I’m writing this review minutes after finishing, knowing that I wouldn’t post it until the day it was released but not wanting to forget a single thing. This book is perfection. I don’t want to give too much away because it truly was a pleasure to read and I don’t want to take away from anyone’s experience , but I have to hit the highlights for you.

What I loved:
✨ The chemistry is off the charts between everyone: love interests, friends, new roommates, everyone. There are text exchanges between chapters that give you more insight into the friendship dynamic, and this adds to the already awesome relationships shown in the writing.
✨The characters were adults. They acted like adults and had adult conversations. I sometimes get annoyed at miscommunication in books because, gah! Just talk! But this had none of that. It was real situations that couples might find themselves in.
✨The characters were real and had real problems. I loved this about the writing because I was easily able to relate. Sadie, our main character, has mental health struggles throughout and I loved how this was handled.
✨The idea of this novel was really unique: Sadie thinks she’s agreeing to a date on a dating app, but she actually pairs with a roommate on a roommate finding app. I loved this aspect of a meeting for two characters. It felt fresh and original in a saturated genre.

What I didn’t like:
✨This is minor, but I wish Sadie’s past with her family was explained to us much sooner. It was like there was a secret that we weren’t privy to. We learn about it eventually, I just think it was a but it vague for awhile. This didn’t at all detract from my feelings.

I wish I could give more than five ⭐️ because I absolutely would. This debut was everything I wanted and more. These characters will live with me for a long time.

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Trigger Warnings: parental death, parental narcissism, lots of negative self-talk.

Lease on Love was a really enjoyable story that I found myself getting truly wrapped up in. I read almost the entire book in one sitting-- I simply could not put it down. Sadie is a typical millennial: she works a boring corporate job while living in a shoebox apartment to pay off her crippling student debt. When a mishap at work gets her fired and a drunk night out ends up in her swiping right on the wrong app lands her with a brand new roommate in an amazing brownstone, things start to look up for Sadie. Both Sadie and Jack are working through their own serious emotional issues and neither are ready for a relationship when they meet. Their apartment sharing is mutually beneficial, Jack breaks out of his reclusive shell and Sadie gets a great deal on rent and a place to start her new business. I really enjoyed the emotional character development as these two get over their respective issues through their love for each other and the help of their friends. I did think that these two falling in love was super unclear and found this to be more of a personal journey than a love story. They both seemed very uninterested in each other and then eventually are just sort of… in love? I would have liked a bit more detail or build up because this book was a slow burn but without a lot of tension. In addition, this is a small note but I found it incredibly unrealistic that Sadie’s friends were constantly just available to help her move/work for her for free. I know they have been friends for a while but it seems like she kind of asks a lot of them and they are always more than happy to comply.

Overall, this book was enjoyable but I probably wouldn’t recommend it or read it again. The story lacked chemistry and tension between the main characters and a bit of a disappointment for me.

Gah, it was love at first sentence. Anyone who names a spreadsheet “Get That Promotion, Bitch” is going to be my new book BFF. And I was only 5 chapters in and I knew that I was going to love Sadie and Jack together. She’s extroverted, says what’s on her mind without a filter, and doesn’t take shit from anyone (I aspire to her level of leaving a job). He’s introverted, sensitive, and his love language is acts of service. This was so much more than a witty, sweet and heartwarming romantic comedy though… there’s two people coming together who both bring their own pain, heartbreak and emotional damage, learning to navigate each other. There’s also some great handling of mental health, anxiety and insecurities.

If you love slow burn, forced proximity, strangers-to-roommates-to-lovers, Emily Henry or Abby Jimenez, you will eat this book up! Thanks to Penguin Putnam, NetGalley and Falon Ballard for the opportunity to early an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sadie Green finds herself unemployed, in need of a new place to live, and in want of a dating life. And where do you find these things? On various apps. But when she mixes her dating app with her roommate app it’s the best mistake she’s ever made. Now living in an amazing brownstone in Brooklyn, with super low rent, she can pursue her dream career. But she can’t ignore her reclusive roommate Jack Thomas. The more she gets to know him the more it seems he might be able to help her with that illusive love life she was wanting.

