I enjoyed this book. It felt a little predictable at times but Falon’s writing is always compelling. I also appreciate that her books are always a quick, fun read!

Campbell Andrews is career-driven and doesn’t have the time or the desire to find love. She goes on a blind date with Ben, a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon who literally repairs hearts for a living, to appease her grandmother. She treats him poorly throughout the whole date, and then wakes up the next day stuck in a Hallmark-like town called Heart Springs. Most surprising is that Ben is there too! Cam finds out she has three goals she has to accomplish before she can leave this town, and of course, one of those things is to experience true love!

I was so excited by the premise of this book, but it didn’t quite hit like I thought it would. It was cute and it was entertaining. However, Cam (FMC) was REALLY unlikable. This was on purpose (the book was even dedicated to unlikable women), but it made it hard for me to connect to her or root for her happiness. Ben’s character was too perfect, and basically served the purpose of watching Cam complete her tasks. I wanted more from their love story, and I felt like their chemistry was missing. Even though it wasn’t for me, I do think other readers will love this story, especially if you’re a fan of magical realism.

Thank you to Falon Ballard, Penguin Group Putnam, and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Read if you like:
💕 Magical realism
💕 Hallmark movie towns
💕 Pastels
💕 Slow burn

✨Book Review - Change of Heart by Falon Ballard✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Campbell Andrews is a workaholic lawyer, that doesn’t have time for anything or anyone else in her life, especially a love interest. Constantly being set up by her grandmother, she goes on a blind date with Dr. Ben Loving, whom she dismisses before she even sits down. The day after their date, she wakes up in small town Heart Springs, which is everything she’s not. A Hallmark channel town with seasonal festivals and friendly townsfolk, Cam just wants to go home. To make matters worse, Dr. Ben was magically transported to this town too and it falls on Cam to complete three tasks before either one can go home.

I actually hated Cam in the beginning of this book and had such a hard time rooting for her. She was brutally honest, but in a mean way and being that is how she’s introduced in the first few pages, that didn’t bode well for the rest of the story. I didn’t necessarily grow to love her, but I did come to understand her a little better. Ben was one dimensional and almost like a secondary character to Cam, instead of the MMC. I thought this was going to be a cute little rom-com, perfect for Valentine’s week and it was just meh. The ending was predictable but would I recommend it for a little comfort reading…yes. Will I read more Falon Ballard…also yes.

For those that like:
✨Second Chances
✨Grumpy x Sunshine
✨Magical Realism
✨Small Town
✨Opposites Attract
✨Single POV
✨Spice 🌶️, maybe 🌶️🌶️

Thank you to @netgalley & @putnambooks for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 STARS

Change of Heart by Falon Ballard
Genre: Romance, magical realism
Themes: self-discovery, found family, enemies to lovers
Pub date: Feb. 11, 2025

When ice-cold workaholic Campbell Andrews, who has devoted her life to her career as a lawyer, magically wakes up in cookie-cutter small-town Heart Springs, she can’t wait to get back home — or at the very least, find internet and check her phone. Her closet has traded designer suits for printed sundresses, and her sleek bob has become loose curls.

If she wants to return home, Cam must complete three tasks, which include finding a career she’s passionate about, becoming a valued member of the community, and experiencing true love. Anything is possible with a change of heart.

The picturesque town calls back to (pokes fun at) the stereotypical Hallmark movie settings, plus there’s the plot trope of a mega corporation trying to overtake a small business. The magical realism aspect is quite like 13 Going on 30 — cute and fun. And as always, Ballard’s dialogue/banter is top-notch. A very enjoyable, quick read.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the advanced reader copy of #ChangeOfHeart.

A workaholic city lawyer with no interest in love gets magically transported to a cute small town where she has to learn how to love in order to get back home. This magical realism romcom was super fun, I loved the jaded FMC, Cam and the forced proximity to her date Ben, the man she was with just before she was transported and who also finds himself stuck in the town tasked with helping Cam. Charming with delicious slow burn spice, this also takes place over the holidays towards the end and had great anti-Hallmark holiday movie vibes.

✨ARC Review✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

This book was an absolute delight—funny, heartwarming, and packed with black cat energy thanks to our heroine, Cam! Think Groundhog Day meets Pleasantville, with a dash of Hallmark magic.

Cam, a no-nonsense NYC lawyer. She finds herself stuck in a pastel-drenched small town—her personal version of purgatory. All after a date that she didn’t want to be on. To escape, she has to complete three mysterious tasks.

Enters Ben, the sweet, swoon-worthy doctor next door. Who’s got his own list to check off.

Their banter kept me laughing.

