This just completely sucked me in right from the start. I truly was not expecting that. I also just flew through this book because of that as well. I immediately connected to our main character. I don't think she's for everyone, because she is a massive pop culture nerd and I know pop culture refferences aren't for everyone but I love them. I also really liked the small discussions that came around being a pop culture nerd and the escapeism that comes from it. There were some quotes about that topic that really resonated with me there. I also really loved the personal journey she went on throughout this book, refindin her confidence in herself and not letting people walk over her anymore. I really liked how that was done throughout the book. I also really loved her friend group. They were so much fun and so supportive of our main character. I loved it! Of course, I also really loved the romance. It just really worked for me. I felt all the feels and even teared up at some points. With second chance romances I'm always scared that the feelings are just 100% "because we have past" and the author not actually putting in the effort to develop their relationship any further in the present. I'm glad to report that isn't the case in this book. We do get a lot of remenicing on their initial relationship but they actually also develop a relationship in the present time. So yay to that. So yeah, I adored this one.

I had such high hopes for this one after loving Falon Ballard's first novel. This one did not dissapoint. From the banter to the side characters - everything was chef's kiss. I love that this was a fun spin on "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" with a side of workplace rivalry and second chance romance. Seth and Lana were both relatable, endearing characters and I love their scenes together. I loved Lana's coworkers and thought they brought so much fun to the story with their text chains.

I really enjoyed this! It was a super cute second chance romance. I loved getting to learn more about the past and also watch them rekindle. This also had a lot of self discovery which I LOVE because I was on my own self discovery journey for awhile and it's definitely difficult but with the right people in your life, it can be done so easily! I think this is a perfect read for celebrating Valentine's Day!!

I enjoyed this book so much!! this one came to me at the perfect time I think because I'd just finished a 700 page fantasy which was the last of the series and the world and I needed a good romance to make me feel better and extinguish the early embers of a reading slump! It also is based in LA and I've been missing LA way too much the last couple weeks so it was nice to revisit some of my favourite places through this book (and the MC went to USC too)! I had read the first chapter a while back when I first got the ARC, but I ended up staying up till 3am last night and reading this entire book in about 5 or 6 hours and even though I'm sleep deprived right now, I do not regret that decision!!

I first came to know about this author through their debut work Lease on Love, which a friend had recommended to me and I had LOVED it so much, I knew I was going to read everything else this author published. And after reading this one, I know for sure now that I will pick up every book Ballard writes.

I loved the tropes in this book and the way it was handled-- childhood friends to lovers to exes to lovers // second chance romance! I also really enjoy books with tasks or clear to do lists (might be the control freak in me who knows) so I loved seeing the challenge and how the two of them accomplished the tasks. I also loved seeing Lana's work life and was glad to see the problematic issues being dealt with instead of just ignoring it for the purpose of the plot which a lot of books and movies tend to do! I loved the friend group as well, and would love a spinoff for May, or Tessa and Rob!

This book made me feel similar feelings that I feel when reading an Emma Lord book except that Ballard's works are adult while Lord's are young adult, so I would recommend this to people who love Lord's work and would like to read some adult romance! I also would recommend this to people who like How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days, since it has similar vibes!

rating: 4.5 stars
read if you like: second chance romance, childhood friends to lovers, found family

Read if you like: exes, second chances, enemies to lovers, workplace romance, slow burn, slightly steamy 🔥

This was so cute, funny, and charming. The beginning was so freaking funny. Seth being Lana's ex and newest coworker was perfect. Their banter and chemistry were off the charts. I love Seth. I struggled with Lana. She could be really stupid and naive. She just would not admit her feelings to herself. The pace is what got me. The characters were all engaging but it took SO long in my opinion for them to work things out. The miscommunication lasted for far too long. I'm not a lover of a slow burn. I want to see the couple together. I love the quotes at the top of each chapter. Overall, I loved it. It reminds me of The Hating Game mixed with How to Lose A Guy in 10 days. I will read anything she writes. I highly recommend this book! It comes out tomorrow.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Penguin Group Putnam for the gifted e-book ❤️

Just My Type (eARC) — 5 ⭐️

𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: February 7th

𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Lana Parker is a serious dater while Seth is quite the opposite, and to boost their company’s website stats, their boss creates a competition. Seth has to make progress towards a serious relationship while Lana needs to prove she’s okay being single. The catch? Seth recently moved to L.A., is competing for Lana’s dream job, … and is Lana’s high school sweetheart.

𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: GAH, MY HEART!!! There’s no doubt that I will be swooning over this rom-com for the foreseeable future. This adorable tale gave me How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days vibes, and it did not disappoint in the chemistry, banter, or angst areas. If you’re looking for a lighthearted romance that will make you giggle and gush over a man’s adoring words, read.this.book.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 —
❤️‍🩹 The One Who Got Away
🎥 Based in L.A.
🔥 Slow Burn Romance
📺 Real-Life Pop Culture References
💗 Contemporary Romance
🥊 Rivals to Lovers
💼 Workplace Romance
👥 Well Developed Supporting Characters
🔓 Open Door Romance
💘 Childhood Friends to Lovers

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐟 —
🙈 You’ve never been on a blind date
🪴 You buy your furniture at IKEA
📖 You read dating and relationships columns
🦸‍♀️ You’re a huge Marvel fan
🐠 You have a pet fish

𝐓𝐖: sexual content, abandonment, profanity, emotional abuse

Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam, for providing me an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely adored this book! Filled with some of my favorite tropes including childhood friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, workplace romance/competition, and second chance romance-all of which worked so well together in this one.

Lana and Seth are childhood turned high school sweethearts. Just as they embark on a long distance relationship in college, they break up, both with broken hearts and forced to go their separate ways. After years apart, Seth shows up at Lana’s workplace with a job offer. However they both are after the same dream job position and must accomplish a series of tasks in order to win the title.

The workplace competition was very on parr with How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and while it did seem a little extreme at times especially given the rules set out by the main characters’ boss-who very much crossed many boundaries-I still thoroughly enjoyed! I think Lana and Seth’s past conflict and present tension worked well here and made sense. I was so happy that the big conflict wasn’t something that made me cringe but rather made me love Seth even more!

While lighthearted and fun on the surface, this book was filled with emotional depth! Some themes I appreciated centered around mental health, finding yourself, and falling in love when the timing is right versus settling and not being enough for yourself. I also really appreciated the fantastic cast of supporting characters! What a beautiful group of friends the main character surrounded herself with and I truly loved reading about each and every one of them! Overall, Lana and Seth’s love story was so beautifully written and really came full circle with both characters evolving wonderfully. I highly recommend this one and Ballard will absolutely be a future auto buy author for me!

Thank you to Netgalley and Putnam for this gifted eARC!

After reading Lease on Love last year & loving it I’ve been looking forward to getting my hands on this book! I was especially excited when I received the ARC of Just My Type from the publisher & NetGalley (thank you!!)

This book was a fun read. I’m a sucker for a second chance romance, especially between writers so there’s no surprise I ended up enjoying this so much.

The books starts off with a cute legally blonde moment (which was a fun intro) then dives into our second chance romance/workplace rivalry all in one. I really enjoyed both characters and the little tasks they had to do throughout the book. I also really enjoyed watching the characters grow and find themselves beyond just the relationship piece.

My only complaint would be that I wish we knew more about the original relationship, I think having some flashbacks/more focus on that could’ve made it even better.

This book was very reminiscent to beach read by Emily Henry which is one of my favorites so if it’s also one of yours I think you’ll love this!

Lana, a 30 year old priveledged, serial monogamist, and relationship columnist with major mommy (and daddy) issues must learn to be single for the sake of a work competition. This is a second-chance and workplace rivalry (with an ex from Lana's high school days) novel. The heroine was not my favorite, but the storyline was comparable to How to Lose a Guy in 10 days, and I enjoyed that aspect of it. It kept me intetested and engaged the whole time!

