Falon Ballard is one of my favorite authors. Her books usually have so much depth and beautiful romances. This one just didn’t have the same magic.

Falon Ballard has been an auto-read author for me since Lease on Love debuted and I’ve said it before - Falon has some of the best book covers out there.

Change of Heart was a heartwarming story of second chances, building community, taking a chance on yourself, and learning to trust your heart and love yourself. Was it super cheesy at times? You bet, and that cheesiness was part of the charm. While this was super cozy and the stakes were low, the pace was maybe a bit too slow.

I liked how Falon’s dedication was to “unlikable” females. I will champion an “unlikable” female character all day every day… an unlikable FMC can be perceived by society as prickly, closed off (she’s just guarding her heart because of past pain) or “too much” (i.e. she doesn’t fit the mold of demure, soft-spoken, or malleable). But what “unlikable” is not synonymous with is mean, and oof, Campbell came out of the gate swinging… yikes. I was about to part ways with the book, BUT she turned it around and cut out the snark. I appreciated the journey her character went on to find community and clarity and loved the destination where she learned to love herself and to be loved.

The setting was cute and definitely reminded me of a classic hallmark movie small town with its charm and cheesy moments - we all need a bit of warm fuzzies right now. But I really could have done without Ben using the endearment ‘sweetheart’ a million times… it was too much.

Overall, I had a pleasant time with this story and these characters!

3⭐️ Oof I hate to say it but this was just okay for me.

I love Falons writing so much but this romance fell flat. I usually love Magical Realism and honestly I don’t think that was the issue. Mini spoiler but the issue for me is that it took over 50% of the book before the FMC and MMC to finally acknowledge their intentions and then a few pages later they were in love. Still an enjoyable read overall but just not my fav by this author!

This was an advanced read copy I received through Netgalley so it’s not going to be officially published until February 11, 2025! But this is my honest review!

Add this book to your to read list, I promise you won’t regret it! & then let me know what you thought!

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Change of Heart

If Falon Ballard writes it, I'm going to read it. I absolutely love her previous works.

Change of Heart is about Cam, who goes on a blind date with Ben and it goes... not well. She doesn't bother to get to know him, not interested in a relationship, and sweeps off into the night quickly. Only to wake up in a perfect little magical town with Ben as her next-door neighbor and a mayor/coffee shop owner giving her three tasks in order to be able to go back home.

I truly struggled to connect with Cam. She was a workaholic, self-centered individual who didn't think of others. By the time she grew as a character, I was past the point of trying to like her. I wish she had been redeemable sooner. I did like Ben, even if he felt a little flat. Their chemistry was also hard to believe because I struggled to like Cam.

This one was ultimately not my favorite, but I will still be keeping Falon Ballard as a favorite author.

Thank you to Putnam for the ARC! Change of Heart is on shelves February 11, 2025. My opinions are my own.

Ahhhh I really wanted to love this... I've loved everything by Fallon Ballard so far but I just don't think this was my cup of tea.

The premise was so promising but unfortunately I think it fell flat for me. I think Cam was definitely able to do a lot of soul searching in Heart Springs, but the love story just wasn't there? Personally, I didn't feel any connection between Ben and Cam. We hardly learn anything about Ben and there was really no relationship development to me. The whole relationship felt very one sided on Cam and not Ben.

I also just wanted a but more closure on how they ended up in Heart Springs and how they got back. I would have loved that to be tied up at the end of the story.

I'll still continue to look for Ballard's stories and cheer her on, I just don't know if this one was for me!

I really enjoyed this book and it was such a cute read for February! It’s a light hearted romance all about learning to better yourself and love yourself. The chemistry between our two main characters is amazing and slowly develops throughout the book. I really enjoyed their relationship and that it wasn’t rushed into quickly! I loved the setting of the story and found myself picturing it perfectly as I read. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a cute romance!

2.5 stars, rounded down for disappointed hopes.

First, I'd like to say that I really enjoy Falon's work. That's part of why I wanted to read this one. The summary painted all the appropriate Hallmark movie vibes but knowing Falon's other works, I expected a more tongue-in-cheek approach.

Unfortunately, this reads <b>exactly</b> like a Hallmark movie.

