This was a cute story! The whole time I was reading this book, I was thinking about how it would make a great rom-com movie! It definitely gave off How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days vibes, so if you loved that movie, you will enjoy Just My Type! This book touched on many tropes: enemies to lovers, second chance romance, workplace romance, and a little grumpy x sunshine.

While I enjoyed this book, I did not connect with the characters as much as I would have liked. Some of my favorite second chance romances are Love and Other Words and Every Summer After, where the author switches between past and present time periods. In Just My Type, we are simply told the reason Lana hates Seth in the present, without any flashbacks to what happened. I felt like I was missing out on the depth of their relationship in the past. At times I was reading and thinking, “Why do we hate him again??”
It made Lana come off as immature because I didn’t feel her hatred toward Seth was justified.

Even though I deducted a few points, Just My Type is still a quick, enjoyable, breezy read! Thank you to @netgalley for the advanced copy!

FIVE STARS!!!!!

“I fell in love with you when we were fourteen and I’ve never stopped.”

SUMMARY: Lana Parker is a relationship addict. She has gone from long relationship to long relationship all while running a relationship column In the blog she works for. While this is not the column Lana has always wanted, she still tries her hardest in hopes one day her boss, who she sees as a mother-figure will promote her to her dream column. Then, out of nowhere Lana is brough face to face with her first love, the man who broke her heart, Seth Carson. Seth is brought to Lana’s workplace, and it turns out they have to compete for the roll of a solo column. Lana and Seth are forced to do challenges together while their boss puts them in an immense amount of social pressure that forces Lana to confront her past feelings.

CHARACTERS-

Lana Parker: I really loved Lana, simply because she felt so real. In the nicest way possible, Lana is a people pleasing pushover but that’s what makes her all the time better. Her development is simply TOP TIER, the way Lana came out of shell and finally decided to put herself first even if it meant hurting her career was just so special to me. Throughout the whole book, Lana’s main challenge was that she had to be single and learn to be happy by herself, while this was a huge challenge for Lana, she didn’t want to give up which I really admired her for. Lana’s character as a whole was so well-written and I literally just connected with her so much that I couldn’t put the book down

Seth Carson: Seth Carson put me through a rollercoaster. That’s the best way to describe his development. Seth has to be one of the best book boyfriends written simply because he always cared even if he had to make it seem like he didn’t. Seth’s whole backstory was so emotional for me to read, it might’ve not even been that sad, but I still felt emotionally attached to it. Seth’s main challenge was that he had to find a single person to date and have a serious, steady relationship with. The whole time Seth makes it seem like he’s going steady with someone until we find out he never even liked the girl, but it’s okay because it’s important for the plot. I could go on forever about Seth, but I just loved him SO much.

The side characters in this book weren’t really shown much besides when there were group chats and when Leah’s boss had to be confronted but still their roles were well-written.

THOUGHTS: I genuinely loved this book and think everything was extremely well written and AMAZINGLY executed. I can’t point out a single flaw because I just liked every single thing from this book. The development of the plot was so smooth and SUPER easy to follow along. I loved the development of the characters and how they managed to overcomed their past while also building a new future. Leah is a character who has fully grasped my heart and I feel so seen by her. Along with Seth who is the sweetest, most selfless man ever to exist. ALSO, the rivals arc was PERFECT! I absolutely loved the rivals to lovers, forced proximity and second chance tropes that were added to the book. The personal growth stories of the two main characters being developed while they were also dealing with things together was done so well that it did not feel like too many plots. Each plot was developed and finished with so much care that I could tell the author really put her all into this book.

CONCLUSION: In conclusion, Just My Type by Falon Ballard was an extremely well-done book that has me in a chokehold, I could read about these characters all day. Everything within this book was so well-developed that it deserves over 5 stars.

A HUGE thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam/ G. P. Putnam’s Sons for sending me this eArc in exchange for a complete and honest review!

Whew! I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did. I certainly wasn't expecting to binge read it between lunch and dinner. I thought I was signing up for a standard, light-and-cute romcom, not an endearing, honest story about a woman finding herself as well as true love. I even teared up at the end when Lana, our heroine, confronts some of the major issues that were holding her back.

