Change of Heart
By: Falon Ballard
Review Score: 4 Stars

Boogie’s Bulletpoints
•Romance
•Fiction
•Magical Realism
•Amazing banter
•Small town

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Y’all, I love Falon Ballard. I love how she writes books. She always has the perfect amount of character development and plot, and Change of Heart was no exception.

We meet Cam, a workaholic, who is on a blind date with Ben. Their overly involved waitress pays for their meal, and, unknown to them, sends them to a small town called Heart Springs.

Cam then has to figure out how to get out of Heart Springs and back to her own life, and Ben is there to help her fulfill these tasks.

I loved Cam as a character. I love her inner monologue, I love her desire to succeed, and I love her evolution through this story. And her relationship with Ben? They were definitely a slow burn, but I loved it.

Add in a small town and a cast or characters, and you have a book that is both funny and profound.

I really enjoyed this book!

I love the uniqueness of this novel. It feels a little bit like a Christmas Carol, but not a holiday, and actually living in a Hallmark town. I really love Falon Ballard’s writing and this book is no different. I loved the balance of two strong characters with difficult jobs and how different their approaches were. The backstory from Cam was really well done, but I wanted a bit more from the MMC. I’m not one for being transported into a different world, but I did like that it felt original. This gave small-town vibes and certainly brought the humor. I really enjoyed the ending, and although the plot wasn’t necessarily my favorite, I thought it was really well done. 3.75⭐️, 2🌶

This one was actually super cute! I loved the whole magical realism aspect of it and wanted it to be longer.

My favorite theme was the self reflection and development and self love.

The banter and spice were pretty darn good. I loved the different take they had to complete in order to get home. And there is not one book of Falon’s that I did not adore.

The beginning drew me in but I gave up around 30%. Cam wasn’t relatable at all and she seemed rude. I can usually read a 330-page book in a couple days but didn’t want to pick this one up again. I tried and tried but was, honestly, bored…

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley & the publisher.

Change of Heart is a delightful romance with a dash of magical realism to take place within a Hallmark Movie setting. Campbell is a lawyer who always puts her career over love. Her grandmother keeps setting her up on dates. Cam goes on a blind date with Ben, a paediatric surgeon. After her date with Ben, she wakes up and realizes she's been transported to a small town with Hallmark vibes. Ben is also transported with her, so together, they work toward returning to their real life

Read this book if you enjoy:
-Magical realism
-Fun banter and steam
-Small-town Hallmark vibes
-Grumpy (FMC) & sunshine (MMC)
-Lawyer/Doctor
-Open door romance
-Character growth

This was a perfect spring read! Falon Balard is such a favorite author of mine.

Cam and Ben's connection was great and growing. I wish there was more depth to both of them tho.

Cam personality was not a favorite of mine. She perceived herself as one thing and next another. It was annoying to me. I also think alot of people felt the same. I think if she was written a bit better I would have liked her a bit more. Its very difficult to finish a book with an unliked FMC.

The story was great and I loved the concept but she was not it for me,

Campbell Andrews has woken up in her version of hell. After a disastrous blind date that her grandmother set up, she wakes up in the sweetest town with happy people, festivals, and lovely little businesses. She is supposed to be in the biggest meeting of her life, not stuck here with her blind date living next door! In order to get back to her real life as a partner at a law firm, she will have to fulfill three tasks, one of which is falling in love.

Campbell doesn’t believe in love and cannot imagine that she will ever get out of her personal nightmare (think Hallmark movie)

Why Jackie loves it

This is a delightful and unexpected read. I love the setting of a small town for a love story and I loved how Campbell finds herself. I don’t want to spoil anything but this is the perfect book to read for Valentine’s Day #Gifted

This was both hard to read (in a funny way, hello second hand embarrassment), and a bit confronting of how I would react in this situation because honestly I would be just as crass and annoyed as Cam was.

Yes she had thing to unpack about her current life situation, the way she and her family interacted, and most definitely how she interacted with others. The cute, holiday town was a mixture of Pleasantville and all the small town Hallmark movies that Cam had to watch on the only channel that existed. It made me uncomfortable!! Who knew that I would feel suffocated by a cute, happy, small town??

Ben and the diverse cast of characters were fun and so heartwarming. Just solid rocks through Cam's trails and tribulations, helping and enjoying the ride of Cam realizing her worth and happiness.

the term of endearment "sweetheart" would throw me off until I remember that Ben and Cam are from New York and then I just tried to give Ben the accent every time I read any of his lines.

Ballard takes contemporary romance and just makes a great afternoon read, or a plane ride read for me (funny enough, leaving New York). AND the no third act break up just made it all the better.

Change of Heart fell flat for me. It follows a cute but very basic Hallmark movie plotline.

I usually roll my eyes when people say a romance novel is predictable (There's always gonna be an HEA, duh!), but this one really was. I was able to predict all of the plot points down to the fundraiser being a date auction. And we all knew from the beginning that Mimi thought Cam and Ben should be together based on the initial first date, so the added setting them up with other people made no sense.

And let's talk about Cam - Aren't we all beyond the bitchy successful woman who wears all black needing to change? Why can't she feel happy and fulfilled in her current life?

I really liked Cam and Ben together though. That part of the ending made me happy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

What I loved most about this book was the setting—Heart Springs feels like the perfect cozy escape, and the townspeople add so much warmth and personality to the story. The romance is slow-burn but deeply satisfying, with a love interest who is both swoon-worthy and emotionally complex. Ballard’s writing is witty and engaging, making it easy to fall into Campbell’s world and root for her personal growth.

