I love the enemies-to-lovers trope so much and Just My Type really delivered this one. Lana Parker is a serial monogamist who just got dumped-again. She’s a writer as the relationship guru for a trendy LA website. Seth Carson, her high school ex, is a “serious” journalist who has been freelancing and bouncing around the country. He takes an assignment at Lana’s site unbeknownst to her and the site puts them into a competition against each other. Lana is supposed to learn how to be single and Seth is supposed to learn how to be in a relationship and each writes about their tasks.

The chemistry was so good with these two. I loved the history and the second chance romance. The banter between the MCs was great. I loved the texts between Lana, Seth, and their coworkers. The energy between the group was infectious. The love confession by Seth was swoon worthy. This is a perfect read just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN Group Putnam for this eARC. Just My Type comes out on Feb 7th, 2023.

This second chance romance is so wonderful. I absolutely adored the interaction between Seth and Lana.

Lana thought she was getting engaged. Instead, in true Elle Woods style, her boyfriend dumps her. As she and her friend indulge in post boyfriend therapy (drinks, rom coms, ice cream), she gets a message from former boyfriend, Seth, which she ignores.

The next day at work at a small newspaper, relationship columnist Lana is given a new assignment - a series of articles about being single. She also finds out the newspaper is being acquired by a larger one and one of their employees is going to be visiting - and it's none other than Seth. Perfect...

Her boss wants them to make a series of dating articles as a competition - Lana's will be about being single and Seth's will be about settling down. The twist? They will be giving tasks to each other to meet those goals... Let the games begin!!

Completely obsessed with this book and Fallon Ballard. I had high expectations going into this book and it did not disappoint! The plot, the characters, the banter…it was all fantastic. Fallon Ballard is quickly becoming an autobuy author for me. 5 stars.

There are not even enough words for me to even begin to describe how much I love this book.
Just My Type is exactly the type of book I needed.

I had no idea I loved second chance romance until I stumbled upon this gem. Just My Type is all about viewing certain events from every perspective and understanding why it unfolded the way it did and how it could have unfolded differently if only viewed differently. All this while promoting the importance of self awareness and personal development.

One thing is for certain, I will never ever look at sunflowers the same.

📖 I loved this! Lana Parker is such a star—funny, witty, nice. (Though it’s a little over-the-top with mentioning again and again at the beginning how much she reads. Like, I get it. Your Goodreads challenge goal is higher than mine, lol.) Meanwhile, Seth is also super dreamy. This is a single-POV romance, so we stick with Lana throughout, which I liked a lot—it was engaging to find out a bit more slowly how wrong Lana is about Seth’s thoughts.

📖 Tropes in play here are rivals-to-lovers and second-chance romance, and both were handled in a way that felt natural rather than forced. It’s also a workplace romance, but because it’s independent writers in a newsroom, the workplace thing doesn’t feel weird. (Sometimes those skeeve me out. But this was fine!)

📖 Something that shined for me in this book was Lana’s relationships with other people in her life, particularly her mother and her boss. Being a romance, you know how it’s gonna turn out for the couple… but the relationships Lana has with other people in her life add some real suspense. If you get “off” vibes from someone in the beginning 👀 keep reading…

📚 This is a romance-lover’s romance: nothing too terrible happens, and people say the things you never get to hear in real life. It’s a great escape. Steam rating: 4/5 🌶️

I loved Ballard’s debut book (Lease on Love Feb 2022) and her sophomore book is equally wonderful. Lana Parker feels most comfortable in a relationship. When her latest dumps her when she is expecting a proposal it may be time to rethink. Lana is a dating and relationship columnist for a popular LA website. She’s worked there for eight years since graduating in journalism. Seth her first love and high school sweet heart shows up unexpectedly to work at the website. The boss pits them against each with dueling columns other dangling the reward of a column in the newspaper that has purchased the website.

They get to set tasks for each other to complete. Lana who always moves towards relationships must keep things casual. And Seth who has been a player must do things to be more committed. Some things are good, both get some therapy, tasks as simple as volunteer, get a pet, play tourist for day are doable. Lana who is tasked with have a one night stand I felt (and the therapist agrees) is a real boundary stretch for a work assignment. But the author makes it work it the story.

