Member Reviews
Really liked reading this book! It was sweet but there was still a lot of tension between the MCs.
One thing I’m not sure I loved is both MCs having issues with their dads. While I do think it’s probably a better representation of real life, both characters having stuff from their past to work on, I’m not sure if both having daddy issues is the way to go. But overall the book was still lovely!
Thank you Penguin Group Putnam for my copy! All thoughts are my own.
I read Fallon Ballard’s debut, Lease on Love, and it quickly became one of my all time favorites. It made her an autobuy author for me and my goodness does it feel good to read a new book by her! I didn’t love Just My Type last year so I was nervous…but this book was perfection!
It’s a celebrity romance about two actors who think the other hate each other and have to work together on a new Rom Com. It was a delightful read and reminded me why I love to read books. It totally took over my brain and I couldn’t wait to keep reading.
Synopsis:
“Emmy Harper is no stranger to Hollywood, having penned some of the most popular movies of the past few years. But her latest project has hit a standstill—unable to find the perfect leading lady, Emmy’s been recruited to take on the role herself, dusting off acting skills she hasn’t used in over a decade.Things take a turn for the worse when a she's left with the one costar she can’t trust: Grayson West. A blockbuster action hero known for his megawatt smile and impossible abs, Grayson is anyone’s dream of a romantic lead. Too bad Emmy still blames him for her disastrous first movie and the early end to her acting career.The friction between the two risks tanking the movie, and no one knows if it’s lingering awkwardness from their youth or unresolved sexual tension. But if they want to save the production—and their own careers—they need to get their acts together quickly, both on and off camera.” —NetGalley
What I Liked:
The Premise—Celebrity romance is one of my favorite tropes but it was also a great time to read it after seeing the film Anyone But You recently! Rom Com book.film supremacy.
The Setting—A cozy cute inn in a small town AND a film set. Quite possibly my two favorite things!
The Characters and Their Chemistry—I loved Emmy and Grayson. I loved how they resolved things and weren’t afraid of their feelings. Plus I liked that they weren’t keeping their feelings a secret from the rest of the set!
What Didn’t Work:
3rd Act Pacing—It all came to a bit of a grinding halt in the 3rd act for me. I didn’t love the reasoning for the 3rd act break up either but at least it didn’t last too long.
Character Authenticity: 4/5 Spice Rating: 2/5 Overall Rating: 4/5
Content Warnings:
loss of a parent, grief,
Right on Cue is a double celebrity, opposites attract, second-chance romance (kind of), enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, insta love situation. The single POV meant the female main character, Emmy, felt really fleshed out, but the male main character, Grayson, less so. This story did a good job with "show me, don't tell me," but it was very heavy on the physicality and I would have preferred to see more emotional development. This was my third Falon Ballard novel, and it's another solid romcom for me.
Thank you to Putnam Books for gifting me with an ARC to review! All opinions are my own.
Definitely my favorite Falon Ballard book! This was a delight to read. Love a Hollywood love story. Pair that with a second chance romance and two strong characters and it made for a good story the whole way through.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my very own.
2.5 This book had some cute moments. But I didn't really care for the overall story. It was super predictable.
Former actresses turned writer, now actress once again. This time, her costar is the one she blames for ruining her first film. This was a fun enemies to lovers romcom that kept me interested and turning pages. This was my first novel by this author, but I’d like to check out some of her others.
This is my first Falin Ballard book and it was just okay. Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect with Emmy. I’m not quite sure why. I loved the Right Person Wrong Time trope, as it’s the first time reading a book with that trope. And of course love the enemies to lovers trope. However, I felt something was lacking. Maybe it’s because Emmy was t physically described and that’s the reason I couldn’t picture her nor connect to her character.
Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this author’s previous work and I was especially drawn to the premise, as I love all things filmmaking. However, that aspect is one of the things that didn’t completely work for me.
Our MC, Emmy, is lauded as the next Nora Ephron. Her last script was on the more serious side and won an Oscar. She is the daughter of 2 beloved actors. Grayson West is an action star who has been named Sexiest Man Alive (twice).
