Right on Cue has beautiful characters. They have flaws and hurts like any of us but their chemistry is felt through the pages. The Main female character's mom is witty and their relationship is wonderful. The discussions between the two leads, learning about one another and their vulnerability with each other is well-done.

However, at least 75% of the book is descriptive bedroom scenes or talk. I know a lot of people like that and are fine with it, but it's not what I desire to read. And I felt like it detracted from what could have been a really wonderful story line of co-star enemies to lovers, misunderstanding to redemption, romantic comedy. There is also more course language in the book that what is my preference.

*I received an eARC in return for honest feedback.

I really enjoyed this and devoured it in two days. I really like the whole co-star thing apparently, lol! I actually really liked all of the characters, I was rooting for our main couple along with our side besties. Emmy seemed like a real, person instead of some hyper perfect or hyper flawed fictional character which I really appreciated (she had real layers). Overall another lovely book from Falon. She's quickly becoming a must-read author for me!

This was really cute. I enjoyed the banter and setting of the book. Kind of bummed we didn’t learn more about Grayson and Emmy’s past. Thanks for the opportunity to read.

I think this author might be a one-hit wonder for me. I adored Lease on Love, but it's been downhill ever since. The things I really loved about this book were the social media comments, interviews, and articles sprinkled in between some of the chapters. I think the plot had a lot of potential, but it just never pulled me in. Enemies to lovers can be hard to do in a romance novel, and Emmy's reason for hating Grayson was pretty flimsy. The fact that it happened when they were teenagers was the only thing that made it easy for me to understand why she'd hold a grudge. On top of that, it seemed like the romance was rooted in physical attraction. I never got to see them spend meaningful moments together, and I honestly had no clue what kind of personality Grayson had. I think readers who just want the steam and sexual tension will enjoy this, but I was missing the emotional connection.

ARC Review: Right On Cue
Releases on February 27, 2024 - available to preorder now!

This book was absolutely amazing! I’ve read all of Falon’s books and this is honestly my new favorite of hers! The characters were well developed and the chemistry between these two were 🔥🔥 The story kept me interested and I was rooting for them the whole time! I love a good enemies to lovers and forced proximity and this one did not disappoint!!

Emmy and Grayson forever💞

Thank you to Netgalley, Falon Ballard and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley #RightOnCue

I had a great time! Making a romcom (my fav type of movie)? In the winter? In a cute small town? Second chance romance? Enemies to lovers? Celebrity romance? People realizing they were wrong about someone? Big fan of all of it. I've had the author's other books on my TBR for a while so I need to read those next, but I'm not sure they can be better than this one for me. Not to spoil the ending but I actually loved his reaction to it the first reconciliation attempt, felt very mature and smart. I devoured this book!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

Yes. Yes. Just yes. I was obsessed and couldn’t put it down. If you are looking for a cute rom-com with smut. Look no further. Enemies to lovers. Forced proximity. I am not a fan of 3rd act breakup and it was so annoying to have to wait for them to figure it out but it was such an amazing ending. I truly enjoyed this book so much. I want to thank netgalley, the author and publisher for the arc.

Two of my favorite lines were
“The only way you can fail at love is by not letting it into your life” and “Love is only complicated when we make it complicated”

3.5/5 Stars
Very cute Rom-Com read. There is the right person wrong time trope, which is new to me and the dreaded miscommunication trope that I am not a fan of at all. It is a quick fun read and would recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Right on Cue was a super fun, quick read. It was easy, romantic, funny, and perfect for a quick cozy read, or sitting at the pool.

one thing about falon ballard is that i will always be obsessed with everything about her writing style and her cheesy little romances and i could say the same about this one. i absolutely love her

This is the second Falon Ballard book I’ve read. I really really loved her writing in Just My Type, but I thought the story was a little cheesy, and so I just couldn’t wait to read another one of her books.

This one, though, I found extremely hard to get hooked and I initially kept putting it down. It took me over 2 weeks to get past the first few chapters. But I’m so glad I didn’t give up on it because once I got hooked, then I just could not put it down!

Emmy is an actress turned screenwriter. She was 15 when she starred in her first movie, with 17 year old Grayson West. Since then she’s hated his guts, and believed the feelings were mutual.

