Campbell Andrews is a total workaholic who has zero time for love stories, but after a random magical transport to a quirky Hallmark-style town, she’s forced to do the one thing she never thought she’d have to… fall in love.

The small-town charm, the meddling mayor, and the delicious slow-burn romance with Ben had me swooning the whole time. The plot was the perfect mix of cute, magical realism and personal growth, and the cozy vibes are EVERYTHING.If you love a sweet, steamy romance with a dash of humor and magic, this one’s for you! Highly recommend for all the hopeless romantics out there!

Thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley, who provided me with an arc in exchange for an honest opinion.

Oh my. Change of Heart had potential—a magical Hallmark town, a redemption arc, a romance—but wow, this one missed the mark for me.

First, let me say I have loved other Falon Ballard books, and have reviewed arcs of them. I was so excited about this! And I hope her next one is great!

Cam starts off as an insufferable lawyer who treats Ben, our too-perfect hero, like absolute garbage on their first date. Then, she gets trapped in a Christmas all year town and has to complete three magical tasks to become a better person. And of course, Ben is there, because of course.

The setup was fun, but the execution? Not so much. The whole town being in on Cam’s redemption arc was weird, and Ben had literally zero personality beyond waiting around for her to not be awful. Their romance didn’t feel earned—she’s a jerk, he’s unrealistically nice, and somehow that equals love? I was so frustrated.

On the plus side, there was some solid spice (always a fan!) And I'm still eager to see what comes next from Falon!

This was a cute little story. I generally have a good time with this author, but they never stand out.

Thank you to Net Galley for the eARC!

This book was definitely cute and a fun magical-realism concept, but I didn't find myself 100% invested. The atmosphere of the picturesque, Hallmark-type small town was fun to be in and gave a quaint kind of charm, but it wasn't enough to bump my rating up more from a 3 star.

While I did really enjoy seeing our FMC, Campbell, eventually grow and make some true friends, I think I needed more from Ben, our MMC. It also played into the classic cliches in romcoms which was a little tiring. The story didn't end up standing out to me. as much as All I Want is You (I devoured that book last year!!).

Overall, I think this one is worth the read if the synopsis has you intrigued but it wasn't a new all-time favorite for me.

Busy lawyer Campbell who has no time for dating (or anything but making partner by the time she is 30) wakes up in a hallmark movie.

A cute premise and story. I didn't love the female main character like I typically love Falon's FMCs. I am a lawyer myself (but decidedly type B) so this is likely a me problem!

Falon is an autobuy author for me - I love her books! Especially All I Want is You and Right on Cue! This is not my favorite of her books - but I am still excited and waiting for what she puts out next!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC - all opinions are my own.

✨I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review✨
I LOVED THIS.
I read this on a plane back from a trip and I read it all in one sitting and I have zero regrets about it.
This made me cry in all the best ways. It was so sweet and tender and lovely. The relationship that progresses between Ben and Cam is honestly so special. Cam is so strong and mean and fantastic I cannot say how much I loved her and her story. I wish her background was a bit more fleshed out, but with the amount of pages the story was it worked out. Normally I’m not a huge fan of the “sent to alternate universe” trope, but this worked for me. The reason it actually worked I think was because it seemed like everyone was kind of in on the joke, I guess. Like it seemed like everyone that was there had a purpose if that makes sense.
Ben was perfection, no notes. And yes, I do normally EAT UP dual POV, I do think this worked without it. You could really tell how much Ben cared for Cam even without seeing it from his point of view.
And this did make me cry, but only because Cam realizes just how special and wonderful she really is and how much people love her and that hit me a bit too close to home.
Cannot recommend this book enough, cannot recommend this AUTHOR enough. I’ve read all of Fallon Ballard’s work and I have yet to be disappointed. She’s fabulous!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you, to NetGalley and the publisher, Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read this book.