When Emmy has to step into the lead role of her new romcom and her love interest is replaced last minute by Grayson, the two of them need to overcome past differences in order to make this movie.
The few issues I had:
-being told an excessive amount of times how attractive Grayson is. We get it.
-Emmy referring to Grayson as “Grayson fucking West” 33 times. Thirty-three.
-Grayson is a complete jerk : “Even the best acting skills can’t turn shit writing into a good movie, sweetheart.” Yeah, I would never talk to this guy again, let alone date him.
-he starts purposely tanking his scenes: there really is no justification for trying to sabotage an entire film that hundreds of people are working on. I really don’t care if Emmy wasn’t nice to you, grow up.
That said, I do think if you’re able to be more forgiving than me, you’ll still enjoy this. Because I did enjoy:
-the small town winter setting
-the cast of secondary characters (but I think they could have been fleshed out more).
-closed door scenes were very well done.
Right on Cue is about Emmy Harper, the darling of romantic comedy screenwriting, jumping back in front of the camera for her latest movie only to find out her public enemy #1, Grayson West, is the male lead. Despite their animosity, they have to portray lovers on screen so the over-analyzing, the blurring of lines, and opening of past insecurities begin to unfold.
I absolutely loved Falon Ballard’s latest and could not put it down!! Emmy and Grayson’s chemistry is palpable from the page and their character growth is natural throughout the story. This is definitely for readers that love forced proximity, meddling mothers, and heart squeezing moments.
Thank you again to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for a chance to read and review an advanced copy of this book!
i am such a falon ballard stan and this did not disappoint!! i truly had such a fun time reading this book. i LOVE a hollywood actress/actor trope so much so i knew i would adore this book, but it truly did exceed my expectations. i thought these characters were interesting and funny. this felt like watching an actual rom com while reading about one being filmed and it was such a cozy and fun vibe. the only negative in this book that kept it from being a 5 star read is the third act breakup. i don’t think it added anything to this story and that it would have been just as cute and as impactful of an ending without it. i can’t wait for this book to release for everyone to have the opportunity to meet emmy & grayson!
Right on Cue was an enjoyable contemporary romance book. There were some amusing, heartfelt and lovely moments.
This was in the heroine’s POV only and had some entertaining tropes like, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, a Hollywood and costars romance.
The overall premise was great with the main characters filming a rom-com together while having their own past history filled with tension and animosity. The pacing and writing style was easy to follow as well. The Hollywood and movie aspect was definitely my favorite part.
The main characters were quite likable. They each had their flaws and character growth throughout the story. They also worked quite well together despite their differences. Their relationship was filled with some amazing banter and spice as well.
I will say though there was a lot of miscommunication in this story, which was quite frustrating. The heroine definitely lacked in communicating or even discussing any issues that came up, which lead to some conflict at the end.
I wish the ending was a bit longer because it did feel a bit rushed, but nonetheless it was still a great read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This is my first book by Falon Ballard, and I gotta say - I’m pleasantly surprised! This was a very cute romcom style book that includes a bit of enemies to lovers and forced proximity (which I adore!). I really enjoyed the banter between Emily and Grayson, though some was a bit cringey and hard to get through, but overall pretty cute!
Though, honestly I’m not a big fan of miscommunication as a trope, it makes be want to go into the book and shake the characters! So that was my main hiccup while reading this.
Overall, an enjoyable and cute story! Star rating: 3.5 (rounded up here to 4).
Overall another good read from Falon Ballard though parts of the novel had me wishing for more.
This novel checks off several of my favorite tropes, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, celebrity romance, and a second chance romance.
For the most part, I like Ballard's character development throughout her novels. This is seen with strong development of Emmy's character. You understand her struggles from the media and criticism she received in her first acting role and her hesitancy to return to a role in front of the camera. Her relationship with her mother and her best friend Liz who is also acting director are well developed and believable. Where it fell somewhat short for me was the character development of the MMC, Grayson West. There is some explanation of why the tension exists between the two main characters, but throughout I wanted more insight from Grayson’s character and his character. I think that’s what played in to the third act break up feeling rushed and impulsive and not entirely believable.
Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the opportunity to read and review.