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Falon Ballard for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Expected Publication Date: February 7, 2023

Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4960219133

(Posting on Instagram @pairswellwithread on 2/7/2023, Paired with blackberry margaritas. https://www.instagram.com/pairswellwithread/)

Calling all fans of How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, this is the romance for you and it’s out today!

JUST MY TYPE by Falon Ballard follows Lana Parker, a young journalist writing about dating/relationships and trying to develop her career in the news/media industry. She’s thrown a distracting curve ball, however, when her high school sweetheart and ex-boyfriend, Seth, gets a job in her office and is competing against her for the chance at their own news column. This kicks off an in-office challenge, the perfect setting for your favorite “enemies-to-lovers”, “second-chance-romance” plot line.

This book was the perfect kick off to my February romance marathon. The Los Angeles setting was so fun, but my favorite part was the inclusion of Lana’s funny office friend group, supporting her throughout the entire story (definitely see some potential sequels here!).

Throughout the challenge, Lana and Seth are forced to learn more about themselves in order to better understand their feelings for each other and repair past miscommunications, which requires a great deal of patience from everyone involved (including you as the reader!). So, if that’s not your favorite situation, perhaps try another romance this month.

Grab this when you see it in your local bookstore and let me know what you think!

Thank you Falon Ballard, Penguin Group Putnam, and NetGalley for kindly providing this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really wanted to love this book. Lease on Love was a favorite from last year but this one really missed the mark for me. I loved the movie How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days but didn't love reading a book that felt like all it did was rewrite the movie.

I also didn't love the workplace treatment of Lana or the miscommunication trope throughout the book.

I will definitely give another book by this author a chance because I loved her first one so much, but this wasn't for me.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

Just My Type by Falon Ballard -#bookreview
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Starting off love month with the perfect romance! There is nothing I didn’t love about this book! Lana and Seth were such great characters alone and together.and There was incredible character development and growth throughout this novel. I am an absolute sucker for childhood friends to lovers and this book roped me in❣️ Just My Type is a second chance romance story and just rugged at my heart strings. I loved all the fun shoutouts in this book from Marvel, to When Harry Met Sally all the way to The Ripped Bodice & Get A Life, Chloe Brown! I enjoyed every minute of this book & it will be a new go-to recommendation! Just My Type is out on 2/7 - run to the bookstore to pick it up!

Read this if you love:
💘 childhood friends to lovers
💘 enemies to lovers
💘 workplace romance
💘 How to Lose a Guy in 10 days
💘 a nerdy female MC
💘 second-chance romance

Thank you so much to @netgalley , @putnambooks and @falonballard for the advanced copy of this book!

“Just My Type” by Falon Ballard follows Lana Parker. Lana covers the love and relationship beat for her newspaper, but she dreams of writing literally any other column. When her newspaper gets picked up by a larger news group, Lana is given the opportunity to compete for a better beat- but she has to beat out her ex-boyfriend, the first boy to break her heart. With both competing for their ideal position, who will come out as the winner?

This book was such a fun read. It had big “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” vibes and I was definitely here for it! Lana and Seth have such great banter and connectivity, it makes you crave the ending where they *hopefully* get together (no spoilers from me!). Lana has a great character growth arc that’s a lot of fun to watch, especially near a romantic holiday where love is such a big theme- it was nice to see a character really work on herself first as a priority.

In the end, I gave this book 4 stars. It was a fun, entertaining romance read that I didn’t want to put down. If you’re looking for a sweet February read, be sure to pick this one up!

Thanks to Penguin Putnam Group and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! This book hits shelves February 7th!

This book is like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Legally Blonde had a beautiful romcom baby set to the song 'the 1' by Taylor Swift. Soooo yeah, I liked it A LOT. This book is on the shorter side so I was slightly worried it wouldn't feel whole, but Lana and Seth were both fully developed main characters and I was able to feel stabbed with a thousand tiny needles over their star-crossed past without having pages and pages of explanation. The plot-driver being a competition with forced proximity was fun and felt fresh despite being done before, and I sped through this book. The ONE THING I will say is some of the lines these two had were.. disturbing. They were so unfortunately millennial at times, calling each other "butthead" despite being THIRTY YEARS OLD, but alas we pretend that never happened and move past it to the ending that had me squealing and squawking.

