3.5 stars. This was cute. I love Ballard’s writing. This is the 3rd book I’ve read from her and even though I did enjoy this, I also thought it was very predictable and the whole plot was just not justifiable for me. Still, very short and easy read, the perfect cozy Christmas hallmark story.
Thanks NetGalley & Penguin Group Putnam for the early digital copy. All opinions are mine & mine only :)

3.75 ⭐️ rounded up

🎄Light Holiday Vibes
💻Romance Writers
🎄Second Chance
💻Forced Proximity
🎄One Bed
💻Flashbacks

Nick and Jess are romance writers who spent 3 wonderful years together, each writing and pursuing their dreams of being published authors while loving and supporting each other. After they each get signed, with Nick arguably getting the bigger break, he breaks up with her right after Christmas. Their careers have different trajectories, most notably Nick not quite sticking to the HEA tenant of romance but still being more commercially successful. 5 years later Jess is asked to present him an award for romance author of the year at the annual holiday party for the publisher.

This was a short and sweet second chance holiday romance. Both have writer’s block but when Nick reaches out by DMs to avoid awkwardness seeing each other again after so long, they each find their creative spark from the barbs and banter. At the holiday party, both try to deny their attraction and very much still present feelings. Bad weather and reservation mixups leave them forced to share a room with one bed. Flashbacks and present tensions made for surprisingly steamy reading! I’m not going to lie, part of the reason for their initial break up made me a little mad but the grand gesture was actually very perfect for them!
The timing of their break up was so sad because Jess loved Christmas and the devastating heartbreak has colored the holiday ever since. This book wasn’t overly Christmasy but still gave me feel good holiday vibes. Perfect for my Christmas in July reading!

A great cute read for second- chance lovers. Jessica and Nick are two romance writers and they happen to be exes. However, they work for the same publisher so when they get snowed in at an awards ceremony they have plenty of time to work on their rivalry.

Both characters are easy to love and root for. Jessica loves Christmas and starts celebrating in November and Nick has much more reasonable expectations and this is just the beginning of their differences.

I loved this book! It's well-written, enjoyable, and a great read. Falon Ballard did a great job of writing in a way that captures the readers attention, and makes you not want to put it down until you're finished! I would highly recommend it!

the cutest of all cute holiday books. now, did i read this during the summertime? why yes i did. and i can’t bring myself to regret it becase it was too stinking cute and falon ballard hasn’t let me down yet! perfectly sweet and steamy, i read this adorable story in one sitting and will def reread during the holiday season

This was cute, in a very basic way. “All I Want is You” is a second change romance about two romance authors who get stuck in the same (one bed) hotel room for a few days to a week over Christmas. They also end up writing a book together, which was really interesting to see. But a problem I had was how short this novel was, at just 294 pages. This leads to me feeling that the reconciliation between the two mcs was rushed and moved too fast. The story was extremely fast paced, and should have had at least 50 more pages for a more realistic pacing. The book was also quite tropey, like the author had just written a list of tropes to fulfill before coming up with an actual plot line. Despite all that, I did enjoy this story, even though I feel like I’ve read at least 5 other books that are exactly the same.

When I got the notification that my ARC of All I Want Is You by Falon Ballard was available, I basically dropped everything. Initially, I was worried about reading a winter-themed book in the summer, especially since a recent fall read in spring didn't work out so well. But honestly, I love Ballard’s writing so much that the snow and Christmas-loving FMC didn’t bother me at all.

The story centers on Nick and Jess (no, not the couple from New Girl), both romance authors and former flames, one who always ends with a HEA and one who does not. When Jess is asked to present Nick with a company award, she finds herself stuck between a rock and a hard place. To make matters worse, a snowstorm rolls through, trapping her at an inn where her reservation has gone missing, leading to a series of unfortunate events that throw these two into one awkward, uncomfortable, and comical situation after another.

