Falon Ballard's *Change of Heart* is a charming and whimsical journey that blends the sharpness of a career-driven woman with the allure of a small-town fairy tale. The story follows Campbell Andrews, a successful yet frosty attorney who finds herself trapped in the magical town of Heart Springs, where love and charm abound. Reluctantly facing a to-do list of three magical tasks, including finding true love, Cam navigates humor, irony, and self-discovery.

Perfect for fans of romantic comedies that focus on personal growth, *Change of Heart* is both heartwarming and funny, ultimately celebrating the beauty of change—even with a touch of magic.

What a fun ride of a story! I’m normally not a fan of the Groundhog Day style trope but this was giving The Barbie Movie vibes and it sucked me in! I especially loved the grumpy sunshine relationship and how broody Cam was with her bubblegum pink surroundings!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my thoughts.

I will say that I did not love this book and I did not hate it. It was very Whimsically romcom, I think. Yes, that is what I think.

I felt really bad for Ben on their blind date, Cam was a bit rough and rude!

Now, this book definitely has the Hallmark Channel vibe and Gilmore Girls all wrapped into one! Let me tell you that I am not mad about that either!

I will say that I would love to see this book turned into a mini series on Netflix!

I mean if Virgin River can be on there then this one can too!!!!! 🎬🍿

I’ll start by saying that I don’t love the time travel/alternate reality trope. That said, I did enjoy this. It was the best parts of Pleasantville with a dose of It’s A Wonderful Life minus the single choice/butterfly effect that never sits well with me. I was glad to see Cam keep her sass but change her attitude because initially I did not like her (which was the point). Her acknowledgment of her situation while still allowing herself to grown and change was satisfying to read. Ben is too good to be true but provided the right amount of push/pull to make it believable. I also liked that this had a few spicy scenes and that Cam never lost her penchant for swearing in order to break up what would otherwise be chaste, Hallmark vibes. Where do I find a closer/cottage like the one in Heart Springs? Never having to choose and outfit, jewelry, accessories or do my hair and makeup sounds fab.

I love this!

I especially loved the message. Cam was a career woman focused and that didnt leave room for much else especially loving herself and accepting herself. After all, in the grand scheme of things if we cant love ourselves, how can we love others correctly?

Ben was just written to perfection. Perfect setting and atmosphere. This was a great read!

I love every novel I've read by Fallon Ballard. All her novels just have a easy, comfort to them. It feels like a warm hug on a hard day. This might be my favorite of hers as well! I loved the dynamic between Cam and Ben. If you want a no thought romance, you can never go wrong with Fallon.

I loved this story, Cam and Ben were lovable, with great character building. When Cam goes on her first date with Ben and is a total brat she finds herself stuck in heart springs, a place to fall in love in. Upset in the fact she is stuck there and has three rules to go home she finds a way to better her real life, along living next door to Ben. Quick, easy, fun read. I can’t wait for the next book by Falon!

4.25 stars! I like how this book got to the main part of the story right away. There was only one chapter for the background and it jumped to the point of the story, which was her being transported to the fictional town. Lots of points for not having so much fluff in the beginning!

Within the story, I enjoyed the romance and how even though she was supposed to be a workaholic, it wasn’t in an off-putting way. The book was funny and yes, maybe a little obvious in some ways since it's a romance novel, but also not obvious in other ways. Safe to say, I enjoyed the read!

A hallmark-like rom com with a fun, magical premise. A little cheesy and predictable. The FMC is very unlikeable and the MMC is a little flat. But it’s a cute read if you’re looking for a quick romance.

Thanks to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for a copy of this book!

Thank you to Putman Books for the ARC

Being 4 weeks out from reading the almost perfect Christmas Romance, All I want Is You- i was excited to dive into this book. I was expecting so much from this based on the synopsis. It sounded like the perfect lovey dovey hallmark type valentines day novel. Boy oh boy was I wrong. Now don't get me wrong the setting of the idyllic Heart Springs sounded like a scene right out of Barbie and I was so down with that. What I wasn't down with was the writing, the main characters, or the language. The writing was not up to par with All I Want Is You. I would never have guessed the same author wrote this book. It was lazy and repetitive. Our "love interest" Dr. Ben Loving (barf) is about as boring as it comes. And for being a brilliant life saving pediatric surgeon he seriously must have little to no self esteem or respect to be interested in our self absorbed, absolute beeotch of a main character Cam Andrews. She is the nastiest character I have ever come across, and it wasn't an act, it wasn't a deep down i am soft and i cant be hurt again trope it was just that she was a horrible person. In moments when she could have had some development she didn't. Because she is so nasty to literally everyone in the book its hard to buy their Zero chemistry enemies to friends to lovers arc. Also I am not one to be offended by language because I have the worlds dirties mouth but Cam's swearing is so bad it made me uncomfortable. It almost felt like Ballard still had to make a word count in order to turn this in and filled it with F bombs.

