Okay I loved this one. This was a perfect enemies to lovers that I absolutely devoured. Lana and Seth's relationship just made me swoon. It was a second-chance as love/enemies to lovers and those tropes together.... PERFECT. I could not put this one down! I would highly recommend this sweet, hilarious rom com.

First five star review of 2023! I found myself literally laughing out loud by the third page. Ballard has a quick wit reminiscent of Gilmore Girls, Schitt’s Creek, and Ted Lasso. I loved the characters and setup. All in all a great read! Thanks to Penguin Group for the ARC.

It is no secret that I am not a huge lover of second chance romances. I feel either the reason they broke up in the first place was stupid or forgiveness was given too easily. But there was something about Just My Type. I didn’t have my normal qualms with this second chance romance. It pulled me in right away. I ended up loving Lana and Seth. I loved how this book showed that finding love with someone needs to start by being ok with yourself.
Lana and Seth were sweet and I loved their communication. I also loved Lana’s relationships with all her friends. This book was a great blend of romance, friends, and finding yourself.
Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Alright. Did I think I’d be crying about sunflowers and tattoos tonight when I picked up this book? Absolutely not. Did I actually cry over those things when I finished this book? Yes.

There is nothing I like more than healthy couples in Romance books. And this might be one of the healthiest couple growth I’ve read so far. I loved this book. I wish I had better words to write other than “I love this book” but I don’t.

I loved how cheesy Lana was as a character, and how it wasn’t a point that other people made fun of her for, but rather something that people loved about her. I think it sends a very important message that some people (me, obviously) need to hear.

Logistically- I did find a typo on page 89. Or at least I don’t think it was intentional? “Well, that motherf*cker has another think coming.” Is how it reads but I couldn’t tell if it was meant to say thing or think and it stumped me for a bit.
Other than that, I truly enjoyed this arc and will be posting reviews and recommendations everywhere.

This book was soooo cute!! It reminded me of How to loose a guy in 10 days and I loved every minute of it! I was able to relate a lot to the main character, and the relationships with her and Seth really hit close to home for me. I thought she was so easy to relate to and it was so much fun seeing her character development grow in this. I'd highly recommend this, it's such a cute read!

High school sweethearts, turned exes....12 years pass....now workplace rivals? Sign me up! Second chance is one of my favorite tropes so this was right up my alley.
I really enjoyed getting to know Lana as a character and seeing her grow....just wish we could have seen the same progression with the rest of the characters. I was left wanting a little more from the love interest and the side characters. The miscommunication factor became a little much towards the end of the book - it was quite obvious this was a major factor and was frustrating that they just kept walking away from conversations that needed to be had.
Overall, this was a fast paced fun read that I didn't want to put down.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader!

Serial long-term relationship fanatic, Lana Parker, is a writer in LA and dealing with yet another heartbreak. Lana struggles to be alone, and has no clue where to turn next. That is when her high school ex boyfriend and "one that got away," Seth, moves to LA and changes everything.
Lana and Seth get pushed into a work competition, documenting their separate journeys to finding something new to them. Lana is tasked with exploring taking time alone for self healing and growth. Seth is tasked with settling down and finding a "forever." Competition, resurfaced feelings, and some humor along the way - Falon Ballard creates a beautiful story that will have you rooting for love.

I truly enjoyed this book. It was such a quick, cute, rom com type of read. Ballard even references it in the book, but it was reminiscent of a book version of "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days." Different storylines, but it gave me all of the rom com feels that I love about that movie. You will find yourself rooting for characters individually, while also rooting for their relationships.
I really liked how Ballard built some comedy-relief characters into the plot. I loved the sprinkles of Slack/text conversations that made it feel a bit more real and modern.
I only wish there would have been slightly more conflict or relationship development. I thought the second-chance-at-love movement could have been a bit more dramatic or held a bit more passion.

Overall - super quick and adorable rom com read that absolutely does not disappoint after Lease on Love. Would recommend!

🅶🅴🅽🆁🅴—𝒞𝑜𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓂𝓅𝑜𝓇𝒶𝓇𝓎 𝑅𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒
🗓ℙ𝕦𝕓 𝔻𝕒𝕥𝕖—𝔽𝕖𝕓𝕣𝕦𝕒𝕣𝕪, 𝟚𝟟, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟛

✂️ P L O T L I N E
Serial monogamist Lana Parker and noncommittal Seth Carson share a past that triggered them to possess their current dating habits. Lana can’t stay single for more than a minute and Seth claims to be too busy for any serious relationship. When Seth gets hired at Lana’s current place of business, they are both forced to engage in a friendly journalist competition. Lana must stay single and Seth must learn to settle down. What is even better is that they each get to decide what the others tasks will be. There is a lot on the line in this feel good hilarious rom-com story since the winner gets their dream job of writing their own column.