I am a sucker for a second chance romance. Pair that with forced proximity and only one bed? I was sold before I began. This book had the right amount of tension, spark, and love. I wish I'd seen more of Jess's friends, Alyssa and Kennedy. Their relationships and text-message side convos were frighteningly similar to some of my real-life conversations. The snowstorm and inn added to the atmosphere, especially the feeling of being trapped during a beautiful time of year. It definitely gave cozy vibes.

Based on Right On Cue and this upcoming novel, I can assure you that Ballard knows how to write the perfect cozy inn! Initially, I thought Nick was a jerk, but by the end, I was swooning and eager for Jess to get her own HEA like she's always writing about. I highly recommend this one, especially if you're looking for a holiday-themed love story.

All I Want Is You will release on September 24, 2024. And she's got another novel in the works, Change Of Heart, coming in February 2025, and it is going to be hard to wait!

I enjoy everything this author has put out so far and this did not disappoint. It’s a Christmas book but it wasn’t too cheesy or very themed in my opinion (which was plus for me). I liked both main characters and that they were both romance authors. I did find the amount of minor characters that worked in publishing or were fellow authors as well to be confusing at times but it didn’t take away from the romance. I was pleasantly surprised by the spice on this one. It seemed a bit more than her other stuff but it gave the story more tension and further drove the plot. Looking forward to a reread at Christmas time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute holiday romance. I’m a sucker for forced proximity, especially when it involves being snowed in together. I thought Jess and Nick were both easy characters to root for there. I enjoyed seeing how there second chance at romance unfolded! The epilogue was icing on the cake! Just the sweetest! I definitely recommend reading this book!

Read if you like:
🎄 Forced Proximity
🎄 One Bed
🎄 Second Chances
🎄 Books About Books
🎄 Wintertime Settings

Thank you to Putnam for the advanced reader copy! All thoughts are my own.

Jessica and Nick are rival romance authors...that are also exes. While Nick's career has been booming, Jessica's books have been hovering around the mid range of popularity and she's fine with that, albeit just a little bit jealous. At their publisher's yearly Christmas party, Jessica is asked to announce Nick for an award and she can't say no. But after getting snowed in together at the upstate New York inn a few days for Christmas, they pair together to write a second chance romance. Once working together opens up long dormant feelings, Jessica and Nick start to wonder: can they have a second chance romance themselves?

I think this was a really soft and fun holiday romance and the second chance romance plot did make sense. I absolutely loved the aspect of them writing essentially the same book at first and then coming together to combine it into one. I also loved his grand gesture in the end, I thought it was very romantic.

The one gripe I have is that again, Falon relies on miscommunication as being the major catalyst for the main couple's breakup. While this time it makes sense (though I would have cut out one of the reasons as I think it painted him in a harsh light), I really wish Falon would try another kind of 3rd act breakup as it's becoming a bit expected for her.

Overall, this is still a fun and quick holiday read! This is probably my favorite out of all of Falon's books and I'm so glad I finally have found a book of hers that is more than 3 stars.

Thanks to @netgalley and @putnambooks for the #gifted copy of this book. All opinions on this book are my own.

Summary: Jessica and Nick are rival romance authors who have not spoken to each other in the last 5 years after they broke up. However, that all changes when they must see each other at a work function a few days before Christmas. To top it all off, they get stuck in the same room with only one bed due to a crazy snowstorm stranding everyone. With nothing else to do, they turn their frustrations to the page and begin writing out of the writer's block they've been battling.

Thoughts: A perfect holiday romance. It was everything I look for in a story around Christmas time: the magic of the holiday, all the feels, and of course an HEA. I'm so glad that this was a dual POV so that I could see how both characters felt and how those changed throughout the book. The banter between Nick and Jess (it's not lost on me that this references one of my favorite shows, New Girl!!!) was spot on and had me laughing most of the book. The massage scene (iykyk) was a favorite part of the book for me.

Overall, this is a perfect Christmas book to get you in the mood for all the holiday fun! I sure felt like Santa was about to come and it is the beginning of July!!

