Having read the description for Just My Type, I was concerned that this was going to be a reversed "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" (love how Ballard even referenced that!). I was so pleasantly surprised on how fresh and original her concept was. As this was my first time reading Ballard, I enjoyed how she combined the thrill of an enemies to friends trope with the elation of a second chance romance.

What I liked about the book: Before I dive into the review, I will say I know that many believe that a journey of self discovery is something you should do on your own. To the contrary, Ballard demonstrated with Lana that it is a parallel journey. While you may travel on your own path to enlightenment, you need to have those who support it walking next to you - not interfering in any way but letting you know you are not alone.

Now on a lighter note, the humor of this book is off the charts. There are far too many laugh out loud moments to recall. The friendship between Lana and May is the type most dream about. I am also am a HUGE fan of the MCU so the references to it were right up my alley. I nearly choked when she said “Thank Loki” and made references to Odin and Thor in replacement for its biblical counterpart.

Lana’s wit, banter, and overall personality was also very refreshing. She came from money but she wasn't spoiled. She knew she was fortunate but still remained humble. Despite having the option for an easier life (being involved with her mother's philanthropy work), she chose to attend college and followed her passion to be a writer, paying her dues along the way.

The background characters are what sealed the deal for this book. Those Slack chats were priceless! I wish we could have seen more of what happened between Tessa and Rob. I am hoping that was introduced as a segue into a follow-up book as I felt like that was introduced and dropped without reason. In either case, the supporting characters were the perfect seasoning for this delicious story. I also like how she indirectly created a common enemy so that Lana and Seth could bound without realizing they were being pulled closer together.

What I disliked about the book: During the first half of this book, I constantly had a feeling of being slightly disconnected from the characters. I was able to witness the world unfolding with Lana and Seth but I felt as if I was watching it behind a plate of glass, unable to directly connect with their feelings and experiences. I believe this was because I constantly had the nagging feeling of "why" and "what happened". With the unresolved past directly affecting the story in so many ways, I found myself growing increasing frustrated in not knowing what transpired. The initial breakup and the reunion was what fueled the divide between Lana and Seth. We only saw her reaction to it and were essentially instructed as the audience to just "trust it" and take her side without questioning. For this reason, I never felt like I could completely connect with Lana. It wasn't until the truth started to come out that I finally felt the ability to sympathize with Lana, as well as Seth, and walk with them on their quest versus feeling so many steps behind.

Again, while I wasn’t a fan of this feeling for the first half of the book, my assumption is that this was Ballard’s intent. While we had a POV from Lana, we couldn’t know more than what she was willing to revisit mentally or see beyond what she was willing to take in. We were going to be subjected to her doubts, her denials, and the way she construed a situation based on own her perspectives. It wasn't until she started her journey, growing as an individual, facing her past, and really taking the time to see situations from all sides (big shot out to the importance of taking care of your Mental Health) that we finally got a 360 view of everything. I feel that if I read this book again knowing what happened, I would be able to connect with Lana from the beginning versus towards the end.

What I consider the best part of the book: The sunflower references. Ballard creating such an psychological and emotional connection with the sunflower, entwining it throughout the story, that when Seth showed up with it at the end - I choked up!

From moments of laughter to tears to one big cheesy grin, Just My Type provides everything needed to create a wonderfully refreshing romantic comedy.

because if you can’t love yourself, how the hell are you gonna love somebody else?”

4.5⭐️

this book comes out on 2/7/23 (run don’t walk to get this!!!)

GUYSSS OH MY GODDDDD. i was fortunate enough to get an eARC from netgalley and ohmygod FALON DOES NOT DISAPPOINT EVER UGH. this book was PHENOMENAL. the whole premise of the competition and the setting in LA was just *chefs kiss*

i love lana. she is an absolute powerhouse of a character. her humor, marvel references and just her personality were amazing she is so !!!! i’m obsessed tbh

seth 🥰💓💖💗😍😫 i love him your honor. this man had me swooning multiple times ugh falon knows how to write a man fr.

the slack channel moments, the texts, the articles made this book feel so immersive as well!

if you enjoyed ‘lease on love’ you’re gonna LOVE THIS ONE GUYS!!!

📚BOOK REVIEW📚

Just My Type
by Falon Ballard
Pub Date: Feb 7, 2023

3⭐️
🌶 (two semi-spicy scenes)

This is the second book I’ve read by this author and while I liked both books, I didn’t love them.
➡️ swipe for synopsis.