This book is magical realism at its best, and honestly, I enjoyed it far more than I expected! This was beautifully written and such a fun story that kept me hooked from the beginning to the end. I loved the small-town charm that kind of gave a “June Cleaver” or “Hallmark” feel. It was a great, sunny novel and it made me smile so many times throughout my reading.

The side characters were fun and loveable in their own little ways as well (hello, talking to you, Mimi).

My only real complaint is that the burn on this was just a little too slow, but that did not really detract from the story for me. Bigger fans of slower-burn romance might like that aspect a little better than I do.

"Change of Heart" gives readers small-town romance and forced with lighthearted, funny moods and a dash of magical realism element.

However, the Hallmark-style whimsy and focus on "finding true love" as a central goal felt overly simplistic which is sometimes a miss for me, which is a total me thing.

Read this one if you’re craving a cozy, low-stakes escape.

I was really excited about the idea of a magical realism book from Ballard and I was hoping this would be more redeeming for me after All I Want for Christmas is You, but it lacked the Falon flair I love from all of her other books. It was cute but not memorable.

Thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley

Really struggled getting into this book. Took me forever to finish it. I wish the author much success but this book was unfortunately not my favorite,

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

It took me a bit to get into it and I honestly wasn’t sure if Cam could be redeemed, her whole personality is just rude and dismissive. Ben was nice and didn’t deserve to be tossed into an alternative world with Cam though he is probably the only reason she was actually able to realize her faults and work through them.

A huge thank you to @prhaudio for the gifted audiobook & @putnambooks for the ARC! I
I have become a Falon Ballard stan. I read All I Want Is You around the holidays and decided I had let her other books sit on my shelves for too long. I had to get my hands on Change of Heart, and when I did I was not disappointed. Imagine a Hallmark movie (small dose of magical realism) but without all the overt heteronormativity and white nationalism mixed with a steamy, slow burn, hate at first site, friends-to-lovers 90's romcom: Change of Heart by Falon Ballard.
This book was SO good! It scratched that itch of a strong female character who found love in friendship (& maybe loathing?
) and didn't compromise herself. The romance is
excellent, plenty of spice and such a fun, fast read. I loved it!
Next up l'll be reading Falon's backlog and her ROMANTASY!
I can't wait. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up, perfect for spring!

I am not a huge lover of magical realism but this worked for me. It was very Hallmark-ish and I could totally see a Hallmark movie made out of this. The sweet town of Heart Springs was very Gilmore Girls-like and who wouldn't like the magic of waking up looking perfect and your home automatically decorated for the right season? It had a lot of great lol moments but the Cam and Ben love story was a bit hard to buy. There was something about his attitude and calling her sweetheart all the time that grated on my nerves. But overall, a cute HEA and a satisfying ending that even my cynical magical realism mind could appreciate. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love Falon Ballard, but this book was not it for me. I was so excited for the premise after the first couple of chapters and couldn't wait to see how things would play out, but it fell flat in the delivery.

From the initial date that Campbell and Ben went on, I was shocked at the way she behaved and spoke to him, but I could already tell I was going to love Ben. And then when they wake up in the very Hallmark-like small town, I couldn't wait to see Cam get the reality check she needed. I just don't know that she ever really did if I'm being honest, and whatever clarity she did get was wayyyyyy too far in for me to really get on her side. That said, Ben was an absolute delight, as were all the characters around town. The townsfolk to me really stole the show and made me keep reading.

My biggest complaint is how off the pacing felt - some days were written in incredible detail, others glossed over, and sometimes what I would have thought was a day passing was actually 2 weeks, and it felt like getting jerked around a lot.

Cam is a workaholic who has walls built a mile high and fortified from everyone - friends, family, and especially love interests. She wakes up one day, in a place that gives Pleasantville vibes, where she’s stuck until she finds true love, as well as a couple other things.

I love Falon’s writing so much and I truly wanted to love this one a bit more. It was missing the usual umph we get from her books. While this is to be somewhat expected, as it was a journey of self healing, reflection, and learning, I longed for the usual wit and banter we see from Falon.

