I freakin loved this book. Thank you netgalley

Lana Parker is a serial monogamist, jumping from one relationship to another. Seth Carson, her high school ex is the opposite, not ready to settle down and commit. Fresh off a breakup, and extremely hungover, Lana is shocked when Seth walks thru the door at her beloved work place. Things get even stickier when Lanas boss instructs them to complete a list of tasks and write about it.

This book had a lot of the tropes I love. Second chance romance/workplace romance/enemies to lovers. It also gave me "how to lose a guy in 10 days".

I really enjoyed this and will recommend it to all of my bookish friends.

Brief Summary of the Storyline: Parker is a serial monogamist. So when she’s challenged to stay single, something she hasn’t really been since age 14, she doesn’t quite know what to do with herself. What makes matters worse? Her first love, the very one she has been avoiding for two years, is suddenly more present in her life than ever.

Tropes:
-Ex to lovers
-Childhood Sweethearts
-He Falls First
-Office setting
-Workplace Rivals

The Good: Tons of snippy banter, which I love. I also thought that Lana’s character was developed really well. You could really tell who she was and why she made the decisions she did. It also helped me reflect some, which is always nice. I felt like I sort of learned something. This book was overall very enjoyable to read.

The Not-So-Good: Not necessarily bad, but I felt the climax didn’t hit very hard. Like I didn’t really panic too much. In a way this was good, because I stayed happy throughout the book.

Overall: I think this book is going to be really big. I think it’s going to be a best seller. It’s so cute, has a ton of marketable quotes that would work well on TikTok, and the cover is what is going well right now. The book is such a cute and easy read. I thought it was a nice break from the real heavy ones I’ve been reading lately. My heart feels really light and I have been giggling all evening. I think this is one book I would definitely re-read.

Pace: Slow/Medium

Hero Rating: Seth Carson is a <b>3.5 star</b> hero. He is such sweetheart and I adore him. Seth seems like a real jerk in the beginning, but the more you take notice of the little things he does, the more you fall in love with his character. I wouldn’t really say he developed a lot in the store, I mean we did find out the causes to some of his actions, but he stayed the same lovable man. I think he will be well adored.

Heroine Rating: Lana Parker is a <b> 3 star</b> heroine. She is kind of naive for a 30 year old woman, but she has her reasons. Lana definitely develops throughout the story. She is kind of a mess in the beginning. We learn a lot about her in the book and I felt like everything about her character and her past was really well represented.

Triggers: Not really. Slight neglect/abandonment issues. Light manipulation (not from Hero or Heroine0

Diversity: Yes. Multiple POC.

Spice Level: 1/5

SO. DAMN. CUTE. I read Falon Ballard's debut Lease on Love last year when it came out and adored it. I knew that Ballard was going to be a must read author for me. Thrilled to get this ARC to say the least. I loved this story so much. I absolutely ate up Lana, Seth, and their story. I think both characters had really good growth and the tropes littered throughout this novel were really well placed. I wasn't ever bored and I was constantly looking forward to see how they did at completing their list items for each other. The story itself with the romance was really special. I look forward to more of Ballard's writing in the future.

I loved every page of this book! Highly recommend if:

- you love a second chance romance
- you enjoy so many text messages in a book
- you've been in a slightly toxic relationship with a workplace you love
- references to Ted Lasso and Schitt's Creek and other pop culture faves make you happy

And FYI, I think this should be a movie, and Seth should be played by Seth Cohen even if he doesn't look exactly the way Seth is described. :)

A second chance romance for fans of "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days". If you loved Falon Ballard's "Lease on Love" you will really enjoy her second book. A mix of funny, sweet, & steamy. I'm a big fan of a second-chance romance, and this was no different. I also loved how the book ended. If you are looking for a book that reads like an early 2000's rom-com, pick this one up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