I loved the pop culture references and the How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days vibes. The beginning of the book has a Legally Blonde vibe that was funny but also sad. Lana truly doesn’t know how to be alone and a new work assignment forced her to figure it out.

The book was a tad all over the place. There were certain parts where Seth (the MMC) gave me the tummy flutters, but Lana, and the book as a whole, was choppy and didn’t really flow.

I was constantly torn between liking and disliking the book, which is why I gave it a middle of the road rating. If you liked Lease On Love (the authors first book) then you’d probably enjoy this one too. It was definitely a journey.

Thank you to @netgalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, partner Putnam Books for our copy of Just My Type by Falon Ballard.

This book is available on February 7, 2023.

Rating: 5 star
Genre: Romance

Thoughts: I LOVED this book! Falon Ballard has become an auto-read author for me. After reading her debut, Lease on Love, I couldn't wait to see what she wrote. Just My Type was a witty, fun romance book....think How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days but with a twist.

This is a second chance romance trope, which has quickly become my favorite type of romance! Definitely pick this one up!!!

Read this book if you like:
-Second chance romances
-Stories with a bet/competition...think How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
-Stories with texts or quotes within this book

I read and loved Ballard’s Lease on Love so when I saw I could request her latest novel I instantly jumped at the chance. Thank you to the publisher for approving my request! This has everything I look for in a rom com and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Second-chance romances are not usually my favorite trope to read but I loved Lana and Seth. How to Lose a Guy in 10 days was one of my favorite movies as a teenager so of course I loved the plot for this book. It was really fun to read how they each accomplished their lists. I also really liked the sub-plot of Lana’s relationship with her boss and how it was resolved. I loved this book and will definitely check out Fallon’s future books!

Romantic leads that go to therapy?! Finally! And an actual realistic depiction of therapy too. As a licensed counselor myself, I can be highly critical of therapy in books/film/TV, but this was good. Dr. Lawson was the low key star of this book for me. She pushes Lana to consider her personal and professional boundaries and we love to see it! The enemies to lovers/first loves reunited trope was enough to suck me in and make this a page turner, but the added theme of self acceptance and introspection made it something special. A female lead that falls in love with a man but also with herself, and accepts that she will be ok with or without him, was so refreshing. And dammit if the ending didn’t make me tear up.

My only criticism is I didn’t love the inclusion of the Slack messages between Lana and her coworkers 😆 it came off as cheesy “girl talk” to me and I just don’t feel like it contributed meaningfully to the plot or character development. I feel like text dialogue is so hard to write in a way that feels realistic.

I am so torn on trying to decide between 3 and 4 stars.
The idea was cute, and I liked that the idea of a challenge among characters! Especially characters with a past *wiggles eyebrows*.
Where this story falls short is pacing. It doesn't take me very long to read a romcom, but I kept finding myself going back to other books instead of just finishing this one. There was no part of the book that kept me on the edge of my seat. Never did I think "I need to hurry and [insert chore or task] so I can find out what happens"
The characters could have been improved, particularly Seth. Every time there were interactions with Seth I would *almost* glimpse this great love interest. Then the scene would end and leave me unsatisfied with who this character was. It was almost like he had no personality! This could have probably been improved by him having a pov throughout the book.
The ending was way rushed.
Ok I know this all seems like a lot of bad reviews, but it is still a really endearing book with a lot of promise! I actually even enjoyed having a few chapters to read in between finishing other books. I was able to savor the story that way.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book really checked all my the boxes and was hard to put down! If you love second chance romance, lovers-to-enemies-to lovers tropes and lists/challenges that force characters to dive in to self-exploration, then you are in for a real treat!

Lana was devastated by being dumped by her High School sweetheart just before starting college. That combined with an absent mother, Lana was left with major feelings of inadequacy. She overcompensated by latching on to the first guy she'd meet who was nice and had the type of family she always longed for. This lead her through a series of mediocre long term relationships, without any time being single to learn how to function on her own.

On the night she thought she was getting engaged, she is dumped. Again. To make matters worse, her high school sweetheart shows up at her office and her boss pits the two writers against each other in a competition for Lana's dream job.

Seth has spent many years on the road and dealt with losing Lana, the love of his life after high school by becoming a serial dater and relationship adverse. He is also extremely competitive and looking for a job where he can finally settle down.

Enter Lana's meddling boss who challenges these ex-lovers to create a list of challenges for each other: Lana's a list to learn to be on her own and Seth a list to learn to be in a relationship. The goal is to write a series of articles and let the public decide who gets the promotion.

