This was cute but it didn’t contain the depth of her first novel. The plot was very cheesy and overdone in my opinion. (I don’t mind workplace romances or second chance romances, in fact I usually love them — but the competition with an ex didn’t work for me here.)

While the competition ultimately ended up being good for Lana, it surprises me that she waited so long to work on herself. She seemed very immature. The second chance romance was pretty obvious to literally everyone but Lana and I don’t think their reunion was as strong as it could’ve been. I think we were lacking Seth’s point of view. His quiet pining throughout was such a slow burn, and because Lana was so dense about it, it was almost torturous.

That said, they had great chemistry and I loved their one night stand scene.

Also all of Lana’s “thank Thor” and “thank Loki” references got annoying very quickly. It didn’t seem like she actually wanted to write about pop culture but instead just wanted to complain that she wasn’t.

Overall pretty cute, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it to others.

This was such a fun, sweet book! Seth and Lana are forlorn lovers who, of course, are not quite over each other. Add that with a work competition for a job they both want, and you have an adorable, fast-paced love story with two mains you root for. If you love Falon Ballard’s Lease On Love, you will love Just My Type.

I recently finished reading Ballard’s first book “Lease on Love” and was excited to have the opportunity to read this book as well. I liked the idea of self exploration that both Seth and
Lana went through as the story progressed. I also appreciated the realizations that Lana came to with respect to her mother and her boss, not just with her relationships. These helped her seem like a multifaceted person which made the story more cohesive. I was happy at the end that both Seth and Lana found
“Home” in so many different ways. It’s always the hallmark of a good book for me when I’m not done with the characters yet - I want to know more!

I loved Falon's "Lease on Love" and her writing style. I figured I'd enjoy JUST MY TYPE as much as "Lease on Love" if not more. And I was right!

Falon has a way of writing about loneliness that is quite real. Her best chapters are about longing and unrequited love.

Lana and Seth were childhood, high school and should-of-been college sweethearts, but things didn't work out. Years later Seth and Lana compete for a coveted writing job. The two must complete a list of dating-related things written by the other. The one who has the most social media engagement is the winner.

This has How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days AND The Hating Game vibes. And most of it works well. Some of it seems a little far-fetched and I'm not sure things their boss suggested would fly in today's workplace, but it doesn't take away from the plot of getting Lana and Seth together ... for good.

In my younger years I loved reading friends-to-lovers romances. Now that I've gotten older and wiser, ahem, I find second-chance romances to be more interesting. They are more challenging because both characters have already lived through struggles and heartaches. They then have to somehow find their way back to each other - it makes the happily ever after more sweeter.

My only complaint about JUST MY TYPE is about the dozen or so Avenger references. There were a couple of Star Wars references and I thought those were okay because we all know the basic framework of Star Wars. I have watched maybe only one Avengers movie (I know, I know). I thought the references like "Oh my Thor" or "Oh my Loki" instead of "Oh my God" were distracting. I thought oh, okay, is that phrase/name from the Avengers??

Nonetheless, I had tears off and on throughout the book and I do love a good workplace romance as well as second-chance romances.

So, yeah, I'm ready for Falon's next book. When is that coming out?

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Putnam Group for an e-copy of JUST MY TYPE to review.

I rate JUST MY TYPE five out of five stars.

I was fortunate enough to receive an advance copy through NetGalley and I just want to say how happy I am that I got to read this gem of a book early.

Just My Type by Fallon Ballard is the love story that I did not know I needed. 1) Lana and I love the same things. Books, writing, MARVEL?! What?! Twins. 2) Seth is just the sweetest and the coolest and he sounds just so fun.

Seth and Lana were together since they were 14 years old, but break up as they were supposed to start college together in LA. 12 years later, their paths cross again, and puts them in an awkward situation that ends up being exactly what they needed to realize, that in the words of Noah from The Notebook, “It is not over!” “It was never really over.”

But here’s the catch, there’s some growing up they had to do to realize that and that’s awesome. Love is not a straight line, love is a lot of lines in a lot of different directions. You can’t really love someone until you love yourself and that’s what I got from this book.

The storytelling was awesome, it was entertaining, it was engaging… I loved it. I can’t wait for everyone to read this book when it comes out and I can’t wait to have a physical copy with me. This book feels like hot chocolate with marshmallows on a cold morning.