First off, the book starts with a legally blonde reference. Shortly after Lana called in her BFF, May, who sweeps in to save the night getting drunk to put a band aid over a broken heart. Even if it is a short lived relief, we all love a good drunken night with our bestie when we’re feeling down, don’t we? The first scene ends with something that I’m pretty sure the author took straight from my lips “I want to watch a movie that going to make me cry”. Because, same girl. Sometimes you just need that all in cry session to get whatever emotions are bottled up, out!

Multiple times in this book I felt the actual pain of being around someone you loved but had a past with that was left unhealed. Although immediately the reader doesn’t know what the past entails, you can tell they’re both hurting.
I mean? It’s a romance story? We all know how it’s going to end and THATS OKAY! I actually love it. It makes my heart smile knowing all the heart ache that we read about is going to be worth it.
Ballard’s writing is one that I turned out to love! It comes out on February 7th, it’s the perfect lovey book to read in the month of Valentines!!!

Just my Type by Falcon Ballard will be released February, 7th 2023! Get your copy Tuesday! 📖📚💕

"I'm the spinning needle of a compass and you've always been my true north" ~ Falcon Ballard | Just My Type

Lana and Seth are high school sweethearts that had to break it off and go separate ways when college time came. Let's just say it did not end well at all.
Now 12 years later, Lana writes for a relationship column in L.A. and is recently finding herself single after a long term relationship. Seth has surprisingly shown up at her column now for work. Lana's boss decides to pin the two against each other in a writing/relationship contest. Lana's challenge is to learn to be on her own in single life and Seth's challenge is to get ready for a long term relationship.

If you love second chance romances, enemies to lovers, love between rivalries, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days this is the perfect book for you!

I enjoyed this book so much it really opened my eyes to the things I could be doing, as a single individual, to help find myself and even my true north in the future!

Goodreads: 4.18 ⭐️
My Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plant pictured🪴: Monstera Adansonii

Thank you to NetGalley and author Falcon Ballard for the ARC!

#justmytype #falonballard #netgalley #advancedreaderscopy #booksofinstagram #booksofinsta #bookstagram #booksta #bookreview #bookrecommendations #booksbooksbooks #reading #bookish #bookcommunity #goodreads #romance #booklover #quotes #bookaholic #plantsofinstagram #monsteraadansonii #readingtime #arc #tbr #published

I will start by saying that this is now my favorite second chance romance novel. This book was childhood friends to high school sweethearts to strangers to rivals and back to lovers, and I ate up every👏🏽single👏🏽second👏🏽of👏🏽it👏🏽

Lana and Seth were each other’s first everything and I could just feel the love they held onto for years and years after their breakup. They are textbook exes who never stopped loving each other and will never not be in each other’s lives in some way. Their love felt like a one in a million type love that only a few lucky bastards get to have. Soulmate level love 💘

Lana’s journey was more than just a second chance at true love, it was one of self discovery and reflection on why she is the way she is. Why can’t she just be alone? Why does she let certain people intrude on her life? What will it take for her to get the job she actually wants? I so appreciate the fact that she’s going through all of this at the age of 30! My millennial heart was relating to Lana and Seth’s struggle to find their footing at a time when most feel “settled” in their adult life.

I’ve been spoiled by so many romance novels with dual POV chapters, so I thought that the single POV would make me love this book less but NO I was wrong. I like dual POV so I can “get into the mind of a man (written by a woman)” and so I can really see how they feel about the fmc, but in this book I was never left feeling like I didn’t know how Seth felt about Lana. And when he did share his innermost thoughts and feelings they were even more vulnerable cause he was saying them directly to Lana.

