This was a really hard to three star rating because I absolutely love Fallon Ballard’s work. Maybe it’s me holding it up to the standards of her other books, but the storyline fell a little short for me. I am not a fan of misunderstanding tropes. It was entertaining to read, had a lot of laughs and sweet moments but the story just didn’t do it for me

This was in no way a bad book but I struggled to feel the chemistry between the couple. The sexual chemistry was there, but the romantic chemistry was lacking in my opinion.

Love an enemies to lovers story! Such a quick fun read. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a steamy, not slow burn, rom-com!

OMG. I could not put this book down. I absolutely loved every page. I have no idea why I’ve never read Falon Ballard before but I will be rectifying this immediately. I chose this one solely based on its cover, and it was the best decision ever.
Emmy Harper is a Hollywood nepo baby who grew up in the spotlight with two wildly in love actor parents. Unfortunately her first onscreen appearance is a disaster, thanks to Grayson West, so she quits acting and becomes a screenwriter. Of course, through a series of events, she and Grayson end up starring opposite each other in a movie she wrote. It seems like a classic enemies to lovers, but is it?
The chemistry between the main characters bursts off the page, and I loved all the secondary characters. We should all have a friend like Liz. And can I get more Jenna please?? This is one of my favorite books of 2023.

Falon Ballard is one of my fav authors NetGalley has introduced me to. I was so excited to read her third book.

I am usually all about the dual narration, but Ballard does single POV so well. I obviously would've loved to hear Greyson's POV, but this was Emmy's book.

Tropes included --
-celebrity romance
-second chance romance
-forced proximity
-it's always been you

There was quite a bit miscommunication in this one, which is why I took the one star off. I felt like Emmy would make a lot of assumptions. Greyson had a lot of patience with her.

If you love a women's fiction/romance that's sweet with good dose of spice, this is the book for you.

4/5

I flew through this book! The writing was excellent and I was so drawn into the story. My only complaint was that the third act conflict was incredibly silly and solved way too easily. That’s the only reason this wasn’t a 5 star read to me.

Pros
Love the mixed media from articles, online comments, etc! So much fun and brought more of the celebrity aspect into the book - sometimes it was easy to forget they were as famous as they were!
Relationship between Emmy and her mom seems so genuine and real - it really feels like this is something the author pulled from her own life experience.
Grief aspect (both for Emmy and in his own way, Grayson) was effective in making the book more well rounded.
The spice was spicing! There are 3 explicit scenes that can be skipped if you prefer closed-door romance

Cons
I’m personally not a huge fan of the friends/coworkers with benefits trope because I just can never believe there aren’t feelings involved… and this fell into what I usually don’t like in this trope. There were obviously feelings involved from the very beginning. It never actually felt like a “with benefits” situation… it just felt like a relationship with some baggage and a lot of banter.
I didn’t fall in love with Emmy and Grayson as characters separately because they seemed a little immature. But once they got together and in their relationships with the supporting characters, they seemed much more mature and likeable.

Ideas
Grayson’s POV - help us see more of his struggle with his family, his struggle with being perceived as a “himbo” in the industry, his internal feelings for Emmy despite being a jerk on the outside
Timeline including previous movie together?!?!? Would have been a cool aspect to the book to get flashback chapters rather than just memories
Would loooooveeeee to hear more about Emmy’s parents love story!!!! Maybe a future book? 😏

Thank you to Netgalley and the PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review!

Right On Cue is an adorable rom com by Falon Ballard. It was an enjoyable easy ready with my favorite trope: rivals to lovers. Grayson was an adorable male character who didn’t deserve Emmy’s scorn especially after something that happened when they were teenagers. Like many third act breakups, the main characters’ issues could have easily been resolved with proper communication. This is definitely worth a read for fans of Falon Ballard (Just My Type is my favorite book of hers). The characters had lovable qualities and the while I am normally put off by books about celebrities and the Hollywood setting, I found myself immersed in the move making process.

4 stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“You are the opposite of a failure. And if I may pull out some Hallmark card wisdom, the only way you can fail at love is by not letting it into your life.”

Right on Cue by Falon Ballard is a fun, sexy, page-turning romance. Emmy Harper is an Oscar-winning screenwriter who wants to pursue acting again. Grayson West is an action movie superstar who wants to prove that he is more than just his insanely-good looks. Emmy has been holding a grudge against Grayson ever since they were teenage co-stars in a movie that ruined her dream of acting. When Grayson is cast (at the last minute) as the lead actor in Emmy’s new romantic comedy, in which she’s been convinced to star, tensions will rise and sparks will fly!

I absolutely adored Emmy and Grayson, especially as they became closer and more vulnerable with each other. As much as I love her, I felt like Emmy’s actions in the third act really took away from the emotional growth and courage that she had developed as she opened up more and more to Grayson. Although Grayson and the story’s setting were described very well, Emmy’s description seemed to be lacking in comparison. You will love Right on Cue if you’re into enemies-to-lovers, second-chance romance, small-town setting, forced proximity, and lots of spice. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this irresistible rom-com and am eager to read Falon Ballard’s other novels.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Sons for this ARC!

Publication Date: February 27, 2024

This was so fun and so steamy and the characters had genuine chemistry! For a cute rom com this packed quite a punch with steamy scenes and it never once felt awkward or gross to read. Emmy and Grayson are characters you want to root for and their HEA is so sweet. I loved reading this!

Falon does it again everyone. I loved this so much. It has my favorite trope, enemies to lovers, and it picks up fast. Once I got going, I couldn't stop. It was wonderful. I don't typically love miscommunication tropes, but this one didn't bother me. It was executed that well.