5⭐️

Just My Type is perfect for fans of The Hating Game and You Deserve Each Other!
Second chance romances are not usually my thing, but I could not put this book down. The banter between Lana and Seth was so fun to read. The workplace competition was so entertaining, I couldn't wait to read what task they were going to complete next. I loved that Lana was kind of a major geek without it being her whole personality. That is very rare in the books I've read. Mostly, I loved how grounded in reality the faults in both characters were. Neither were perfect and both were equally to blame for the demise of their teenage relationship. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days or just wants to read a funny rom-com that isn't completely unrealistic.

There is nothing more that i love than seeing a girl becoming a woman in a book. I loved this book. Second chance romance aren’t my thing but this has me hooked. Once i started it, i couldn’t put it down. Seeing Lana discover herself as an independent woman but then realizing how confident she is was so beautiful and moving. Also i really appreciated how the author didn’t make it seem that it was one of their faults for the breakup, no they both screwed the other one over and broke the other ones heart equally. And i respected Seth and how he let Lana go for herself to grow but how he also needed to grow. This book was so so so so so good. I read it in one day because i simply couldn’t put it down. Thank you netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC for this book!

Utterly wonderful, charming, terrific story line and lovable characters. I was enchanted ! I love Ballards's rom -coms - this was every bit as good as Lease on Love. Well done.

This book was so darn sweet! I love the second chance romance trope, especially when we really get to see the characters grow. I won’t lie, in the first few chapters, I found Lana to be incredibly annoying and immature, but as the book went on she grew so much and I was rooting for her. The cast of characters were hilarious and supportive and everything you want out of a good rom-com. I would definitely recommend!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Putnam books for the free ARC!

Thank you Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5/5 stars

Falon Ballard became an instant auto-buy author for me with Lease on Love and I screamed when I got this ARC. Just My Type is very different from Lease on Love in many ways, but it is just as amazing and full of vibes. I was addicted to this book and these characters.

Just My Type reminded me of one of my all-time favorite romcoms, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, but with much more complicated and nuanced characters. I adored Lana and Seth. They are both so well-written and complex and man I am glad they got therapy. Two of my favorite romcom characters ever.

The romance in this book is so steamy and full of chemistry. Ballard has shown that she can write the hell out of any trope and her lovers to enemies to lovers is god tier. It’s the chemistry for me. It’s the banter for me. It’s the angst for me. Just - perfection.

All the stars. Already a top 2023 romance. I will spend the many months until release date convincing everyone to preorder this book.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

🌻 high school sweethearts turned rivals
📝 slow burn
🌻 second chance
📝 workplace romance
🌻 enemies/rivals to lovers

Journalist Lana Parker is a serial monogamist. She’s jumped from relationship to relationship ever since her high school boyfriend broke her heart, never feeling comfortable being alone. So when her ex lands a job at her company and they’re pitted against each other in a competition, Lana’s determined to prove everyone wrong and get the promotion she’s wanted.

📝 Lease on Love was one of my favorite books of 2021, so I was super excited to receive an ARC of Just My Type. While I didn’t love it as much as Ballard’s debut novel, this was still such a sweet and entertaining rom-com. I love a good second chance romance and Just My Type delivered.

🌻 I loved Lana. She was definitely immature and volatile at times, but who isn’t when presented with the man who crushed you and is now trying to take your dream job? I still found her relatable and endearing. Her unresolved feelings towards Seth were evident from the beginning and I honestly couldn’t blame her. It’s been 12 years since their breakup, but Lana found a home and unconditional love and support with Seth and his family. Having that ripped out of her life obviously affected her in ways she hadn’t realized.

📝 Lana and Seth’s connection felt so natural—like the years apart hadn’t affected it at all. There was always underlying tension and emotion amidst the arguing and banter. I even found myself tearing up a couple of times because of Lana’s inner turmoil. I love Ballard’s ability to personify emotions, making my heart ache right alongside Lana’s. As the story progresses, it becomes obvious that Seth’s feelings for Lana are just as unresolved. These two just needed to pull their heads out and COMMUNICATE. But obviously, if they had, there would be no angsty story.

