P. Putnam’s Sons for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

I would’ve rated this higher, but I found Sadie’s character so insufferable. I love the cast around her but I just didn’t understand her trauma that led her to act the way she did. She ends up getting essentially everything handed to her the entire book and still manages to act like her life is very difficult. To compare her trauma to Jack’s felt absurd and i feel he makes legitimate growth in the novel, while she does not. A quick light read, but I would’ve much rather a book focusing on Harley or Gemma.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Do you ever just read a book and have a smile on your face the whole time? That was this book for me. It deals with some serious topics such as loss of parents and emotional abuse. But it does so in such a way that makes you feel so happy for the joy and friendship that two people find in each other.

Both the MCs are dealing with a lot of trauma.
You have your saucy, damaged mc who is a self proclaimed asshole, your nerdy,
Reserved and all around nice guy in Jack and an entire friend group that shows you truly can make your own family. The support and straight talk among friends may have been one of my favorite parts.

The romance was a very slow burn. I wanted to shake the MCs and have them get to it already. But it made the story and connection stronger. Roommates to friends to lovers. Can’t really go wrong.

It was sugary sweet and Jack was too perfect to be real, but how fun to see a man care for her in such a steady, supporting and unassuming manner.

Truly a delightful rom com that makes you feel good.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to review this eARC

I hate not writing glowing reviews of romance novels, because, should the day come when I EVER publish the one sitting on my computer for two years already, fellow romance writers will see my reviews and go, “Oh, HER.” And then it’s a one-way ticket to Awkwardsville, no way of coming back from it.

But I digress.

I didn’t like how Sadie was forever telling everyone and their mother that she was an a-hole. It also seemed a little over-the-top given her background. When you’ve trained yourself so well to be practically silent growing up, I don’t know how quickly you overcome that. But she has had several years since she left home, so maybe so. All I kept thinking was, “when people tell you who they are, believe them.” Even if it wasn’t really true, I’m surprised Jack’s warning bells weren’t going off all over the place for that alone. He immediately says what a perfect roommate she’ll be, and I’m pulling the equivalent of someone yelling “GET OUT!” at the screen of a horror movie.

Because he appeared pretty much the mysterious unemployed slacker, despite us learning otherwise, I wasn’t sucked into their building sexual tension. It was Sadie saying “I’m an a-hole,” over and over, Jack shrugging and slinking off to the basement to do whatever, and lots of description of what Sadie did throughout the day and her trying to build her business. There were lots of smoldering glances but… I dunno, maybe I’m just having an off ARC-reading week.

Also, the contrivance of the 3/4 obstacle plot point was a needle scratch on the record. The timing and magnitude was a little off.

But the opening scene at Sadie’s job had me like “GURL, I’ve been there, power pose BS and everything.” (Only I got written up by HR, not fired, LOL.) And the text chains Sadie, Haley, Gemma and Nick (and later on a few with Jack) were hilarious.

Rating: 5/5
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Women’s Fiction
Warnings: verbal abuse (past), death of parents (past), grief
Read if you liked: With You Forever or Hang the Moon
Steam: 3/5
Tropes: Forced Proximity, Friends to Lovers, Found Family, Slow Burn

Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Lease on Love will be released on Feb. 1, 2022.

This was a debut? Are you sure? This book was so so good…I’m obsessed and swooning and I simply adore it. I had been in a deep reading slump when I picked this one up and I finished it in 24 hours. This book had everything I wanted and more in a novel.

Things I loved: Omg the espresso machine, the studio and the real housewives/pizza dates. I normally hate texting in books but I loved it in this one. The tenderness of this relationship, the mutual pining…and the TENSION, bang-xiety is real in this one. The comedic lines were to die for. The friendships, the found family…this was a love letter to New York and friends who become your family. The cooking, the flowers and the nicknames. Sadie following her dreams and working so hard to get there. Jack’s journey in his grief and finding his people. The epilogue was perfect!

Things I didn’t care for: I really just wanted Dual POV so I could hear Jack’s side.

So go request on NetGalley, pre-order and look for at you local library because you need to read this one.

The first thing that drew me to this book was the vibrant cover. The flowers and colors are great and it makes me miss spring/summer! The blurb grabbed my attention, especially since they said it was similar to The Flatshare. It’s a book I have enjoyed so I knew I wanted to read this one.

