Wow, I love this book. It was a quick, easy read that drew me in from the start. I loved the romance author plot points interlaced with the Holiday feels. The MCs have great tension (like, HELLO, writing a spicy scene together omg). Nick is an angel. We love a king who respects and appreciates boundaries while still finding space to banter/tease. Jess is fun and complex and spunky and relatable and just a perfect FMC. The spicy elements were so unique (references to testing out spicy scenes they write, the couples massage, one bed trope). Overall, so fantastic and a very fun read!

This was a really cute Christmas romance. Even reading it not in winter, it gave off such big Christmas-Hallmark movie vibes. It's such a short book but nothing in it feels super rushed. I really liked that it wasn't super instalovey, like as soon as he was admitted he made a mistake she wasn't immediately running back to him, so their reunion felt relatively realistic. I wish the epilogue had been a little longer (but I am 100% an epilogue lover and defender). Overall, definitely a book worth reading during the winter months/holiday season.

Thank you G.P. Putnam's Sons and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Full of holiday magic!
 
This was such a warm and cozy read! I thoroughly enjoyed the main characters and seeing them rekindle their old flame. Watching love be reborn again is so special, especially in books. I really liked seeing this love story play out; it was a wonderful adventure!
 
So funny and charming with a love that kept me turning the page and wanting more. Though I adored the cutesy moments, my favorite part was the banter!!! (Oh, be still my heart!) It was perfectly executed and had me laughing out loud so many times!
 
I recommend to all of the romance lovers who love Christmas and second chances!
 
Tropes/micro tropes:
Second chance
Dual timeline
Banter
Rivals to lovers
Forced proximity
Only one bed

4.5⭐️
 
A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

So I was reluctant to pull this off the shelf in the fall, but I'm so happy to start the holiday reading season off with this adorable romance. I love a romance involving romance writers and this did not disappoint. The banter was on point, the snark was snarking, the one bed- it's my favorite romance reveal. I was rooting for these characters beginning to end. So excited to get a copy of this from NetGalley!

What a cute, cozy, comfort read! All I Want Is You by Falon Ballard is a second chance romance with a Christmas setting and ONE BED. and their names are Nick and Jess (hello New Girl?) This was a perfect binge with everything you want in a holiday read.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc and chance to read early.

All I Want Is You is the perfect holiday romance! Perfect length to read over the weekend. Perfect execution of romance tropes. Absolutely next level tension and banter! I don't tend to go for second chance romance but this one is executed so well. I loved the glimpse into the life of romance writers. I want more romances like this. Well done, Falon!
Thank you PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and NetGalley for this eARC!

I throughly enjoyed this book as I have for all of Falon Ballard’s previous novels. It is a quick holiday romance read that still packs a punch with romantic chemistry and tension built between Nick and Jessica. This is both a second-chance romance and an only-one-bed trope and handles both quite well. I love that both characters are romance authors and through flashbacks, their journey is shown. Maybe because it was so short, it wasn’t my favorite of Falcon’s novels, but I still highly recommend it! 4.25⭐️, 2🌶

The last thing Jessica wants to be spending her time doing is introducing her horrible ex, Nick Matthews, at their mutual publisher's holiday party. He happens to be winning the award for best romance author of the year but he can't even write a story with a happy ending. After the party, all of the guests end up snowed in at the inn including Jess and Nick. Will they be able to avoid each other and the building tension between them?

This was such a cute and fast holiday read! I can never resist the "only one bed" trope so I knew immediately that I was going to enjoy this story. I loved the holiday setting and Jess and Nick were an easy couple to root for. Second-chance romance can be a hard one to do right but I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC!

4 Stars

All I Want Is You was a sweet little Christmas story reminiscent of Hallmark but with some swear words & spice. It had Christmas vibes but not overly Christmassy— I mean I read it in September and it was still enjoyable!

This would be the perfect book to cozy up with on your day off while enjoying a toasty beverage, a peppermint mocha if you’re like the main character Jess. Did I mention the male love interest is named Nick? As in Nick and Jess IYKYK and if you don’t know please go watch New Girl immediately.

I digress, but I really liked this story. It was my second read by Falon Ballard who I am also loving! Both of her books I have read while being full of tropes have been also low drama which is so nice. She’s on her way to becoming an auto-read author for me!

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of All I Want Is You in exchange for an honest review!

All I Want is You by Falon Ballard
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
256 pages
Releasing: September 24th, 2024

Bitter ex’s & professional rivals meet again at an award ceremony where Jess has to give Nick an award. Stuck in a remote inn after the award ceremony with only bed, what can truly happen??

I ate this book up!! One bed is one of my favorite tropes & so is second chance romance. Falon did an amazing job with these tropes & made me love the characters so so so much!!! I can’t wait to read more by her!

Read if you like:
✨Second chance romance
✨One bed
✨Forced proximity
✨Bookish main characters

Thank you @netgalley @putnambooks @falonballard for the eARC for my review!

#falonballard #romance #secondchanceromance #onebed #putnambooks

Spicy slow burn male female dual point of view second chance forced proximity contemporary romance. I enjoyed these characters, their chemistry, and the happy ending. This was a very cute and quick holiday read.

Ok first off, I must preface this by saying I LOVE Falon Ballard books. They are like warm hugs with old friends that can remember all your cultural reference quotes. Anywho:

Jessica Carrington and Nick Matthews must navigate being stuck in the same remote inn right before Christmas. Former partners and current rivals, They begin writing a book together. Will the happy ending stick?