I was hoping we'd get more <i>The Good Place</i> vibes from it. I thought it might subvert the Hallmark narrative a bit but it didn't. The story is told from Cam's PoV and she felt like a hostage the whole time. Like she didn't want to be in this story. I struggled to connect with her and all the other characters felt like caricatures.

I skimmed a lot of this because I kept hoping there'd be a twist that made it worth it. Instead, I scoffed at the ending because it was so obvious and trite.

This is a big miss for me.

<i>Many thanks to NetGalley, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and the author for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Thank you NetGalley for providing me this ARC for an honest review.

If you love Hallmark movies, Change of Heart is your next read. Campbell, goes by Camp, is a career driven female who has nothing in her mind except being a lawyer. Everything in Camp’s life is focused on her career that she doesn’t make time for anything else like having friends, making connections, and even finding love. Camp ends up in a whole new magical town called Heart Springs with her last blind date, Ben. In order to get back to her bustling New York life, she has to complete 3 tasks. The most important task is to experience true love. I loved the character growth seen in Camp and how her perspective on life changed. She realizes that there’s more to life than just her job, she starts to enjoy the little things. Her selfishness lessens as her stay prolongs in Heart Springs. I related to her character in the sense that it’s okay enjoy things outside of work, it’s okay to have fun and make friends. Life can be fun if you allow it to be. Ben was patient and determined and I wish we got to see more of his life. I could not put this book down, I finished it in a day!!.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this early! As a big fan of Falon Ballard, I was excited to dive into this story. The premise was engaging and kept me hooked, always curious about what would happen next. However, while I enjoyed Cam and Ben as characters, I didn’t quite feel the chemistry between them. I would have liked more time to see their relationship develop and grow, as I didn’t fully fall in love with them as a couple.

The side characters, though, were a highlight. They added depth to the story and really helped Cam evolve as a character. While the pacing felt a bit slow in parts, overall, it was a cute and charming story with a fun premise that kept me entertained.

A sweet romcom, but not my cup of tea, unfortunately. I think I struggle with magical realism when we don’t get many answers or explanations as to why or how something is happening. Even still, I just didn’t feel very connected to the characters or their story.

4 stars! 🌶️🌶️!

Hello, hallmark channel! This book was incredibly cute and palatable - just like any hallmark movie is! Sometimes you really just need to sit down and binge a heartwarming love story - whether it be a book (like this one!) or a hallmark movie.

I really liked that this book was told from the FMCs POV and was first person. With the underlying theme of the book being self discovery, this first person POV really helped me go along that journey with Cam.

The chemistry and build up of the relationship between Cam and Ben was *chefs kiss*! Was it predictable? Obviously. And that’s exactly what we want from a cute rom-com!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I’m so grateful I received a digital ARC to read. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the digital ARC. I am leaving my honest review after reading.

Falon Ballard knows how to deliver a good romance book and she has done it once again. I love the growth we get to see with Campbell throughout the story and how it all came together with truly loving herself. It took me a bit to get invested in the story but the second half of the book had me hooked on every word.

A lawyer lives her life dedicated to her job until she finds herself in an alternate reality and her only friend is the bad date she had before she woke up in this hell hole. Now she must perform tasks thrust upon her to find her way back home.


It was definitely a tad slow, but the romance was romancing!

It gave major Pleasantville vibes with a Hallmark feel, too. I really liked the characters.

It was a simple plot with good character development.

Ben was so dreamy. There is some spice, but it's somewhat tasteful.

It's a story that has been told before, but it still had its own flavor to keep me invested.

My only nitpick: the first chapter grabs you but then the FMC becomes a major potty mouth, which I don't mind, I just didn't see any of it at first meet so it threw me off at first.

Thank you, Netgalley and Penguin Random House, for the ARC, I enjoyed it so very much

This book was adorable! I loved the touch of magic of being stuck in a make-believe world. It was almost like the Truman Show meets Hallmark. I loved the premise of the grumpy big city girl has to learn her lesson of what love truly means in the quintessential small town of Heart Springs. The cast of quirky small town characters was perfect. The slow burn of their main characters romance was perfect. The character transformation was really well written. I really enjoyed this one. It definitely made me laugh several times!

