Just My Type by Fallon Ballard is a second chance romance. Lana Parker is writing a dating and romance column that she doesn’t really enjoy. She has had a string of steady boyfriends. Seth Carson has come back to LA after freelance writing for many years. They loved each other in high school and have never really gotten over each other.

This is everything you want in a second chance romance, all the feels, the history, and a chance to watch two people remember that they really do care about each other. But, what makes it such an interesting story was the inclusion of an insightful therapist, a manipulative boss, a crazy contest, a great friend group, and the lessons learned along the way.

The story t drew me in, kept giving me aha moments, and reminded me that knowing who you are is a very valuable and lifelong lesson. I greatly enjoyed Just My Type.

I was given a copy by the publisher and not required to write a positive review.

3 Sunflower Obsession Stars ⭐️ 🌻

This just wasn’t for me. I didn’t particularly feel any tension, I didn’t buy into the villain being a villain, and like the multiple (?) feeling dumps that led no where?
Seth did have a cute line, I’ll give him that. And I was into the bar protective scene, until Lana labeled him brotherly multiple times.
I did think Lana needed to do that beach trip though. That was probably my favorite part, I even started looking at AirBnBs to plan my own.
The end and the epilogue I half skimmed and half rolled my eyes at… it was too happy, cheesy. The articles, the coming together at the house, the surprise wedding, it just was a lot of cheese.

Tropes: second chance romance, workplace romance, semi-enemies to lovers.. kinda
Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Just My Type is a second-chance romance with How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days vibes. I adored this book. I liked the premise and LA setting. The two main characters, Lana and Seth, have great chemistry. I enjoyed their banter and their angsty second-chance romance. I read Just My Type in one sitting, and I'm looking forward to reading more books from this author.

SYNOPSIS: Lana is recently single, and a long term relationship columnist, she finds her life completely turned upside down. Her first love, and the one who got away, Seth shows up to her office. Her boss decides to create a friendly competition where they both must go against their dating norm, Lana becoming okay with being single and Seth must ditch his womanizing ways to work towards "The One". Whomever receives the most success from the series will be offered a permanent position on the writing staff, aka everything Lana has ever wanted. Now if only Lana could focus more on the tasks at hand... than her ever-present attraction to Seth.

REVIEW: AHHHHHHH! Romances *should* be fun, and have you flying page after page, fully invested in what happens to their love story, kicking your feet, and giggling between pages- and this one delivered. Let me tell you, this is one of the most fun romances I've read in awhile, and I couldn't get enough. It could have been another 500 pages of ridiculous dares/challenges, and will they won't they's and I would have eaten it all up. Go read this, you're welcome.
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Second chance romance is one of my favorite tropes. There is just something about knowing the people involved have a shared history of love and pain that needs to be remedied that hits me right in my hopeless romantic heart.

This book was everything I needed and more. I adored getting to know Lana and Seth as they compete against one another. I held my breath waiting from them to acknowledge real feelings and then act on them but I also needed them to hash out the heartbreak and become stronger for everything they’ve been through.

Real life and work stress got in the way of me reading when I needed to and while this normally would have been a book I’d finish in a matter of hours it took me longer to read it. But it’s a credit to the author for writing such an engaging book that no matter how many times life forced me to put it down when I didn’t want to, every time I picked it back up it was like I never left Seth and Lana at all. It was so easy to slip back into the story and I am forever grateful for that.

I know this isn’t the best review, but this book was the best and that’s what matters. Reading is always my escape and happy place but sometimes life doesn’t let me read when I want to. The fact that this book was always a safe place to get lost in during those few moments says everything to me as a reader.

I simply adored this book. My heart is full, and I am truly happy having read it.

I loved this book so much! It was so cute and sweet and just an overall great read. The best part of the book was the group chat/slack channels. Absolutely hilarious and would recommend to anyone.

I had heard this novel be compared to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and I 100% stand behind that claim. You have two exes who are competing for the same job and they have to do a list of challenges to declare a winner - it's not the same exact plot but it's similar.