This was a decent romantic comedy, but I had trouble buying into the characters. They were a bit shallow and unbelievable. I think this could be appealing to some, but I found I couldn’t connect with the characters in a vulnerable or realistic way.

Thanks to Netgalley & PENGUIN GROUP- Putnam for the arc! This was so cute! Love the writing style & both characters. The banter was good too! Definitely will read more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I DNFd this at 15%. I simply could not go on. The writing is objectively bad, the constant streams of text messages or messages are incredibly annoying and unorganized and the dialogue is painfully cringy.

I just could not get into it at all.

All I Want is You by Falon Ballard is a quick, light read with a second chance romance and holiday theme. I relished this warm and cozy love story despite the unconvincing third act breakup--I think readers will too!



The story opens when Jessica, a romance writer, gets an email from her agent, Sonia, asking if she will present the Romance Author of the Year award to Nick, her hugely successful ex, at an upcoming Holiday Ball. Jessica is not thrilled. Sonia, says, if she ‘plays nice’ it will impress the higher ups at SVP (her publisher) to publish her next book and SVP will cover her hotel room. Jessica decides to be professional and present the award even though it irks her that Nick’s books are not technically romances because none of them have happy endings. On top of that, his books all sell like hotcakes while she has to work part time at a coffee shop to make ends meet. Plus, she was terribly hurt when Nick broke up with her five years ago and she doesn’t even know why he did it.

In the past, Jessica and Nick met at a creative writing workshop and hit it off right away. They became critique partners with benefits--their banter is hot! They dated for three years and then they both got book contracts about the same time with the same publisher, Saint Valentine’s Press (SVP). Except Nick got a six-figure multibook deal and then dumped her (I can’t reveal why). Since then, he has been so focused on his writing he has barely dated. He misses Jessica terribly and thinks breaking up with her was a huge mistake. When he sees her Instagram pictures, she looks even more beautiful to him and he thinks: She’s the one that got away.

Nick is surprised when he hears Jessica will be presenting an award to him. He uses this as an excuse to reach out to her and DMs her on Instagram to tell her how much he appreciates her doing this. She DMs him back that she’s not happy about it--her agent convinced her to do it. Their back and forth banter through their DMs is funny and they are both surprised when they suddenly have new ideas for their books. They had both been struggling with writer's block and realize that seeing each other might inspire their writing.

Jessica gets a new, red revenge dress to wear to the Ball and Nick thinks she looks incredible. She sees him in his suit and thinks he looks like he could be on the cover of a romance book. There is a glitch when Jessica tries to check into the hotel - her reservation has been lost and there are no rooms left. Nick kindly suggests she stay with him and she agrees (and of course, there is only one bed.) A snowstorm moves in and things get steamy when they are snowed in.

When one of their editors finds out they are both writing books with similar themes, she suggests they should combine their stories and write their book together. (She sees PR possibilities if they become a couple.) Nick sees it as a chance to get to get to know Jessica again and Jessica agrees because she is still in love with Nick and it doesn’t hurt that it will help her career. When they are writing the spicy part of their book, their chemistry is explosive. I especially enjoyed the humor as the two discussed romance tropes while working on their new romance book.  

My only issue was with the reason behind their breakup - I just didn’t buy into it. Additionally, the pacing is slow in the second half while they worked through their past but there is a surprise grand gesture that makes for a satisfying ending.

There is plenty of witty banter and spice in this short, cozy romance making it the perfect escape. It's not quite a DIK but it's a fun, sexy read!

🥈 Second Chance
👹🥰 Enemies to Lovers
➡️⬅️ Forced Proximity
🛏️ 1 Bed
🏨 Cozy Holiday Inn
🌶️ Spicy

I just love me some Christmas in July. ❤️

This book did not disappoint and was absolutely adorable. I loved the way the characters’ backgrounds were laid out and how the story got straight to the point. The banter between Jess and Nick was great and the setting was perfect. This novel gave all the necessary holiday romance vibes you look for in a Christmas book.