Of course the two have unrequited feelings for each other. And both can push each others buttons as they try to sort out their feelings. This is told entirely from Lana’s POV which works. It would give away too much for Seth’s feelings to be given away too early. Lana also has some series mother issues to work on as well.

This is smart, funny second chance romance with likable characters. Best friend May and the co-workers are wonderful helping balance out Lana’s emotions. And I love that through the work assignments each grow on their own. The outcome is predictable but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun getting there. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. (4.5 Stars)

ATE THIS UP.

Imagine showing up to work to find out your new coworker is your first love/high school sweetheart.

I would simply ✨die✨🫠

This book had me from the start and I did not want to put it down. Second chance romance/Enemies to lovers and it really pulled my heart strings. I laughed out loud and cried. Lana is a people pleaser and I related related to that.

𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐘𝐏𝐄 is available February 7th!

🌻Thank you Penguin Group Putnam, @netgalley , and @ for the ARC. 🌻

Super cute love story of Lana Parker. She’s a writer at ATF writing about romance and dating, which she hates, but has always been a monogamist. After getting dumped she is challenged to stay single and find herself, but can she do that when he ex returns into her life?

I loved this book!! Second chance romance done so so right. I read Lease on Love by Ballard and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t fall in love with the characters like with this one. It was so refreshing to read a love story with characters admitting their flaws and I just overall really enjoyed this so much!

Lana Parker never stays single for long. After the heartbreaking split from her high school boyfriend, she’s jumped from one long-term relationship to another. And she uses her “good girlfriend” knowledge to write a dating and relationship column for a popular LA website. But her world is turned upside down when her high school ex walks back into her life. After years of traveling and freelance writing Seth Carson is ready to settle down. In a job and relationship. In his new job Seth finds himself Lana’s colleague. And his new boss thinks it would be a great idea to pit him against her for the chance at a promotion. Lana and Parker’s competitive nature comes out swinging, but it can’t mask the feelings they still have for each other.

This book had some good moments, but it also frustrated me a lot. The beginning was very promising and enjoyable. But then Lana started her annoying journey of not admitting her wrongdoing and blaming everything on Seth. And being quite rude to him. Seth had his faults and exasperating moments, but for the most part I really liked him and thought he was a nice, caring guy. But Lana was hung up on their last interaction where she was definitely in the wrong. She just wasn’t a likeable heroine. In the end there was some redemption for her and I was happy with how everything turned out. But the journey to get there wasn’t great.

I also need to mention this workplace competition and how unprofessional and inappropriate it was. The author does call out how wrong it all is, but nothing is done to fix it or stop it. Even in the end no one is punished or gets a stern talking to about how unprofessional the whole thing was. I wanted something to be done there.

Overall, not the best book I’ve read, but it wasn’t awful either. This will not be my last Falon Ballard book. I loved Lease on Love and her writing is so good. This book just wasn’t my cup of tea.


Thank you Netgalley and Putnam for the opportunity to read this book. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I loved this author’s debut novel and if anything I think I loved this one even more! This book is definitely for the romcom girlies - a little bit of Legally Blonde, some How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with just a pinch of When Harry Met Sally. If you’re looking for a sweet second-chance romance to get you in the feels then look no further than Just My Type.

Lana’s a serial monogamist who has just been dumped by her longtime boyfriend. The very next day her first love Seth shows up in town. Even worse? He’s after the same writing position she’s been wanting for years. Soon they find themselves in a competition - Lana must focus on being single and Seth must try to find someone to have a long term relationship with. Whoever’s articles garner the most likes and comments win the competition and the job. What could possibly go wrong?

The author did a great job with our main characters and made it really easy to root for them. I loved Lana and her growth as a person throughout the book. She really dealt with overcoming her issues in a mostly healthy way (woo therapy!) and seemed to learn a lot about herself as the book went on. The story is only told from Lana’s point of view, but fragments of Seth’s articles are sprinkled throughout so we get a feel for what’s going on in his head. The pining was great as was the tension throughout. I just loved it so much! Don’t even get me started on the sunflowers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for the review copy.