I really enjoyed this book! Great pacing and setting and characters. The whole story was more than just romance and dealt with some deeper emotions and life circumstances. But it was still very romantic. Jack and Sadie have a slightly slow burn, beautiful relationship and romance. Sadie is a talkative, witty character that is trying to fight off traumas from her past. And Jack is a mysterious, loveable nerd who is healing from the passing of his parents. Sadie slowly brings him out of his shell and into her world. And her world has some amazing friends in it! I loved this cast of characters. The friends even had their own little side stories going on without taking away from Sadie and Jack’s building relationship. Very well done. There wasn’t a major conflict in the end, which I was fine with. I felt like these two characters were very mature in how they handled things and that was refreshing. This is just a lovely story about relationship, both romantic and platonic. There is a bit of steaminess in the book, but not much and I felt it fit with the growth of the relationship.

If you’re looking for a great story about found family, deep friendship, and love then pick this book up when it releases on February 1st!

Trigger warnings: grief, loss of parents, parental verbal abuse

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

This light, engaging romance is perfect for readers who enjoy a straightforward love story without a ton of drama. A twentysomething woman is abruptly fired from her high pressure New York finance world job and with great luck, stumbles on an extremely affordable rental in Brooklyn when the owner is looking for a roommate. Because it is so cheap, she realizes she can finally afford to pursue her dream of owning a floral shop. She gets right to work on that, and falls hopelessly in love with Jack, her new roommate. Very charming! I look forward to recommending this title.

Thanks to Putnam for an advanced copy of Lease on Love!

Lease on Love is a slow burn, roommates turned lovers absolutely wonderful book set in NYC.

After getting passed over for on overdue promotion Sadie leaves her finance job in a storm and when she meets up with her friends to console her, she accidentally swipes on a roommate finding app instead of a dating one. So when Jack's offers up a room at a gorgeous brownstone in Brooklyn she says why not. He's been holed up in his apartment for the last few years since his parents died.

I loved Sadie and her friends. This book was the perfect blend of friendship between Sadie & Jack, them getting flirty with each other and trying to figure out their relationship and how to support each other, Sadie and her friends being a found family and trying to figure out how to reach your dreams. The only thing I didn't like was the "conflict" at the end, it seemed like it was rushed and didn't really fit.

Loved this book and can't wait for more from Falon Ballard!

After being fired from her job in finance, Sadie gets drunk and decides to swipe right on what she believe is a dating app. When she shows up, she finds that it’s a roommate interview, with Jack Thomas, the landlord of brownstone. Sadie decides to take a chance on the brownstone due to cheap rent, which will help her pursue her dream of becoming a florist. Overtime, Sadie and Jack go from roommates to friends, and then a mutual attraction develops. This book is a slow flame, with little hot sparks of desire sprinkled throughout. Throughout the book, Jack helps with Sadie’s confidence, while Sadie’s sunny personality help withdrawn Jack with his years of grief. I loved how honest and loyal Jack was and I could definitely connect with Sadie’s past of emotional abuse.

Overall this was such a heartwarming story.

This was an incredibly hilarious romance that I enjoyed from start to finish. The banter between the main characters was incredible, and the forced-proximity trope is one of my favorites. I thought the main characters truly complimented one another and the chemistry between them was visible from the very beginning of the novel. I would say that the plot was a little bit rushed in my opinion, but that's not necessarily a bad thing in a romance novel.

Oh my goodness. LOVED this one. Jack and Sadie were just perfect. 💐

- accidental roommates
- incredible friend group / funny group texts
- friends to lovers
- slow burn (but so so worth it)

I love that this book focused on healing trauma and learning to accept yourself and find love.

My only reason it’s not a complete 5⭐️ Is becuause of the “drama” toward the end of the book. Felt like it shouldn’t have been a big deal, but nonetheless I throughly loved this book.

