A steamy and light holiday romance that was quick to read! I will say I have never hated a male “hero’” more.

I really enjoyed Falon Ballard's first two books, but I have no idea what's happened since then, as her last two books were Not It. I love a good second chance romance but there was no reason for these people to ever get back together, and there was every reason for her to never speak to him again. This man is TRASH.

I quickly realized I wasn't enjoying this book, because the pacing felt really off. Our MC went from antagonizing her ex to sharing his room and sleeping in one bed and even cuddling really really fast, when there was no incentive for her to think he'd changed since their break-up, and when she still didn't know why he broke up with her. This made them reconnecting very hard to understand, considering their circumstances hadn't changed. But it got just SO much worse from there.

At about 70% in we still don't know the reason for the break-up, and there's this exact quote: "Nick has made it clear he has no intention of explaining what went wrong between us five years ago. But I'm honestly starting to not really care." And umm... I actually DID care! I cared VERY MUCH. What do you mean, you're starting to not care?? What makes you think anything has changed?

So yeah, that sealed the deal on me absolutely hating this book. AND THEN. We get the actual reason for the break-up, which is a deeply selfish, fucked-up reason, which boils down to him choosing his career over her. And she forgives him so easily? What do you mean?? If he loved his career more than you, he should marry that instead! It was completely wild how easily she accepted this beyond fucked up reason and took him back, and I'm actually angry.

Not to mention that Nick's books are being published as romance novels even though they don't have a HEA. That in itself was reason enough for me to dislike him but he was so much worse than that.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Falon Ballard is an auto-read author for me, and All I Want Is You is a great holiday novella, especially if you're trying to hit your annual reading goals. If you like forced proximity, only one bed, second chance romance, writers as main characters, and some on page spicy times, then this is for you. Also if you like flashbacks during the holidays to give additional context for a previous relationship, it's in here too. Both main characters were believable and well developed. There is a bit of repetitive inner monologue of "will this person accept me once they know the truth?", but other than that a solid, cute, holiday romance.

My favorite holiday read of the season!

This book is everything you want in a romance. A solid plot, sexual tension, great side-characters and a HEA. I will definitely be reading more of Falon Ballard's books! I'm only sorry it's taken me this long to discover them.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc. All opinions expressed are my own.

Two authors with a complicated past find themselves snowed in together for several days after a publisher event. This delightful second-chance romance features two romance writers navigating classic tropes like forced proximity, one bed, and even a suggestion to fake date. I loved how the story they were co-writing mirrored their own lives, adding depth to the plot. The witty banter—both between her author friends and the main characters—was a highlight, making this book both adorable and swoon-worthy!

Christmas is here and I couldn’t be happier. A second chance writers romance at christmas?! Yes, please. Thank you. Big fan here, loved everything about Nick and Jess. I found their love to be so sweet and fun with their banter and spice.

4.25 stars

Second chance, enemy to lovers, one bed tropes?!?! Sign.Me.Up.

I am not normally drawn to books about authors but Falon Ballard can do no wrong and that includes All I Want Is You. So cute, I could not put it down!

A big big thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons, NetGalley, and Falon Ballard for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

Short & sweet holiday romance! I enjoyed this story way more than I expected. The workplace rivals, forced proximity, and second-chance romance made for some genuinely fun dialogue. The flashbacks added the depth and context the story needed, but the real lesson here? Men give terrible dating advice. To all the guys out there looking for romance tips, just put on “How You Get the Girl” by Taylor Swift and take notes. Simple as that.

I waited to read this one until I was in the Christmas spirit and I’m glad that I did because something about reading it by the Christmas tree just hit different.

Falon never disappoints. There is YEARNING. There is DEVASTATION. There is TROPE USAGE TO PERFECTION. This book is a string of rainbow Christmas lights brought to life.

Jess is so relatable - desperate for success at her dreams, defensive of herself, soft but with a shield built up around her heart.

And Nick, though an idiot, is so down bad for her that he is willing to do the groveling necessary, willing to take the loss a second time around if it means he also has a chance at it not being a loss.

I LOVED that they forced honesty from each other. That they refused to accept dishonesty for the sake of spared feelings - because once Nick realized that his refusal to be honest with himself hurt them both, he folded like a lawn chair. As he should.

I just loved this. I also cried but that’s not new. crying is good.

I saved this one for December and I’m glad I did. It puts me in the Christmas spirit. I loved so many things about this. The book within a book, second chance at love. Uh! So delightful. I’m not a huge Rom com lover, I’m a Falon Ballard lover.