This book is so fun and engaging and I really loved Seth, Lana and their friends. There's also a healthy dose of personal growth thrown in to round it out and give it some substance. It's a great escape read that will have you laughing and putting everything on hold to read just one.more.chapter!

I must admit that I didn't love Ms. Ballards first book. The writing was good, but there were some flaws in the story that really bothered me. I'm glad that I went ahead and took a chance on her new book as it was such a great read. I'm looking forward to what she writes next!

Fallon Ballard has absolutely perfected the rom com. This lovers to enemies to lovers/ second chance romance was everything I ever dreamed an more.

Lana and Seth have great chemistry and the whole scenario was fun and realistic enough that the subtle shifts from enemies to friends felt realistic. I loved the friend group again and the group chats, and another special shout-out to the real fantasy swooning- millennials who own gorgeous homes AND get to be creative 😉 I can easily see this being a favorite re-read.

Did Falon Ballard just become an auto buy author for me? YES, yes she did. This book was so dang good. There is something about your first love ❤️

Lana is a serial monogamist. Her friends joke that she’s never single for long. We meet her on the night that she thinks her long time boyfriend is going to propose. Instead, he dumps her Legally Blonde style. And that’s not the only bombshell she gets hit with. The next day at work she walks in hungover and heartbroken and is greeted by her ex boyfriend. Not just any old ex boyfriend. But THE ex boyfriend. Her high school sweetheart - Seth.

Seth and Lana are writers and are now competing for the same promotion. Their boss decides that with their history, the two will have to complete a series of tasks and write weekly articles about them. Lana’s tasks are designed to help her stay single and learn how to be alone. Seth’s are going to help him settle down and find a serious relationship. It’s a freakin ride watching these two on their roller coaster of emotions.

There are not words to tell you how much I enjoyed reading this book. The things that these two go through are relatable, hilarious and heartwarming. I finished it and wanted to start reading it all over again. Will buy anything Falon writes from now on ❤️

Falon Ballard has delivered again with a heartwarming and laugh out loud romance. Lana and Seth have amazing character development and while I can debate that the focus is on that rather than mostly romance- the plot of this was fun and unique.

We love an author that includes therapy (for the male characters too!), the issue of childhood v. parental connections, and some boundaries of work expectations. This was such a refreshing break from my current streak of reads I’ve been hitting and was the perfect level of second chance romance.

Got about half way through this book just lost interest. But was great from what I read not much of a second chance romance type of gal though,

Overall super cute! I would have liked to tap into more of their break up and why she was so mad. I thought toxic work elements were a great balance to the writing challenge. This was a fun read!

✨4.5 ✨ I stayed up until after 1 AM on a worknight to finish this and let me tell you, I was in tears (the good kind). This was the second chance romance I’ve been needing in my life.

Thirty year old Lana Parker is a journalist for a trendy LA website, who always ends up settling into long term relationships with the wrong people. Why’s that? She’s still not over the first boy she’s ever loved, Seth Carson. She’s been trying to fill the void since they split up freshman year of college. So when Seth reappears into her life as her new coworker, Lana cannot believe it. Better yet, her boss decides it would be a great idea for Lana and Seth to compete against each other, writing a series of articles about the experiences their assigned to have over the next several weeks. For Lana, she must take the time to experience what single life is like, whereas Seth needs to take the time to learn how to settle down with one person. The winner’s prize? A columnist position that both Lana and Seth dream of having.

Falon Ballard did such an amazing job at creating characters that are so likeable and fun. Lana and Seth will have you hooked from the beginning. I haven’t read Lease On Love yet, but I must ASAP. I NEED more of her writing.

You’re gonna wanna read this one!!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the eARC. Available February 7, 2023.

It’s hard to believe that this is only Falon Ballard’s second book! I absolutely loved the writing style and her approach at the “second-chance” trope. This book had me laughing out loud multiple times, and I enjoyed the realness and vulnerability of the characters. A must read.

You know how sometimes you pick up the perfect book for your mood? That's what this one was for me. It was such a cheesy (in the best way) rom-com, reminiscent of the late 90's-2000s rom-com movies.

These Lana and Seth were high school sweethearts who broke up when college separated them. Now Seth is back in her life, and Lana has to fight him for a new (better) spot as a writer for an LA writing position. There are hijinks, comedic gold, amazing best friends, and some events where Seth and Lana come together and see what could have been. But Lana isn't going down that road ever again. Yes, he seems like the old Seth, if a little improved, but she's not getting her heart hurt again. However, Seth's not giving up; he has a plan and will make her see. The ending? The writers bare all in a tell-all final competition where they aren't leaving anything on the line. Will they both know that they are meant to be?