I love a good second chance romance, I love a book about journalists and writing - there was no way I wasn't going to fall head over heels for this book.

I loved Lana so much and felt like she was such a strong, feisty, fun protagonist and I really liked Seth too! I felt he was genuine, funny and he had a bit of brooding going on in some scenes. Their chemistry was off the charts and they were just so sweet, even when they were fighting.

I wasn't a huge fan of the big circle of co-workers that were included in the book because I found it to be confusing and I also thought they seemed too much like characters - they didn't add to the plot, didn't really move the story along and felt too fluffy.

I felt the same way about Lana's best friend, I can't remember her name, but she seemed too over the top, too obnoxious and not at all real.

The writing was really good - it was detailed, creative, fun, yet there was a depth to it that you don't get a ton in fluffy romances. I also felt like there were a few subplots about friendship, family, privilege, and growing up.

It was semi-predictable but honestly, aren't all romances predictable? Either way, it made me so happy yet so sad - I cried a ton, smiled, laughed and had my heart so full at the end. It was such a good book, with a beautiful ending and just so much thought behind every word.

If you love romances, you will adore this book and I honestly think this a great book for people who might not love romances because it was a little more than that.

Just My Type by Falon Ballard was so good and I cannot recommend it enough!

This was a cute romance story that was full of loveable characters.
I enjoyed the relationship between Seth and Lana. It was fun to watch them grow, but it was great to see Lana come out of her shell and become her..

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy.

I absolutely LOVED this book! I'm a sucker for second chance romances, and this one was even better because they weren't trying to get back together. Lana is a journalist and wants to advance her career out of the dating advice column. After a surprise break up, her boss wants her to write a series on learning how to be single. This is made even more interesting when Lana's high school ex, Seth, shows up as a new hire. He's a serial dater, and her boss challenges him to learn how to find someone long term. So...let's make it a contest!

First, Lana is like HELL NO and doesn't want anything to do with Seth, but the more they hang out, the more they both realize that there might still be a spark there.

The chemistry is on point, and the steam is perfectly written - not cheesy or overdone. I loved both Seth and Lana, and loved their "new" friendship so much.

Romcom fans - get this one ASAP.

This is a delightful second chance romance. The plot is great and I love the characters.
Lana and Seth dated on high school, and Seth left to become a worldwide reporter. He’s back in town, working at the same website company as Lana. Their manipulative editor devises a competition for them, with a coveted column as the prize.
Lana, who writes a relationship blog, must learn to stay single and not jump into a relationship with the next guy she meets.
Seth, who has a reputation of being a playboy, must try and meet someone to settle down with.
They come up with tasks for each other, ie join a dating app, get a pet etc.
As they go through their lists together, their old feelings for each other return. Acting on them would compromise the competition, and they have to figure out a way to be together.

I recommend this entertaining book, 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

Just My Type is the story of two writers pitted against one another in a contest to defy their dating habits and learn about themselves along the way. Oh, and did I mention they happen to be former high school sweethearts? 

With a synopsis like that, I knew I had to hit that “request” button on NetGalley, and I was thrilled when I actually got approved! Many thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for my complimentary review copy. 

Lana is a serial monogomist who writes a dating column, but her true passion lies in fandom and pop culture. Seth has been traveling and writing “serious” pieces for years, but is ready to settle down… in LA. Where Lana lives. 

The two have a complicated history that we slowly unpack as the story progresses, told from Lana’s perspective with the supplement of Slack chat conversations with coworkers and snippets from her and Seth’s articles throughout. 

I really enjoyed watching Lana learn about herself through the challenges she’s tasked with in her quest to remain single. She really grows and comes into her own throughout the story, and even if I didn’t always 100% understand her choices, I did see where she was coming from. 

The chemistry between Lana and Seth is great, with plenty of solid banter and sexual tension. It’s a nice slow build, which I always appreciate. I did feel like they came across a bit differently in the text conversations than in person, but I guess so do we all. 

You do have to sort of suspend your disbelief about the whole premise behind the challenge they’re tasked with, which is definitely inappropriate for the workplace. The story does attempt to tackle this in an interesting way, but it’s still a bit out there that the two agree to the challenge at all. 