What would you do if you ran into your ex? Except he's not just any old ex, he was your first love, also the one you hold a complicated past with. Well, Lana Parker may have a few tips as she finds herself face-to-face with Seth Carson. Lana, the relationship columnist for LA's popular website, is a "serial monogamist" who is about to compete in a challenge against Seth for a chance to get her dream job. And Seth, the "serial dater" has to learn what settling down for his chance at his dream job- even if it happens also to be Lana's.
With their boss pitting them against each other, or rather, constantly with one another as they are forced to face their past and possibly the changes in their future.
This novel had me hooked from the very first sentence and it continued to deliver witty, fun, and heartfelt writing. I loved the honesty of modern dating throughout this book as well as how your mental health can have this effect on your relationships. Therapy had a positive message in this book and I appreciated that as I feel that many readers will be able to see themselves in this book.
So, while this book certainly had the funny, laugh-out-loud moments, it also had heartfelt and honest conversations. This was the first book I have read from Falon Ballard but I know for sure that I cannot wait to read another from this incredibly talented author.
I want to thank NetGalley for sending me this book as an ARC.
You can see this review on Instagram @Bookedonthisfeeling

What would you do if your ex, who you once thought was the love of your life, walked into your office one day and your boss told you that you two had to work together on a project? This is the premise of Falon Ballard’s upcoming release, Just My Type. Freshly dumped by another guy she thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with, Lana starts to reconsider her life as a serial dater. Well, she was reconsidering on her own time until her high school ex, Seth, starts working at her company. Her boss tells her that they will participate in a challenge together and write about it for their site in order to earn a promotion. There’s still anger lingering between the two, but that’s not all.

I normally don’t enjoy a second chance love story, but Just My Type might have changed my mind. Lana and Seth’s story, although set within a typical rom-com setting, felt so real and emotional. Not only is a romance between writers bound to be full of perfectly thought out puns and witticisms about a complex relationship, but it’s also one that’s almost guaranteed to be fun. The journalism aspect of the story was a perfectly added touch to an already fabulous love story. I highly recommend Just My Type to anyone looking for a funny but heartfelt read and all readers of Ballard’s Lease on Love will enjoy!

Thank you so much to @/falonballard, @/netgalley, and @/putnam for this copy!

SOOOOOOO AMAZING! I couldn't put this book down and I finished it in one sitting.

Lana is a serial long term dater, and a relationship columnist. Seth is a world traveling journalist that is never looking for anything serious. What do these two have in common? Oh, they were high school sweethearts that are now competing for the same job. This competition throws the two closer together than either expects to be and forces them to evaluate what went wrong.

Between the banter, the spice, and the overall story telling Falon Ballard knocked this one out of the park. 10 out of 10, I cannot wait till release date to pick up a physical copy.

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

Just My Type by Falon Ballard is an ex-high school sweethearts meets Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game - ex-lovers who have gone through multiple heartbreaks, haven’t seen each other in years, and now are forced to compete!

Ballard exceeds at creating a slow burn throughout almost the entirety of the novel. She creates two characters, Lana and Seth who you immediately LOVE. Lana’s character has such a great personality that is relatable to a wide audience of readers. Lana’s many interests involve Marvel, Star Wars, bookish decor, and coffee (what’s not to relate to there!) In addition, the author’s many pop culture references aid in Lana’s character but also engage the reader more. For example, her quick reference to Elle Woods.

The symbolic sunflower, passion, and love throughout the novel has you feeling for the characters, while also wanting to throw the novel at the wall because COME ON LANA… SETH!

Besides being a cute romance novel, Ballard managed to create a great lesson for readers. Lana’s challenging marathon of finding self care and self love is something readers can relate to or even be challenged by themselves. There is a very wholesome ending to her journey that makes the ending of the story just that much sweeter.

Ballard’s novel is paced perfectly for the slow burn romance, easy to read, and has many moments causing you to actually laugh out loud, gasp, maybe even shed a tear.

