I adored Lease on Love and was thrilled to get approved for the eARC of Just My Type by Falon Ballard. If you can’t tell from my pic, I stayed up way too late finishing it last night. I couldn’t put it down!
From Goodreads:
Lana Parker has never been single for long. After a disastrous break-up with her high school boyfriend, Seth Carson, Lana’s bounced from long-term relationship to long-term relationship. She’s an expert girlfriend, even acting as the resident dating and relationship columnist for one of Los Angeles’s trendiest websites. But now, at the age of thirty, Lana suddenly finds herself single again, and she’s determined to stay that way, no matter how challenging.
That is, until her high school ex, Seth, now a journalist in his own right, takes an assignment at Lana’s site. Ready to put down roots after years of traveling and freelancing, Seth becomes not only Lana’s colleague but also her competitor. With their combative relationship history–and undeniable chemistry–they quickly find themselves pitted against each other in a battle of wits: writing an article series that goes against dating type. For Lana, that means writing about staying single and embracing it. For Seth, it’s learning to settle down and become boyfriend material. Whoever’s is most popular wins a highly coveted columnist spot that either could only dream of. But when the two square off against one another, it’s not only their careers on the line–it’s also their hearts.
Thoughts
Just My Type is a second chance romance with a bit of rivals/enemies to lovers thrown in. All of which she executed very well.
The book follows Lana and Seth, high school sweethearts with broken hearts, as they are forced into a competition for a column/job of their dreams. They have to work through miscommunications, past mistakes, and present feelings to discover who they are and if they still belong together.
The work family/friends Lana has cultivated are top notch. They are there for her with tough love and encouragement (everyone needs a May in their corner). I loved that therapy showed up as tasks for both characters, as well as actual glimpses into Lana’s sessions. Her character growth was an important mix of recognizing/discovering her strengths and shoring up her weaknesses.
I wish we had more insight into Seth. We get glimpses of their time together through flashbacks, rehashing of past mistakes, and confessions, but I would’ve loved some chapters in his POV. I appreciated his mentions of therapy and the benefits too. I applaud anytime we can bring therapy in the conversation and destigmatize it (especially for men).
The chemistry between them wasn’t as strong as I’d like, which made their emotions about past events seem overblown. I’ve noticed I tend to have reaction with most second chance romances, so that may just be a ‘me’ thing.
While their boss overstepped by throwing them together for the competition, the banter they fell into was great. The group texts and Slack conversations were hilarious and gave more depth to the side characters. I’d love to see more of them in future books!
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Just My Type and will be adding Falon Ballard to my auto buy list. Publication date is Feb 7, 2023. Pre-order today!
“I wait for her to argue with me, to tell me all relationships teach us something or happen for a reason or some other Hallmark-level bullshit platitude. But instead we just sit in the silence, my head resting on her shoulder, until I gently nudge her.”
Falon Ballard
Find on Bookshop.org Find on Amazon Find on Libro.fm
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putman for this eARC.