This was my first read from Falon Ballard, and now I need more. If you love charming, small-town rom-coms with a unique twist, this one’s for you!

Thank you Falon Ballard, @putnambooks and Netgally for this eARC of Change of Heart. I absolutely loved it and looking forward to reading more from Falon Ballard!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Falon Ballard for the eARC copy of “Change of Heart”

Release date: February, 11th 2025


At 34 Campbell Andrews has been made top lawyer at her family’s firm and the only relationship she needs in her life, is her job. She doesn’t have time for dating, especially with someone whose last name is Loving.

Ben Loving is a Pediatric surgeon who cares deeply for his patients and their families. He’s one of the best surgeons in New York City, but that doesn’t stop him from taking time off, or his search for true love.

Ben and Cam are complete opposites. But as luck would have it they’ve been set up on a blind date that was already destined for disaster the moment Cam pulled up her work emails. Cam makes it abundantly clear that her intentions are focused on her job and that’s it. The weird mood between them is clearly not registered by their sweet waitress Mimi who believes they’re the cutest couple and even pays for their meal. By the end of the date both Cam and Ben can’t wait to never see eachother again and go about their normal routines.

Prepped and ready for the next day of work, Cam goes to sleep feeling accomplished with her meeting prep and can’t wait to present her hard work. But how can that happen when she wakes up the next day in a picture perfect white picket fence home? Or the fact that her platinum blonde bob is now honey blonde and long. And dear God, where are her pant suits and heels?

Welcome to Heart Springs, a Hallmark town where nothing can go wrong and any struggles you may have can be fixed with a lavender latte and a warm hug.

My thoughts:

I immediately knew this was going to be a 5-star read within the first F-bomb that Cam dropped. I love a good second chance romance and appreciated that Cam’s story wasn’t focused solely on finding love with only Ben, but also within herself.

If you love Hallmark, Pleasantville, Freaky Friday or the Good Place then I think you’ll enjoy Change of Heart! It has aspects from each of those shows/movies wrapped up into 29 chapters.




Some of my favorite parts / lines:

“I send off an eight-year old girl holding a book with a smiling clown on the cover, sell a religious romance by Sierra Simone to the town preacher's teenage daughter.” You mean Priest and IT!? 😂

Cam slowly but surely loving fun lattes and not just an espresso shot

Cam’s evolving love for color and comfy pants

Ben is a gem and one of my favorite golden retriever MMC

Banter. Romance. Magical realism. I’m here for it! I have to say this is my favorite Falon Ballard book! It captured my attention from page one and did not stop until the last page. The FMC, Cam, is hilarious. She is the kind of character you don’t usually read in books. She actually sounds like a couple of my friends lol. Cam is developed very well throughout the story. Loved the banter between Cam and the MMC Ben. Also as always my favorite: NO THIRD ACT BREAK UP!!! It is Open Door which is not my cup of tea but I did over look it because I enjoyed the rest of the story so much.

4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley @falonballard and @putnambooks for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 2.75 (rounding up to 3) ⭐️

Oh man I so wanted to love this book but it fell flat for me. I wish we had more robust and depth to these characters (especially the side characters) and at times I just had an odd feeling in regards to the alternate universe aspect of the story. I think the premise is a great and can easily see this story being adapted for a movie.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam for allowing me to read an advanced complimentary copy of the book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I knew I had to request this book, I have really enjoyed all books that I have read by this author. This one kind of fell short for me, and probably my least favorite of hers. I felt kind of bored and underwhelmed. It was highly predictable on what would happen in the end so I found myself actually skimming to get through it. If you are looking for an easy read that’s light and you can get through quick, this is your book. I am still going to look forward to more books by this author!

Falon Ballard is an auto buy author for me! I’ve loved most of her books, but Change of Heart falls under the “meh” for me category as did Right on Cue. I loved her foray into magical realism (a la A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston) but the execution left something to be desired for me. Campbell was such an unlikable FMC and even though she had a character arc of growth, I didn’t find it believable and wish I had been reading Ben’s POV (Dr. Ben Loving you did nothing wrong and frankly deserved better). The concept was fun, predictable but satisfying. But Cam just came across as way too bitchy in the beginning and I couldn’t stand her throughout.

If you’re a Falon fan like me, I’d still recommend reading it - even knowing it’s a middle of the ground book. I’m hoping her next book (romantasy) hits the mark more for me!

ARC Review: Change of Heart by Falon Ballard ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the opportunity to read this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Campbell Andrews has no time for romance. Cam is a hot, young successful lawyer, set to inherit her grandmother’s high profile legal firm, what more could she need? After intentionally tanking a blind date set up by her grandmother, Cam finds herself trapped in a charming town called Heart Springs, essentially the setting of a Hallmark movie. Her botched blind date, Dr. Ben Loving is also trapped with her and they must come together to figure out how to get home.