*3.5 stars
I really enjoyed this book! This is the story of two high school exes who end up vying for the same job and have to compete in a series of public challenges that the other person created for them to get it.
First of all, our characters! I actually really liked both Seth and Lana. Lana was definitely my favorite, but I didn't really see any bad characters besides Lana's boss. We got enough background and insight into them to get a strong sense of who the main two characters were as people. They weren't extraordinary, but I didn't have a million problems.
This relationship had a whole lot of potential to have horrible boundaries because of the challenges, but they remained moderately healthy? Seth and Lana were aware of each other's limits and didn't set horrible goals for the other, only tried to push themselves. If i had to pick on one thing with the relationship, it would be that Seth followed Lana to LA. This is the second book I've read this year where the MMC follows the same career path as the FMC and practically takes a job opportunity from her after following her somewhere post-breakup. Weird. I feel like following the FMC doesn't project "caring" when you're ruining opportunities for her. Maybe that's just me lol. Otherwise, I really liked them, but I wish Seth had been a bit more understanding during the situation at the end as Lana very clearly stated what would happen. My favorite relationships were just the background friendships!
With the plot, this was pretty simple and stuck to it. Lana and Seth are competing, they're falling in love, etc. Wasn't bad, wasn't horrendously unique, and I didn't have any issues with it!
I'd recommend this to people who like second chance romance and not-so-unrequited love. Is it the greatest ever? Nah, but it's worth the read! We love Lana in this house.

What a delightful book! I read it in less than 24 hours and looked forward to the breaks during my day when I could pick it up.

I thought the premise of the book was interesting and I liked the workplace competition - it was a nice spin on a typical workplace romance. I enjoyed the supporting characters but at times felt like there were too many to keep track of. The themes of chosen family were nice and I thought Lana's character growth throughout the novel was strong. I loved the part of the book where she realizes she's been doing life alone for a long time, and has nothing to prove.

I would have liked to see more of their past woven into the story to really sell the romance!

4.25/5

Lana Parker is always in a relationship and hates being alone. Lana has bounced from relationship to relationship since her breakup with high school sweetheart, Seth Carson. Lana lives in LA, is the dating and relationship columnist for a lifestyle website, and suddenly finds herself single in the city. Seth is a traveling journalist and isn’t the serious relationship type. Seth unexpectedly shows up at Lana’s workplace and as it turns out he is her new coworker. Lana and Seth find themselves in competition with each other for their workplace website with all of LA following along.

This book is a great combination of second chance romance, high school sweethearts, and enemies to lovers all wrapped into one fun contemporary romance. Lana is so relatable, funny, and I loved following along on her personal growth as she learns to be single. The love that rekindles and grows between Lana and Seth gave me all the feels!! Just My Type is perfect if you are looking for a light and fun page turner!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putman for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Just My Type releases on February 7th, 2023. I definitely recommend adding this sweet rom com to your TBR!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ll preface by saying this is a cute, tropey book. It’s second-chance, enemies to lovers type with a workplace competition. It gave me Beach Read vibes.

Some things I noticed that might be helpful before publishing: There’s drinking in every chapter, so much drinking. Blackout drinking, day drinking, drinking on dates, their wedding, just because, etc. Maybe that should have been brought up in therapy?

-It was hard for me to like Seth, ngl. Seth is an extreme dick in the beginning and I really don’t feel for him at all. If he was trying to win her back/tell her his real feelings it wasn’t portrayed. Instead he sabotaged her and went out of his way to try and make her lose her dream job.
-At least a million side characters that are impossible to keep up with. 3.5/5 stars

just my type is the perfect reminder of how to lose a guy in ten days with a splash of second chance love. lana and seth’s banter is so much fun and i found myself waiting for more moments of them together.. this book has one of the funniest beginnings i’ve read in awhile.

⭐️Rating: 3/5
⚠️TW: Light swearing,
❣️Tropes: Exes, Rivals to Lovers, Second Chance Romance
Would I recommend this book?: Yes, just be prepared to have to work towards caring about Lana and Seth


Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley im exchange for an honest opinion. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!


Review:

Started off strong with a great opening line which flows nicely into the rest of the book. Lana was a flawed protagonist who by the end of the book goes through genuine character growth. She is petty and stubborn but does eventually come around and address the major issues plaguing her life in a mature and satisfying way. They had lots of cute moments and it hit all the classic competition romcom checkboxes. It definitely felt more like love than lust which I vastly prefer in these types of books.

