📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 A big city girl and a doctor matched on a first date get trapped in a fictional small town…it’s like like reboot of Pleasantville for grownups with all the responsibilities that they feel like they have to rush back to, they are tasked to have an open mind an open heart to find their way home. A dash of magical realism mixed with adorably flawed yet realistic characters that will endear themselves to readers and heartfelt storyline makes for an absolutely delightful read! Sometimes we need a healthy little escape from our own reality to appreciate all that we have…

Review is on Goodreads and will be posted on instagram closer to publication date and on Amazon when published!

Another great book from Falon Ballard! I always enjoy her heartfelt books, and this one was no different. Cameron wakes up in a magical town after a disastrous first date, and with the help of new friends and neighbors she must find her way back to real life. The town was a treat to read about, and it was lovely to see Cam's character development throughout the book.

I am such a sucker for Falon Ballard's books. I drop everything I am reading whenever I get approved for one of her books. This one wasn't my favorite of hers, but I still really loved it. It oddly reminded me of A Novel Love Story that I read earlier this year, but it was done much better in my opinion. I started off hating Campbell, but she quickly grew on me. and don't even get me started on how much I loved Ben. If Falon has no fans, I must be dead!!!

"Change of Heart" by Falon Ballard was Superb!! Cameron or Cam as her friends call her is a workaholic high powered lawyer!! Then when she is set up on blind date with Dr. Ben Loving and Cam would rather be anywhere but there!! After all she has no time to date, just work, work, work!! When this mysterious waitress leaves them a note!! Both Cam and Ben wake up in Heart Springs an idealistic town!! They each have tasks to complete before they can go back home!! Will Cam and Ben be able to figure everything out and complete the tasks and make it back home? Loved everything about this story it's like a meet cute before it knows it's a meet cute!!! Falon is an Excellent storyteller and just love the Character development of Cam!!

💫THANK YOU to the Author, Publisher, and Netgalley for the
e-book in exchange for an Honest Review!!

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

#NETGALLEY
#CHANGEOFHEART

I am a self-admitted book worm, and I have been the majority of my life. Here lately, I gravitate towards suspenseful books. Ultimately, at my core I am still a fan of romance. Because of this, I was very excited to read this book.

Although I read Fallon’s previous book “Right On Cue,” I still didn’t really know what to expect with this one. I have to admit that the plot description definitely intrigued me. One thing that I will say is that this book completely blew away any expectations that I had. I was hooked before I had even gotten through the first chapter.

I absolutely loved this book, and am kind of sad that I am done reading it. While I adored the main characters in the book, there are a couple that I have some questions about in regards to either their backstories, or what is next for them. I’m guessing that it is our job to imagine those things ourselves. I definitely recommend this book.

**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

This book has kind of an “It’s a Wonderful Life” vibe to it. Don’t want to say too much to give things away, but it was a cute premise and I haven’t read another book like this before. Very unique.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for Change of Heart to come out February 11, 2025.

Boy oh boy. I was really excited about this book. I usually love Falon Ballard’s writing, but this was not it.
I’m an absolute sucker for magical realism, but what the heck happened here 😭 first of all, it felt like everything here was rushed. Everything happened so fast, there was no context to why & how they ended up there. I cringed so hard in multiple scenes, also the whole “sweetheart” thing just felt forced. Forced and rushed, those are pretty much the two words that would define this for me. We barely got to know Cam, but we had absolutely nothing on Ben. I couldn’t even make myself root for them. It had so much potential though, I’m disappointed :(

Thanks NetGalley & publisher for the early digital copy. All opinions are mine & mine only ✨

probably my favorite of ballard's so far simply due to my belief in the central romance. this one feels properly romantic due to the stakes of entering into a magical city and needing to complete tasks to get back to real life. it just made me feel warm whenever cam and ben interacted because they have an ease that a lot of couples lack and when they were pulled apart, my heart hurt immediately. ballard's descriptions of cam's feelings made the book for me and i enjoyed the escape.

also, this is a small thing, but i've noticed that ballard tends to introduce characters (not just in this novel) by saying their race "white", "east asian", etc. but it never helps me picture the character better. it just feels out of place every time.

I fell in love with Falon Ballard’s effortless writing style when I read Right of Cue. Every single time I read her books I find myself lost in the characters and the story. She is truly one of the best authors and every book I read of hers is an instant favorite!

I went into this book completely blind and that was a bit of a mistake for me. For the first 20 or so pages, I really thought I was going to like the novel because it had a career focused main character who I could relate to. However, after 20 pages or so, the setting of the book changed to a hallmark like world. I love Hallmark movies but for some reason I absolutely hate Hallmark like books. I like romance novels where they are at least a little bit realistic, and this one was not realistic in the slightest, Another thing I can't get behind is pet names. The main character was called sweetheart no less than 200 times and I vomited a little inside each time it happened. I gave this one two stars purely because I was able to ultimately finish it and it was a quick read,

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this cute and funny book that feels like a mix of Hallmark and Pleasantville. I'm a huge fan of Falon Ballard and her charming and heartwarming romances. This one had magical realism, which was fun and creative.
The story centers on the idea of what if a cynical woman and a man from a disastrous blind date wake up in a picturesque small down with no escape.
The town was charming and wonderful. I enjoyed lead character Cam's journey. She wasn't quite easy to root for at first, but she became more likable as the book went on. The main male lead, Ben, was sweet and the most likable character, but I wish there a little more depth to him and his personal story.
The book was entertaining and an easy read. I recommend it if you're looking for a light and cute story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

In this story we follow our fmc Campbell Andrews, a ruthless lawyer who has no life outside of work. She's been magically transported to the town of Heart Springs, aka Hallmark town USA and Cam's version of hell. In order to get home, Cam has to complete 3 tasks and learn a few lessons along the way before she's able to return home to NYC and her own life. Until then, Cam has to put up with having no cell phone nor car, wear pastel clothing, and drink overly sugary coffee in this new town while also trying to win the approval of the local residents.