🌻 I really liked Just My Type. Falon Ballard’s writing is compelling and brings the story to life with plenty of pop culture references and witty banter to make me laugh and keep me invested. It’s a short and sweet romance that pulled on my heartstrings, and I look forward to reading Ballard’s next book. 🥰

Thank you NetGalley and GP Putnam’s Sons for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Just My Luck is out February 7th, 2023!

Meet the new love of my life, Just My Type by Falon Ballard. In this essay, I will scream, cry, shake, and try my best to explain how much I loved this story without spoiling it.

First, we meet Lana Parker. A thirty-year-old woman who has lived in L.A. since she was 18. She is a serial dater, cannot stay out of relationships, and writes about her love advice on the magazine's Always Take Fountain website. But her passion lies somewhere else - she loves fictional works like books and movies and tv-shows and has her own personal blog where she reviews stuff at her own pace. That's her passion, that's her dream job - not writing advice on how to stay in a relationship.

Then we meet Seth Carson, THE ex. Lana's first love, the first guy ever to break her heart. For some reason, he is in L.A, joining the company and wanting the position both of them have to enter a competition for.

What starts as a straightforward rivalry quickly turns into a second-chance romance. Seth and Lana have to complete 10 tasks and write an article about each of them. The story unfolds, secrets get spilled and memories revisited.

This is a second-chance romance and it was done beautifully. We get romantic moments, moments of fun and realizations, moments that made me GASP (I'll leave one keyword here: sunflower. if you know, you know). The way it is written - the story just flows smoothly and progresses evenly. We also get pop culture references, making the characters oh so relatable.
I simply cannot wait for this book to get loved, I am sure it will be. And now I definitely need to read more of Falon's works.

4.75/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam/ G. P. Putnam’s Sons for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Five million stars for this book!!!!! This take on a second chance romance meets How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days with a touch of workplace and slow burn romance is the rom com of my dreams.

The second chance romance is perfection. The main characters Lana and Seth are former high school sweethearts and best friends who’ve lost touch since their breakup. Things get interesting when they end up in a workplace writing competition that pits them against each other.

In the words of Stefon from SNL, this book has EVERYTHING: trips to IKEA, touristy tours of LA, Instagram drama, sunflower tattoos. And wow did it make me crave an iced hazelnut latte and a solid pop culture podcast. Highly recommend this perfect rom com!

After reading Lease on Love, I was so excited to find out that Falon Ballard was coming out with another book! Just My Type did not disappoint! Another strong female lead and easy to fall for male main character, I was hooked onto Lana and Seth's chemistry.

If you are a Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation enthusiast, I would highly recommend Just My Type because it is basically a combination of some of my favorite elements from those two books: two rival authors, a second chance romance, sprinkled with some family issues.

Aside from the romance aspect, this book talks about embracing independence/being single, being comfortable with yourself, and learning your worth. Additionally, it includes both of the main characters going to about therapy and talks about it in such a normal way which I really appreciated. I loved Lana's friends as well. They were such a great support system while being their own characters and I love the banter they added.

I seriously read this in one day it was well paced and a nice read that gave me butterflies throughout. I am defintely looking forward to the release of Just My Type thank you Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the ARC.

4⭐️! Overall a great read. Spoiler free review! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity.

Lana is a serial monogamist who has worked at the same, dead-end job in LA since she interned in college. It’s not her dream, but she loves her coworkers.

Seth is her ex-high school sweetheart who comes to LA. They cross paths in an unavoidable way and the novel follows their journey through the next few weeks as they grapple with their feelings towards each other.

The dialogue and descriptions were easy to blast through. I simultaneously liked how wordy it was and wished it were just a little less. It was able to really bring me into the story like I was living it, but sometimes I felt like it just went on a liiiittle too long.

And I didn’t feel overly connected to Lana and Seths interactions. I feel like we were just missing witnesses their interactions from their extensive past together - we only heard about it through a few short sentences spread throughout. It just left me feeling a bit distant from them, which sucked because it was most of the story.

There was a big focus on self-care, standing up for yourself, and doing what’s right for you, which I really liked.

Overall a great book, just wish some of it was spent learning about Lana and Seth in years past!

I enjoyed this unique story about first loves that are truly last loves. I enjoyed watching the characters grow and change as they learn about themselves.

