“If faith in love were a source of energy, you could power a small planet.”

Emmy Harper, romance screenwriter and former actress, writes a movie and finds herself in an uncomfortable situation when faced with an enemy from her past, Grayson West (actor, Sexiest Man Alive). They are forced to work together AND do their jobs well amidst the tension of trying to unpack their history.

I don’t love the miscommunication trope, when so much of a storyline is based off something that could’ve been resolved with a conversation lol. But, I appreciated that they cleared the air as adults. And, clear the air, they did! This enemies-to-lovers felt like a steamy, small-town Hallmark movie and once it picked up, I was hooked! I also loved all of the characters, which doesn’t always happen lol.

Falon Ballad is a must-read author for me, I was so happy to read this ARC and provide an honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for this advanced copy!

Oh how I loved this book! Emmy and Grayson’s story was everything! I’m not one normally for Hollywood romances but anything Ms. Ballard writes is a must read for me. Grayson was the definition of a book boyfriend. This was written from Emmy’s perspective but the small things that Grayson said and did made you know without him saying his feelings for her. She has been jaded by always being in the spotlight and it took time and reassurance by Grayson that it’s ok to share some things with the public. I loved their story even though there was a slight hiccup from a misunderstanding love prevailed! I wish there had been a reunion with his father but in the end all he needed was Emmy’s faith and love for him to feel worthy. I can’t wait until Fallon’s next book, she never disappoints. Thank you to Goodreads for this advanced copy. These are my opinions alone, but I encourage you to eat this one up!

Standing out with its humor and heart, this gem of a novel was a fun, albeit predictable, read.

Emmy, the narrator and writer of the rom-com she’s suddenly starring in, is intensely angry at being saddled with her new-but-old costar, Grayson. It’s her return to acting, and this man is quite literally *not* who she signed up to work with. To get through it, she reminds herself early on to just “close [her] eyes and pretend he’s Chris Hemsworth.” Ballard uses Emmy’s love of romantic writing tropes, tough love from her best friend, and a wonderfully fresh take on the classic mother-daughter relationship to steer Emmy through the obstacles of the romantic plot.

Recommended for anyone looking for a light winter romance outside of the Christmas genre, this enemies-to-lovers story is funny and full of heat.

If a cozy Hallmark movie had a baby with a spicy enemies to lovers book this would be the result!!!

I loved Just My Type but reading another of Falon Ballard's work and having it be as good if not better propels her to the top of my "will read anything this author puts out" list!

Loved Emmy & Greyson, swoonworthy and spicy all at once! Also loved all the nods to rom-com tropes since Emmy is an author!

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for this ARC

Guys, honestly. This was such a great romcom! I couldn’t put it down! Emmy and Grayson broke me out of my reading slump and I am so grateful.

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll wish you had a cinnamon roll.

One other note: I love reading books where the MC is either an avid romance reader or a romance writer because they always break the forth wall with the reader. Emmy, who writes romantic comedies for a living, constantly calls out her favorite tropes and I loved it.

Falon Ballard, you’re officially an auto-buy author for me now. I loved JUST MY TYPE and I could not get enough of RIGHT ON CUE.

⭐️ rating: 4.5 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
📖 genre: romance
🔥 steam: it’s a spicy one! Multiple open door scenes
🗓️ release date: 2/26/2024

Read if you like:
✨ “You burned me once but maybe I’ll let you do it again” romances
✨ A little bit of Instalove
✨ Hollywood Romance
✨ Witty Banter
✨ Lots of smirking
✨ Enemies to Lovers meets Second Chance Romance
✨ A healthy mix of The Reunion and Will They Won’t They

Does it mean anything that I kinda forgot I read this book? I'm choosing to say no since I'm forgetting everything i read now.
First off, I was somewhat disappointed to see this book kind of followed the same vein as the author's last: guy has some sort of negative effect on woman's career and doesn't really care? It's not as simple as that in either book, but this MMC especially didn't have a whole lot of remorse for what he said considering he blamed it on his youth and said he couldn't apologize for her insecurities. Otherwise, I liked the chemistry between the MMC and FMC. They were both relatively likable, except for the fact that he wouldn't do his job just because she was around. Maybe it was just her biased narrative, but he seemed so insufferable considering she was willing to work with him and he was just flat and annoyed for however many pages. I thought the third-act breakup was stupid, but besides that, I was having fun and didn't want to stop reading this one. Did I love it? No, the characters were pretty much all not my cup of tea, but I did enjoy reading it most of the time.

4.5 Stars Each book I've read by Falon Ballard has been better than the last. I didn't think this one could top Just My Type, but it absolutely did. I loved pretty much everything about the storyline and the main characters. This reminded me a lot of Ava Wilder's Will They or Won't They, but with a small-town holiday feel since they are shooting on location for most of the story. The chemistry and banter between Emmy and Grayson was perfect and so entertaining. Seriously, the chemistry and sexual tension between the two was palpable and really elevated the enemies-to-lovers part of the story. Even though it was a celebrity romance, I loved that it was also second chance and small town, which are two of my favorite tropes. The only thing that didn't make this a perfect 5 stars for me was the third act breakup. It felt like Emmy would've already built up enough trust in Grayson by that point to believe that he wasn't faking his feelings for her. Loved this read and highly recommend!

