Campbell Andrews, a successful lawyer who despises incompetence, tardiness, and love stories, finds her orderly life upended when she wakes up in the small, charming town of Heart Springs—a place straight out of a Hallmark movie. To return to her real life, she must complete three tasks, with the most challenging being to experience true love. As she reluctantly navigates the town's quirky charm and meddling residents, she faces an unexpected journey of self-discovery and change of heart.
***
Sweetheart... I think that term of endearment has been ruined for me for the foreseeable future. Cam was so unlikable, I have no idea what Ben saw in her that was even close to redeemable enough for a second chance after their first encounter. Not only did I find her unlikeable, but she was extremely crass and vulgar - to the point of excess. And if you personally know me, you know that should be a ludicrous statement coming from me, but it's true. Her 'take no prisoner' personality just seemed to be overplayed, and I definitely didn't find myself particularly rooting for her. I'm also not one for Hallmark movies, so that plot device fell flat for me.

2.5-3/5⭐️.

For 80% of the book I thought the FMC was intolerable. Once her edges softened, she got a little better but overall the read was a meh to me. Side characters were pretty good and MMC was decent.

Really enjoying Falon Ballard's writing. It's fun and steamy romance with funny dialogue. This was like a semi R rated Hallmark movie in the best way!

A light, fluffly, easy read to break up the heavy stuff. Lost a whole star for using the word "sweetheart" SIXTY EIGHT times (yes, I searched it on my kindle). That is too much for me, it was distracting. The plot is intresting and not something I have read before so that was fun. But Every time Ben said sweetheart I got annoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Falon Ballard and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC!

This was very similar to A Novel Love Story! A girl gets whisked away from her real life to a small town that is absolutely perfect and she has to figure out how to get home.

This makes me sad to say, cause I love Falon Ballard, but this one didn’t work for me. We jumped in too soon. There was one chapter before we were sent to this quaint town, so it didn’t feel earned. I get why Cam was there, but why was Ben there??

And Cam was quite unlikeable. She was incredibly rude, and I guess she had some character development, but I don’t know.

It took me a minute to get into the story but once I did I enjoyed it! My main gripe is that the FMC fully changes from a rude and selfish character to a wholly new person who becomes nice which wasn't so believable but the story was cute nonetheless.

This novel starts with lawyer Cam going on a blind date where she is unbelievably rude to her date Ben. The next morning she wakes up no longer in the city, but magically in a cutesy sweet Hallmark type town and finds out she can’t leave until she experiences true love, finds a career she loves, and helps the community. Oh, and Ben is there too. Or as my friend said, she’s basically in season one of Schmigadoon without the music.

The concept of this was so cute, but I low key hated it for so many reasons. Cam is just so deeply unlikeable, Ben has literally zero personality besides irritatingly calling her sweetheart one million times throughout the book, they have zero chemistry, and the notion that being a corporate lawyer is inherently evil really bugged me.

This was my first Falon Ballard book, but I have heard from other readers that her other books were much better. Sadly this one was a big miss for me.

2.5 stars

3.5 stars

This story was Kristen Bell’s character on the Good Place meets Hallmark movie! I’m not normally a fan of magical realism, but I actually enjoyed that part of this book. Cam is not a very likeable character, but she does redeem herself eventually. I really liked Ben, though I felt like we didn’t get to know him as well as if this had been dual POV. The story made me laugh, had some heartfelt moments, and I enjoyed seeing the characters working together. I did wish for more story after they returned to “real life”, and my one dislike was Ben saying “Sweetheart” a million times! I thought it was going to play into part of the story it was said so often, but nope! Otherwise it was a cute, quick read and perfect for fans of Hallmark movies!

Thank you Netgalley and Putnam for the ARC!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Puntam's for the e-arc!

Ohmygosh this was cheesy and ridiculous and I ate it up. This might be too cheesy for some, but I really had a great and enjoyable time reading this book. Seriously shout out to Netgalley and Puntam's for always approving Fallon Ballard's books, I've read three of her books on Netgalley and I'm incredibly grateful and I will never say no to a Fallon Ballard book!

I love Falon Ballard but this book wasn’t it.

2.5/5 ⭐️⭐️💫

Cam is a hard working lawyer who is solely focused on her job and nothing else. She’s set up on a blind date with Ben but has zero interest in anything except the deal she’s closing. The next day she wakes up in a Hallmark town and has to complete three tasks to get back home.

This book is a mix between a Hallmark movie, and It’s A Wonderful Life. Except everything falls flat. Cam is extremely unlikeable and self centered. Even in the end I don’t think you can root for her. Everything comes together perfectly but it was obvious what was going to happen. And if she was meant to not be self centered her last task defeats the purpose.

I don’t feel like I learned enough about what made Cam tick or why she was who she was. The same with Ben. It was so much about the town and while idillic it wasn’t the point.

Overall, I just couldn’t get there. Will I still read Falon Ballard, absolutely! I loved her Christmas book and her other novels.

Campbell is focused on one thing only - her future as a lawyer at her grandmother's law firm. Her personal life, love life, and any other hobbies have no place in her life. That is until one morning when she wakes up in Heart Springs and is living in her own Hallmark movie. The only way out of this bizarre hell is to step outside of everything she has known and grow as a person.

I liked the premise of this book but I found Campbell highly unrelatable and generally pretty insufferable most of the book. The opening scene of her on a date made me struggle to have any empathy for her throughout the rest of the book. That being said, I adored the town of Heart Springs and the overall message was worth the read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of Change of Heart.

This felt like being sucked into a Hallmark movie setting, and I loved it! It's the perfect story when you want to feel small town vibes and small town romance.