Another beautiful book from Falon Ballard-not only could I feel the tension build between the protagonists from their first meeting, but this book is downright funny. I laughed aloud multiple times! Ballard also continues her exploration of found family with a cast of supporting characters anyone would happily adopt as their own friend crew and I loved the way her characters spoke thoughtfully about their growth in therapy- we need more books like this! I can't wait to see what Ballard comes up with next.

Very satitisfying. This book offered the comfort and charm of a late 90's romcom with a more thoughtful take on emotional wellbeing and healthy relationships.

The main characters felt dynamic and had wonderful toe-curling chemistry. There was a valiant effort made of fleshing out the auxiliary characters, though they sometimes fell a bit flat for me and they didn't feel like they offered a lot to the plot as individuals.

There was a bit of conflict for me between the thoughtfulness the author put into the emotional development of the characters and the goofy romcom nature of the storyline, but in the end I felt like they served up a romcom that elevevated the genre while maintaining the charm.

If you're looking for a book that gives How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days or just need a good contemporary romance to cozy up with, you should definitely check out Just My Type.

Just My Type - e-ARC Review
⭐⭐⭐/5
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QUICK LOOK: Enemies to Lovers, Second Chance Romance, Journalists, Work Competition, “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” vibes
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SYNOPSIS: Lana is a 30 year old journalist who writes a relationship column. Seth is a journalist who just got hired at the same company…and he just so happens to be Lana’s highschool sweetheart that broke her heart. Their boss pits them against each other in a writing competition, complete with challenges all about dating.
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WHY 3/5:
This book had some endearing moments and little details that I love in a romance. A sunflower means something so dear to this couple, and I love that they have special memories linked to this symbol.
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I will admit, my primary reason for rating this book as 3 stars has to do with the lead character, Lana. She takes “hot mess” to a whole new level and I really wanted to see her grow more throughout the book. At 30 years old, Lana has jumped from one committed relationship to the next since she was 14 years old and has never taken time to get to know herself. While the author and characters push Lana to this realization and she admits multiple times she needs to spend time alone and discover who she is, she never really does that. During a few weeks of supposed single time, she breaks her goal of being single to sleep with her ex, whom she has so many unresolved feelings for. She tries to market it as a one night stand, but when it’s with your ex that doesn’t work…once again she made another mess.
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While I think the author was going for a sort of rival or enemies to lovers situation, Lana was so immature that the fighting felt way more like petty, junior high fights than banter.
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I also felt the set-up for this story was a little too hard to believe. The fact that Lana has a giant break-up and the next day her ex starts working at her office AND her boss pits them against each other in a “How to lose a Guy in 10 days” style dating competition all just feels so hard to believe. I feel like the author could have written it to have a slightly more believable lead up.
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Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse. I was given this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

As a journalist, anytime I see a book with MCs who are also journalists, I get every shade of excited about reading it. And that was absolutely my energy going into Falon Ballard’s JUST MY TYPE.

Lovers to enemies to lovers? Ex’s pitted together to compete for a coveted column? A quirky tale of joint self discovery for two people that couldn’t have more different views on relationships? Yes, yes and yes. The description won me over so quickly.

Until the execution of the story lost me about halfway through. I just couldn’t get into the writing, and struggled to feel in any way connected or empathetic to either of the MCs. I expected the opposite, especially given the career in common element. Not for lack of trying, too. I started and stopped this book several times over the course of a week, hoping that it would draw me in at least once. (It didn’t.)

Another challenge was the way I battled to get behind shipping Lana and Seth. IMHO, they had almost zero chemistry or genuine connection — aside from their ability to banter over Slack and a collective lust — and yet we’re supposed to believe they stayed hung up on one another for more than a decade? Plus, I found Lana as an MC to be pretty unbearable. It’s absolutely flawed that she tried to shoot her shot with Seth at their reunion while being in another committed relationship. I couldn’t get past that, or find it in me to root for her and Seth to fall back in love in general. Which, of course, ends up happening, and in a pretty anticlimactic way.

I usually live for reads like these, but I could barely finish this one. Even now, I’m still wanting to somehow chalk my poor reading experience up to bad timing, or something along those lines. And that’s still very possible, I won’t rule it out. It’s also entirely possible I’m not the right audience for this.

All in all, I think there’s definitely people out there that will adore JUST MY TYPE — I’m just not one of them.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!*