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
Witty, charming, and laugh out loud funny 💕. I love a good love story and this one did not disappoint. The story of Lana and Seth was so relatable to me. What is a cheesy? Yes! Was it totally predictable? Yes! But Did I absolutely love it? Yes! This was truly a love story in every way. Love is about learning to love yourself before you can truly love another. I appreciated the self growth aspect of this book and enjoyed the pure chemistry between the characters. A bonus was the mention of Lana taking a vacation to San Clemente (where I currently live 🤗). It’s a beautiful town to escape to if you ever find yourself needing to get away!

📚Read this book if you like
💫Witty banter
💫Second chance love
💫Enemies to lovers
💫How to Lose a Guy in 10 days 🎥
💫Friendly work competition
💫Pop culture talk

❤️𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾 ❤️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

💕Q U O T E S : “ All relationships, whether they be good or bad, leave a mark on our souls.”

“ Yes, there might be lingering feelings. And yes, there’s definitely still attraction. But he’s with someone else, and I, for once in my life, am figuring out what it means to be on my own. Figuring out who I am without a man, and I am actually liking what I’m finding.”

🙏Thank you NetGalley, Putnam Books, and Falon Ballard for this beautiful ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts 💕

After reading both of her novels, it’s clear that Ballard writes main characters who are flawed, sometimes in relatable ways but also occasionally in ways that make them harder to root for. For the most part, Just My Type has everything you need for quintessential enemies to lovers workplace romance. But there are small details that keep me from wholeheartedly supporting the main romantic pairing at the center of the book. Namely, the female lead states repeatedly that her most recent grievance with her male counterpart stems from what happened at their high school reunion. However, the incident in question involved him rejecting her drunken proposition which she made while in a relationship with a man she planned to marry. From an outside perspective, it’s hard to root for someone who is mad the man they love didn’t facilitate their decision to cheat. Frankly, having read a LOT of enemies to lovers books, there are other ways to engineer tension. The childhood heartbreak on its own could have been enough, in my opinion. That being said, I enjoy a good competition at the heart of a book and am a sucker for any book with journalists as the protagonists. While I felt the use of a competition to bring feuding romantic leads together in this case was perhaps a bit too contrived and forced at times, this book nonetheless has me hoping for a cute fellow journalist romance of my own. The « I’ve read all your articles » declaration of love never gets old.

Thank you to NetGalley, Falon Ballard, and Penguin Group Putnum - GP Putnam’s Sons for providing this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a quick read. I loved every moment of it! This book covered so many different tropes. I was here for it! We had second chance romance, enemies to lovers, rivalries, and so much more. It was such a cute read!

This review will be posted to my Goodreads and Amazon accounts immediately and also to my instagram account (@ginganinja333), and to my newly created bookstagram (@paulas.book.nook).

Childhood sweethearts, second chance romance with a side of MCU references, count me in! I can relate to Lana. Missing parent, people pleaser and notorious for a string of bad relationships. Lana is sassy, smart and stronger than she gives herself credit for. I love that she loves books and movies and pop culture. Her life spins when she comes face to face with the one man who started the spiral of bad dating returns to her world. Forced to work together we see them work through their issues and get to know the adults they have both become.

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed Falon Ballard's first book, Lease on Love, and enjoyed this one as well.
The writer has a style that makes you forget you're reading. It's fast paced and funny, and has a great group of accompanying characters.
Sometimes I was saddened by how Seth and Lana had hurt each other, and the time that had been wasted, but the ending made it all worth it.

This book was a truly sweet love story. Lana Parker has a job with an online newspaper as a love advice columnist in Los Angeles, and when her ex-boyfriend , Seth Carson, from her hometown in Connecticut arrives in town and lands a job working at the same newspaper, she is less than happy. Lana and Seth had parted on bad terms the last time they saw each other. Lana and Seth are pitted in a writing contest against each other with a promise that the winner will be rewarded with a job at a major newspaper in Los Angeles. Can Lana and Seth ignore the mutual attraction they still feel for each other? Find out the answer to that question by reading this book. I highly recommend it to other romance readers. A word of warning, though to readers who don't like the f-word, this book contains it a lot. I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley, and the opinion expressed is strictly my own.