🎵 rosé flowin’ with your chosen family 🎵

Also, I totally pictured Jack as Seth Cohen from The OC. 😍

Thank you to Putnam & NetGalley for this ARC. Read it February 1st!

This was tough and I really debated whether to do 3 stars or 4 stars. This is definitely a slow burn and there are some really difficult themes being addressed in this book.

First of all, Jack, the MMC, lost both of his parents to an accident 7 years prior to the start of this book. He was an only child, no other family to speak of so since his parents died, he's pretty much been on his own.

Secondly, Sadie. My gosh. Sadie is the product of a really difficult upbringing - emotional and verbal abuse from her father and a mother who apparently never protected her from it. All of that lead to Sadie seeking therapy in undergrad, developing a core group of friends who basically become her found family, and essentially cutting her family out of her life. While all of those are healthy choices, the book makes it clear that Sadie is currently not in therapy but very much needs to be because her self-loathing and constant belief that she's, in her own words, a selfish asshole and undeserving of anyone's love, is pretty rampant throughout the book and honestly, a bit hard to read at times.

When the dark moment arrives, her friends essentially sit her down for an intervention and it doesn't take much convincing on their part for Sadie to acknowledge she needs to go back to therapy. And I'm. glad that this scene happens and the end of the book has her in therapy. My one real question in this is that Sadie says a lot of problematic things throughout the book that make it clear she has zero to low self-esteem and I guess I don't know why her friends wait so long to stage this intervention. Secondly, I think it's really hard to love someone else and be in a healthy relationship when you don't love yourself first. And Sadie, by all appearances, does not hold herself in high regard for much of the book which makes it hard to have any kind of confidence that her burgeoning relationship with Jack will be successful.

I really wish that therapy had played a larger role in her journey throughout this book. Because while I'm glad that she does end up getting it, it doesn't happen until the end of the book and I really think she could've benefitted from her friends, instead of just encouraging her to act on her feelings for Jack, also encouraging her to work on her mental health issues.

Secondly, I do think the backstories of both Jack and Sadie were really vague - Jack abruptly loses both his parents to an accident 7 years ago and basically isolates himself and stops painting. And really, that's the entire gist of the backstory. Sadie had an emotionally abusive dad. But none of this is really fleshed out all that much. Meanwhile, we get endless scenes of Jack and Sadie cuddling on a couch in his basement man cave, watching Real Housewives while drinking wine and while these scenes are cozy and all, they don't really further the story or flesh out the character development all that much.

Anyway, looking back on this review, I'm still conflicted about the rating but I did like the romance, I just wish parts of it were more fleshed out and that therapy played a bigger role in the story.

This book had me swooning from start to finish. I love a good forced proximity trope and this book had it in the best way. Sadie quits her job and accidentally stumbles into an amazing roommate situation with Jack. Jack is nerdy and quiet but so sweet and supportive. Sadie decides to start her own business as a florist, starting small with lots of support from her friends. This book was slow burning with plenty of swoonworthy moments. The ending felt a little rushed but overall a great book to add to your TBR!

I loved this book! It was witty and funny and steamy and all the things a good rom-com should be. I loved the Sadie-Jack dynamic and how their love story unfolded.

The text messages that made up some of the chapters were awesome!! They were definitely the funniest parts of the book. The love scenes were steamy and satisfying without being crass or lewd. I also LOVED the drunken women's bathroom scenes at the bar, they were hilarious and so spot on!

I didn't love the Sadie character, though, mostly because I couldn't identify with her. As a reserved, 40-something California suburbanite, the life of an extroverted, beautiful, millennial New Yorker was just a little too far fetched and I really didn't understand her obsession with calling herself an asshole. That word showed up SO MANY TIMES and it really gave the reader no information about what that means or how she's an asshole. Is she overbearing? Too talkative? Selfish? Those words would have been better desciptors, in my opionion. Sadie's childhood traumas seemed a little too forced, and I didn't believe her lack of confidence.

That said, I still really enjoyed this book. The writing was solid, the premise was fun, and the journey was enjoyable.

