Lease on Love, the debut novel by Falon Ballard, is such a lovely romcom with so much humor and heart. It's about Sadie and Jack, two seemingly very different people who somehow heal each other's wounded hearts and complete each other's lives. Despite some heavy topics like emotional abuse and parental death, this is a true romantic comedy and I giggled often. I choked up too, but I liked it! The platonic friendship representation was heartwarming and the sexy times between Jackpot and Sweet Pea were perfectly steamy. I look forward to reading more from Falon Ballard!

Opposites attract in Lease on Love. Sadie misses out on a promotion, causing her to shake things up. In comes Jack and his Brooklyn brownstone. The two are very different people, but you know that always leads to a fun living situation!

This was a slow-burn romance (arguably my favorite type of romance). Sadie and Jack were both great characters dealing with some shitty situations in life. Having each other in their lives helped them grow and deal with their issues.

This first person, single narrator romance tells the story of Sadie, a woman who is about 28 who has a tight group of friends, has just walked out of her job (well, fired, but justified), and stumbles into a rental situation with a independently wealthy roommate who is still grieving his parents. Jack is closed off, but for reasons unknown, is benevolent and supportive of the effusive, over sharing, brash, outwardly confident Sadie.
There is a restrained physical attraction that bubbles up quickly, but the emotional connection between the two of them is slow to grow.
This book is good for a person who enjoys hearing the narrator/main character describe themselves, their outfits, their surroundings in detail as well as expository descriptions of their though process. I am learning that I am not exactly one of those people. I would rather their characters be revealed by actions and relational interactions. I think some of the other critiques of this saying they just couldn't see the chemistry between the couple or connect to the characters comes from this writer's style choice.
Lastly, I feel like this almost needs a content warning attached to it for alcoholism. Sadie seems to be drinking something in nearly every scene. It left me wondering what the word count is for "wine."
Thanks so much for the ARC!

Falon Ballard has created such a lovely slow-burn romance..... friends to lovers, New York scenes (and so much coffee!), unlikely attraction, and a solid group of friends that even I wanted to be a part of. Sadie Green has been trying to climb the corporate ladder, working in finance in pricey NY.... and then poof - she loses her job and finds herself looking for a diff. place to live (hello rent $). She ends up (hilariously, I won't go into detail) meeting a guy in a coffee shop who happens to own a fabulous brownstone and offers her a room dirt cheap, no catch. I absolutely love how much Sadie grew as a character and kind of faced her own demons, along with Jack..... and loved the slow burn romance. I was really rooting for these two to get together, but Ballard set it up perfectly so that you kept turning the pages and were still into alllll other plots that were going on - between friends, starting a flower business, etc. Loved it.

I enjoyed this book; it was a really fun read! It's kind of a slow burn, both as far as the protagonists' relationship and the plot, but that's not necessarily a bad thing and made me appreciate the payout of the ending all that much more. I'd definitely be interested in reading more by this author!

This was a really good debut novel from Falon Ballard! Sadie has just been fired from her job when she goes out drinking and accidentally makes an appointment on a roommate finder app instead of a dating app. When she shows up for her “date”, she meets Jack, who is renting out a room in his house. Needing a change after losing her job, Sadie moves in with Jack and starts to pursue her dream of opening a floral business. Jack is very, very nice and does everything he can to help Sadie even though he is struggling after the death of his parents.

This was a very slow burn romance but I really enjoyed it. I loved both of the main characters and all of Sadie’s friends. The relationship between Sadie and Jack was 100% worth the wait. I would definitely read more books by this author in the future!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

*I received this book as a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you NetGalley, Falon Ballard, and Penguin Group for approving my request for this book.

Cute but sooooo awkward. I had to take multiple reading breaks just to manage the my levels of secondhand embarrassment. Overall, this was a cute and mostly lighthearted romance novel. The whole “oh he’s not my type until he is” trope. I’d probably fall in love with someone renting me a room in a brownstone in New York City at a low low price, too! Talk about a fairytale! I don’t have a lot to say about this, honestly. It’s a cute and classic romance so long as you’re looking for the type of romance you don’t think too hard about. Just to be clear, that’s not a slam! I love a good romance with all the squishy warm feelings. And I will say, I feel like this job addresses the insecurities of our main characters pretty well.

My nitpicks:
I find the main female character kind of annoying and shallow at times. I also hate hate HATE the “oh he has abs but he doesn’t workout, he’s just genetically ripped” trope. Either make the man look like a normal human or make him active enough to actually look like a GQ model. Come on now…

Lastly, don’t expect any sort of even semi realistic romance. I mean, you shouldn’t expect this in any romance novel in my opinion, but definitely not this one. It’s pure lust combined with proximity. Like, at no point in the story did I think, “Oh, she genuinely likes him.” Instead the vibe I was getting was, “Oh, this is the first man that treats her decently whom she has been in regular contact with for a prolonged period of time. And ope, turns out he’s attractive! Not when he’s wearing what he likes and is comfortable in, of course, but when he dressed up to meet her preferences.

