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!

Falon's books are so quick to devour! This one has some fun magical realism. Cam is an "unlikeable" FMC but that's exactly why I liked her so much - she's a woman who knows what she wants. She just has to learn to love herself. Ben is the sweetest guy! Swoony, funny and sweet. Thanks to Netgalley for the early copy!

He falls first • small town • forced proximity • found family •

1-part hallmark movie + 1-part magical realism mix with a black cat girl FMC and a lover boy MMC and you get this book. I think Cam may be one of my fave FMC and it was so enjoyable watching her as a character. As I was reading this book I could legit see it playing out on screen, such a fun read, another hit from Falon.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for the ARC.

This is a new author for me. This book was super cute and so much fun! This book was very well written with great characters with flaws. So much humor and heart wrapped up in this book! I love the character growth that Campbell had being a work-a-holic, lawyer. I devoured this book in a couple of days. If you are looking for a fun, sweet romance definitely check this one out! Huge thanks to Penguin Group and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

“Change of Heart” is the most fun, fast-paced rom-com! Intense work-obsessed attorney, Cam, doesn’t believe in love. After going on a disastrous date with Ben, an adorable children’s surgeon, they both wake up in a perfect storybook small town. Cam obviously hates it there because it is the total opposite of how she lives out her real life. She must complete a series of tasks to have the hope of returning back home. I had so much fun reading this book! The main characters’ love story was so sweet, and the themes were uplifting. There may be other books and movies that follow a similar concept, but the magical realism felt fresh and unique. Falon Ballard is an auto-buy author for me!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This book was a very cute romance with a magical surrealism twist. The FMC, Cam, is a workaholic New York lawyer that has no time for life outside of mergers and acquisitions. The stubbornness of the Cam did get on my nerves a bit throughout the story, but she redeemed herself in the end. The MMC, Ben is a pediatric heart surgeon (SWOON). They have an absolutely terrible first blind date, thanks to Cam, and then wake up the next day stuck in a fictional small town straight from a Hallmark movie. Cam finds out that she needs to do 3 things to get back home to NYC.

I won't spoil too much, but Cam tries out a variety of careers, makes plenty of mistakes, and then makes plenty of friends during her time in Heart Springs. She and Ben are neighbors and become close throughout Cam's journey to get back home.

I really love that this book is truly about loving yourself and that being enough. This book focuses on living life for you, for the betterment of those around you, and to find what really brings you joy.

This book could have definitely been a bit shorter. I felt as though it was dragging on a bit towards the middle. The romance in this book is also quite a slow burn, so the wait pays off in the end! Ben calls Cam 'Sweetheart' as a nickname and I honestly did not see where it came from. I think it was meant to be a bit sarcastic since she is anything but sweet, but most of the time the nicknames have a bit more of a background or meaning and those typically hit home more for me.

Overall, Change of Heart has a unique story and the characters of Heart Springs really grow on you. Give this book a read during Valentine's day for all of the feels.

Thank you for the ARC copy.

This was a cute romance set in a small town. Cute banter, good depth of characters. Nothing super new or exciting. Easy romance when you are looking for that.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️🌶️

What I loved: the concept/plot! A workaholic is transported to a Stars Hollow-esque town and can’t leave until she completes 3 tasks (find a job she’s passionate about, become a part of the community and experience true love). Plus, the dynamic between the main characters, the spice and the side characters (especially Emma!) were all really great.

What I didn’t love: I candidly struggled to connect with Cam and Ben didn’t feel completely three dimensional to me.

Ultimately, though, it was a really cute story and a fun read!

Read if you like:
- Magical Realism
- Small Town Romance
- Matchmaking
- Hallmark Movies
- Gilmore Girls

Thank you to Netgalley and Putnam for the eARC!

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

Campbell Andrews has no time for love. As the youngest partner at her grandmother multi-million dollar firm, her time is money and money is the name of the game. However, after a disastrous blind date with a pediatric surgeon, Cam wakes up to find herself in a town straight out of a Hallmark movie. With her return to the real world pending on her ability to do three things, Cam will take on her biggest challenge yet-- falling in love.

This book had such a fun premise but it fell flat on the delivery; I was expecting something akin to A Novel Love Story, but was pretty consistently let down. What I thought was supposed to be fun and a tongue-in-cheek look at the Hallmark formula for romance, ended up being exactly that: a Hallmark formula for romance, cotton-candy sweet and totally unrealistic .

Cam isn't a good person, and her complete 180 change by the end of the book was difficult to subscribe to. Sure, I could believe she switched from drinking espresso to pumpkin spice lattes with extra pumpkin spice after her ordeal-- but there was nothing that remained of her original character in the last part of the book. She had gone from bad-ass boss-bitch who took on Manhattan and did it with a cut throat intensity, to someone who was willing to give up everything she worked for at the drop of a hat. Character change and growth is a hallmark for any good story, but this was a complete overhaul.

Her love interest, Ben Loving, was as flat as a doormat. I don't think I could tell you one character flaw or interesting thing about him-- except that he's willing to give up everything he knows and loves for a person he barely knows, with little to no explanation for why. He was the traditional Hallmark main lead-- bland, boring, and devastatingly handsome-- except he was from the real world.

Falon Ballard is a hit or miss author for me, and unfortunately this one was a miss.

While I love a good Falon Ballard novel, this one fell short for me. The main female character is a 34 year old, work obsessed lawyer that becomes trapped in a Hallmark channel world. She cannot go home until she finds true love.

Magical realism in a story is a thin line to walk. Sometimes you walk away with a beautiful, multidimensional love story. In this case, the story is a bit lack luster and well trodden.