I'm a big fan of Falon Ballard and of magical realism but this book missed the mark for me. The FMC was very unlikable. I am all for unlikable characters but you need to give me more backstory on why they act the way they do. And while she had a high pressure job and weird familial dynamics, the exploration of both did not give me the depth I was hoping for. I did appreciate that she had an arc and came out the other side a better person but it was very forced. The MMC was too perfect. It was mentioned that he was too closed off, but you didn't really get that through their interactions. It was instalove for him, without real reason and without much of an arc for him. The Magical realism was intriguing and I would like to see Falon explore more in this vein.

This is Falon's best book!
From chapter one, I was already sucked in.
The idea of being transported in time and stuck in a random town after a bad date had me hooked!

Cam and Ben couldn't be any different. They meet on a date, and after realizing Ben wants an actual date, Cam has her own ideas and can't wait to leave any sooner. She doesn't see a point in relationships or anything related to love until life forces her to change that perspective. Now she's in a Hallmark-like town, unsure what to do next. But she works alongside Ben and discovers that maybe her life needs some change.

I found this to be super fast-paced and written like a fun rom-com! I loved how we got to understand Cam fully and why she is the way she is. Her growth was slow but precisely what she needed, and I love her character so much! Also, Ben is an absolute lover boy. I loved his character from page one, and seeing his willingness to be there for Cam made me love him more.

Overall, this was a great book! It's heartfelt and cozy, and it's the perfect read if you're looking for a new romance book.

Rating: ★★★½

Fallon Ballard’s Change of Heart is a fun, whimsical take on the classic Hallmark-style story—but with a twist. Campbell Andrews is a no-nonsense attorney who thrives on structure, efficiency, and control. The last place she expects to wake up is Heart Springs, a town that feels like it’s straight out of a rom-com. Even weirder? The only familiar face around is Ben Loving, the charming pediatric surgeon from her latest disastrous blind date. To get back to her real life, Cam has to complete three tasks: find a career she actually enjoys, connect with the town, and—of course—fall in love.

The setting of Change of Heart is where Ballard really shines. Heart Springs is bursting with charm, from its never-ending town festivals to its quirky small businesses, making each stop on Cam’s journey feel like its own little vignette. The way she’s thrown into different roles—wedding planner, baker, bookseller—adds a fun, almost magical quality, like a series of interconnected short stories.

What kept this from being a higher rating for me was the character depth. While the town and concept were incredibly well done, Cam’s personal growth felt a little too quick to fully believe. I wanted more emotional depth from both her and Ben to make their romance really land. Ben, while sweet, was almost too perfect, which made their connection feel a little flat at times.

That said, Change of Heart is a cute, light read, perfect for fans of magical realism, small-town charm, and stories about reevaluating your path in life. If you love books that feel like stepping into a cozy rom-com, this one is worth checking out.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love Falon Ballard's writing style - her words are always charming and there is a cozy element to all the worlds she creates. Even with the open door scenes, the book completely gave me fun, hallmark vibes with a touch of magic. I do wish I liked the magical realism in this story more than I did, but it was just "fine" to me.

Yes, it was a little cheesy and predictable but that being said, I really did like the chemistry between Campbell and Ben. My only complaint was that I didn't love ben's overuse of the "sweetheart" nickname, it was a bit much. The story was overall enjoyable, but not my favorite by Falon.

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 is a lawyer who has no time for romance or really anything else. Her grandmother keeps setting her up on dates but she basically just goes and sits there until she can politely leave. One day, Cam wakes up in a very Hallmark-esque town with her last blind date living next door to her. Cam finds out that, to return to her regular life, she needs to complete 3 tasks. She learns that maybe her life isn't all it's cracked up to be.

4 stars mostly because it was hard to start really liking Cam. She has a relationship with Ben, her date, but we don't know a ton about him. I did really like the growth shown by Cam in the book.

It was a sweet book and the characters are always interesting in Falon's books.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Putnam, and Falon Ballard for the e-ARC. This review is my own opinion.

Oh I wanted to love this book. Change of Heart by Falon Ballard is just not my favorite. It straddled the line between being alright and being cheese but it fell solidly into the "totally cheesy part" halfway in. Cam was a nightmare in the beginning - her entire personality and her horrid "work ethic" was truly almost too much for me. The actual abrupt rudeness that she showed Ben, her blind first date she was setup with... it was just a bit too much. Enter a magical alternate reality and well, slowly she does change. She realizes just how unhappy she is with her life, with all of the expectations that wear her down. Ben is also there and well - we just don't learn anything about him really, at least not enough to make the "chemistry" feel real.

I will continue to read any and all books by Falon Ballard; it's just this one that was a miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute book. A big city lawyer ends up stuck in a Hallmark-esque town with a man she jilted on a recent date. After being told that she can't go home until she's completed three tasks, she must reevaluate her life and determine if her wants and desires are truly what she wants.

I am always pleased when a book doesn't have a miscommunication trope so I was thrilled not to find that in this book. I did get annoyed by how often he called her "sweetheart" before they even really started flirting. He didn't seem like the smirky sort of "you'll be mine eventually" type of guy that would normally call a girl that, so it took me out a few times.

First, I want to say thank you to the author and to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book!

Change of Heart was such a cute rom com read, I absolutely adored it more than I thought I would. The story follow a workaholic attorney named Campbell as she finds herself transported into the perfect small town world. In order to get back to the real word and her real life and real job, she needs to find true love, experience happiness in a new career, and help her community. I will say, I usually do not enjoy the magical meets realism plot line in a book, but this one was really well executed in my opinion and was the perfect length, not too drawn out. I also truly enjoyed the ending of this and the actual lesson to be learned by Campbell.

This was a sweet, simple rom com with a cozy and heartfelt feel. I loved it! Solid 4 stars.