I love this one! Everything from the bright purple color to the journalism-themed second-chance love story felt like it was catered perfectly to my tastes, and once I made it into the story, I was excited to find out that I was right! The characters feel so real and authentic, down to their little quirks and cell phone ringtones in a way that made the story so incredibly immersive. The idea of a love story that's centered around staying single was unlike anything I've read before, and I loved watching Lana grow into herself as a person. Outside of the romance plotlines, there was just enough side plot about her life (her mom, her boss, her bestie, etc) that she felt like such a REAL person, not one half of a love story. The only thing I'd have liked to see in the ending was a bit of closure on her friend's relationship status (if you know, you know). Now I'm going to have to go back and read Lease on Love, and I can't wait to find out what stories come next!

Falon Ballard does it again! What a fun, and honest, second-chance romance story.

Lana and Seth, former high school sweethearts, had a tumultuous breakup 12 years ago and have had a rocky relationship since. When Seth shows up in LA and Lana finds herself in competition with him for a job she's wanted for a long time, they discover their feelings may not be as far in the past as they think.

This entire cast of characters was so easy to love. Lana, Seth, and their friends created this amazing found family dynamic, and I loved how they kept each other in line but also deeply supported each other.

This was a quick read for me; the writing style made it easy to fly through and become deeply immersed in every time I picked it up.

I also deeply appreciated the respect for therapy in this story; both Lana and Seth put that in their lists for each other, and I loved how that became an important moment for both of them.

The ending was a little rushed for my liking, which was really my only critique. Once both characters read their final articles, they seem able to put their hurt for each other aside immediately, when it didn't seem like it should've been that easy, given how deep their history goes. We spent the whole story building up to this moment of resolution between them, and I wish it hadn't all wrapped up quite so quickly.

Content warnings: neglectful parent (off-page), sexual harassment, alcohol consumption

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Didn’t love this one sadly. Part of this is probably due to the fact that second chance romance is not a trope I enjoy, thought enemies to lovers is, but the latter was not particularly well done here.
More so, the actual setting and premise of this one fell flat for me. I’m not sure the author really looked into the journalism industry in trying to emulate it. The excerpted pieces were straight up bad. So anyone with any knowledge of this industry or just a discerning reader could see right through this, and unfortunately it ruined the story for me.

This was a great first novel for me from this author. I enjoy this trope a lot and look forward to more.

This was a fun book. Lana is a serial monogamist reunited with her first love. They are tasked with challenges to work on themselves in a competition to win a job. But in the process of working on themselves, will they fall back for each other?

This was an addictive and entertaining read. While much of the plot was romcom predictable, it did not detract from the plot. I really enjoyed this second-chance romance and highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley for sharing an advanced reader’s copy.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lana Parker hasn't been single for more than a few weeks since she started dating her high school boyfriend, Seth Carson. When Lana and Seth broke up, Lana was heart-broken, but due to a dislike of being on her own she's been bouncing from long-term relationship to long-term relationship ever since. Lana is a journalist for a trendy LA-based website where she's been in charge of the dating and relationships column for years, even though her passion is writing about books and movies. Seth is also a writer and when he moves to LA, Lana's boss sees an opportunity for drawing people to their website: a competition. Lana and Seth will each complete a series of tasks and write an article about each. Relationship-prone Lana's tasks will force her to embrace being single and commitment-phobic Seth's tasks will push him to consider settling down. Whoever gets the most hits on their article series will be chosen for a desirable writing position. But with the competition pushing them together, they may stand to gain even more than a new column.

I'm always hesitant going into second-chance romances because I often can't forgive the incident that broke the couple up in the first place. However, I wanted to give this a try because I loved Falon Ballard's debut novel, Lease on Love. I'm so glad I picked this one up because this is the second chance romance I've been wanting. Yes, Lana and Seth did have conflicts in their past, but during their time apart they both grew as people and once reunited, it was so easy to root for them to get back together.

I loved Seth; he was an amazing love interest. However, I loved our female main character, Lana, even more. I truly don't think I've ever related to a character to the extent I related to her and it made me feel seen, haha. She was nerdy without having that "I'm not like other girls" vibe and throughout the story she learned how to appreciate being on her own which I really loved reading about. I also loved Lana and Seth together--I loved their banter and interactions and was rooting for them so hard while reading.

I thought the competition aspect of this novel was really interesting and the challenges Lana and Seth were tasked with felt like a perfect way for them to interact and rebuild their relationship. I felt that reading about each task that they checked off made the plot really fun and engaging. A few other aspects I have to mention were the amazing secondary characters and the normalization of therapy, both of which I really loved.

This book made me feel a wide range of emotions--it made me smile and laugh on countless occasions, and the ending even made me happy cry. This was such a feel-good book and I cannot recommend it enough!

If you love "it was always you" vibes and lovable characters, I am begging you to pick this up! Even if you don't typically enjoy second chance romances, I definitely think this one is worth a shot.

A cute enemies-to-lovers second chance
romance! This book checked all my boxes, and there were a ton of marvel references! A quick, feel-good read!