If you're looking for a quick, fairly predictable rom-com, this is the book for you! It is what it purports to be. Enjoyed the characters (especially Emmy) and the setting. 3.5 stars, rounded up.

Grayson and Em, I love you both so much! Basically, what it all comes down to between these to is communication or rather lack of. They were both in their heads when they were still teenagers doing their first movie together. I really enjoyed seeing how both Grayson and Emmy opened up to each other about their personal lives and in doing so were able to truly understand who each other are and how it lead them to where they are now. Sure, I’d be scared to jump in just like Em and think about how it can all come tumbling down but I really liked how her mom and her bestie Liz helped her to try and see the positive instead of the negative.

A spicy hallmark movie book, yes please!!
I loved the setting! I would have enjoyed reading from Greysons perspective, especially because I was curious about his view and reasoning for saying those mean things about their first kiss.
This is my 3rd book by Falon Ballard and I will definitely read whatever comes next!

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for this ARC!

3.5 stars, rounded up.

A tricky read for me because the plot is exactly the kind of story I would go for. And at times I was screaming over how much I was loving it. But the other times I was cringing at either how cheesy it was or the absolutely atrocious miscommunication.

It wasn’t my favorite rom-com but it was still fun and a good book to grab for if you want a quick read!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This book is like the making of a Hallmark movie… but with more spice.

Screenwriter Emmy Harper is the daughter of Hollywood royalty. Grayson West is People Magazine’s Sexiest Man (twice!) and a mega-action star. Emmy hasn’t stepped in front of the camera since she was a teenager and co-started with Grayson in a film that would have swept the Razzies. He went on to become an action star… she shied away from ever being on camera. When she reluctantly agrees to take the lead role in her latest screenplay she never expected to have to act opposite her teenage crush turn nemesis. Sparks fly as Emmy has to set aside her animosity towards her co-star before the movie goes down in flames.

This was a quick, enjoyable rom com - very Hallmarky (but I’m not complaining). Emmy’s character definitely grew on me as the story progressed. I found her to be a bit whiny and selfish as the beginning. Her character become a lot more tolerable (in my opinion) as she and Grayson opened up to each other and their relationship progressed. I would have loved a dual perspective to see Grayson’s side of the story!

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

A quick cute read! Normally the blurbs of rom coms provide all the excitement for a book and then reading it usually falls short of what is expected but thankfully this book beats that. Their get together felt natural and the dialogue wasn't cringe-y which is usually a personal reading "ick" of mine in rom com books but it was such a quick sweet read I was able to finish in a day. Still wavering between a 3.5 to 4 stars, Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam Books and Netgalley for the arc!

This is my second Falon Ballard book and it did not disappoint. This rom-com is a lovely mix of tit for tat banter, falling in love, a dash of spice all with a cozy winter back drop. Falon makes it easy to not only enjoy our MC’s but our side characters as well (Liz and mom for the win lol)

If you enjoy (or just need) an easy, cozy rom-coms I definitely think you should give this book a shot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC

This was really cute! There's a lot to love about this enemies to lovers/forced proximity/right person, wrong time romance. I'm immediately on board with anything set in a cozy small town and usually enjoy celebrity romances too. It was full of both funny and meaningful moments, especially in the middle act, but I decided to give this three stars because it struggled to do anything memorable for me within the romance genre. Unfortunately, it fell a lot into cliches and miscommunication.

There are a lot of interesting ideas in this material that just weren't expanded upon enough for my personal taste. Emmy spends a lot of time upset over an incident with Grayson that happened when they were teenagers because it ruined her confidence for years, but we never got to thoroughly dig into what those years looked like for her as a consequence of that encounter with him. She also has famous parents and the whole nepo baby thing is addressed on a surface level, but I think if the author dug into that a bit more that could have helped to set this apart from the plot of other similar romance novels.

There was also a third act breakup and resolution that felt like it happened too quickly and was just slotted in because people expect it to be there. It made very little sense with Emmy's character development up to that point and was due to miscommunication after we'd already spent a lot of the book hearing about this big miscommunication incident they had as teenagers.

Aside from that, there were also just some small things in the plot that bothered me, like the fact that the author chose to include an intimacy coordinator on the set of their movie but didn't seem to do much research as to how filming that scene with an intimacy coordinator there would have worked. Emmy and Grayson had a pivotal bonding moment over something that never would have actually happened if the intimacy coordinator was doing their job well.

Falon Ballard gives readers another romance with heart! I was initially attracted to this book because of the description. Enemies-to-lovers is my favorite romance trope and I love that Emmy and Grayson get a second chance after their friendship ended.

One of the things I enjoyed about this book is that even though it’s implied both of these characters are successful in the industry, they still feel grounded. I mean, Emmy drives a Prius. Famous actors usually aren’t relatable but these two still are. I think sequestering the characters on a film set was a smart move when because even though they’re working it puts more of an emphasis on their relationship and less on their profession. Readers also experience the anxiety of going public with them since we are kept in the bubble with them until their first event together.