Also I now hate the word sweetheart.

Ballard is constantly a hit or miss author for me, but this is the last miss I can endure. The FMC is purposefully unlikeable as a reflection of real women, which is fine, but we're not given any reason to sympathize with or care about her. We're told EVERYTHING rather than shown through descriptive language or flashback, which forces readers to sit through page after page of boring exposition. I'm officially sick of the world 'sweetheart,' there's no build to the chemistry between the two characters, and the 'lesson' at the end feels forced and unnecessary. I honestly wish I hadn't wasted my time.

This book is PERFECT for someone who loves Hallmark movies and Valentine’s Day—the cheesier the better! Big city lawyer gets stuck in a small town, and in order to make it home, she has to complete three tasks…one of which is finding true love.

I wasn’t crazy about it at first, a little too Barbie world meets the ghosts of Christmas, but the characters did grow on me as I kept reading. I will say I liked “Right on Cue”, also by this author, a lot better (much more snarky banter), but this book will be loved by many romance readers for sure!

Thank you Net Galley and publishers for the advanced copy!

This book is a delightful read and if you enjoy rom com and cozy feel good endings, here you go. Read if you esp. love Hallmark movies b/c these two characters basically get STUCK in one. Campbell is a crazy working lawyer who has always put her career first in her life. She has a blind date with a man named Ben, a doctor, but makes it pretty clear she has zero interest and will not be distracted from her career and the date is a big waste of time. The waitress turns out to be a little fairy godmother of sorts and the next day the two find themselves as next door neighbors living in a perfect little hallmark like town and need to basically grow and learn to love in order to get back to the real world. Was this predictable and kind of silly? Yes. But you need that in life and I loved it.

I read this is one sitting, I loved it so much. It was unlike the other romances I have read recently, but still had the struggles and the angst. It was also nice to acknowledge the Hallmark movies that make moving to the small town and leaving the big city corporate job behind to find love with the Christmas tree farmer (or whatever) are not the only way to find love. It is okay to be successful at work in a big city. And you are not unlovable if you are passionate and work hard at your job.

Honestly, I loved the storyline with the dates and the jobs to try. The three different dates were fantastic and so were the job options. I loved the bookseller plot - selling an 8 year old IT because you thought it was a happy book about clowns slayed me. Honestly, the advice she gave the bride before accidentally convincing her not to walk down the aisle was good advice. The growth in Cam and Ben was fantastic, and I loved that she managed to still be a big city lawyer while also finding the Hallmark love. It reminded me a bit of "A Novel Love Story" by Ashley Poston, but I enjoyed that as well. I'm not sure what I would change in this book to make it any better, so 5 stars.

This was a fun, magical realism read. The concept is a romp and I found myself enjoying it. My only complaint, similar to Ballard’s other books, is sometimes the dialogue can feel a bit forced and I find myself occasionally feeling disconnected from the characters.

***Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC ebook.
Overall rating: 3.25
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Fallon Ballard’s “Change of Heart” is about no nonsense lawyer Campbell Andrews, who has time for anything but work itself. At best, she’s closed off, and at worst, she comes off as a jerk during her first date with MMC Dr. Ben Loving. On their 1st (blind)date, she lets him know they can enjoy their dinner in peace while she works on her emails. When she goes to pay, the bill is taken care of by the server with a note letting them know “hopefully next time, you’ll be more present with your loved ones.”
The morning after her blind date, she wakes up in Heart Springs, which she dubs “her own personal hell.” The aesthetic, the clothing, the small-town vibes, and best of all, her nemesis/blind date victim, Dr. Ben Loving is her new neighbor. She’s trapped in this 90’s Stars Hollow Rom-Com fugue like state until she completes her tasks, “find a career she loves, become a valued member of the community, and needs to experience true love.”
The events that our Cam gets into feel more predictable than chaotic. I laughed out loud several times, especially with her first career she’s given at the bookstore. But I felt that Cam, even when getting further into her character later, just is overall: underdeveloped (in my opinion). She’s written with a great sense of humor, but the reason for her standoffishness—never knowing love from those around her, just…really isn’t gotten into. Although Cam’s backstory is touched on, it’s not explored enough to fully understand why she’s so closed off. This lack of depth made it hard for me to connect with her emotionally, especially as the romantic tension with Ben built. Really, the only times she opens up to Ben about her upbringing and even as narrator is not more than 7 sentences, her grandmother raised her (and she’s very strict/runs the law firm where Cam is now a partner, her family that is present is competitive, and her mother left when she was 10-11 and sent her to grandmothers. Cam is lonely and hardened, and really doesn’t realize how unhappy she is – but that’s just commonsense and not a sense of her character.
As for Ben, there isn’t tons of substance for him either. I totally appreciate the golden retriever/black cat relationship vibes we have in this story. He’s solid, he’s positive, he’s a pediatric cardiologist (he’s got it all), and from the very moment he meets Cam decides that she’s it because of her snark and can see something more beneath her tough exterior (hhhmm…convenient, but what is one actually getting on this blind date, because it wasn’t much). I get that the vibes we were going for is probably soulmate level love, but that is not delivered.
My main complaints are that while this is a sweet/cutesy read, again not tons of depth with these characters. It had potential to be a lot more in my opinion (we have the bones of Cam’s backstory—give us the heart!). The plot/writing was fun but also very predictable. Just a couple of examples: She goes on 3 dates, but ends up falling for Ben (just as the Heart Springs Mayor/fairy godmother/server/dream kidnapper always intended). The ‘she goes on multiple dates but ends up with the guy who was always meant for her’ trope felt a little too familiar, and it made the story feel less fresh. Also, when Cam can’t figure out why they aren’t going back to their real life, even though she’s in love…it’s because, she has to love herself first…wow. The love yourself first trope was way to on-the-nose for me and VERY predictable. While the plot was fun, the predictability lessened the stakes for me. Once the ‘love yourself first’ lesson started to unfold, I knew exactly how things were going to resolve, which took away some of the tension I was hoping for. Again, if these characters were more developed you could probably deliver a very unoriginal line like that and have the reader go “omg of course you’re right absolutely I never saw this coming,” but …you absolutely do see this coming and just have to shake your head about it.
I think readers looking for a quick, fun read with a touch of spice will enjoy this one.