Thanks to Penguin Group Putnam, NetGalley, and Falon Ballard for the ARC of this book.
Just My Type is a second chance romance with a dash of enemies to lovers romance. Lana Parker finds herself newly single (again) after being broken up with on the night she expected to get engaged. Since her first love broke her heart once she moved away to college, she's jumped from long-term relationship to long-term relationship and writes the relationship column for LA's trendiest website. Lana decides it's time to take a break from relationships and focus on herself and changing her career. Unfortunately, once she makes that decision, her first love Seth enters the picture and now has to compete with her for her dream job. There is still chemistry between them, but Lana is still heartbroken and ready to move on. Now Lana has to choose between her dream job and possibly reigniting the chemistry between her and Seth.
Lana's story is one that I'm sure a lot of people can relate to. Instead of being alone, it's easier to find someone to be with even if you know they aren't 'the one'. I enjoyed how the story forced Lana to be on her own even if she was basically forced to do it by her boss. That storyline stuck out the most to me more than her relationship with Seth. I think it's important that there are stories out there that remind people that it's important to love yourself.
The chemistry between Lana and Seth was great. The buildup of their friendship which eventually turned into a reunion was splendid. All of the extra characters were great additions to the story.
My only complaint is that conflict near the end of the book between Lana and Seth didn't feel necessary or should have gone differently. That's just my opinion.
This story has heart, humor, it made me swoon, and it made me teary.

I really, really liked this book. I was intrigued by the plot description but am pleasantly surprised as to how much I enjoyed the actual book.

This was my very first book by Falon Ballard but I will absolutely be reading more in the future.

At the beginning of the book I found myself wishing it was dual POV. I wished I knew exactly what the male main character was thinking at all time but by the end I really understood why it was perfect in single POV. A main theme of the book is the idea of being alone and loving who you really are as a person before jumping into relationships- a single POV just emphasized this theme.

In terms of the characters, there were a significant number of times I found myself relating to both Lana and Seth and deeply rooting for their relationship. I also really liked the side characters, while they were not extremely built in terms of character arc, they were funny and I appreciated all of their side comments.

I would very highly recommend this book to people who only dabble in second-chance romance and what a a good, cozy romcom to keep them company.

This was such a fun second-chance/rivals romcom! I really enjoyed Falon's voice in Lease on Love and this has book has cemented her as an auto-buy for me going forward. There were some laugh out loud moments here, but also depth in the romantic relationship, and a wonderful mother-daughter subplot that was also explored. Really enjoyed this read! Thanks to Putnam and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Lana Parker goes through a nasty breakup at the beginning of the book, and finds out her Ex, the one who meant everything to her, is here to take her promotion. The promotion she has worked 8 years for. All Lana has wanted is her own column to talk about what she wanted, not relationship advice, but her boss, Natasha, has other plans for them. Natasha pits the two writers against each other in a wild competition that forces each person out of their comfort zones. Lana is forced to live the single life and all that entails. And Seth must settle down with someone he could see dating long-term and prove he has left his playboy lifestyle behind. The winner is based on views, clicks and likes. The audience holds these characters' lives in their fingers.
But as Natasha demands more of the two, and they are pushed together, will the truth come out? Or will these characters continue to hide from the past and their feelings?
This book gave me Beach Read by Emily Henry vibes. Competition, forced proximity, and a misunderstanding in the past. It's everything that is perfect in a cute romance.
And here is what I've learned after reading these books. I don't like cute romance. Like this book wasn't bad. It had all the correct story points, the tension, and the fun and embarrassing moments, but I just wasn't into it. I think this book has 4 star material. This type of romance just isn't my type.
I highly recommend it though if you loved Beach Read, or like cute, maybe a little bit sappy romances with tons of drama in it. Just My Type by Falon Ballard is a good book. Ballard is a great writer, and I look forward to seeing this author grow. I just might not read her books again unless she dips into more of my type of reads.

Second Chance Romances are just not my thing and this really solidified that.

I didn’t feel the chemistry between Seth and Lana and I felt like a HEA for them was forced and unrealistic. That could have something to do with me not liking Lana at all. I kept waiting and waiting for her to become likeable, to become someone I could root for and that never happened. However, I can completely understand and empathize with the whole parental relationships affecting your adult relationships. I was happy to see that resolved for her in a healthy and realistic way.

The book did a good job of holding my attention, but I can’t say I really enjoyed it. I can see this being something others enjoy, but it just wasn’t for me!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this book! The slow burn enemies to lovers is just *muah*. The writing is easy and flows. The characters were great. I loved the format of them having to go through their lists and the second chance romance. I just loved so much about this book. I can't wait to read more books from Ballard!

This follows former high school sweethearts as they reconnect a decade later and compete for a news columnist job in a “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”-style competition.

I enjoyed this one overall, but a bit less than Ballard’s debut, Lease on Love. I liked the competition challenges and banter between Seth and Lana, though I didn’t love the toxic work environment. I found Lana a bit annoying in the early chapters, but ultimately appreciated her growth as she gets more comfortable being on her own.

Thank you Putnam Books for my early copy in exchange for a review.