I just loved every single moment of this book. The chemistry, banter, and angst were just perfect.

Thank you so much to Falon Ballard, Putnam & NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I absolutely adored this book. Lease on Love was a fast favorite for me when I read it last year, but Ballard's newest romance easily took top spot for me. With a story that hearkens back to our favorite classic rom-coms, a swoon-worthy romance, and a to die for cast of supporting characters, you will not want to miss this love story.

I am all for books that feel like classic romantic comedies. When relationship journalist Lana shows up to work, hungover and heartbroken after having been dumped, she comes face to face with the one that got away- Seth Carson. One thing leads to another, and the pair are caught in a competition for the same job opportunity. Serial monogamist Lana is tasked with coming up with ten tasks for notorious player Seth designed to get him to settle down, while Seth gives her a list of things to do to learn how to be comfortable with single life. Not only was this story all kinds of fun, it reminded me of some of my favorite classic rom-coms like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

Lana and Seth's love story was to die for. The pair's connection was so strong, and I simply could not put the book down until they had their happy ending. So many moments throughout the book I was squealing over how perfect they were for each other. Their romance was filled with some of my favorite tropes, such as second-chance romance and "it's always been you," not to mention that they were soulmates in every single way, and I loved watching them find their way back to each other and come to terms with the mistakes of their past.

While I would have loved to read Seth's perspective, I also adored watching Lana on her path to healing through her assigned tasks. While I enjoyed watching her breakthroughs in therapy, not only for her romantic life but also her personal and professional lives, one of the standout scenes for me was her first kickboxing class. Duke was the kind of supporting character that, while he only shows up in the one scene, was one I was thinking about even when the story ended. I loved how he used his gruff nature to help Lana come to terms with her anger, and who doesn't love letting a little frustration out with a little exercise in the form of fighting?

The supporting characters in this story really stood out to me. Lana is the kind of main character who throws all of herself into her relationships and friendships, always seeking the family she didn't have growing up. As someone who has never had a solid friend group that lasted for very long, I loved seeing Lana's support system in the form of May and her work family. While I would have loved an extra update on Tess and Rob's will-they or won't-they relationship, I loved all their interactions with Lana. They always had her back, but they were such a great source of comedic relief, rightfully shipping Seth and Lana while also hazing them plenty.

All in all, this was a phenomenal book that surpassed all of my expectations. I loved all the pop culture references (my girl Lana loves her Marvel and Star Wars and I RELATE), as well as all the references to romance books (The Ripped Bodice representation >>>). If you are looking for a second-chance romance that is absolutely to-die for, then I absolutely recommend this book!

Wow what an absolutely fun read! I loved the history between the two MC’s and how they had went from enemies/rivals to friends and then lovers. Would definitely recommend this one! Hopefully we get more books centered around the other characters in the future!

Rating: 4 ⭐️

Just My Type was an enjoyable read. This is the second book I’ve read from this author and her writing is just so refreshing and heartwarming.

This book is in the heroine’s POV only, which I will say that I would have liked for it to have been dual POV to be honest. There are some great tropes though like, a second chance romance, slight enemies to lovers, and a workplace romance.

The overall premise was entertaining. The competition and tasks the main characters each had to complete were quite interesting. I really liked how it pushed them out of their comfort zones as well. There were also some angsty, hilarious, heartbreaking and sweet moments.

The heroine’s journey throughout the story was truly my favorite part. I loved her coming to terms with her insecurities and finding her inner strength.

The romance between the main characters was quite slow but still sweet. They had a great amount of tension, angst, love and spice. As their romance was a second chance, I would have liked seeing them together more or reconnecting before they officially got together again though. While, I understood they each had to work through their own issues and had unresolved feelings, I just wanted a bit more romantic moments/scenes between them.

The last few chapters at the end had me quite emotional to be honest, the heroine’s growth was just beautifully written. I will say though, there were a few subplots that felt quite rushed and unresolved. The ending and epilogue were cute though. Overall, just a refreshing read with an amazing heroine.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.