I'm a sucker for personal development in addition to romance and Just My Type was, well, just my type. Lana has a great cast of supportive, sometimes brutally honest friends and I'm side eyeing some of them hoping for sequels focusing on their love stories. The romance was great and Lana and Seth had fantastic chemistry. I was, of course, rooting for them the whole time, but the real winner of this book is Lana herself. I was rooting for her to establish boundaries, stand up for herself, and find confidence in herself. I'm glad she got the ending she deserved. I'll definitely be following up with this author for future reads.

Lana Parker is a 30 year old, recently dumped writer of a relationship column in an online magazine for the past 8 years. Lana also has the problem of staying single bouncing from one longterm relationship to another since high school. Enter Seth Carson, her high school sweetheart who broke up with Lana 12 years prior. He is a journalist as well and has traveled to many places and comes to women he seems to be a ladies man, but never a committed relationship. Now in order for Lana to get the job of her dreams or Seth to stay in LA they have to compete with each other for the column. Lana and Seth have to document her ability to stay single and his ability to find a committed relationship for the next 10 weeks.
If you are looking for a romance book with all the top tropes this is the book for you! We have second chance romance, close proximity, a little bit of enemies to lovers, high school sweethearts, and the list goes on and on. It was a quick read and I really enjoyed reading this book. If you are a fan of Emily Henry, Ali Hazelwood and the like I would recommend this book.

I loved Lease on Love, so I was so excited when I was approved for an arc of Just My Type. I loved it just as much! Lana is relatable. Lana and Seth's story was enjoyable. Again, there was emphasis on friendship. It was a great second chance romance! I read it in less than a day and was sad when it was over because I wanted to keep reading!
Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the arc. All opinions are my own.

So much fun. I really enjoyed this book,it was all that I needed. Cute and lighthearted, I highly recommend if you are looking for a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc. This review is wholly my own.

Falon Ballard never fails me and this sweet, rivalry romance definitely hits the spot.

I read so many mysteries & thrillers that I like to use the cutesy rom-coms as sort of a palate cleanser and Just My Type succeeded in doing exactly that for me.

Ballard's writing style is on par, as always, to keep the story flowing and paced nicely. She is an auto-read for me!

Highly recommend this cute rom-com!

3.5 stars. I really loved Lease on Love so I was excited to read more from Falon Ballard! Just My Type was a really cute second chance romance with like a little spritz of enemies to lovers/workplace-forced-proximity vibes. The MCU/Star Wars refs were a bit heavy handed even for me, a Marvel/Star Wars fan, but it was generally fun to read. Overall this was a quick romance that I enjoyed! *The MC drinks a lot of alcohol throughout the book… so if you are sensitive to alcohol mentions please be aware.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Available February 7, 2023.

Lana gets dumped (again) by the guy she thought was going to propose. While she’s telling her beloved coworkers about it, her high school sweetheart walks in because he’s now working at her writing agency. Their boss plans a competition between the two of them. Lana uses the competition to go on a journey of self exploration, that just might bring her back to her first love.

This was such a fun, quick story, but touched on some real issues. The story between Lana and Seth was a bunch of miscommunications or misunderstood reasoning, so that was hard to deal with sometimes and made Lana seem a little dense, but her anger and frustration with Seth was justified. The resolution to the story was good, and I enjoyed the ending to Lana’s work situation.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book.

I loved Falon Ballard's debut novel "Lease on Love," so I was really excited to get my hands on this one. It was just as good! If How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and the Hating Game had a baby, it would be this book. Enemies to lovers, forced, proximity, childhood romance - somehow this managed to knock out every single romance trope within one relationship and it was just right. Please turn this into a movie already.