I think fans of Ashley Poston and Katie Robb may enjoy this tale though. I will continue to read Ballard tales in the future! This one just wasted for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for this e-ARC.

I was so excited to read this book, as I have enjoyed several other books by Fallon Ballard. Unfortunately, Change of Heart missed the mark for me. Cam hates love but goes on blind dates to appease her grandmother. The morning after her date with Ben, they both awake in a magical Hallmark town where she has to complete 3 tasks to go home. I just didn't get it. There were some cute moments, but overall I was just waiting for a big AHA moment where Cam would realize how ridiculous this whole thing was and get back to real life. I didn't hate it, but I did not like it either.

I have liked this author’s work in the past and the premise of this book sounds good but I always feel like it’s been an overdone scenario lately.

The story was cute and different but I found the prose to be a bit lacking. For a romantic story with the magical realism reminiscent of an enchanted Hallmark movie I expected more world building and descriptive prose.

After a bad blind date in NYC, Cam and Ben wake up in small town with all the look and charm of a Hallmark movie, with the cast of character to fill it. Seemingly trapped, the only way to return home is to complete a set of tasks that challenge their previous notions of contentment and happiness in their real lives, opening them up to more.

Cam is a compelling character that undergoes a radical character evolution. Ben is a stable and endearing counterpart to Cam throughout her journey, but I would have liked to learn more about him through the story.
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🩺 Romance
🧁 Magical realism
🩺 Small town
🧁 To-do list
🩺 Open door
🧁 Single POV
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Thank you Penguin Group Putnam & NetGalley for this complimentary ARC - all thoughts are my own! 📚
Publishers release date 2/11/2025

This is another one of those contemporary rom-coms that has some sort of fantasy element that propels the plot - in this one, work-obsessed Campbell Andrews wakes up the morning after another bad date that she didn't even want to go on (with a hot doctor whose name, improbably, is Ben Loving) in a town called Heart Springs instead of her usual New York City. Heart Springs is basically a Hallmark/Netflix rom-com movie setting, and Cam learns pretty quickly that she has to check off a few boxes to get back to her real life. One surprise to her is that Ben is also there, and also has been given some tasks to get his life on track according to the rules of Heart Springs. This felt totally different for Falon Ballard, but her signature humor and banter are there, and that was what carried me through. It's definitely not my favorite of hers, but that bar is really high because I love her work. I just wasn't in the right headspace for the fantasy town element of this, but I still enjoyed reading it and will absolutely keep auto-requesting Ballard's romances. I would recommend this specifically for fans of Kate Robb's romances as well as other recent mostly-realistic but a little bit fantastical romances like Erin LaRosa's The Backtrack or Kate and Danny Tamberelli's Road Trip Rewind.

This was a quick read but it wasn’t my favorite. I love Fallon Ballard so I’m shocked this wasn’t higher for me. I was irritated with the FMC from the start and I don’t think I ever shook that feeling.

I usually love Ballard's books, so I am shocked that I had to DNF this. I got to roughly 30%, and I can't go on.

I was initially excited by her dedication, a shout-out to unlikeable girls. Stating that she hopes they find supportive and kind partners who aren't threatened but instead inspired by their ability to kick ass.

I am probably considered unlikeable. I am strong-willed and a hard worker. I stand up for myself. However, there is a difference between being kick-ass and being mean, which is what the female lead is.

Her attitude toward everyone in this book is very cringey. She is rude and mean to everyone, including the love interest.

I know it is not just me. Several reviews mention the meanness. So, I am comfortable stopping at 30% and hoping that I enjoy the next book by this author more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was unfortunately a DNF for me. I did read about 30% and then skipped to the end so I could see how it panned out. I really like other Falon Ballard books so I had really high hopes for this one. The description sounded great BUT it didn't meet expectations. I did not connect with Cam and could not stand (even at 30%) the overuse of "sweetheart." The town all knowing what Cam needed to do was unusual as was Ben being there.

I will read another Falon Ballard but this one just wasn't what I hoped it be.

This was a no for me. I almost put it down honestly but I’ve never just stopped reading a book before so I kept going. But I couldn’t wait to be done. It had a good overall plot but it was so unreal and hallmark movie like that I couldn’t get into it. I love a cute story like that but it was so far fetched that it didn’t work for me

I feel the need to preface this review by saying that I usually love a magical realism bent, AND I usually love Falon Ballard's books. However, this one just did not work for me. Our female heroine is a straight-up acerbic asshole, and that doesn't really change over the course of the book, and our male hero is the book boyfriend equivalent of a Ken doll. This whole story had vibes of Barbie movie and The Good Place, with a pinch of Stepford Wives, and I would normally be down for such campy fun, but there were too many loose ends and I just couldn't get into it. I would have DNFed it were it not an ARC I committed to reviewing, and even the ending wasn't satisfying because there wasn't any true growth for the heroine, and the hero was still a shell of a character with no discernible personality or opinions of his own. Perhaps I just wasn't the right reader for this book, but I do look forward to seeing what the author comes up with next.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for gifting me with an ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

Magical realism is not my favourite. I always struggle to believe the storyline and prefer more realistic plots HOWEVER when I saw this was a Falon Ballard book, I didn't even hesitate. My finger clicked that request button so fast, I didn't even know what the book was about! Going in blind, I found myself wary at first but as the story went on, I couldn't help but get invested in Cam's predicament, being stuck in a small town and not being able to return home until she has a change of heart.

The character growth was evident in Cam by the end of the book and her relationship with Ben was super cute. There was no insta love and their relationship was a joy to follow as their feelings grew deeper. I will read anything this author writes. She is so talented that I always know I will love her books. This one was no different - highly recommend if you need a good romcom!