HOLY GUACAMOLE!!!! Wow, this book was incredible. I could have easily finished it in one sitting if I had the opportunity. Sadie is so easy to love and root for from the very beginning. All of her self doubts and toxic "voice in her head" thoughts really hit a place deep in my heart. As we get older its easy to excuse how people treat us and view ourself as the problem and not the other party. Sadie only saw her actions as selfish and wrote off anyone who was "good". Then enter Jack. Literally the cute, shy, nerdy, always knows what to do boyfriend that any woman would dream of!! He is without a doubt the kindest person and the small bits he shows Sadie throughout the book was PERFECTION. Everyone commented on this being a SLOW BURN and I didn't feel that totally. I think they fell for each other before either was capable of admitting but watching them slowly work on themselves to be worthy of each other was pure bliss. I couldn't imagine not recommending this book to everyone I know!!! Literally EVERYONE!!!!! I will be buying this book the moment it hits the selves because I need a hardcopy on my bookshelf for all my inevitable rereads.

Thinking she swiped right for a date, Sadie ended up with a new roommate. This might have been the best mistake Sadie ever made.

I. Loved. This. Book.

From the very first page, I knew it was going to be a good one. A brash heroine, a cinnamon roll hero, an incredible squad of friends – what more could I ask for? I could ask for a precious romance and loads of laughs, but you know what? That was in this book too.

The star of this story was Sadie. She was quite a character. Brash and irreverent, Sadie often had me in stitches. But, some of that, I learned, was pure bravado. Though she had celebrated many successes, Sadie had to push through all the scars left behind after years and years of verbal abuse. She was lucky to have an amazing group of friends who never failed to support and reassure her, but she was also lucky to have found Jack.

Jack was almost the polar opposite of Sadie. Quiet and reserved, he kept to himself and was extremely private about his life. A beautiful thing happened when these two were together though. They were able to chip away at one another’s protective walls. I loved seeing that other side of them emerge, slowly but surely. I also adored Jack for all the ways he encouraged and supported Sadie as she pursued her passion.

I have to say, I was jealous of Sadie. After she lost her job, she decided to find a way to chase down her floral dreams. She was so lucky the universe brought her Jack and her friends because they were indispensable assets as she made her dream a reality. I especially loved this part of the story, as it’s my dream to find that thing I love and be able to actually do it.

The relationship between Jack and Sadie was quite special too. They went from acquaintances, to friends, to more, and it was so satisfying watching their bond grow stronger, and their love grow deeper. It truly filled my heart with warmth, joy, rainbows, and all that other good stuff.

Overall: This book was the total package for me. I laughed, I swooned, I ached, and I smiled my face off. This story gave me everything I hoped for and left me eagerly awaiting more from Ballard.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of this year so I couldn’t wait to dive right in and I’m so happy I did. I loved it. I loved the MC and I really want to read more by Fallon. PICK THIS ONE UP!

Playful, swoony, and sexy. I wanted to hang out with Sadie and her friends, and Jack was my absolute catnip: nerdy, a little tortured, and head-over-feet for his girl. The burn was sooo good. I loved the botanical subplot too, and though I’ve never been to NY, the setting felt tightly drawn and immersive.

Read this book!

Appreciation and disclaimers: Thanks Putnam and Netgalley for an early read. The author and I are friends on social media.

Sadie Green just got passed up for a promotion and loses her job after swearing at her boss. She’s in a bad place and needs a new place to live and a hook-up, so while drunk one night, mixes up a dating app and roommate app where she finds herself meeting Jack Thomas who has a gorgeous Brooklyn brownstone available for dirt cheap rent. There’s a little bit of mystery and love in their story.

This story was perfection. Can we have a series please??? I LOVED this book. It was one of those warm and fuzzy, cuddle up on the couch, I wish I didn’t have to go to work the next day so I could stay up and finish it, type books. I loved the setting of this book, Brooklyn, NY sprinkled with my home state of CT, a few towns over from where I grew up. I also loved the group of friends and they’re dynamics. I think my favorite part of the writing was the text messages because the main character, Sadie’s, personality and wit just showed so well through those texts and had me cracking up.