This one was a bit of a rollercoaster for me. Initially I found Heart Springs and its cliched cast of characters a bit on the nose. The message being shoved at the reader screamed “single career woman must find love and a simpler career to be truly happy.” Thankfully this changed into a self discovery type narrative as we got to know how Cam’s opinions on life and love have been influenced by her family. The back 2/3 of the story was much stronger than the start, and I really enjoyed Cam’s interactions with the townspeople and her discovery of how to put her passion and skill to use in a more fulfilling way. I feel like Cam and Ben’s dynamic was promising and swoon-worthy but I wish they’d gotten to grow together on the page more so we could love them as much as they loved each other by the end. Something that I love about Falon Ballard’s writing style is that she can always tug on my emotions and make me feel everything the FMC is going through.

Change of Heart will be published February 11th 2025!

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ½

I will start off by saying that I’ve read 2 of Falon Ballard’s novels and loved them both! But I’ll be honest, this one did not start out well. The FMC was so unlikable for almost half of the book. I get it, Cam was goal-oriented and her job was her priority, but to act like that on a date was incredibly harsh. She did grow on me eventually once she genuinely started to make friends and care about the town of Heart Springs.

I enjoyed Ben’s character for the most part. He was sweet and just wanted what was best for Cam. But my goodness, the amount of times he called her sweetheart just made me cringe. I’ve never liked that term of endearment though so that’s probably just a “me” problem.

The magical realism in this book was cute. If only we could wake up every morning with our hair and makeup done and a closet full of outfits already planned out. The town of Heart Springs reminded me of the town in the show WandaVision.

Overall, this was a cute book but just not my favorite. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

A delightful, swoony magical rom-com that felt like a warm hug from the best parts of the Hallmark channel! I loved it! Thank you to Netgalley for the arc.

This book felt like a combination of Schmigadoon! and the Hallmark Channel. As Campbell finds herself stuck in an alternate reality of pastels, small town vibes, and romance tropes with her disastrous blind date form the night before, she begins to understand herself in a better way. I appreciate the way Campbell not only finds romantic love but also friendship and self-love, which proves to be life-changing.

After seeing reviews from trusted friends, I know that this book is not going to be for me. I briefly started but decided to DNF.

Campbell definitely hates love stories (at least that's what this entire book is based on) and then she goes on yet another blind date - with Dr. Loving himself (no really). She chooses to be seriously so rude - but then somehow finds her way in a Hallmark meets Stars Hallow world where she must complete three tasks in order to come home. Oh and did I mention Dr. Loving is there too?

One of those tasks is to find true love, will she find it? Or will she be stuck there forever?

Anything seems possible in this small town with a Change of Heart. Will Cam find hers?

Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons Publishing for my ARC!

This was a cute magical romance. I loved the juxtaposition of Cam's potty mouth in the Hallmark-esque world they end up in. She definitely had me laughing out loud so many times! She is so fierce and I loved how fiery she was, but I also enjoyed her journey from ruthless lawyer to using her powers for good. Ben was so sweet, but also not intimidated by Cam. I thought he was a great match up for her and they played off of each other well. The meddling matchmaker Mimi was also fun and the side characters added to the small town charm.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. This was adorable. Big city girl hates love and only cares about her career. Until she gets send to a small town that is straight out of a Hallmark movie. She has to learn to fall in love before she can go back to her "normal" life.

Change of Heart by Falon Ballard
Rating: 4 stars
Pub date: 2/11

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Putnam Books for my advanced copy!

If you love Hallmark movies but wish they had a little more sass, this book is the perfect read. This rom-com has a fun magical twist, plenty of humor, and a stubborn heroine who wants nothing to do with love.

Campbell Andrews is a total workaholic—no time for nonsense and definitely no time for romance. So when she suddenly wakes up in Heart Springs, a town straight out of a feel-good movie, she’s not having it. The only way home? Complete three tasks, one of which is finding true love. Lucky for her, Ben, the blind date she was horrible to the night before, is also stuck and willing to help.

Cam is a fun character. She’s sarcastic, independent, and brutally honest. She starts off as rude, and watching her struggle in this overly cheerful town is hilarious. Her journey to understanding love (especially self-love) is well done. Ben was my least favorite character. He’s nice, but his “sweetheart” vibe didn’t match Cam’s sharp edges for me.

The writing is fun, though a bit choppy in places, and there’s a decent amount of strong language and open-door romance. If you’re into magical small-town rom-coms with some spice, this one’s definitely worth picking up.