If the ending hadn’t ended how it did, it would’ve been a 1 star for me. There were a few things that I personally find to be huge turn offs in characters/books and this book started off with one of them. The main character is 30 and yet we are supposed to think that getting pass out drunk/wasted and being so hung over she almost misses a professional meeting the next morning LOLZZ tooooo funny/relatable? The author continuously references alcohol in what I think she thought was a humorous way but it just felt kinda cliche and there is actually nothing at all funny about using alcohol as a coping mechanism. She is 30 for goodness sake! Not 21 and in college. Ick. We also have a cheating attempt at a reunion situation in which the character seemed to have shown zero remorse or growth from ever? I constantly had to remind myself these characters are in their 30s because the immaturity is off the charts. Thankfully there is character growth eventually pertaining to other aspects and a solid ending but so much of it was cringy to me.

I absolutely adored Lease on Love, so when I saw that Fallon Ballard had a new book, I knew I had to get my hands on it. Just My Type follows two exes who are now competing for the same coveted position at a big-time L.A. newspaper. As a mass communication major, my journalism loving heart ate this up. As with Lease on Love, you get to see a lot of personal growth and found family, which are two aspects that I think Ballard does really well. And while the main characters, especially Lana, made me so frustrated sometimes, I realized it's because Ballard writes real humans in her books, not Stepford characters who do everything perfectly. I think this would make a great beach or vacation read because it's fun but also has depth.

Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for this digital ARC.

This was such a great romcom! I usually don't go into romance books expecting good humor, but I ate this up. The millennial pop culture references were great and not cringey (though if you don't know, you don't know and it might be weird). Lana and Seth were a great couple that I found myself rooting for and also being frustrated with (I was PRAYING that they got themselves together). Overall, I think this book was a great depiction of self-discovery and realizing that you may be the villain in someone else's story (which is never fun). I'm usually not a fan of second chance romance because they tend to feel forced, but this one was done well. Isn't it crazy that all of us basically have some version of parent issues that affect us as an adult? *palms face*

I really loved this book. I’m not usually a huge fan of the enemies to lovers trope but this one sucked me right in from the beginning. It has a little bit of second chance romance too! Lana and Seth are high school sweet hearts who grew apart. Seth comes barreling back into Lana’s life when he unexpectedly is pitted against her by her boss in a workplace competition. Seth is tasked with attempting to settle down and find love and Lana is tasked with learning to find herself and be single all while documenting their thoughts for the lifestyle blog. I loved the tension when Lana and Seth had assigned tasks that overlapped. Their chemistry together was perfect. I love that Lana loves books and all the ways the author peppered that in throughout the book. Lana’s growth throughout the book was also done so well! And I can’t forget to mention that this book has the perfect romcom ending. You have to read this book when it releases on February 7.

Read if you like:
▫️workplace romance
▫️enemies to lovers
▫️second chance romance

Thanks to @netgalley and @putnambooks for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @putnambooks for an early copy of Just My Type by Falon Ballard. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Just My Type is a enemies-to-lovers/second-chance romance about Lana and Seth. They’ve been in love with each other since they were fourteen years old, but due to the long distance during college, they’ve broken up, without ever fully communicating the real reason for their breakup. Years after their disastrous breakup, Lana has been bouncing from long-term relationship to long-term relationship. She has also been writing about love and relationships for one of LA’s trendiest websites. What happens when she suddenly finds herself dumped and single again? She needed to take a break and find herself outside of being in a relationship and learn to live on her own, being alone. Meanwhile, with all their years apart, Seth has been traveling the world as a freelance journalist and is rumored to be a ladies’ man. He returns to her life just as it was crumbling, and takes on an assignment with their website. They were tasked to compete with each other, each having a list of tasks to complete and write an article for each item – Lana’s list consists of items to help her learn how to live being single and alone, while Seth’s lists consist of items to help him learn how to be in a committed long-term relationship. Whoever’s series of articles gets the most popularity wins a columnist position for the website’s parent company.