I enjoy Falon Ballard's books and one of my favorites in general is 'Right on Cue'.

With 'Change of Heart', Ballard states up front that this is for all the unlikeable girls, so I went into with that mindset, knowing the MC would have an arc because it's a HEA romance.

To be honest, I went into this not knowing it was speculative so lol to me when I started chapter 2 :D BUT I enjoyed the concept. It was fun to see how a Hallmark movie would play out with an unwilling participant who despises everything the genre and town stands for.
I wish Ben had been more well-rounded for the readers, especially since I wasn't sure why he liked Cam from the jump, but I did like him in general.
I have questions surrounding the twist and Ben...but in the grand scheme of speculative things, it doesn't really matter.

I'm glad Ballard got to write this story and I enjoyed the message for the MC and reader.
I rate this 3.5 rounded up.

I wanted to like this novel more than I did. The premise is charming - a Scrooge-esque big-city lawyer (Cam) wakes up in small town that is essentially a mash-up of all the typical Hallmark rom-com tropes. I enjoyed some parts of the story, but others were lacking. The set-up of revealing Cam’s personality in the beginning felt way too rushed, resulting in her being an unlikable one-dimensional character from the start. And while Cam’s character is eventually fleshed out more, her love interest, Ben’s, character is not. It’s hard to understand what he sees in her at first to make him so readily wanting to pursue a relationship. And while it may seem a nit-picky criticism, his habit of calling her “sweetheart”:in nearly every line of dialogue was extremely annoying. In the beginning, it felt chauvinistic and condescending, and by the time she actually became his “sweetheart”, it had gone beyond grating. The tone of the novel was also a bit odd, as it had all the elements of a sweet Hallmark rom-com but was also full of F-bombs and very spicy scenes. Overall, a cute idea with some decent themes, but lacking in execution.

Falon Ballard has become an auto buy author for me after reading this.

o m g i loved this. it was such a fun and lighthearted read. i really felt like i was watching a movie in my head while reading this🫶🏽

only thing i found myself wishing for was dual pov!

but nonetheless this was a great magical realism romcom💕

We start the story with Cam, an unlikeable workaholic. Unlikeable because she's on a blind date with a perfectly nice guy but she won't put her phone down to give him the time of day. This had me worried at first that I would be cringing at everything she did, but I kept the title of the book in mind ;) The day after the disastrous date, she finds herself in a Pleasantville-esque town with none other than Ben, her blind date from the night before. They both have tasks they need to accomplish in order to get back home. The rest of the story might have been a little predictable but I really enjoyed it! I thought it was cute and I really did love seeing Cam have a change of heart and attitude towards life!

Thank you PRH and Netgalley for the ARC!

Thank you to PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook and G.P. Putnam Son's for the gifted eARC via NetGalley. These are my honest thoughts.

This book was not at all what I was expecting, but not in a disappointing way! It just, took a turn to the magical realism that I was not expecting.

Cam, a shark of a lawyer, and Ben, a pediatric doctor, are set up on a blind date. Cam shows up to the diner and immediately acts like the date is a waste of her time. Ben... indulges her? And then their waitress covers their check, with a little note sharing wisdom about caring for others and paying attention. And when Cam wakes up? She's in the small town of Heartstrings.

Cam goes on a journey to fulfill all of these "requirements" to get back home. And Ben is her neighbor, who becomes her acquaintance, then friend, then best friend, then more.

This was cute. Time is different in Heartstrings, so we work through the seasons very quickly. This vibes like a Christmas story and I kind of wish it would have started and ended at Christmas. The magic worked for that season. I loved Ben... but it bothered me how many times he called Cam "sweetheart," because at first he kind of did it in a chiding way and then when it meant something, it wasn't as powerful.

I didn't find myself overly into this one. It was quick and cute, but it's probably more in the 3.5-3.75 star range from me. I've liked other works of Ballard's more.