She’s not the only one though. He’s all shy and fumbling over himself around her, and it feels really weird that his only friends are the ones he’s cooped from her. Not to mention he isn’t constantly giving her things as if he feels like it will make her stay in the house and friendship. Then add to that why he got a roommate (mentioned about half way through he book), and it just feels like a weirdly unhealthy codependent relationship they’ve formed.

Like, she can’t even just listen to him talk about an emotional moment without being like “oh and my feelings for him are so strong.” Ma’am! He is emotional right now! You should probably shouldn’t be thinking about your romantic feelings while he’s opening up to you about a very traumatic time in his life. Occasionally she’ll call herself selfish in a self-deprecating sort of way to deal with past events, and I think we’re supposed to be like “nooooooo,” but she… kind of is.

Overall 3.5/5 - Rounded up to 4 for GoodReads. It’s a pretty good book for the genre, I’m just being nitpicky and probably digging too deep. I think I might enjoy this a lot more if I were in a more of a romance mood when reading it, but I was sort of just in my general reading just to read mood, so this just didn’t do a great deal for me. Some fantastic one liners though.

There is nothing better than discovering a new author who's voice is just so pitch perfect you know that you are going to greedily devour every book she writes. Falon Ballard's writing is so funny and entertaining and she created an awesome heroine in Sadie Green. Lease on Love is the story of Sadie and her kind, somewhat awkward, and extremely secretive roommate Jack. Sadie grows and changes in every aspect of her life throughout the course of this novel, and while there is a strong element of happily ever after involved here I enjoyed seeing Sadie find success in both her career and her love life. I have read many novels where the author throws in side characters and plots as filler that do nothing to move the plot forward, that is NOT the case with Lease on Love. All of Sadie's friends are well drawn, likeable and interesting characters. The banter between the friends was clever and fun and I just loved the dynamic between them. I really enjoyed Lease on Love and I can't wait to read Ballard's next novel!!

Thank you to Edelweiss, G.P. Putnam's Sons, & Penguin Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

When you tell me that a book is Beach Read meets The Flatshare (one of my all time favorite books)!, my immediate reaction would be (and was): TELL ME LESS, SIGN ME UP, GIMME.

Lease on Love didn't hit me as hard as I was expecting, but it was a book that I thoroughly enjoyed for what it was. It felt like there was some pretty heavy emotional stuff brought up throughout the book (that impacted the characters heavily) and that the characters dealing / coping / healing from these issues was done at a somewhat surface level, but other than that I don't have any complaints!

Something I thought of a lot while reading (and I can see how it could easily become eye-roll to the point of DNF for some) is just how NICE and DECENT and RICH and UNREAL Jack was, and to a certain point I agree - like. How? How was this dude just THAT nice?? But you know what? In the great year of our Lord 2021, let's just believe that there can be super nice, decent people out there that are willing to share some of what they have with others, you know? So I let it go.

Loved Sadie, loved her friends, loved Jack, love, love, love. Even if it wasn't The Flatshare level for me personally, it's one I will be adding to my personal library come 2022 and I'm so excited - THAT COVER! It's too pretty not to have in your hands, am I right??

(Also, if you like to be aware of cussing in a book, I'm letting you know now that this one has it. Even for me, who swears admittedly way more than I should, I was very aware of how often they cussed. And then I thought about how it would sound if someone wrote a book using my friends and I and our conversations and I was like "Yep, probably a lot like this." But be forewarned it's a lot haha)

Lease on Love is definitely worth a read! I am a sucker for any roommate situation and this one did not disappoint. My only criticism is that at times the book seemed a little too perfect (perfect job situation, perfect friends, perfect guy, predictable climax and resolution, etc.). I realize people read to escape, but at times some plot points were just not believable. That being said, I really did enjoy it.

When Sadie Green gets passed up for the promotion she has been working so hard for - she lets it all out and is unfortunately fired from her job. Sadie is unsure what to do, but she has a great group of friends that rally behind her and lift up her spirits. When a swipe right that was supposed to be for a potential online date actually turns out to be a swipe right on a roommate, Sadie ends up meeting Jack. The owner of an impressive brownstone in Brooklyn.

Sadie and Jack agree to the terms and Sadie decides to turn her life around and attempt floristry. Something she's always been interested in. Jack lays low and hasn't really had a lot of friends/relationships since the death of his parents a few years ago. He's still grieving and Sadie gives him all the space that he needs.