After a string of disappointing reads, Falon's Change of Heart was a delightful, quick read to get me back into the groove. This one was a fun burst of magical realism with a whole lot of heart (no pun intended).

Cam is our FMC who comes off as cold, driven, and independent. Throughout the story she learns how to give parts of herself away to connect with others while also learning to love all the parts of herself.

Ben was an adorable love interest but I do wish he had been further fleshed out. Maybe because this was a single POV so we only got to see him through Cam's perspective, but I wish he had been further developed.

Cam's history led to a lot of her character flaws, and I also wish we had seen more of the resolution/her trying to deal with her family and abandonment issues.

Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

One of the first magical-realism novels I actually (really) enjoyed!!

Falon Ballard does it again! I was slightly hesitant when I first dove into this book -- magical realism has historically not been my favorite genre to read -- before reading this, Ashley Poston was my only reliable magical realism author. However, I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with how much I enjoyed reading this one!

This book follows Campbell and Ben -- starting with a less than successful first date. Campbell is a highly driven, workaholic lawyer, always striving to fill the shoes of her mother to impress her tightly-wound grandmother. She is too no-nonsense to believe in love and does not have the time to be in a relationship. Campbell and Ben part ways after Campbell dismisses Ben's idea that love should come before work. Flash forward to the next morning, and Campbell finds herself in Heart Springs-- a very Hallmark-reminiscent small-town with quirky characters and perfect everything. Naturally, she comes to find out she needs to complete three tasks (yes, one of which is to experience true love) in order to go back home.

Like I mentioned above, I really enjoyed reading Campbell and Ben's story. It was charming, I felt I could empathize with Campbell, and the setting felt magical and whimsical without being corny. However, the writing seemed to tell vs. show. For the romance aspect of the book, I wish there were more moments of Cam and Ben together, slowly getting to know each other, besides the short conversations we saw between them on Ben's porch. That being said, the pacing of the romance felt rushed, and Ben read more like a plot device than his own character. The story was there, but I wish it were more fully fleshed out -- the plot, the setting, the magic, the characters.

The FMC also felt needlessly crude. Why are we saying "fuckfest" right now or ever. I wish we saw a bit more emotional depth from her besides her sexual desires -- which are important, but not enough to fully convince me she fell totally and completely in love with our MMC.

Overall, I loved a lot of parts of this book. However, this book also feels like it has so much untapped potential, so I'm bummed that one of the only magical realism books I've found myself enjoying left this much to be desired. But alas, I will continue reading all of Falon Ballard's books!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!

This book was a miss for me. The FMC was incredibly unlikeable for reasons that didn't jive with me. The whole premise was really out there and the "alternate universe" wasn't explained well - it all just fell very flat. The way any POC was described felt really icky. The whole thing was kind of a drag to read.

Thanks NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a digital advanced copy of this book!

3.25⭐️
Change of Heart was a wonderful balance of magical realism and romance. I really loved the concept but it did fall flat on some of the execution. While I felt Cam felt very fleshed out, Ben sometimes felt like a fake person. It wasn’t until 70% into the book until anything real was revealed about him. Their chemistry did feel real but I was wanting a little more character development.

Also, I can’t remember if she does it in her other books but I feel like every time a new character was introduced they were introduced by their ethnicity and gender and no other descriptors. It got very repetitive.

By then end of the book, I was ready for my happy ending. It seemed to drag a little. Overall though, the concept and all the fun side characters really sold me on this book. I would recommend for fans of hallmark movies!