Overall, Just My Type is a fun lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers romance with a dash of nerdiness and plenty of tension before the payoff. There’s a good bit of self exploration and growth for our main characters and a little bit of steaminess as well. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a solid contemporary romance.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Genre: ❤️Romance
Recommend: ✅

“Just My Type” is my favorite kind of romance and I absolutely devoured it with glee! It was light hearted and the conflict between our couple is understandable and I can put myself right in their shoes!

Lana and Seth were high school sweethearts who met again for the first time in many years when Seth shows up at Lanas job and they end up competing for a job. Competition! First Loves! Lovers to Enemies to Lovers! Inject it into my veins.

@falonballard is now a must read for me after loving “Lease on Love” last year.

4.25 ⭐️

I loved this so so much! It wasn’t a 5 star material to me because I wished Lana would’ve went to see her therapist sooner and dealt with her boss and her’s relationship problem. Along with her and Seth, she ran away so much and didn’t confront it sooner but in the end it somehow got where it needed to be!

Seth’s character I loved a lot more than Lana because he was just trying to do the right thing for Lana and always still loved her <3

The second chance trope was mwah, the workplace romance, to the competitiveness they had to do was just so much fun to read! Never a dull moment in this book, it was just right for me!!

After really loving Falon Ballard's debut Lease on Love last year, I was super excited to read Just My Type. The premise was so good and the tropes! Enemies to Lovers, Second chance, Swoooooon. It did take a while for me to get into the book. It was a sweet book and I did enjoy it. However, I found Lana kind of annoying and immature. Overall, I look forward to more books from this author. Thank you to Putnam Books and Netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review!

Just My Type
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 2/7/23
Author: Falon Ballard
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Pages: 368
GR: 4.11

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

My Thoughts: This was a cute love story. This follows an enemies to lovers trope, probably my favorite. Former high school sweethearts have to face off against each other in a series of articles in a romance column. They each come up with ten things for the other to do. The challenge is simple: Lana will learn how to love herself and not be in a relationship; while Seth will learn how to be in a committed relationship. Some are joint ventures, while others are single ventures. In the process of this, will they be able to tolerate each other, or kill each other?

The story is narrated in a single narration, by Lana, in her POV. Lana is a serial monogamous dater, while Seth is afraid to commit to any one. Lana really shows some tremendous growth throughout the story, as does Seth, but in different ways. The characters were well developed with witty banter, so much chemistry, sexual tension, and creatively done. The banter and tension was a high selling point for me and I craved the scenes between Seth and Lana. The author’s writing style was complex, creative, swoony, humorous, and brilliant.

This book would be perfect for those that loved “How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days.” Also reminiscent of Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game. Swoony, fun, and endearing, Just My Type is one of my favorite reads this year. I highly recommend picking up the book or the audiobook.

Fast paced and charming, this book about exes meeting up again and being forced to work together is a fun must read romantic comedy. The conversations between the two of them and all the friends had me giggling and rooting for love.

I absolutely loved Lease on Love, but this just did not do it for me. For me, second chance romances have to be done really well, and I really did not want to root for the couple in this one

While I did not love this one as much as I did with Lease on Love, I still did enjoy reading this and look forward to more of Falon Ballards work. If you are a fan of second chance romances or great friend groups, I think you will like this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This is truly one of the best romances I have ever read. Slow burn, banter is great, it's sexy! I loved it even more than Lease on Love

I really liked Lease on Love but I absolutely adored Just my Type.

Lana and Seth are high school sweethearts who broke up not long after Lana moved to LA for college - while Seth didn’t.
But he is now in LA and they are both competing for a columnist job.

Slow burn, second chance romance, miscommunication, work rivalry… and a story that brings out ALL the feels. It was exactly what I would expect a romcom to be - make me laugh, make me love the characters & root for them, make me want to punch the boss in the face - and the ending made me so so so incredibly happy that I legit cried tears.

Also - huge plus for the positive mental representation.

Thank you for Netgalley and Putnam for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.