I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I can honestly say this book is not for me. The first chapter completely turned me off. I enjoy a strong female lead but this woman was insufferable andI could care less if she found a HEA

Change of Heart by Fallon Ballard is a captivating and deeply emotional story that blends romance with personal growth. I absolutely loved how the novel resonated with me, especially as a fan of Lease on Love—the themes of self-discovery and navigating complex relationships felt so relatable. Ballard’s writing made me feel seen, capturing the messy, beautiful realities of love and healing in a way that spoke to my own experiences. It's a heartfelt, thoughtful read that will stay with you long after the final page.

"Change of Heart" was a really cute, slow-burn, and second-chance-ish romance, with a bit of a magical element. A comp would be Apple TV's "Schmigadoon" and so, it's very fun, sweet and mostly wholesome (but not totally) romance that I found equally enjoyable and indulgent. It is mostly closed-door, but there is still some SPICY spice scenes, so fair warning. Author Falon Ballard, once again, brings her compelling language and authentic writing style. However, I don't think that "Change of Heart" is my favorite out of all her books, which I've loved them all. But, that shouldn't diminish "Change of Heart" in the slightest. Just compared to the rest of the catalogue.

This main character was very hard to deal with from the start and that made it hard for me to get into the story. I'm not really buying the character or romance arc... but the setting was super cute.

I do not know how to feel about this one. I am a huge Fallon fan but this one lacked connection for me. I love the concept though and the writing kept me interested so I am saying this is a me problem not the story or writing. I will say when reading this remember that the FMC is meant to be annoying in the beginning. She is supposed to be unliked and the character development does happen!

Thank you to NetGalley for an arc! Cam & Ben really hold a special place in my heart. Cam is a very strong female lead and i loved that we really got to see her shine through. I think the pacing of the book was consistent throughout and i was very engaged into the story. I think it had a good mixture of emotion/comedy and that’s what i look for in a rom com!

Not my favorite of Ms Ballard’s books.
Just felt cheesy and forced romance.
I’ll hope the next one lives up to her other novels. This one wasn’t for me.

If you love Falon Ballard, you are going to love her newest book Change of Heart. This is a fun story that any Hallmark movie lover will enjoy. I also highly recommend to fans of Sophie Sullivan.

The plot of this book had me hooked. Overly ambitious woman wakes up in a hallmark movie. It had such promise.
This book under delivered so much. The main character Cam was annoying and unlikable. The male main character, Ben, overused the word “sweetheart”. It was painful to keep reading this book. I almost just gave up 10 times but I usually like Falon Ballards books. This one just wasn’t it

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC!

I absolutely adored this book! It was so charming and exactly what I needed. I love a magical realism book and this did not disappoint. Falon Ballard is one of my new "must-read" authors. If all of their books are this way, I have so many amazing books coming my way!

Thank you again for the ARC!

This was such an adorable, feel-good read!

Campbell Andrews has her life mapped out: career first, emotions last. But when she finds herself stuck in the picture-perfect small town of Heart Springs, her whole world flips. With no way home except by completing three whimsical tasks, including finding true love, Cam must reluctantly embrace the charming chaos of festivals, nosy neighbors, and romance straight out of a cheesy movie.

This story was light, fast, and hits all the so sweet!

The chemistry between the characters is perfect, and the slow burn was my favorite pace!

I loved watching Cam’s icy exterior melt as she started to let people in and the growth her character went through.

If you’re into small-town romances with a dash of magic and humor, you’ll love this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for this ARC!

I really enjoyed this book. It was definitely like a hallmark movie in book form. I loved the character growth of Cam and watching her find her purpose and her real self. I really wish we had more of Ben and Cam scenes in the beginning…I just wish their relationship had been flushed out a little more. But overall I really enjoyed it and would def recommend.

Cam and Ben have a disaster of a first date, where Cam makes it clear she has no intention of actually dating anyone, she just went as a favor to her grandmother. She's far too busy with her job to have a personal life.

The next day, they find themselves trapped in the idyllic town of Heart Springs where their confusion leads to more questions than answers.

Cam learns she needs to complete three tasks in order to get home, including experiencing true love.

This was a little too Hallmark holiday special for my taste. Cam's personal growth was the central plot but I don't feel like I learned enough about Ben to connect with him.

3.5 stars.

