Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for my copy of All I Want Is You by Falon Ballard in exchange for an honest review. It published September 24, 2024.
Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting. I found this book to be way too “spicy “ and the open-door sexually explicit scenes needed a warning.
Definitely not for me.

I very much enjoyed this book. Sometimes I'm not on board with christmassy books, but this one was pretty cozy! I liked the meta vibe of the book that it was authors writing romance about a second chance, but that's what the book was about. Very fun! Not my favorite of Falon Ballards book but I loved the character of Jessica & I truly think it was a cute read!

Loved this book! A sweet second chance romance with the perfect amount of classic one-bed trope. The ebbs of Jessica and Nicks relationship were beautifully written, in typical Falon Ballard style. A perfect short and sweet read for the holidays.

*All I Want Is You* by Falon Ballard is a refreshing, witty romance that balances humor with heartfelt moments. The story follows two complex characters navigating love, career ambitions, and personal growth. Ballard’s writing is sharp and engaging, with plenty of playful banter and emotional depth. The chemistry between the leads is undeniable, and their journey feels both authentic and satisfying. While the pacing slows down a bit in the middle, the character development keeps the story moving. Overall, it's a delightful read for anyone craving a modern romance with a mix of humor, passion, and real-life challenges.

4.5 Stars

I absolutely adored this book! This is a second chance romance. Both Main characters are authors with the same publishing company where one is super successful and one is not. This book is not super Christmasy it is just based around Christmas time. It has some of my favorite tropes and I ate it up. For sure add this one to your holiday reading line up.

Thank you to Penguin Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this book.

This was a wonderful, fun, cheerful and steamy read! I loved the characters and their lovers to enemies to lovers storyline! The setting was fantastic and fun! I love the grumpy/sunshine aspect of their relationship as well. They were swoon worthy!

I love Falon Ballard’s novels but a Christmas novel about romance writers - I don’t want to put it down. A great holiday read about a second chance romance and writer’s block. Snowed in at Christmas time Jess and Nick are enemies to lovers as they write a romance novel together. Thanks to NetGalley form an advanced copy! Love, love, love it.

A short, sweet, holiday romance about two writers getting their own second chance romance. Includes the one bed, slow burn, enemies to lovers and forced proximity tropes.

Both Jess and Nick are romance authors who are struggling with their current drafts. Nick has had a lot of success over the last 5 years since publishing his first book but the Jess can’t seem to break out of the “mid” category and is balancing a job as a barista to help make ends meet. Basically under threat by her publisher, Jess is asked to present an award to Nick…who she hates. Jess has hated Nick since he broke her heart 5 years ago, ruined Christmas for her, and also because he doesn’t include HEAs in his romances—something that is sacred and fundamental to the genre.

Begrudgingly, Jess shows up, presents Nick with his award, and hopes to sneak off to her hotel room and leave promptly the next morning. Slight hiccup though…there is no room reservation under her name and the weather has taken a turn for the worse. Enter Nick, who saves the day by offering to share his hotel room (ONE BED) with Jess.

This reminded me a little of Beach Read by Emily Henry in the sense that it’s about two authors who find their way back together. There was also a funny amount of “self awareness” as the two romance authors and their romance author friends all point out the parallels (and flaws) of comparing their situation to typical romance tropes and stories.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers at Putnam for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Who doesn’t love a snowed in one bed trope to help kick that second chance romance into drive? This book offers up a wintery backdrop that will have you wanting to be curled up by the fire while reading. Despite being a second chance romance, I felt that this book did not have enough tension between the characters. Some of this is due to only one knowing why the break up happened (which turned out to be not very dramatic in the end). I just wanted to feel the angst and conflict more. I found the book to be breeze to get through, but just didn’t feel that emotional connection I prefer for a second chance romance. I recommend this for anyone looking for a Hallmark Christmas vibe.

I could not put this book down! The rivals to lovers trope is becoming a new favorite, and this book sprinkles in forced proximity and second chance. In this novel, two romance authors who previously dated have to do an event together, which spurs a subsequent project, forcing them to work together.

The friend group was adorable, and I found myself laughing while reading their text chain. The plot was quick and moved well. I felt like there was always something happen.

The reason the couple broke up was due to a miscommunication, that the MMC refuses to tell the FMC for most of the book. It hangs over the couples' heads for a large portion. It felt like it was built up to the point of extreme frustration for the reader. It almost made me care about it less, because I just wanted to move on from it. I feel like even if the conflict came out earlier, them working through it could have taken up the back half of the book, instead of waiting so long for the reveal.

Overall, this is an unputtdownable, fun Christmas read.

Falon Ballard is hit or miss for me. I loved "Just my type" but didnt care for "right on cue". "All I want is you" wasnt perfect but it scratched that holiday rom com itch. It was witty, steamy and short! I love a short book. I had a few problems which knocked my rating down. First off, i dont buy that a male romance author would be as popular as Nick Matthews was by writing unhappy endings. Also he dumped Jess for his career and opportunities and I felt like she forgave him very quickly.