5/5 Stars! It's fun, a touch of holiday (I could have used even more holiday vibes TBH), perfect spice to heart ratio, and two easy-to-root-for MCs. It's a quick. fun read to get you in the spirit of love and Christmas Cheer. I will probably re-read this book closer to Christmas... which is the biggest recommendation I can give.

A million thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Son's for the ARC!

Jessica and Nick broke up 5 years ago and have avoided each other since then, despite being employed by the same publishing company. When Jessica is forcibly encouraged to give Nick an award at the Christmas party, she is reluctant but plans to knock it out of the park. Nick broke Jessica's heart and she never really understood why. After getting snowed in at the end of the party and Jessica's reservation being lost, they reconnect and begin writing together and reassess their past misunderstandings.

I don't like the miscommunication trope and part of the story is two writers trying to create a second chance romance where they justify miscommunication as the trope. I'm not sure Nick's lack of communication met the mark for me. But reading this in a fluffy blanket with a hot chocolate is the book equivalent of Hallmark Christmas movies. It's cute but not deep.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for giving me an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Overall, this book was cute. It’s a good quick Christmas read!

However, it had a lot of tropes I do not enjoy. I don’t like miscommunication at all and come to find out it’s that that had our couples not together in the present day of the book. 😮‍💨

Plus I find them both at fault for it too. Like honestly, I myself would not have given either one of them a second chance but that’s just me.

The Christmas vibes were vibing though.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putname for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Exes who are both romance authors and forced to face each other again five years after their breakup in which one of them has to award the other one at a ceremony??? While also being trapped at a holiday inn sharing one room... what could go wrong? Jessica loves Christmas... except for the one Christmas in which her ex Nick dumped her right during Christmas. Nick and Jess are both romance authors (except all of Nick's books dont have happily ever after endings) and now that Nick is the more successful author and they share the same publisher, Jess is forced to be the one to give him the award at the company ball. Nick and Jess have not spoken or seen each other over the five years they've broken up. Nick hates Christmas, he also can't seem to write a happy ending for his books.... and he's still very much in love with Jess and absolutely regrets dumping her. Now that he finds out that she's going to be the one giving him the award.... and that she's in need of a room to stay in since her room was cancelled, it'd be the perfect opportunity for him to get a second chance with her... if she could forgive him. Trapped together sharing one bed, Nick and Jess will have to finally face the reason Nick dumped her all those years ago out of the blue and why she should give him a second chance. When I tell you I couldn't stand Nick, I mean it. The whole "reason" for the break up felt shallow and honestly I wouldn't have gotten back with him at all. The fact that Jess, someone who never heard an apology, a single reason or call from Nick all those five years, in which he "regretted" dumping her out of nowhere should be a clear enough indicator to sleep in the lobby rather than be anywhere near him. The fact that she caves in under 5 seconds and then within like a day or two is immediately back in her feels for him?? Yeah no thank you. I love second chances when they are done right and this one just didn't feel any way earned at all. Just like the book says, these two characters are not the iconic romantic couple Nick and Jess from New Girl, because at least the second chance romance felt earned there and actually worked. This one just didn't connect with me at all and I honestly didn't care for their second chance at all. If you like quick second chance romances then I'd say give this a go, maybe you'll have a better time with it than I did.

Release Date: September 24,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This was such a fun fast read.

I feel like the sing of a great holiday romance is if you read it outside of the Christmas time and *still* have a great time. Like yes, it still has that great christmasy vibe but the romance and the plot really hold themselves. i had a great time.

The vibes:
- second chance
- Lovers to strangers to lovers
- Plus sprinkle in a little rivalry and animosity
- Only one bed
- Forced proximity
- Very bookish characters (they’re both writers)
- Christmas romance
- Felt meta since both MCs are writing a romance book

Tldr: If you’ve loved Falon Ballard’s previous books I feel like you would really enjoy this one!

Jessica and Nick, romance writers and exes, get reunited at their publisher’s annual awards ceremony. When there’s a mix up in the booking they’re forced to share a room and face the unresolved feelings they still have for one another.

This book was adorable!! Nick and Jess had chemistry and I was really rooting for them. It was basically a Hallmark movie in book form. It had a lot of the typical romance book cliches-the story really just owned it and leaned into it and it worked. I also liked that while the story took place around Christmas time, it wasn’t the sole focus of the story. Overall a very light, quick, fun holiday romance.

Thank you to Penguin Group and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was such a quick, fun, spicy second-chance, enemies to lovers, one bed romance! I always get nervous with holiday book releases that they’re going to feel completely rushed and not have the tension and angst to keep me turning the pages. However, while this one is a very fast read, and I felt like there could have been more back story and character development, I loveddd these two MC’s and came to really care about them. I adored the cozy winter scenery and vibes!

I really liked this! It was a cozy Christmas read, but also seriously spicy at the same time and it absolutely worked! Think snowed in, one bed in one hotel room, second chance romance kind of vibes 🎄❄️🌶️

There are few things that bring me more joy than a Christmas movie marathon and if this book was a movie (please can that happen?!) it would be a Hallmark channel classic. Of course, the tv version would have some lovely fade to black moments but, thankfully for us, Falon did not write the Hallmark version. 🌶️ The spice is steamy and the romantic christmas setting is utterly swoon worthy. It all makes me want to book a winter getaway with my husband STAT. Would definitely recommend curling up with a peppermint mocha to enjoy this romantic holiday read.