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Sadie Green. She was a financial analyst but due to an outburst in front of her coworkers and boss, she was fired. The plot is based around that moment and how it let her grow and make a business she has always wanted. Of course, there is a dash of romance involved too.

When it came to Sadie, I wouldn’t say I didn’t like her but there were times that I felt she was very over the top. In ways Sadie could be selfish or not understand the full affect of her actions. It’s understandable to be upset about losing out on a position due to nepotism, but you can’t call it out in front of everyone. You run the risk of losing your job, which in this case actually happened. It does suck but it is what it is. I guess that is what makes Sadie and I different. She won’t lay down and take it.

Sadie is also a very blunt character. She says what she says and sometimes it causes some awkward moments. Some were pretty funny to be honest. She also made a date while drunk but it was actually on an app looking for a roommate. Her life gets interesting by the moment after she was fired. She also has great friends by her side who will help her along the way.

The romance for me was fine in the beginning since it was a slow burn and they had just moved in together. I liked their texts between one another. It was cute. I will say that it seemed she was more interested in him after her friend gives him a makeover and then it was like she couldn’t stop thinking about him. The relationship is continuously slow and doesn’t pick up until much later in the book. This bugged me because I just felt no spark between them.

This is just a preference of mine but I could do without all of the language. There was just a tad too much compared to other books I have read.

The only other thing I didn’t like was that the book, for me at least, tried to be too funny. It kind was a bit much at times.

Overall, it was a good book. I’m sure from my review it would seem like I disliked it more than I liked it but honestly it wasn’t a bad book. I did overlook a lot of things because of other aspects like her friendships. I do think that others will like this one more if they are okay with not too much buildup when it comes to a relationship.

Okay, my thoughts on this one are a little bit complicated so strap in! Let's start with what I loved, which is basically the entire first 90% of this book lol. Sadie and Jack were absolutely EVERYTHINGGG to me and their romance was somehow both insta-lovey (in a good way, promise) and slow burn at the same time? Which sounds like it shouldn't work but it SO did and I was all about it. The tension of them knowing all along how they felt about each other but waiting until the perfect moment to act on it was *chef's kiss*. They had so much chemistry and this book was truly just my romance cat-nip. I absolutely ate it up. With all that being said...... I really, really didn't like the way this book ended and I am SO bummed about it. I'm obvs not going to spoil anything, but there was a BIG out of character moment riiiight at the very end of the story that felt like it was added just to sprinkle in some final act conflict and I truly hated how that all went down. However, despite my disappointment in the ending, I thought this was a phenomenal debut and I really did enjoy the heck out of the book as whole. I am looking so!!!!! forward to reading more from Ballard in the future and I definitely recommend giving this one a chance when it comes out in February!

CW: death of a parent

Thank you to Penguin Putnam for my ARC!

Genre: romance, women's fiction
Pub date: Feb 1, 2022

In one sentence: After being passed over for a promotion, Sadie finds herself starting a floral business from a gorgeous Brooklyn brownstone owned by her roommate Jack - will romance bloom as well?

I loved Sadie's character progression during the novel - she's been beaten down by the finance world and her abusive parents, and seeing her find her niche was so satisfying! Jack carried trauma as well, and seeing him deal with it and work on himself was another plus. I liked their relationship development a lot, and I appreciated that they tackled real issues rather than the manufactured drama often found in romcoms. Sadie's friends Harley, Nick, and Gemma added plenty of support and comic relief.

If you need a quick romcom (and/or you love flowers), this is a fun one!

Lease on Love is an adorable millennial-focused story about finding yourself, your family, and achieving your goals. Sadie is many of the women I knew in my 20's, including myself. She is focused, hard-working, and ultimately unhappy with everything; striving to be something she thinks she should be but not something she wants. After being looked over for advancement at her job, and a subsequent and 100% deserved outburst, Sadie is terminated from her job. The story gets a bit unbelievable at this point, and frankly throughout, but who cares. It's such a lovely story that I am more than happy to overlook all of the fortunes that come Sadie's way. I absolutely loved the friendships and exploration of trauma and how it impacts self-esteem, friendships, and romantic relationships. I loved the push for women to explore their interests and go for their goals, and frankly, I loved the exploration of leaving a job that's "good enough" but doesn't make you happy. I really hope to see more of this wonderful group of friends.