When I saw aotm bookclub was reading All I Want Is You for a Christmas in July read, I was in. Did I also read most of it while at the beach? Yes and it wasn’t as weird as I thought🤣

I think this might be my second favorite Falon book, behind Lease on Love. This was a fun, quick second chance romance and I really enjoyed the premise of it. Banter is one of my favorite things, and this one definitely didn’t disappoint in that area.

I do think one of the reasons they broke up in the first place really cheapened their relationship and wasn’t necessary, but the other reason was very plausible for this story. I did really enjoy the ending of this one though!

This one is out September 24th and perfect to add to your holiday tbr! Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy. All opinions are my own.

Falon is an auto-buy author for me and she continues to deliver with each and every book.

Short Synopsis:
Two romance authors - one successful, one not, are forced together at an awards show. The catch? They used to date.

My Thoughts:
This has all the makings of a perfect holiday read: snow, Christmas vibes, peppermint mochas. I’m a sucker for second chance romances, but add in two authors at Christmas and I’m a goner.

This was such a fun, light book perfect for the holidays. The banter was phenomenal. The tension was sizzling. I loved the conversation about romance books with HEA vs not HEA. (I’m a huge fan of both.) And the miscommunication conversation was so real and so true.

I think it was a bit unnecessarily steamy (people will disagree with me I’m sure! 🤣). But it was fun holiday read!

What You’ll Find:
💕Second chance romance
📚Books about books
❄️Snowed in
❤️‍🔥Sizzling tension
🛏️Only one bed
🔥Forced proximity
🎄Holiday romance

I'm usually not a fan of holiday romances, but this one was different. It didn't feel overly Christmasy. It was short and sweet. Nick and Jess felt genuine. I was very happy while reading this one.

Title: All I Want Is You

Author: Falon Ballard

Publisher: GP Putnam's Sons

Format: The e-book was given to me by NetGalley for an honest review

Published: Will be published on Sept. 24, 2024

Genre: Romance

Romance author Jessica Carrington hasn't achieved the success she hoped for. Her books' sales stats don't place her in the best-selling charts, and she's praying that will change.

Her journey took a downturn when Nick, her former boyfriend, ended their relationship last year, just two weeks after Christmas. Jessica had to find additional work to make ends meet. However, the tips aren't as substantial as she had anticipated, and she's still waiting for her next payment from her publisher. The sales of her books aren't breaking any records.

Then, her agent asks her to attend the Saint Valentine's Press Holiday Ball to present an award to her ex, who is also a romance writer. This is a challenge she's not sure she can handle.

According to Nick Matthews' assistant, Hilary, he has never missed a deadline before. Unfortunately, his deadline is quickly approaching and he hasn't even finished his draft. He hopes his ex, Jessica, will give him a chance to explain why he broke up with her five years ago.

There's a good chance their time together at the publisher's award ceremony will kindle their inspiration to write. Shortly after they see and talk to each other at the inn, Jessica gets an idea for her next book, and an idea blossoms for Nick. He usually has a well-detailed plot before he begins, but he gets right down to writing. The time they spend together reawakens old feelings. But is it enough to prove that they genuinely love each other?

Set during the Christmas season, where bad weather and close quarters are a sure thing, the lack of rooms keeps Jessica and Nick together. However, I thought their publisher would have double-checked that Jessica had a room. Nick inviting Jessica to stay with him made the situation even more difficult for them both, but it forced them to work toward closure or commitment.

This is a story of second chances, of how Nick believed he was doing the right thing but now finds himself questioning his past decisions. It's a reminder that some love stories are meant to be revisited and rekindled.

A number of chapters share a Christmas memory, which allows us to see their lives before the break-up. Also, how Jessica's family really cared about Nick. The Christmas scenes extended the setting, so they weren't always at the inn.

Three and a half shared rooms out of five

Denise Fleischer

Gotta Write Network

July 6, 2024