I thoroughly enjoyed Fallon Ballard's debut "Lease on Love" so when I saw that this was available for pre-readers I jumped at the chance. I was not disappointed at all and I devoured this novel in one sitting.
We follow Lana the serial monogamist who is known for her relationship/love column and Seth her ex-high school sweetheart as they compete for their dream job at the LA Chronicle. Without spoiling anything, the competition is very "How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days" which was a definite buy in for me. Their chemistry throughout the book was off the charts and there are more than a few highlighted passages in my copy that made me swoon a little. It's also rivals to lovers and second-chance romance which are two of my top three tropes (enemies to lovers will always have my heart and is not the same as rivals to lovers, die mad).
The "villian" of this story is quite literally the worst and the way the conflict is resolved with her did fall a little flat for me. Lana herself wanting to write about fandom and books and carving out a space for herself online via her blog was very relatable to me even if her references to Marvel superheroes were not. Overall, a solid 4.5/5 stars from me and I definitely recommend picking it up if you enjoyed her debut novel.
Big thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam/ G. P. Putnam’s Sons for sharing this advanced reader copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This book is so much fun and perfect for the avid romance reader! With references to popular romances and the heroine having a TBR cart, overflowing bookshelves, and book subscriptions it is very relatable. The competition dynamic in this book was very fun and I loved the relationships between the coworkers. The romance is second chance, enemies to lovers, and big personal growth of the heroine. I also loved the therapy representation!

4.5 || If you have been looking for a romance novel to scratch that Emily Henry itch (because I certainly have), then look no further! I am surprised by how much I enjoyed this; I find that I am hard to please when it comes to rom-coms, and not to mention this book features my least favorite trope: exes-to-lovers. Well, Miss Falon Ballard made me eat my words. I was wrong, exes-to-lovers can be done well. Lesson learned.

Lana Parker is thirty years old and has been writing at Always Take Fountain, an online magazine, for eight years. She is the writer behind their successful dating advice column. She is also a serial monogamist. That's right, homegirl goes from serious relationship to serious relationship like its nothing. And did I mention that she has always been the dumpee? Yep. Four times, to be exact. All of that changes after her current boyfriend of four years dumps Lana and tells her that she has extreme mommy issues. Ouch. This revelation is soon confirmed by all of her dear friends, forcing Lana to accept the truth: she cannot stay single. Does her relationship with her estranged mother have anything to do with it? Oh, yeah, no doubt about it. Lana is incapable of being alone, and she should probably figure that out.
Enter Seth Carson—Lana's first love, first boyfriend, and the first to completely shatter her heart. Oh, and he didn't just break her heart once, homeboy broke it all over again two years ago at their high school reunion. So why on earth is he at the ATF offices the morning after Lana got dumped? Well, because this is a rom-com, so outlandish things are allowed to happen. Sethy-boy has been offered a job at the Chronicle, who recently bought ATF.
Enter Natasha—Lana's boss at ATF. She wants Seth and Lana to compete for an open position at the Chronicle, which is the opportunity Lana has been waiting for. She doesn't want to write dating advice forever. Lana yearns to write about art, literature, and pop culture. So, what's the catch? Seth has been on the road for years as a freelance writer, never having the time for a serious relationship. And Lana needs to chill out with the relationships. Each has to follow a list of tasks and write about their experiences. The end goal? Seth needs to take steps to settle down and find someone to be in a relationship with, and Lana must grapple with her fear of being alone and learn to enjoy her time as a single woman. Their competition will be followed by ATF's readers and there will be one winner at the end of it.

You get the gist, right?
As Lana and Seth complete their challenges, they are forced to open up old wounds and confront what neither has been able to let go of since they were teenagers.

Our good ole friend Mr. Miscommunication has a big role in this novel. Things that were miscommunicated years ago, as well as just a complete lack of communication between Lana and Seth while they reconnect. This, of course, is super annoying. But I am beginning to make my peace with it, because it would all be over too quickly if every romantic pairing in every romance novel ever just sat down and cleared the air. Heaven forbid they ask the right questions and answer with clarity. *sigh*
My other gripe with the novel is that I found Seth to be rather bland for the majority of the book. I read this in a day, so perhaps that has affected my perception, but homeboy said more in the last third of the book than in the first two. When he did speak, I was intrigued and enjoyed hearing his side of things, but I still think there could have been more from the time him and Lana spent together. I felt a lack in witty banter, which is probably my favorite staple/cliché in romances.