While casting the female lead for her newest romcom, she can’t find anyone to act in it, so she just HAS to make her acting revival and star in it. And I capitalize HAS because I found this a little boring. I would have preferred if she had written the role for herself and knew all along she would be making her reappearance on the big screen. But anyway, she has no idea Grayson was cast opposite her as her leading man.

Things start off rocky and they have a very hard time portraying lovers on screen while in reality they are enemies off screen. But they soon come up with a plan how they can increase their onscreen chemistry and we really start seeing the sexual tension between them developing.

The enemies to lovers troupe is one of my favs and the spiciness of this one was right on point! I would have given 5 stars if the beginning just wasn’t so hard to get through.

Overall, can’t wait to read my next Falon Ballard!

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the arc of Right on Cue by Falon Ballard. This is my third novel by Ballard, and my favorite so far! Lease on Love and Just My Type are two faves, but Right on Cue is the best yet! I loved Emmy and Grayson -- this book made me laugh, cry, and everything in between. The witty dialogue, fantastic supporting cast, and swoon-worthy romance was all top notch. I highly recommend this one if you're looking for a sweet, sexy love story. This one publishes on February 27, 2024 - don't miss it!

This book is for any fans of a Hollywood romance and a little hate to love with some silly and petty drama. Emmy is so dramatic I kind of love her a bit. She's very me.

Emmy Harper is a nepo baby and screenwriter who is ready to turn back to writing romcoms after she won an Oscar for her more serious movie inspired by the grief of losing her famous Hollywood father. She has also gotten roped into acting in the main role, opposite her nemesis and Hollywood action hunk, Grayson West. She and Grayson have history as former romantic leads of their Hollywood debut, a romcom from their teenage years which was critically panned and caused Emmy to avoid acting ever since. It didn't help that Grayson, who she'd had a crush on at the time, spread a rumor about Emmy that she hasn't been able to forget. The two of course immediately butt heads but the spark that each felt during those teenage years returns, and the chemistry between the two costars-with-benefits makes Emmy wonder if she should let the past go and if she and Grayson could have something real.

I think the main characters had great chemistry and their characters worked together despite their differences. Ballard did a great job of packing a punch with the mutual frustration and misunderstandings between these two characters. I felt the angst between them like a punch to the gut sometimes. My only critique is that while the drama from the past is explained, it is only briefly and we're told that the two main characters had feelings for each other since then but it wasn't set out in any detail so that part of it felt undeveloped.

When a screenwriter finds herself in front of the camera opposite her teenage arch nemesis, she’s forced to confront why she really left acting behind. When their animosity begins to affect their work on camera, an unconventional approach leads to a lot more than they bargained for in this spicy rom com. Great choice for fans of Abby Jimenez and Jasmine Guillory!

What does this author put in her books? Pure crack?! I loved this so much. After reading her debut novel, I was so keen to see what else was in store for this author. Ballard’s writing has a way of captivating you from the word go and immersing you in a fictional world where the characters are real, flawed, complex, dreamy and with undeniable chemistry. I want this to be spoiler free because I went in blind and I want readers to do so too! Light, fun, I loved it!

"He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. 'Nothing about you is insignificant, Emmy.'"

I have to admit, as someone who wasn't blown away by Fallon Ballard's previous novel Just My Type, I went into Right on Cue apprehensive at best. Luckily, Ballard proved me wrong almost immediately. While I wasn't attached or invested in the relationship or main characters in Just My Type, I was hooked on Emmy and Grayson within the first 50 pages. Enemies to lovers is always a great trope, but adding in the second-chance romance from their childhood really elevated this book for me. I'm so glad I didn't write off Ballard completely, because Right On Cue was a great book to start off 2024!

Synopsis:
Emmy is the epitome of a nepo-baby. Both of her parents are famous, award-winning actors, and if that wasn't enough, the pair were the perfect Hollywood couple, demonstrating to Emmy and the world a soulmate level of love right up until her father's passing. As a nepo-adult, Emmy has made a successful name for herself as a romcom screenwriter, and even won an Oscar for her dramatic screenplay following the death of her father. Now, four years later, Emmy is back in the romcom game with her most personal screenplay yet: No Reservations, a classic small-town, opposites-attract romcom, directed by her best friend, Liz, and starring their friend Jonathon as the male lead. The only problem is that no actress feels right for the role of Isobel, leading Emmy to taking the female-lead position after much pressure and cajoling. After all, Emmy's first time acting when she was 15 was also her last, when her costar spread a nasty rumor about her on set, ending her career before it could begin.