With now three books under her belt, I'm here to tell you that Falon Ballard does not miss -- PERIOD. Right on Cue, just like Ballard's other books is chock full of compelling language, so much banter, the *chef's kiss* right amount of spice and so many truly delicious tropes all at once. When I say that I was so curious about the story's twists and turns, like I did not want to (nor could I, in all honesty) put this book down. Like, I just had to keep on reading and find out what would happen next. I HAD to. All in all, Right on Cue was completely and irrevocably adorable and every bit fun, frothy and indulgent. It literally delivered every single thing I'd want in a romcom.

CW: Estranged Parents, Death of a Parent

It was a fast and compelling read, but incredibly cliched and didn’t have much believable going for the relationship beyond physical attraction. Not the author’s strongest book.

Falon became an auto-read author for me after I loved her debut Lease on Love, and Right on Cue was another hit for me. I always love the celebrity romance trope, and this mixed in two more of my favorites, enemies to lovers and second chance romance.

This was a fun read as Emmy and Grayson reunite to act in another movie after their first movie years ago was not only a flop, but lead to them not having any contact with each other. Emmy at times I think was a little too much in her head and would overthink things with Grayson, but I enjoyed watching both their professional and personal relationship unfold. While I always cringe when the miscommunication shows up as you get close to the end, I do like how both Emmy and Grayson evolved from it.

There were some great secondary characters in the book and I loved the small town setting of where the movie took place.

This was my first novel that I’ve read by Falon Ballard, and though it didn’t always hold my attention, it was a solid romance novel that checks most of the boxes on what you expect for a contemporary romance.

Right On Cue follows Emmy Harper, an actress turned rom-com screenwriter. With her latest project, when the producers and director can’t find a leading lady, Emmy seems to be their ideal gal to play the part. However, Emmy’s co-star is replaced by her least favorite actor Grayson West. The two were childhood actors who debuted in a movie that flopped. With a second chance to patch up whatever baggage that was left in the wake of their movie, Emmy and Grayson have to work out their complicated feelings or their new movie might tank like their first.

My only concern with this one was the last part where the two love interests split apart. The reasoning behind this was the miscommunication trope, which to be honest, is my least favorite trope. And in this instance in seemed very childish on Emmy’s part, making it hard to believe this was what broke these two apart. I let you discover the finer details if you plan on reading, but know, going into it, it make Emmy a tad bit unlikable.

Forced Proximity, Enemies-to-Lovers, and movie star romance (to name a few) you’ll enjoy the latest rom-com by author Falon Ballard if these are go to romance tropes for you.

I have loved Ballard’s previous books, Lease on Love and Just My Type, so I was ecstatic to receive an eARC of Right on Cue and couldn’t wait to dive in. I love a celebrity romance and the tension that comes from this forced proximity is delectable.

Right on Cue left me with mixed feelings. While this story had some of the signature charm and chemistry of Ballard’s writing and I loved the setting, it was riddled with unnecessary drama and miscommunication. The chemistry between the MCs was tender at times, but my issue was with Emmy. Her character was so wishy washy and her sniping in the first half of the book was maddening and exhausting. I wanted a HEA for Grayson, but he deserved better than the back and forth from Emmy.

The premise is a story I typically love, but it was Emmy’s character that kept me from becoming fully invested in the romance. When the MCs (mainly Emmy) were finally communicating and becoming vulnerable, gosh, I was rooting for them big time… but then they (ahem, Emmy) would return to coldness and miscommunication and I wanted to scream. And the third act breakup was so ridiculous and unnecessary. I think the story was missing some softness - even in Ballard’s last rivals to lovers, there was a thread of tenderness that tethered the characters that I desperately missed here.

Ultimately, the story was fine and fun for the most part, but it could have been infinitely better had Emmy’s character been a little softer and less snarky and the miscommunication eliminated because it led to unnecessary drama and a third act breakup that was avoidable. Frustration aside, I’ll continue to buy and read whatever Ballard dreams up!

This book was so sweet. I love Falon’s words and her characters so much. Emmy and Grayson had all the sparks flying. This enemies to lovers/second chance/Hollywood romance had me swooning. Four stars

This is a cute Hollywood romance story! For the most part, Emmy and Grayson have a Fun and heartfelt second chance story. I thought this was a unique plot, Hollywood, but she’s the writer of the story and reluctant actress, who is dedicated to getting her story told. I had a bit of a hard time with Grayson. I didn’t understand why he acted so immaturely if he’s the one who decided to join the project? And then, when Emmy makes her feelings clear, why she’s still so upset with him from their past, he just kind of tells her that it’s silly of her to still be hung up on that?? like he just kind of disregards her feelings, while still behaving, immaturely and rudely to her in a professional setting. At the same time Emmy was also behaving immaturely and some thing she insists means a lot to her, I didn’t know why she didn’t behave better?
Overall, there was just a lot of immaturity and miscommunication that didn’t feel necessary to the story, but it was still a sweet, funny, spicy romance, and I love those all the time :)
thanks for the arc :)

this was a quick, easy read! a very self-indulgent book, but I don't mind it. i do wish we had more background and personality within the main characters-- since i didn't feel as connected to them. not my favorite read by Ballard, but it was still really fun!

I could reread this book already. Right On Cue is my favorite kind of book. It has banter, tension, swoony moments, spice, emotions, and a HEA. The moment I started reading, I knew I was going to enjoy it. The second half of the book had my insides knotted up. Emmy & Grayson had a hold on me & I was so invested in their story. He was so taken with her, & when things went wrong it was devastating! I felt a little crazy reading a book about fictional characters and being so sad for them, but I loved every minute of it.