The biggest issue I had was that Lana and Seth’s relationship was really built up but it was all tell and no show, at least in regards to the initial high school sweetheart part. This made it harder to care about their relationship and really be invested in the progression beyond just the competition. The sex scenes felt a little awkward but they were over quickly and didn’t come up until the latter half of the book. Despite best efforts all of Lana’s friends feel underdeveloped, like characters that act more as props for her. Another issue that didn’t have to do with the plot was just that the discussions of privilege lacked depth or nuance and the story could have done without them.

Objectively it checked a lot of boxes in the romance development, however it does ask a lot of the reader in terms of investment. As a reader you have to deliberately endear yourself to these characters instead of it occurring naturally.

3.5 stars

so i was really excited for this book because i absolutely loved "lease on love" by the author! this one didn't quite live up to it in my humble opinion, but it was still an interesting, well-written romance read.

the plot is vaguely similar to "how to lose a guy in 10 days," with our main character lana competing against her ex-boyfriend seth in a journalistic competition to see who can do better at their romance goals: serial monogamist lana has to stay single, and playboy seth has to settle down. the biggest problem is that lana still has feelings for seth, even though she hates him for breaking her heart right after high school graduation and again at their ten-year reunion. you know, the course of true love never did run smooth and all that.

i liked the plot outline, the side characters, lana's character development, and the overall idea of this book, but i didn't quite love it just because i feel like the reader never really gets to know seth. we know that high school lana loved him, but people typically change a lot from high school to their 30s, and so i had a hard time getting a grasp of what seth was really like. we didn't even get very many flashbacks to help us flesh out the character, just vague montages of high school relationship fluff.

all in all, a solid romance read, definitely not my favorite. the author is still an automatic read for me for any future projects, however, just because i love her writing style. looking forward to more sweet romances from her!

Unfortunately I did not connect with this book like I wanted to. I was really interested in the set up and their miscommunications felt earned and realistic, but it felt a bit like whiplash in the back and forth of “l like him / her” to “no I still hate him / her”. So a second chance romance with a lot of potential but just really fell flat.

Synopsis:
Despite her eight-year career as a dating and relationship columnist, Lana Parker finds herself single after a public and humiliating breakup. Lana has spent her adult life in one long-term relationship after another, starting with her high school boyfriend, Seth Carson. When Seth, a travel journalist and now relationship-phobe, comes back into her life as a colleague and competitor, they are forced into a workplace challenge. In this challenge, Lana must embrace single life, while Seth identifies a long-term girlfriend. Both are assigned a series of tasks to complete their challenges, and must publish weekly updates for their readers. As they navigate their respective tasks, old feelings resurface, threatening to derail the competition and their careers.

Read If You Like:
- How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
- Second chance romance
- Workplace setting (including a lively slack channel!)
- Book-loving main character

Overall:
If How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days took place today, you would have Just My Type. It read like a rom com and I loved every second! The inner dialogue and character banter was witty and filled with millennial, pop culture references (including a LOT of Marvel references… do with that information what you may). The story was a perfect combination of workplace humor, personal growth and romance. Ballard’s writing reminded me of Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez, who I adore, so naturally I was hooked. I highly recommend Just My Type, unless you don’t care for the MCU, in which case you might find the references to be overkill. I look forward to reading more from Falon Ballard!

Rating: 4.5/5 stars (rounded up to 5 stars on Goodreads)

Thank you Net Galley and Penguin Group Putnam for the eARC!

I adored Falon Ballard's debut, LEASE ON LOVE, so I was excited for JUST MY TYPE and it did not disappoint! With this book, Ballard cements her place in the contemporary romance space as the queen of the slow burn. She's fantastic at ramping up the sexual tension until every single brush of the hand is torture, and then BOOM. JUST MY TYPE is a lovely second chance love story told fully in the present, which is unusual but works well here. It has a great cast of colleagues and friends, as well as interesting conflicts and a voice that feels fresh. It's a delightful read. All hail the slow burn queen!!

the book had me drawn in and with all my favorite kind of things: enemies to lovers and then some. I was loving this story. Now to find more of her books.