Definitely pick this one up if you like rom-coms!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

Wonderful story of about taking risks in life and love!

Following an unfiltered reaction to nepotism in the workplace, Sadie is without her steady job and is forced to make hard decisions about her life. She inadvertently makes the best decision by finding a housing situation that allows her to pursue a career she is passionate about. Along the way, she realizes she loves her landlord, Jack, who has been supportive and compassionate. His treatment and her growing success causes her self-doubt to creep in and create issues in her relationships. In addition, Jack is not very forthcoming about his past, fueling her insecurities and doubt. Sadie and Jack both grow over the course of the novel, trusting themselves and each other and healing from their pasts. Together, they create a bond based upon two whole people rather than two halves attempting to create a whole.

I loved the characters of this book, all were well developed. The writing was straight-forward, just like Sadie, and made this a quick and enjoyable read. The text exchanges were such a great addition that showcased the characters personalities in a fun and different way. I wish I could give a rating of 4.5! My only hang up being the ending. I feel like it was a little rushed.

What an amazing debut 👏🏻

When Sadie gets fired from her job she is forced to re-examine a lot about her life. A mixup with a dating app lands her with a beautiful apartment, an opportunity to pursue her passion for gardening, and… her roommate Jack.

This was a roommates to friends to lovers scenario and oh gosh, I was swooning. Close proximity and talk about a slow burn. I am dead. It was a little spicier than I was expecting but the real magic for me was in the slow burn.

I absolutely live for books that tackle that 28-30 year old crisis that myself and so many of my friend had- when you’re finally realizing what you want to do with life, and really have to tackle all of your “stuff” to get there. I loved that the characters in this book had their issues but also ultimately, tackled them like adults.

Thanks to netgalley and Putnam books for the ARC copy!

Books like this make me angry that NetGalley and Goodreads limit me to only 5 stars because this one deserves all the stars in the sky.

After Sadie gets fired from her job in finance she goes out with her friends, gets really drunk, opens what she thinks is a dating app and swipes right setting up a coffee date. Turns out what she really opened is a roommate-finding app and her "date" lands her at a coffee shop with Jack Thomas. Jack is a good looking, somewhat nerdy guy who is still grieving the unexpected loss of his parents and has basically holed up in his beautiful Brooklyn Brownstone for the last 7 years. When he offers Sadie to move in for dirt cheap rent, she can't pass it up and they both end up getting more than the could have ever imagined out the deal.

This book has:

* friends to lovers;
* roommates/forced proximity;
* the best cinnamon roll mc who is almost too good to be true;
* open discussion of therapy and mental health;
* found family and the most amazing friends group;
* sloooooooow burn but it is so worth it; and
* a lot of journey of self discovery and healing.

Sadie and Jack were perfection. And I say that a lot but man....I am not sure there has ever been a character like Jack. These two were the perfect compliment to each other. She is loud and has no filter while he is quiet and reclusive. Even as friends/roommates they are just the perfect pair. And the way their backstories slowly come out through the story is so beautiful. We are the reader start to understand why they are the way they are and it is just masterfully done. This story unfolds to organically and beautifully it is hard to believe this is a debut from Ballard. The healing journey both Sadie and Jack go on is so wonderful to experience and I loved the frank discussion of therapy and that there wasn't some "magic" fix for trauma or abuse.

And don't even get me started on the friends circle. I loved the use of texting to tell the story at times and the back and forth between the friends. I wanted to be apart of this group so much. When this book was over I almost wanted to cry because I wanted to move to NYC and find these people and make them let me into their friends circle! ha ha.

I will continue to scream from the rooftops about how much I loved this book and I cannot wait to see what else Ballard has in store for us because if this is what she gives us as a debut, we are in for a treat!

A HUGE THANK YOU to Putnam and NetGalley for allowing me read this one. I have a feeling I will be rereading it many more times. All opinions are my own.