Falon Ballard always has such a sharp, fun wit to her books, and this one was no different. I'm a huge fan of women that are complicated and not as "easy" to love, and Ballard wrote this one perfectly. The chemistry was strong, the slow burn was torturous (but gave such a great payoff). I appreciated that she didn't get to caught up in the detail of explaining what Heart Springs was, how they got there, time-travel, etc. Magical realism can sometimes get bogged down in trying to over explain, and Ballard didn't fall victim to that at all. I had a ton of fun reading this one!

3.5 In the first couple of chapters, the female main character was so mean and her language so foul that I almost quit reading. But I didn’t, and ended up enjoying the book. It pokes a bit of fun at Hallmark type movies, which had me cracking up. I liked the secondary characters much more than the primary couple.

Much thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

2.5

Requested and received an ARC from NetGalley.
I hate writing negative reviews for books I received an ARC for because I’ve received somebody’s hard work for free in order to get the word out there. It’s why I request so few now since most of the time I can’t even bring myself to finish them…but I pushed through with this one. I thought this would be an easy breezy cute story to get me into the holiday vibe. I love a slow burn so don’t think that in any way negatively affected this review. I hated Cam. Hated her from the start and she showed no redeeming qualities until at least the 50% mark, by then I was over it and hoping Ben would find somebody else. Of course that’s not how this works. My only “issue” with the whole Heart Springs aspect is their lack of freaking out about it. If I wake up in a place that I literally can’t escape from but everyone is acting like that’s normal there’s going to be more than one meltdown. And I have questions….half the time there were no people, then there would be enough people to have festivals and support shops. Yet Mimi had a coffee shop that was always empty? I would find it more interesting to dive into what that town actually is…but I digress. Anyways…Cam becomes more human little by little (I just don’t care at this point), Ben is likable enough although not very fleshed out and his use of the term “sweetheart” made me want to gouge out my eyes. I checked and “sweetheart” was used 68 times. By the end it felt more like 6800. Sexy stuff starts happening around the 70% mark. I skimmed it because I don’t care but I did get caught on some cringe worthy phrasing like “have your way with me” and later on the fact they hadn’t had penetrative sex is referred to as not “going all the way”. WTF It’s like the main characters kept morphing into 15 year olds when it came to the sex stuff. Of course we eventually got to the HEA even if it felt like it took a million years to get there. I expected and wanted a brain candy book, it tried to go too deep to be effective brain candy but was too shallow to be anything else so it just floundered.

Cute, sweet, not a lot of depth. I was left wanting more of the male main character and their relationship but I absolutely could do with less of “sweetheart”. I liked most of the side characters but Mimi didn’t do it for me.

This was a little cheesy and on the nose, but I always enjoy being in Falon Ballard's world. It was a bit like A Christmas Carol but not Christmas and only one meddling figure instead of three ghosts.

Change of Heart is like a warm magical hug. The storyline kept my interest, and I found myself always wanting to pick it up and see what was going to happen next. While I loved the both characters their relationship seemed to lack depth. I enjoyed my reading experience with this novel, and I feel like the both leads were fully fleshed out. But something still felt missing. Still three stars! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️!

Thank you to NetGalley and GP Putnam Sons for the eARC.

A Hallmark-esque story with an adorable illustrated cover by Falon Ballard, and I was sold on Change of Heart. Campbell Andrews is not looking for love, she’s only looking to advance her her career. But a disastrous blind date (cause she’s rather be working), she wakes up in Heart Springs—a small town where she finds she has to complete 3 tasks to go home, including experiencing true love. Okay, so I love Falon Ballard, Lease on Love is a book I just absolutely adored. But Change of Heart didn’t work for me. When Cam shows up in Heart Springs, her hair goes from short, icy blonde to long golden waves, and I get there has to be the distinction, but for a book that was about her finding purpose outside of work, it irritated me that her appearance was immediately shifted by this town. And while the chemistry and banter with Dr. Ben Loving—her blind date that wakes up in Heart Springs as well—was really sweet, I wanted to get to know him. He existed to serve Cam, and it’s sweet and I was rooting for him, but he’s flat. There’s not a lot of background to him and he doesn’t grow. He’s a sweet golden retriever from start to finish. And Cam is super unlikeable from the start. She’s rude and cold with not enough background to really root for her until much later. I was on her side still, and her growth was satisfying, if not a little abrupt. There’s some solid angst in this, and the Hallmark-like town felt like diving into Gilmore Girls’ Stars Hollow. I adored the bakery owner, she was just a bright spot. And Cam finding her spot in the community, I just wanted to hug her. I loved the town events and antics and characters. It’s a really bingeable book, I read it in two days and it is a cute, open-door romance read.