🛑 Read on with caution; review contains spoilers 🛑

Forgive me in advance if this review would sound a rant, but I have a lot of issues with this novel. Firstly, their boss Natasha, who gives them the job to compete with the list of tasks and everything, is very unprofessional. I get that as writers, you need to get out there and have the actual experience to get as much inspiration as you can to write the best possible pieces, but she was very persistent regardless of how much Lana and Seth seemed to be against competing with each other when they first heard about it from her. If it weren’t for the big columnist job, they wouldn’t be competing at all. How is Lana ever going to learn to be on her own when Natasha keeps meddling with their tasks and seemingly pushing them together? I found that she has been taking advantage of Lana’s vulnerability, need for attention and acceptance from a mother figure ever since she started working for her, “pushing” her to do things regardless of whether she wants to do them or not and writing about it for the entire world to read.

For a novel that pushes for character development through a list of tasks, I found that the main characters did not have much character development as the story progressed. For starters, every time Lana spends time with Seth, either she insults him, or she just spends the majority of it reminiscing about their time when they were still together, mostly to the point of always spacing out. Yes, they had chemistry then, but I think she’s more in love with what they were, and not in love with the present Seth. She was clinging on to their past instead of learning how to live on her own without depending on others for emotional support. On the other hand, I found Seth’s feelings to be more genuine towards Lana, although not that strong enough it seems that he keeps quiet about his feelings and keeps giving Lana mixed signals. He does sensible things but doesn’t really explain them well enough, even as a teenager and an adult, and Lana being the immature person that she is, misinterprets them.

They were both immature almost up until the very end. To be honest, when their past issues have been revealed, I found Lana’s hatred for Seth unreasonable, and again very immature reaction. They both just frustrated me.

The only redeeming factor for me in this novel is when Lana realized what a crappy boss Natasha is, plus Lana’s co-workers. They were very supportive all the way. The therapy sessions were also presented positively; they can help you realize about moments in your life and how to deal with them. I also appreciated Lana and Seth’s article sneak peeks inserted into every chapter.

Rating Just My Type ⭐⭐/5 Releases February 7th, 2023.

3.5/5
i though this book was really cute and humorous!! i loved the couple and there journey of reconnecting. this is a cute and easy read for anyone who loves second chance romance!! i would definitely recommend this book and you will fall in love with the couple. the epilogue did seem a little rushed which was the only part i wasn’t too crazy about but besides that everything was paced great 🫶🏼

ow to Lose a Guys in 10 Days is one of my all-time favorite romcoms, so I thought I would love this. The premise is so similar the main character even references How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days at one point, and I thought the second-chance twist would only make the story better.

Unfortunately, it didn't quite work for me, and I think most of that stems from how the second-chance part was executed. There were some crucial pieces of Lana and Seth's past that were withheld until way too late in the story, in my opinion, and this didn't seem to serve much purpose other than preventing me from believing that they used to be a couple. I think this story would have benefitted from a couple of well-placed flashbacks. As it was, I couldn't really buy into them as a couple, both in the past and the present.

Beyond that, their lack of communication towards the end just annoyed me to no end.

Aside from these issues, the writing was pretty enjoyable, so I would consider reading another book by the author because most of my issues with this seemed to be from the execution of the premise, rather than the story or writing itself.

3.5 stars

A cute second chance romance that had all the feels, laugh out loud moments, great friendships, learning to be okay with yourself, and some great 🔥!

I think the reason I didn’t like this one more was just because of the very common theme of misunderstandings and the lack of communication

Second chance is one of my all-time favorite tropes and this book did NOT disappoint!

I loved the workplace enemies (sorta) to lovers vibes and the second chance all rolled into one. I adored the character growth, and I loved the friendships and found family!

I found Lana to be incredibly relatable, with how hard she worked to break the cycle of her bad habits and be better. And her connection with Seth was top tier! I’ll definitely be recommending this one.