This book was so good! Seth showing up at Lana’s place of work?? Terrible! But watching their story fold out as they navigate how to be in each others lives again and fall in love? Incredible!
The premise of the book— the ex of a scorned lover is suddenly thrust back into her life— is not an uncommon one, but honestly speaking, how Ballard goes about telling a version of this story specific to Lana and Seth constantly subverted my expectations. The twists and turns and jokes were fun and fresh throughout!
@rachelbookclub

Wasn’t really connected to the story or characters. I also didn’t really like the miscommunication, which was frustrating. I did like the side characters and the ending was sweet.

I really enjoyed Lana and Seth, particularly how Lana's emotional arc included more than her relationship with Seth. There were parts of the book however where I struggled with the repetitiveness of Lana and Seth's relationship - they'd make progress and it would seem like they both realized they were still in love, and then Lana would drastically misinterpret the situation and we'd be back at square one. Once is understandable, twice is where I think you're pushing it, and more than that wasn't my favorite.

While that's my one critique, I don't want it to overshadow that I did thoroughly enjoy this book and would really recommend it for romance readers who like some emotional turmoil (for lack of a better word) outside of the relationship in question as well.

What a cute story! Second chance stories can be a hit or miss for me but this definitely hit the mark! Falon Ballard constructs such real characters that leap off the page.

I loved the contrast with the different assignments Lana and Seth had and how they went through it all, Everything they did just had me smiling so big because they were so in love with each other, even when they didn't want to admit it.

I wish we got to see more of these two as a couple because the little glimpses we got were my favorite part of the story. Overall, I just fell in love with this book and this couple.

Falon Ballard has written another hit with Just My Type. It’s a mix bewteen enemies-to-lovers, second chance romance, and love bewteen rivalries. I had so mcuh fun reading this book. Lana is a writer hoping to get a promtion so she can write columns about topics that insterest her. Her company ATF is acquired by the Los Angeles Chronicle. Her boss Natasha decised to have Lana compete against the new employee for the columnish position at the Chronicle. The last person Lana expected to see in her office space was her ex-boyfriend Seth. He’s the man who broke her heart, not once, but twice. Lana and Seth have to complete the list of items the other wrote to win the competition.. As they work through their tasks, they realize their attraction is still sizzling beneath the surface. I didn’t want this book to end!

Thank you, G.P. Putnam’s Sons and Penguin Random House Audio, for my gifted copies.

I love a good rom com! And I love how this one was the opposite of the usual, trying to stay single instead of trying to win someone over. So good! Loved it so much!

I loved Falon Ballard’s debut Lease on Love so I went into Just My Type wanting to love it as well but it was just a like. I had a couple things I didn’t like in Lease on Love and all of those stayed the same with Just My Type like how ~millennial~ some of language is and while done well for the most part, the slightly overkill with pop-culture references, specifically Marvel references in Just My Type. Also, one of things I loved most about Lease on Love were Sadie’s friends and their group texts and while the slack chat in Just My Type was great, I felt like it was missing something.

It was a fun read and the competition had a lot of potential but I got tired after a while and I felt like their rivalry was a bit too drawn out. I thought Lana and Seth’s boss was a bit too over the top but I’m glad the way she acted and the discomfort she caused was dealt with. I wish that both Lana and Seth had a bit more depth to their characters and felt sometimes they were acting a bit too immature for their age which took away from my enjoyment but I still thought it was a solid romance. I also wish there were more flashbacks to the past because I wasn’t entirely convinced that I should be invested in their past.

Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for the early copy!

I wanted to love this book so bad but I just…. Couldn’t. DNF’ed at around 24%. I tried numerous times to pick it back up but I could not. Laura was whiney, annoying, and cringey. I couldn’t not get passed it. I’m sure this author has an abundance of potential, but this novel has missed the mark

This second chance love story centers on high school sweethearts who broke up and at 30 meet again in a workplace writing competition.
While I did not love this as much as Lease on Live, there were some poignant moments in this book. Main character Lana is on a journey go discover herself and heal from her upbringing with a distant mother.
There could have been better character development for the main character Seth. It was also a bit too slow burn for my taste.

I adored Lease On Love, and this was a cute follow-up, even if it wasn't what I was expecting. A second chance romance where they're in a competition at work, but the end result has the potential to change both their lives.

My only complaint about the story was how many times they referred to a disastrous "encounter" at their 10 year reunion, but nobody clarifies what happens until well into the story, and by then I had come up with far worse scenarios in my head.

I laughed a lot at the witty banter and challenges they give each other. While the beginning took me a hot minute to get into, there was a lot of personal growth for Lana and Seth, and I loved following along on their journeys.

After loving Lease on Love I was eager to pick this one up. The banter and writing was great and the twist on How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days was fun. A real treat of a rom com is to have you both laughing and rooting for the couple who “hates eachother”.

Love an enemies to lovers and second chance romance and this one had both so if those are your tropes of choice, pick this one up.

I will be honest and say, I did not love the HR nightmare of the forced dating and insinuated sexual elements to the bet. It did give it a bit of ick factor and wish that was handled a smidge differently.

Ugh this main character was such a mess for being in her thirties or close to it.

The constant miscommunication or lack there of was truly hard to want to continue. These are some of my main pet peeves with fictional characters and stories and so therefor this books wasn’t for me.