This is the second book by Falon Ballard that I have read, and while I loved Just My Type, this particular story took a while to pique my interest. Campbell Andrews, a workaholic lawyer, is set up by her grandmother on a blind date with a pediatric surgeon, Dr. Ben Loving, to whom she doesn't give a fair chance. The next day, in a quasi-Pleasantville/Wizard of Oz sort of likeness, she finds herself waking up in a unfamiliar town called Heart Springs and is shocked to find that Ben is there as well. She is then tasked by one of the locals (who she recognizes as the waitress from her disastrous first date with Ben) with a three-part quest in order for her to return home. As inconvenient as this quest seems on the surface, Cam (with the help of Ben) begins to discover that the journey she is on might actually be just what the doctor ordered. Overall, this was a cute rom-com and enjoyable once I was able to get deeper into the story. Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam for giving me an eARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5⭐️ I’ve read all of Falon Ballard’s books, and she always knows how to balance out the romance with funny and honest moments.

Cam (though pretty unlikable to begin with) felt like a real person, and she really grew on me throughout the book. I liked seeing her journey of self-discovery, and what she was able to figure out after stepping away from her “normal” life. I also really enjoyed her chemistry with Ben, and how they supported one another with their demanding jobs and the strange predicament they found themselves in.

The setting for this book felt a little Hallmark-y, but without so much cheesiness (not that there’s anything wrong with the cheesiness!). I love a small town setting, and all of the characters introduced along the way added something to the plot. There’s a bit of magical realism here, and I think it was done well (though maybe left some things open-ended).

The only issue for me was that I wanted a little more depth in certain areas. Though the chemistry with Ben and Cam was there, I wanted more scenes with them together building intimacy, rather than time going by and intimacy being implied. I also wanted a little more from both their backgrounds- it wasn’t necessary, but I think it would’ve added more to the story and made them more dimensional.

This was a cute and quick little romance with some heart, and I already can’t wait for her next book.

I love Falon Ballard. This is a light, fun book for readers who like the movie “Groundhog Day.” Personally, I liked the heroine at the beginning of the book and didn’t want her to have to change to get out of the nightmarish Hallmark-movie world she woke up in.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

3.5 -4⭐️

I love, love Falon Ballard but this one fell a bit flat for me.

Background: Campbell Andrew’s is a high-powered lawyer who doesn’t have time for love. She agrees to go on a blind date with Dr. Ben Loving to get her nosey and pushy grandmother off her back. After this terrible blind date with Ben (where Campbell was extremely rude) she wakes up and finds herself in a Hallmark-like town called Heart Springs. She has been magically transported to this town to complete three tasks….most importantly she has to find true love while there or she will be stuck there forever.

What I enjoyed:
-All the side characters that lived in Heart Springs. Emma is such a sweetheart and genuinely nice person. Mimi was a hoot. She always made me laugh.
-Since I love Hallmark movies I loved the town of Heart Springs. Ballard was really able to capture the wholesome and picturesque town.

What did not work:
-Cam was pretty annoying throughout the book. She was very rude to Ben at the blind date and that made her so unlikable. Throughout the book she just seemed whiney and grumpy for no reason. Even towards the end of the book, I still didn’t like her.
-I loved Ben but would have liked more background and character development centered around him. I think in real life Ben would not have been attracted to Cam in the slightest. He was just too nice for her. And there was way too many times that he called her sweetheart.

Overall, I had high hopes for this but it was too slow paced and just fell a bit flat for me.

Thanks you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this gift eARC. All opinions are all my own.

Fallon Ballard is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I love the way she writes and romance and the way she writes her characters. They are real and full of complications and are multi-faceted. This book was super cute and i loved the whole pleasantville small town storyline. I probably would be just as cynical as Cam about how "perfect" the town was. I loved the ending and if it were written any other way it wouldn't have been as good. All in all i give this book 4 stars and i big hats off to Ms. Fallon Ballard. Thank you @Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to review the book.

"Change of Heart" is cute and heartwarming. I am always happy to receive a Falon Ballard books. They are always the perfect spicy Hallmark. I've noticed a recent trend in the trapped in a Hallmark/Christmas Carol-esque storylines. It reminded me a lot of Kate Robb's "Prime Time Romance" and "The Backtrack" by Erin La Rosa. So this book did feel a little repetitive, but in general the storyline was fun. 3.5 stars