All I Want Is You by Falon Ballard is an entertaining and charming holiday-themed rom-com about second chances.

This is the first novel I’ve read by Falon Ballard and I’m a big fan of her writing style. She’s quite talented, and both the main characters felt real and distinct. She has several fun romance tropes: second chance romance, enemies-to-lovers, etc., but it never feels like a cliche or a repeat of what I’ve read before.

Coupled that with taking place over the holidays, and featuring two romance writers, I just thought this was such a fun and ideal read for this time of year.

All I Want Is You is a wonderful pick for the holiday season. You have festive holiday vibes, a well-done romance, and a look at the career of professional authors. The two main characters initial romance, and second-chance romance, made sense and rang true. Lovely story all around!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Count me in for anything written by Falon Ballard! I'm not usually a fan of holiday-themed books (I usually avoid them altogether) but this one is a great example of a short and sweet version that just WORKS! Not novella short, but just *not 100 pages longer than it needed to be* short. I truly enjoyed it!

In All I Want is You, Jessica and Nick, both romance writers, find themselves entangled in an enemies-to-ex-lovers, forced proximity, second chance romance. Five years after Nick broke Jessica's heart without explanation, they are forced to confront their unresolved feelings when Jessica is tasked with presenting an award to him at a holiday event. While Nick has achieved success with his books featuring unhappy endings, Jessica struggles with her writing career, penning happy endings to cope with her heartbreak.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy of this book - just in time for the holidays!

3.5 ⭐️

This had all the makings of an ideal read for me - a book about books, set during the holidays, that features dual POVs, flashbacks, AND a coffee shop? I wanted more depth from the relationship, which came across as very physical/surface level. Still, the ending was absolutely precious, and this was really fun for Christmas.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Falon's books are like a warm cup of cocoa or a really good hug. They always leave me happier than they found me and swooning over my new favorite book boyfriend. All I Want Is You roundhouse kicked me right into the Christmas spirit and I am so glad it did.

There was so much to love about this book! Only one bed, snowed in, THAT GRAND GESTURE! I inhaled this book and am so glad Falon blessed us with a Christmas romance this year!

I fell in love with Falon Ballard's writing when I read Lease on Love, so was very excited to get access to her new holiday romance. Holiday romances are so cozy and delightful and this one did not disappoint. Jessica and Nick are romance authors who became rivals after their breakup. The story builds good background on both characters and bumps back to previous Christmases when they were together and jumps to the now. I love how Ballard incorporates funny tropes into the story line and pokes fun at the genre in the most relatable way. This second chance romance, enemies to lovers, just one bed story was a very quick ready and packed a lot of good spice. Definitely recommend this on your holiday reading list.

Thank you Putnam Books and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Second chance, only one bed, forced proximity due to a winter storm, feuding writers, flashbacks to their previous relationship... I ate this one up! The dual narration and dual points of view were well done.

4.25 stars

Thanks to the publisher for sharing a copy. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this! Very self-referential - two romance writers get a second chance romance. Which means lots of tropes getting referenced out loud and true industry insider comments.

Maybe it was just me, but this book felt short. I think more could have been done with more pages, but I loved what was done in the time given.

I loved the Christmas magic and switched POVs in the past during other christmases.

Unfortunately this one just didn’t work for me.
A snow storm no one knows is coming, a hotel room reservation that just happened to not be found, 4 days stranded in a hotel with no rooms available, only one bed in the room, waking up dry humping each other, a massage that just happens to get mis-booked and now it is a couples massage?! Gag! Plus to top it off a main male lead character that broke up with the women of his dreams FIVE YEARS AGO but as soon as he did it he knew it was a mistake and supposedly had been pining after her since-yet it was FIVE YEARS AGO!! You wit 5 years to apologize for being a chicken shit?
Yeah, this one wasn’t for me. I should have DNF’ed.

Books about authors are always a treat and I loved this second chance Christmas romance. There were definitely some similarities between this and Emily Henry’s Beach Read but they were different enought for me that it didn’t feel like the same story. The side characters were cute and helped the MCs address what they needed to. I did listen to the audio for parts and highly recommend it - the narrator was new to me but did a great job!

2.5 stars. I love Falon, but this was not my favorite! I’m not sure if I’m just not in the mood for holiday romances, but this felt like so many tropes stuffed into a book with very little substance. There were times I enjoyed it, and I did like the spice, but I had such a hard time being invested in this relationship or feeling like they should end up together.