I devoured this book in a day & I loved it!!
Such a cute, light read & I loved the sarcasm through out the book. I really loved the plot, of being on a movie set with your enemy and being forced to work together.
I loved Grayson & his loyalty and how devoted he was to Emmy from the beginning despite his own hang ups.
My favorite scene was definitely the snowball fight which had me laughing❄️☺️
My only wish is that it was alternate POVs because I would love to get in Grayson’s head space too. But, I still enjoyed reading it!!
I think this might be my favorite from Falon. I am really into a celebrity/Hollywood romance these days. I blame Katherine Center for making me fall in love with the Bodyguard. But this story of Emmy and Greyson was so good. I don't usually love miscommunication as a trope, but this one was ok for me. They had a difficult moment when they were teens that lead her to loathe him for years. When they are forced together in starring roles in a new rom com, their connection/hate to love is out in full force. Yes. A conversation could have changed everything. Yes, they both needed to grow. But their romance was so much fun in the meantime that I couldn't help but love them anyway.
📣 a dislike to lovers contemporary featuring adult costars who were once each other’s first kisses
📖 how many words are in your current title? I’m reading two books & they both have two word titles.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.
Imagine having to film an intimacy scene for a romcom with the person you’ve disliked with fervor since you were teens—when he publicly stomped your heart.
The former is actually my fave part of Right on Cue by Falon Ballard, when the two leads—who have had less than stellar interactions throughout the book—suddenly have to film an intimate scene.
Before they even begin, the jerk-ish Grayson makes a speech promising to respect screenwriter-turned-actor Emmy, & what follows is respectful & also unexpectedly hot, for the leads & this reader.
That middle section of the book is where it really shines for me, after a beginning where both leads come across as a bit immature & before the 3rd-act conflict, which had me agitated.
There are aspects of this contemporary that I really, really like: the steam totally works for me, the Nora-Ephron-like heroine, the aforementioned middle, where everything makes sense & gels for me…but unfortunately, the totality of the story—from beginning to end—isn’t there for me.
3.5 ⭐️. Out 02/27.
CWs: previous loss of beloved dad; parental estrangement.
[ID: Jess’s white hand holds the ebook in front of a blue, green, white, orange, & burgundy mural on a brick wall.]
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.
Such a good read! It’s one of those books that once you pick up, it’s difficult to set back down! I would highly recommend this book to romantic comedy lovers! The characters are well-developed and the storyline continues flawlessly.
I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is the second book I've read by this author and she is definitely now ranks high on my list. I loved this book, it was adorable. This was a great enemies to "coworkers with benefits" to lovers book. I could tell almost from the beginning though that Grayson was into Emmy almost from the beginning.
Once Emmy and Grayson sort through all their shit and the walls come down their relationship is fantastic.
I love Falon Ballard's writing and have read her previous books and they are truly wonderful. Right on Cue was good but I was SO distracted reading it because the kindle formatting at least for the ARC was so genuinely awful. Like maybe the worst formatting I have experienced yet. This needs to be fixed prior to publication. It could be my settings but I have read dozens of other books in the same time frame with no issue. The formatting made it difficult to read and was a major reason it took me so long to get through. You can have a great book but if it is formatted terribly it is hard to stick it out as a reader. Font was spaced bizarrely and the sizes and type changed frequently,
Emmy is an excellent screen writer, and loves being behind the scenes of the big pictures. When her best friend signs on to direct her latest script, she decides the only person that could possibly play the leaning lady was Emmy herself. When the original leading man backs out, the best actor available, Grayson, quickly signs on. When Emmy finds out she is furious. Grayson is the reason she quit acting. Her first kiss was with him onscreen and him making fun of her being a bad kisser after there fact left her scared ever since. Can these two fake chemistry on screen while hating each other with the cameras off?
Nothing better than two people who absolutely despise each other having to play alongside one another as two lovers. I mean come on? How do you not love it? Then throw in the lack of chemistry between there two on screen at the start, and thinking about poor Liz had me cracking up. I did feel like we never really learned why Grayson had said the stuff he did in the past, but that is a minor issue. I just adore everything Falon Ballard writes and this one was no different!