Other than that, I had a good time with this. Ballard did a good job with the whole exes-to-lovers/second-chance-romance premise. I even got teary-eyed at some of Lana's introspective moments.
Just My Type delivered what I look for in romances:
- A protagonist I can root for
- A love interest that doesn't make me roll my eyes
- Delving into deeper topics
- Fun side characters
- Female friendships
- Slow burn
- Interesting atmosphere/setting/career (especially if it has to do with writing)

4.5 rounded up because it accomplished what it set out to do: tap into my hopelessly romantic heart and cheer for when the confession of love finally comes around.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I don’t really care for second chance romances but I figured I’d give this a try. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it. It's quick read. It had funny moments and heart wrenching moments. I'd recommend

This was my first book by this author, & I’m really looking forward to going back and reading Lease on Love. I found this book so easy to get invested into, & I really enjoyed the characters. This is going to be a book everyone is talking about once it comes out, I just know it! Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the ARC!

JUST MY TYPE, the newest novel by Falon Ballard, is a lovely second chance love story set in the world of LA journalism and entertainment writing. I found Lana and Seth's story very compelling and enjoyable. I loved the pop culture references Ballard peppered in throughout the story and the way Lana navigated mental health topics with grace and candor. As a big fan of Ballard's first novel, I was really excited to get this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review! This second novel didn't quite live up to the first in my opinion, but was still very entertaining and fun. I rooted for Lana and Seth to grow, together and apart, and enjoyed every minute of JUST MY TYPE.

Thank you Netgalley & Penguin Group Putnam for allowing me to read this e-ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts/reviews.

This book had one of my favorite tropes in it: second chance romance so I was expecting to really love it. While I found parts of this book very enjoyable, overall it was not my favorite. Fans of the movie How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days will probably like this. I've read a lot of second chance romance recently because there is something so warm and inviting about them. I think where this one missed the mark for me was showing us more of the high school relationship. Really fleshing out the impact of the relationship by showing us important scenes from back then. There was a lot of telling us how important our two MCs are to each other, but I think there would have been more impact had we gotten some fleshed out flashback scenes.

While reading this I mostly just found myself thinking, "I just don't care." Perhaps I personally just didn't connect with these characters, but there was something sort of flat about the book overall. The buildup to the climax (no pun intended) was lackluster and once we hit this pinnacle and things really started getting interesting and heartfelt, the book was over. There were definitely cute moments, but overall I just didn't truly care what happened to any of the characters. This one just wasn't for me.

Some lovely things I enjoyed:
- Lana was a wonderful FMC with really great character development
- Emphasis on mental health/therapy and self-love was lovely!
- Pining MCs!

I simply adore Lana!
I think this is the first book I’ve read with so many pop culture references that I know and love!

This is a second chance, hate to love, rom-com you don’t want to miss!

I could definitely relate to Lana when it came to how she acted and treated Seth. I feel like sometimes it’s easier to pretend you hate someone instead of admitting that you love them but they hurt you. This novel was really good! I have to add this to my “you need to read this!” List!


Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Falon did not disappoint with her second novel! This is a second chance workplace romance with alll the fun pop culture references & great challenges.

Lana Parker is a victim to constantly being in relationships while Seth Carson, her high school ex, has a problem with being always single. So when Seth starts at Lana’s company - they’re set to do 10 tasks each towards Lana learning to be single & Seth learning to be in a relationship.

What I adored in this was the pop culture references - Ted Lasso, Avengers, and IKEA & Target date days?! Falon read my mind!! The humor in this hard me laughing out loud and I wish you could see how many times I smiled & went OMG I LOVE THIS!!! Seth is the definition of a cinnamon roll. Dealing with toxic managers & recognizing unhealthy environments is very well addressed in this. I also really appreciated that therapy was incorporated into this one.

The only reason this isn’t a five is because I struggled with the showing Lana what really is going on that happens in this one. I wish more of her internal monologue was about her history & a little less telling & more showing the reader her growth.

Please give this one a read though - it’s funny, current, and adorable!! I can’t wait for more from Falon!!! Thank you to Putnam & NetGalley for an E-ARC of this book!!! I loved it!!

I am such a sucker for the second-chance romances, but it's also probably something I should talk to my counselor about because this book emotionally WRECKED ME. There were a few lines that just absolutely shredded me and I need a few months to recover.