This was a solid 3.5/5 and one of my fav Christmas reads of the year

Thank you to Putnam Books Publishing and Fallon Ballard for this ARC.
I have read Fallon Ballard before and was excited to read more from her. This book was the perfect mix of Christmas and second chance romance. A lot of Christmas books tend to get corny with town/ neighborhood names, too many Christmas references, or basic plots that wouldn't be able to hold their own. This book was romance driven with a sprinkling of Christmas. I love the setting with the main characters being snowed in at a hotel. Ballard used popular tropes (snowed in/ forced proximity, one bed, second chance, the one that got away, but put her own spin on it. Another aspect I loved was how they were both romance writers. Therefore, the characters were well aware of these common romance tropes or themes showing up. I adored Nick and his chapters showed how much he was yearning for her. The book was fast paced and wrapped up nicely with, of course, a romantic grand gesture. I would recommend this to anyone who loves rom-coms or second chance where he wants to win her back.

*THIS* is what I love in a holiday romance book! It was light-hearted, a bit of a rom-com, and full of sterotypical romance tropes.

I loved the cute take on two romance writers that have a hard time working out their own romance. While I wasn't a huge fan of all of the miscommunication between these two, the witty banter balanced it all out.

Cue the...
🎄Snowed in with one hotel room left
🎄Second chance romance
🎄Spice

Bottom line: Sweet second chance romance with some serious spice.



#netgalley #holidayromance #putnambooks #holiday #cozyreads

I read Ballard’s book Lease on Love a couple of years ago and absolutely loved it- the banter between her MC’s was *chef’s kiss* and it is still a book I recommend to people. I just haven’t picked up any of her books since until I scored her holiday read on Net Galley- and after finishing this one, I immediately added her other reads to my TBR on Goodreads.

I love a book that feels a little bit like an inception read, and that was exactly this. You have two romance authors who once dated but left broken hearted, both experiencing a writer’s block, snowed in at the holiday party, one room left, one bed (obviously) and can only find motivation to write when they banter back and forth- YES, it had all of that and so much more. It felt a little like if reading “Last Christmas” was a book instead of a song. Love, love, love for this holiday season.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review. I liked the writing and the characters in this cozy holiday romance. It uses the trope of 'there's only one bed' so there's some spice in here. It was predictable but that's part of this genre's appeal, right?

I ate this book up!!! It was such a cute and fun read, I truly enjoyed every moment of it. I looked forward to reading it each time I grabbed my kindle, which is always a sign of a good book! Nick and Jess were so cute, and I loved their story!

Falon Ballard has become one of my favorite authors, and All I Want is You is the perfect quick read to get you in the mood for the holidays! Nick and Jess had great chemistry, and I loved getting to see their previous Christmases together and their present-day reunion. For as short as the book is, the characters feel well-developed, and the story moved along quickly, but didn't feel like it was glossing over anything. There is plenty of steam packed into the ~250 pages, but it didn't feel gratuitous—it illustrated the chemistry between the MCs well. Overall I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants a sweet, steamy and entertaining Christmas romance!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the eARC!

"All I Want Is You" by Falon Ballard is a delightful holiday romance that perfectly captures the magic of the season. The chemistry between Jess and Nick is palpable, and their journey from bitter exes to potential lovers is both heartwarming and engaging. Ballard's witty writing and the festive setting make this book a perfect read for the holidays. The story is filled with humor, tension, and the right amount of holiday cheer, making it a must-read for fans of second-chance romances and feel-good holiday stories. Highly recommended!

Thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Falon Ballard is a new favorite rom com writer of mine. As soon as I saw this one, I snatched it up. The main characters Jess and Nick (hello New Girl fans!) are both romance writers. Years prior to the events of the book, Nick breaks up with Jess after gaining notoriety on his first book. Nick continues to experience literary success while Jess works at a coffee shop to make ends meet. At the beginning of the book, Jess is asked to present a best writer award to Nick. Awkward! She does it knowing that it will help her career as well. When Jess shows up to the hotel they have lost her room reservation and a snowstorm prevents her from leaving. Enter all my favorite romance tropes: second chance romance, enemies to lovers, and forced proximity of the snowed-in, one room variety! The only thing that could have made me love this book more would have been actually reading it in winter since I'm such a mood reader - but I was grateful to get an early peek at this one regardless!

Happy Holidays!

I am a huge fan of the Hallmark channel but I always want a bit more tension and angst...so I look to my holiday reads for just that feeling. Falon Ballard always delivers such pitch-perfect banter and found family. I just knew her Christmas endeavor, All I Want is You would be the same.

I quickly read this short and sweet rivals with history romance. It has the one bed, stuck together trope and man, it was a good use of those classic storytelling methods. I loved the characters and the bookish backdrop.

I highly recommend this book during the holiday season!

Thank you to the publisher for my gifted copy.