4/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a fantastic debut!!! Falon Ballard truly knocked it out of the park with Lease on Love!! This rom-com had all the feels — it had me laughing out loud, but also pulled at my heartstrings a time or two!! This novel played out like a movie in my mind— love that!!! With many rom-com’s I lose interest by about half way through, but this 5 star read had me wishing it would never end!! I recommend everyone put Lease on Love at the very top of your 2022 TBR list!! Falon Ballard is most definitely a name I am putting on my automatic read list and I truly cannot wait to read more from her in the future!

This book was 5 stars ALL AROUND! I appreciate that it was a little more of a slow burn than other romances, and how it called light to the effects that childhood trauma can have on people, years into the future. I absolutely loved Jack and Sadie's relationship, including their adorable nicknames for each other. I also love that Sadie's character was an outspoken one, never afraid to speak her mind, even though she knew it would likely drive people away. Such an amazing and incredible read for everyone looking for a deep, meaningful, feel-good romance.

LEASE ON LOVE by Falon Ballard is a contemporary, slow-burn romcom.

Sadie’s been killing it at work so she’s expecting her promotion to be announced during a meeting. Instead, the job’s given to her boss’s new son-in-law. The kicker? She has to train the job stealer. This is just one step too far and Sadie loses it during a complete meltdown. Which leaves her jobless.

Sadie’s friends help her drown her sorrows and encourage her to get back into the dating pool. So she sets up what she thinks is a coffee date. Which turns out to be a meetup from a roommate finder. Jack has a gorgeous brownstone and is offering Sadie incredibly low rent. How can she say no?

She’s saving so much money that she can finally pursue her dream of starting a floral business.

But what happens when she starts to have feelings for her landlord?

This is an adorable opposites attract, close proximity, friends to lovers romance - Sadie’s outgoing, boisterous and has a masterful ability to swear. Jack is quiet, nerdy, and incredibly introverted. Their text exchanges gave me life and then nearly killed me with cuteness.

Sadie’s relatable as a woman who gives her job everything only to have the payoff handed to a man. Jack is the perfect cinnamon roll - so warm and squishy and delicious. And her friends are fantastically supportive, funny, and smart. I want to hang out with them!

CW: Grief, loss of family, emotional abuse.

Plot: I loved reading about Sadie gaining confidence in herself, opening her floral business, and falling in love. Her fear that she is selfish, when all her actions in the book show she is far more caring than she lets herself believe. I also quite liked the subplots going on with her friends! There are definitely some heavy elements to the book, so just to warn people who go in expecting a light read, but I never felt it weighed down the story, and there was plenty of humor in the book as well.

Characters: All of the characters in this book were so fantastic! Sadie's friends were great, and I loved the family they had all created together. Jack was a great love interest!

The Cover: It's cute!

Overall: I loved this book so much, and I absolutely can not write enough good things about it! I highly recommend reading it!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

After losing the job she’d devoted all of her time to, Sadie figures that at least she’ll have time to date again! After a drunken night with friends, Sadie matches with someone and sets up a date - but once she gets there, she realizes it isn’t a date at all, but a meeting to see if they’d be good roommates. Because it had been a roommate app, not a dating app. Whoops. But maybe not “whoops” after all, because the apartment is amazing and absurdly inexpensive, and the roommate, Jack, is… not so bad after all. Suddenly, Sadie is in a position to do what she actually wants to do, which is to start a floral business, and slowly grows to realize that Jack is what she wants, too, even if she’s sure she isn’t good enough for him.

This book was a quick read and very cute. Text conversations between Sadie, Jack, and her close, amazing friends were interspersed throughout the story and kept it moving quickly, and they worked really well in this context. I liked that we got to know Sadie’s friends better through these texts, in addition to the regular narrative.

There were a few parts that felt, if not unrealistic, a little unlikely or forced. The lead up to Sadie and Jack getting together seemed really long, especially since they’d long since acknowledged their feelings and were waiting to be “ready.” Eventually that stopped feeling natural and starting feeling like a reason to draw out the slow burn.

[mild spoiler] I wish Harley, Nick, and Gemma hadn’t been coupled off during this book, because I would have loved a Gemma book and a Nick/Harley book as companion novels! But regardless, I’d be interested in seeing what Falon Ballard writes next.