This book had everything you would want in a story and was definitely something I'm putting on my bookshelf as soon as I can buy a paper copy. This book will surely be added to my comfort read stack to read again.

Title: Just My Type - Coming 2/7/2023
Author: Falcon Ballard
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.5/5 🌟
Read if you like:
Enemies to lovers
Second chance romance
Workplace romance
Would I watch this movie: Yes!

This was my first book by Falcon Ballard and it won’t be my last!

Just My Type is a fun book that combines multiple tropes in a way that just feels right. There is killer banter, slow burn tension, workplace romance with noisy well meaning co-workers, and strong character development.

Lana, a relationship columnist for a popular website in LA and has always been in a serious relationship, has just been dumped. As if things couldn’t get worst, her high school sweetheart, Seth, gets a job at her company and they are quickly pitted against each other in a How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days-esque competition. They will each have 10 tasks to complete and write columns about during the course of the competition. Lana’s tasks are centered around how to stay single. Seth’s tasked with learning how to be in a committed relationship. Whomever’s column is the most popular at the end of the 10 weeks will win a coveted columnist spot and the chance to write about whatever they want.

As they navigate the competition, many tasks have them spending more and more time together, as feelings from the past start to rekindle. But when they are competing against each other, will either of them truly win?

Lana is an amazing MFC and goes through an incredible growth journey throughout the course of the book. I found her easy to root for and loved her sense of humor, pop culture references, and she is fellow book lover (running a personal blog in which she shares book reviews and recommendations). I wish we had a chance to read from Seth’s perspective but overall felt like he was a big sweetheart. I also through the author did an amazing job with the supporting characters who rounded out the book nicely.

Thank you @netgalley for the opportunity to read this eARC!

Utter perfection!

Falon Ballard is an author I have seen all over social media for the last year. Her first book, A Lease in Love garnered a ton of attention from the book lover community. When I saw her second book was available on NetGalley.com, I couldn’t request it fast enough! Boy did this book not disappoint!!!!

This book is the literal embodiment of all my favorite rom-coms combined! While it possesses elements of well-known works, Ballard manages to produce a unique book. Just My Type was one of my favorite reads of 2022 and I cannot recommend it enough!

I am seriously sad that I finished reading it. I have book withdrawals and am ready to go back and annotate it like crazy! Unfortunately because it was an eARC I will have to wait until I can purchase a physical copy in February of 2023. You can bet I will be preordering a copy and recommending this book to everyone I know!

Special thanks to NetGalley.com and Penguin Group Putnam for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Serial monogamist and relationship columnist Lana Parker was expecting a proposal when her boyfriend of four years tells her it’s just not working, and even though she agrees, she’s still low-key devastated, exacerbated by an out-of-the-blue text from Seth Carson, The One That Got Away (and Broke Her Heart) when their high school relationship ended abruptly. The morning after she drowns her break up sorrows in alcohol with her bestie May, she gets an alert on her phone about a mandatory on-site work meeting, and drags her hungover ass in… only to learn her ex is joining their team as part of a publishing merger. Her boss smells the unfinished business vibes between Seth and Lana, and sets up a competition between them: Seth, the player, has to embark on a long term relationship and NOT have sex, while and Lana, the afraid to be alone heroine, has to remain single and have a one-night stand (a challenge she issues for herself). They must detail their experiences in weekly columns, tallying likes and comments weekly, and then the public will vote for a fan favorite to get a promotion to their own serious journalism column.

Pop culture and LA references abound, and Lana is a self-professed sci-fi geek who dreams of moving to an entertainment features column instead of giving dating advice. She’s a great friend and a decent writer but too easily manipulated, and her behavior towards Seth is not completely unwarranted, but I have trouble with women that are too mean and too immature and too inconsistent, and she occasionally veers into pretty unattractive behavior to someone she supposedly is still in love with. On the other hand, I loved the fake date setups and their boss trying to throw them together, but didn’t love that it was for hits and sales, rather than for its own merit and their happiness. The therapy sessions, group chat (Get a Room!) with the other journalists, and the great chapter headings that excerpt former and new columns are a nice touch.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #JustMyType from #NetGalley.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Spice scale: 🌶️🌶️

Though it took me a minute to become fully invested with Lana and Seth’s story, I ended up really liking this book! It’s a mix of several different tropes - second chance, enemies-to-lovers, miscommunication, soulmates…. You get the picture!

Also, the cover is freaking cute!!!! 🥹🥹🥰

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early review copy!