Cam is an ambitious, rude, and brash individual. She’s the type of character I would usually find a bit grating, but I actually was quite fond of her! She’s hilarious and unapologetically herself, and definitely has girl boss energy to the max. I was rooting for Cam, and just found her to be quite a delight despite her abrasive personality. As for our mmc Ben Loving (yes that is his last name), he’s a charming and kind pediatric surgeon who listens to Cam and is not easily put off by her quirks. He would've been the perfect book boyfriend if it wasn’t for the fact that he constantly called Cam 'sweetheart', even before he was anything to her. I know it's kind of a petty complaint but it gave me the biggest ick. IRL, if a man not my significant other called me by the endearment 'sweetheart', I would just find it so creepy and condescending.

I am most def a sucker for romance with magical realism, so this story was right up my alley! It was laugh-out-loud funny and pretty adorable! I will say the first half of the book was a five star read, but the story fizzled out for me a little bit in the later part. It just lost some of the fun and magical-ness that I was loving about Heart Springs. We weren't given as many details to remind us this was a magical town. It just kind of became a typical day-to-day life in any small town. I was also thrown off by the pacing in the very beginning, as Cam was immediately plopped into Heart Springs by chapter 2. I would’ve loved to see more of her backstory, and have more of a build up before she actually got transported to “pastel purgatory”.

Overall, I would still recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun and cozy romcom to enjoy!

Campbell Andrews is a cutthroat attorney who is extremely driven and bulldozes everyone in her way. When she is set up on a blind date with Ben, she brushes him aside immediately and is downright rude. The next morning Campbell wakes up in a Hallmark town where she is tasked with finding a vocation she loves, becoming a valued member of the community, and falling in love. In a Groundhog Day-esque situation, she wakes up each day wondering if she will ever make it back to the real world. Is following the rules the only way out? Or will she learn to follow her heart? 3.5 stars from me. I didn't *love* Ben's character. He was kinda creepy. I did love the premise of the book and the different plot line.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Change of Heart was the romance with a twist that I was looking for, playing with my favorite sub category of alternative timelines!

Campbell (Cam) is a workaholic lawyer in her grandmother’s firm, slated to take it over one day she doesn’t have time or the inclination for friends or true family relationships outside of those that come from sheer proximity at work. When she goes on a date with Ben, a surgeon, it’s just to see if she can get her rocks off for the night. Things don’t end in that direction and during the date she supremely pisses off a waitress, resulting in her and Ben finding themselves in a hallmark movie.

Naturally like any classic hallmark movie Cam has to figure out how to be a contributor to her community, find love, and find a job that is her passion (which is hard given her vocation as a lawyer is her passion). A Change of Heart treats Cam’s quest as the fun misadventure it is while delving a little deeper into why she’s wired how she is and the role Ben can play in this alternate world.

A great premise delivers, with funny characters and action points and the sweet romance that I’d expect from any hallmark movie (with an edge).

This story was a cute quick read. It had more storyline than just the romance which was juce. It was fun and well written. Definitely will recommend.

What the fuuuuuuuck this was so amazing it had me crying in my office at work 😭😭 I absolutely ate this book upppp! It had everything—big city girl, small town life, cozy autumn vibes, coffee shops and bookstores, friends to lovers, with so much self love and a hint of magic ✨

4.5 stars!
I sometimes have a way with words but for this one the main thing I can say is cutie book alert!

I was a little skeptical when I read the synopsis, but in Falon we trust, so I obviously had to read it immediately. I loved the characters and all of the love stories (romantic and platonic) bc both are so important.

I will definitely be recommending this bad boy. Team CamBen forever <3

Thank you to Penguin Group and NetGalley for this eARC!

Who has time for silly love stories and dating these days, certainly not Campbell. She didn’t work her butt off to make partner at her law firm only to give it all up for love. That’s until Cam wakes up in Heart Springs, her own personal hell straight out of a Hallmark movie. She’s forced to complete a series of tasks in order to make it back to her real life. At the top of the list is finding true love. It seems impossible but maybe she’ll have a change of heart.

Romance gets a bad rep for being predictable and all about the fluff which is fair in some cases but Change of heart is so much more then that. The alternate universe is an interesting plot line that forces the characters to face their demons and take a critical look at their lives back home. It changes Cam fundamentally and it was a joy to see her grow and slowly become a better version of herself, the woman she wants to be. I don’t want to spoil anything so I won’t say more then that.

The story kept going after the point I expected it to wrap up which was a pleasant surprise. The romance between Cam and Ben is a big part of the story but not the only thing that matters in the end. I might have cried a little when I finally understood the underlying message. This is one to look out for, romance readers will eat it up it but so will others who decides to give it a shot.

Read this if you like
✨Opposites attract
🩷Self discovery journey
🏡Small town
🔥Spice

The premise of this book held a lot of promise as a fun take on some classic tropes, and may hit the mark for some, but there were some characterization misses that let me down quite a lot. The style of writing was far too action-descriptive for me to really be immersed or feel any kind of sympathy for Campbell when her hard headedness and blunt (arguably rude) traits are out in full force - it didn't make me want to stick around to see her growth as a person.

Thanks to NetGalley I received an advanced electronic copy of the book to read and provide a review.

This is a cute premise with all the usual Fallon Ballard delights. However, the characters fell flat. I didn’t feel compelled to root for Cam and Ben barely had a personality beyond calling Cam “sweetheart.”