Some plot points felt a little predictable, and I wished we got a bit more depth in certain emotional moments. However, that didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment. If you love small-town romances with a touch of fate and self-discovery, this is definitely worth the read!

As soon as Cam met Ben I was cringing for him. She was the grumpy and he was the sunshine in this and boy was she grumpy. I love a little magic in my books and you won't be able to convince me that Ben wasn't magic himself. I thought this was a little Scrooge like, but I went into it knowing it wouldn't be realistic and I just was along for the ride. I was swooning and yelling and rooting for Cam to open her eyes and her heart the whole time. I wish we would have gotten some of Ben's POV, but I do understand the story was hers, but I still just wanted more of Ben and his puppy dog self.
Thanks to Penguin, Netgalley and Falon Ballard for an early copy.

the town was way too cheesy and our FMC way too unlikeable. I did like the MMC but he was severely underdeveloped and flat.

Yeahhhhhh… I didn’t really care for this.

Some things to watch out for to readers interested in picking this up:
- really unlikable FMC (and I mean, REALLY UNLIKABLE)
- does the MMC actually even exist? Bc I swear we get more character descriptions of minor side characters than we do of him
- this book was wayyyyy too similar to Prime Time Romance by Kate Robb, but the town reminded me a lot of A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston (I think it’s safe to say that this plot has just been done too many times already)
- it was such a slow burn, which isn’t always a bad thing, but in this case I was getting bored waiting for anything exciting to happen
- there were so many cheesy lines and cliches that seemed like they were trying too hard to be quirky, but it really was annoying
- the entire point to the ending was just bad

I really liked this magical romcom. Campbell Andrews is a partner in her family’law firm. She’s a no nonsense person who hates incompetence, tardiness, and love stories. Her grandmother sets her up on a blind date with a handsome pediatric surgeon, but she makes it clear she’s not interested.
The next morning she wakes up in Heart Springs, a town straight out of a Hallmark movie. Her hair is different and the only clothes in her closet are frilly dresses, not her style at all. She recognizes 2 people, the waitress and Dr. Ben, her blind date.
She’s told she has to do three things to get home - find happiness with a new career, help the community, and experience true love. Can Cam accomplish her tasks and go back to her old life?
I highly recommend this fun romance, 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really enjoyed Change of Heart- it was a great book to read during the love month. It took my a while to like the FLC, Cam at first. She was cold hearted, snobby and blunt which I guess fit her role as a lawyer. But it was hard to relate to her. But over time, as she started to warm up and build those friendships and relationships you met a different side of her. Ben was a good MMC- caring, supportive and attentive but the “sweetheart” nickname quickly turned me off. He used it way too much! 🤪 But overall I liked how they complimented each other. It was a cute and lovey story and I can’t wait to read more of Falon’s book as this was my first book by her.

This book was fun and different! It held my interest and I loved it. I don't think I have read anything by this author before, but I will definitely read more from her now. Loved it!

Part Pleasantville, part Groundhog Day, this clever story had me intrigued. This is a reverse grumpy/sunshine featuring a jaded lawyer, Cam and super cinnamon roll pediatric surgeon, Ben. The two originally meet on a blind date that was arrarnged by Cam's grandmother. Cam makes it abundantly clear she has no interest in being there, but is there only to appease her grandmother. Ben is a bit taken aback by her attitude, as most people would be.

The next morning, Cam wakes up in pastel purgatory. She has no idea how she got to this cookie cutter neighborhood filled with seemingly perfect homes and lawns, but she wants out. She finds out that the waitress from the night before runs this community and has a few tasks for Cam before she can go home. She also finds that Ben is her new neighbor and is also given three tasks.

Cam was so bristly in the first portion of the book that it was a bit difficult to root for her to succeed. But the story itself was so interesting, I found myself forgiving Cam later on

ARC Review!

Cute, fluffy, Hallmarkish rom-com with some spice sprinkled in. Solid for any romance lover :)

Falon Ballard is an author that really excites me with her premises and the range of stories she has published and coming down the pipeline. I enjoy her writing, and the familiar voice of a woman who is a part of my own generation. The main character in Change of Heart, Cam, was so relatable to me. The dedication to the "unlikeable girls" stuck with me through the entire read. I have to say, this is one of the only romance books that had me tearful only a quarter of the way in. Not because there was a deeply emotional scene but rather because I saw myself in Cam. I read words that described feelings I've had for a long time that often caused me to feel that those around me do not relate to or understand me. Anyone who has felt that it is hard to fit in if show themselves truly to others will connect with Cam, even if the way that manifests is different. I love Ballard's heroines because they feel real to me and not a too-idealized version of a person with easily resolvable flaws. Everyone wants to be loved and accepted for being themselves, and while growth is important, we should not need to completely change to fit what others want us to be. I look forward to reading the upcoming releases by this author, and she is an auto-buy author for me.

Overall, I enjoyed the premise of this book -- waking up in a Hallmark town of sorts to right your life to get sent back home a changed person. I thought it was really creative and cute! However, I thought the female main character was a bit too prickly and unlikable. It was hard to want her to do better and changed because I was more annoyed with her than anything at the start. The other thing that bothered me a lot was how much the male main character used the nickname 'sweetheart'. That was a bit overdone and so it didn't have as much of an endearing effect. Still a fun, easy read.