I think it was a lot easier to understand some of Emmys issues by the end - her way of thinking and tendency to jump to conclusions seemed a little annoying throughout the book but it is eventually revealed why she feels the way she does. I don’t typically love drama over Simple miscommunication but Falon navigates this well and I like that she also holds Emmy accountable.

Overall, this was a fun read with well written characters and plenty of spice! I will definitely be recommending this!

became a fan of Falon when read Lease on Love! still think that's her best book. However I went into this book with high expectations. Although it was a good book, it feel a little flat for me.
There was a lot of smut and not enough plot. A lot of conversations that needed to be had was just tip toed around. Important conversations were replaced with smut. It didn't make sense that they both were holding onto something they did as teenagers. And if Grayson had feelings for Emmy, it didn't make any sense why he was acting the way he did. I didn't enjoy the third act breakup because it part seemed to rushed. It felt a little childish because they are grown adults who could've talked but instead she acting like a child and didn't give him a chance to explain. I wish they stayed broken up. Also, I had no idea what Emmy looked like. The other characters were described and I could picture them in my head, however for Emmy, all I pictured was brown hair. However with all of this, I did enjoy reading it. I was a film major in college and then a high school film teacher so the subject of the book was right up my alley. I was def in my element in the film production world.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Right on Cue is another fun and cute book by Falon Ballard, the author of Lease on Love. It follows Emmy and Grayson's love story as they reunite for the first time on screen since their first (and Emmy's last) time on screen when they were both teenagers. The unfortunate encounter with Grayson, plus its fallout, during that original film was the reason Emmy quit acting, and now as she is forced to make a return, the career-ending culprit is her last-minute co-star.
I was drawn to reading Right on Cue because I enjoyed Lease on Love, and Ballard’s writing style makes for a smooth read, however, my issue lies with the pacing. For me, the air of hostility and tension between the characters went on too long and the switch into romance happened so fast I was struggling to buy it. Their relationship was definitely cute but too many things were left untouched/unaddressed for my personal taste. Solid ⅗ stars. All that being said, I always appreciate a cartoon cover!

In this story, we follow Emmy, a screenwriter and former actress, who’s reluctantly persuaded into starring in her newest romantic comedy after a 15-year hiatus. She’s nervous, but excited, until her co-star has to step down and in steps in the very reason she stopped acting in the first place: Grayson. We follow the characters’ love story and journey’s with their own personal problems, and I ADORED it. It really reminded me of Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman at first, but after finishing it I think it’s hard to compare it to anything because it’s SO unique. The writing was phenomenal, I flew through this and it flowed so nicely. It was simple and effective and made me want to keep reading. I also really loved the short little newspaper article-like chapters after a big bulky plot chapter, it felt like a nice reward for finishing the juicier chapters and added a lot to the plot. The plot was also great, each of the personal problems that the characters dealt with felt so real and I was really routing for them to deal with them on their own, and I was especially rooting for the resolution to these problems when Emmy and Grayson got together. The chemistry between them was insane, they felt so real to me and I really, really loved them.

I think my ONLY (and I do mean only, I loved this so much) is the way that the conflicts between Emmy and Grayson felt too low stakes for me to warrant them breaking up. Both in the first time when they’re teenagers after their first kiss, and later on with the “fake feelings” thing. The miscommunication in these just didn’t make sense. I think there are MANY cases where people don’t communicate about issues when they just don’t want to deal with them, but in this story, the problems were SO SMALL and they just immediately bolted and didn’t talk for SIGNIFICANT amounts of time, first 15 years then 3 weeks. I think the miscommunication COULD work, but with more stakes. In the “fake feelings” plot, Emmy herself even thinks to her self “this doesn’t make sense, but…” and then continues to not talk to Grayson for 3 weeks, so maybe a (fake) news article coming out to support her theory that Grayson used her would give her evidence and justification at least to leave him, because it feels so stupid for her to leave after overhearing Grayson’s conversation. I think readers will need a little SOMETHING to make it more believable, because where it’s currently at, it’s just stupid. But to me, these were really small parts of the book, and despite them, I still LOVE this. Overall, a fantastic read, one that really stuck with me after reading and inspired me after reading what Emmy and Grayson overcame. Also, the author has performed some magic, because never in my life would I have thought that I would be sympathizing and empathizing for and LOVING a nepo baby, but here we are.

I really really wanted to love this book because I love Falon’s other romance books but this was a slight miss for me. I just felt like it wasn’t anything special, and it reminded me a lot of Ava wilders recent book “will they or won’t they”

I think this book was well written and it definitely kept my interest piqued throughout, I just was never fully convinced of their romance, it felt kinda rushed and don’t get me started on the rushed breakup in the third act being a miscommunication trope 😫 I’m so over the forced breakups just to add some last minute flare only to have the characters get back together 10 pages later.

Like I said, this book wasn’t awful it just doesn’t feel different from the hundreds of other romance books out there.