Excited to reenter the acting field, Emmy arrives at the snowy inn the movie is shooting at for six weeks only to literally bump into Grayson West--the very same costar from all those years ago. As luck would have it, Grayson is now filling the spot of the male lead, and not only is he as arrogant as he was when he was 17, but he also doesn't seem to remember Emmy, which only furthers her rage. Now, with six weeks of romantic, coupley scenes ahead of them––including a steamy sex scene––Emmy and Grayson have to somehow demonstrate chemistry on camera, despite the extremely hostile energy that radiates between the two.

Can Emmy and Grayson be professionals and put the movie above their history, or will Emmy and Grayson's second movie together go down just like their first: in flames.

Thoughts:
I really liked the concept of this book. It almost felt like there was a romcom inside the romcom, even though we didn't spend too much time learning the actual plot of No Reservations. The cozy cabin setting, the snowy scenery, the undeniable sexual tension both on and off camera––honestly, no one should be shocked that Emmy and Grayson fell in love. I especially loved that Ballard didn't end the book when the shoot was over, but extended it back to Emmy and Grayson's lives in LA. Often movie and book romcoms will end right when the couple gets together, fading to black on their perfect moment, leaving the audience to imagine the rest of their lives together. I liked that Ballard acknowledged the trope and flipped it on its head, instead showing Emmy and Grayson's lives when they're not in the perfect conditions to fall in love, or acting out romantic scenes on camera before curling up in front of the fire. It added a level of realism to the Hollywood-ness of their relationship.

Nevertheless, we do get the classic third-act miscommunication and break-up, leading to the inevitable tearful reunion and fade-to-black moment. Even when breaking the mold, romcoms will always have a certain level of predictability, which is why they're so popular; the genre is safe and comfortable, and you always know you'll finish the book smiling.

I'm so glad to have thoroughly enjoyed Right on Cue after being mostly ambivalent about Just My Type, and I can't wait to start recommending it to readers in February! I look forward to Fallon Ballard's next novel, and I hope it's as good or better than this one!


Right on Cue by Fallon Ballard: February 27, 2024 (G.P. Putnam's Sons).

Thank you, GP Putnam Son's and NetGalley, for the advanced copy of Right on Cue.

Falon Ballard knows how to put a smile on the readers face. This was a one-sit-wonder, and I loved every moment of it. Enemies to lovers, co-stars, behind the scenes of a romcom, he falls first. Could you ask for more? There were times where I wanted to shake our FMC, but she came to her senses… eventually! This is a good one that you definitely don’t want to miss out on!!

Right on Cue is a classic enemies-to-lovers romance. It is set in the movie industries and revolves around an actor/screenwriter and another actor who don’t seem to get along. Of course feelings happen, cute and witty banter, and sweet romance but I found myself having a hard time getting into the story and enemies-to-lovers is one of my favorite tropes.. Overall it’s not a bad book, it just didn’t keep my attention.

Thank you to NetGalley, Putnam Books and Penguin for the e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Falon Ballard does not disappoint with Right on Cue. Emmy is having a couple of bad weeks, she can't find the right actress to lead her movie and something happens to her male lead. Just when things couldn't get any worse she has to step up to lead the movie with her nemesis and the whole reason she stopped acting in the first place. Classic enemies-to-lovers story, what kept me reading was trying to figure out what happened between these two to start and why were they, enemies now. All I can say is Greyson will make you laugh and smile with his dialog. Once you start reading this book you will not want to stop until you're done.

3.5 stars rounded up! I am always a sucker for a sweet romance! Right on Cue focuses on a famous screenwriter filming and starring in her own rom-com. However, she will have to work alongside her enemy.
I am a sucker for any enemies-to-lovers story. The first half of the book was absolutely fantastic; things were progressing at a quick, yet believable pace. I think the last half felt a little less believable to me. The romance felt a little rushed. Overall, it was an enjoyable and quick read!