But soon the forced proximity of living together has these two looking at each other in a different light. Will they be able to make a relationship work, when both of them are trying to work out their own issues?

Oh how I loved Lease on Love. The writing by Falon Ballard was funny, heartfelt and I couldn't stop reading this book once I started. Sadie and Jack were both characters that had so many layers to them. Not just them as individuals, but their backstories, their friendships and what made them the way that they are.

Although Lease on Love was a slow, slow, slow burn I never felt that it was going too slow. Sadie and Jack truly started off as roommates that progressed to friends and then to something more. Their relationship took a natural course and I was never bored or willing them to go faster.

One aspect of books with so many side characters is that sometimes it's too many people and voices. But in this case I loved Sadie's group of friends. The text messages, the ribbing, the way they loved each other unconditionally was so perfect. Found families in books can be hit and miss, but it was a total hit in the case with Lease on Love

Overall I truly enjoyed Lease on Love. It would have been a five star read for me, but I wasn't completely sold on the final conflict in the story. I can't wait to read what Falon Ballard writes next!

CW: grief, parental death (off page), parental verbal abuse/abandonment

Lease on Love follows Sadie, an anxious and hard-working millennial, and as she navigates a major career change. After a rather traumatic day at the office Sadie drukenly gets on a dating app. Through the haze of tequila she inadvertently opens the wrong app...a roommate finder! Jack and her new living situation start Sadie on a path to happiness she thinks the is too much of an asshole to deserve.
Fans of Emily Henry will love this depiction of love, life, friendship, and work. This book does so many things well. My favorites being the realistic conversations around mental health, toxic parents, found family, and accepting the love you deserve.

This is the romcom I’ve been dying for—mostly because it’s FUNNY! I laughed out loud in the first ten pages and didn’t stop. Sadie and Jack are a sweet couple you want to root for, and the friendships in it are portrayed so perfectly and realistically. It’s also nice and spicy! So charming.

Sadie is out with friends on what was supposed to be a celebration for her promotion, but turned into a commiseration for her firing, After a few too many drinks, she "swipes right" on what she thinks is a dating app. To her surprise, when she meets her date, she finds out it was actually a roommate app. Even though she wasn't technically looking for a roommate, the offer is just too good to refuse.
Jack and Sadie form a friendship with potential, but they are both still dealing with past trauma and grief.

A few things I didn't love... Sadie's constant negative self-talk could be a bit exhausting at times, and Jack could be sort of a pushover - especially when it came to Sadie's dominant personality. And she had an affinity to drop the F-bomb... frequently. BUT. the text exchanges between the friend group really bumped it up for me. They were funny and witty and I laughed out loud.

There was a lot to unpack in this book - grief, trauma, mental health, racism... definitely more than I expected from the synopsis. But I was pleasantly surprised as I was expecting a fluffy rom-com, but I got a funny romance with real heart issues. Enjoyable, thoughtful, and fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I read this book in one sitting. I liked the cute premise, though it was only a small part of the beginning of the story even though it sets up the novel. I loved Sadie's friends and hope we'll see more of them in the future.

Falon Ballard has written a funny, satisfying and heartfelt debut novel. As someone who has spent more holidays with friends than family I relate to the family group Sadie creates from her college friends. Sadie Green gets passed over for the promotion she has earned working non-stop for the last six years. Later in a drinking haze she makes a hook up match on her phone app. When she meets Jack Thomas the next day she realizes she mistakenly matched for finding a roommate. His ridiculously low rent in a beautiful Brooklyn brownstone makes her rethink her life plan and gives her the chance to start the floral business that is her dream.

Jack is still grieving the death of parents years before and is stuck in his life. He is quiet and reclusive. He's the total opposite of the non-stop talking, work driven, foul-mouthed Sadie. She has her own issues feeling she isn't good enough stemming from her childhood. Along with Sadie comes her friend family who are delightful. They come and support Sadie wether it is moving, making floral deliveries or hanging out for a holiday. Jack is thrilled to be accepted by them.

Of course Jack and Sadie are attracted to each other but the author gives them time to become friends first. Neither wants to spoil their living arrangement or friendship. One of my favorite scenes is her friends non-intervention intervention. They come from such a loving and supportive place speaking to her with gentle kindness. I love that each friend gets a quiet moment with Sadie at various times letting her listen and support them too. If I had one wish it would be for Gemma not to get hastily paired up. It would have been the perfect reason to return to this group of characters with a sequel and enjoy another Thanksgiving with them.

I will absolutely look for the next novel from Falon Ballard. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.