This is the first book I’ve read by the author.

I enjoyed the BTS of the film making process and wondered what kind of research the author did whether it was watching YT videos or actually going on a film set. I found the costars with benefits trope to be unique. I also enjoyed the other media elements including the articles, interviews, and tweets intermingled throughout the story.

I wish this book was narrated from a dual POV. The third act breakup was due to a miscommunication and it felt like it resolved too quickly and easily.

You may enjoy it if you like the following tropes:
- Celebrity romance
- Enemies to lovers
- Co stars with benefits
- Open door romance

This was an emotional rollercoaster in the best way. The highs are high. The lows are low. I love how it was single POV but you still see what the second character is thinking/feeling and understand any miscommunication.

The whole thing felt mature and modern with consideration for people’s mental health, consent, sexual best practices, and I’m especially impressed with the (small spoiler) third act break up and both in the couple respecting the other’s boundaries instead of forcing the issue to get back together.

Right on Cue is the story of an actress turned screenwriter (and a nepo baby) who ends up back in the spotlight with the guy she cannot stand as the co-star in her new movie. Oh, this was cute. It was a fluffy, steamy, witty and romantic enemies to lovers and without too much annoying miscommunication. And the setting in a cozy California inn was delightful.

Synopsis: Emmy Harper is a talented screenwriter known for her romantic comedies, but she hasn’t acted since she was a teenager. When the director for yer newest screenplay insists she play the lead, Emmy has no choice but to try acting one more time. Everything is going smoothly, until the male lead drops out and is replaced by Grayson West, Emmy’s nemesis and the reason she quit acting all those years ago.

Thoughts: This book had a lot of cute elements that made for a fun rom com. I enjoyed the overall setup of the story and the writing. I just didn’t really connect with the conflict between the two main characters with quite a bit of miscommunication and a third act breakup that just didn’t work for me. Overall I still found it to be an enjoyable read, so give it a shot if you’re a fan of the author or rom com books!

Read this if you like:
🎥 Hollywood drama
🎥 enemies to lovers
🎥 second chance romance

An adorable romcom between two movie stars!

This book was a breath of fresh air! I had the pleasure of listening to Right On Cue in audio and all of the narrators did a phenomenal job!

I fell for Falon Ballard’s books with Just My Type and I was so excited to dive into this one—and it did NOT disappoint! For those of you looking for a fun and quick read, look no further!

Emmy is the writer of a new movie and gets roped into being a star actress in it too. And while she’s hesitant, nothing compares to her panic when her number 1 enemy shows up as her co-star: Grayson.

This enemies-to-lovers, second-chance, celebrity romcom is one that lives rent-free in my mind. I didn’t want it to end, but I also couldn’t put it down!

I cannot recommend this one enough — especially the audio! And it’s out now, so go grab a copy!

Review time! Thank you @netgalley for a chance to honestly review this.
⭐️⭐️💫 (2.5/5)

🎥 Emmy Harper is considered the queen of writing romantic comedies. That is, until tragedy struck and she swore she’d never write another happy ending again. She is ready to return to the big screen but this time, Emmy’s also been convinced to star as the lead, dusting off acting skills she hasn’t used in over a decade.

Only problem? Her trusted co-star is taken out with an injury. With filming about to start, there’s only one other actor available on such short notice: Grayson West. The friction between Emmy and Grayson is palpable and it’s anyone’s guess if it’s unresolved awkwardness or simmering sexual tension. If working things out leads to sizzling chemistry on screen, what might happen when the cameras stop rolling?

🎥 Thoughts: The whole plot is based on miscommunication and, at times, it feels like Emmy doesn't even want to be with Grayson. Each miscommunication is handled poorly by simply running away from each other. I liked the first 50% as they both have to deal with working with someone they dislike, then find common ground. The second half was constant miscommuniation though over things that could have VERY easily been talked out.

so i’ve read like all of fallon’s books as she’s become an autobuy comfort author for me. buuut let me tell you!! i think this one is her spiciest one yet! she does not hold back on the heat compared to her other ones! the banter was also so great!

i feel like i’m normally not a huuuuge fan of celebrity romcoms for some reason, but this one was done so so well! so cute, and i loved the attention to detail in regards to movie making like adding in an intimacy coordinator, etc. we also loooove a man of consent!!

the only reasons this one didn’t get five stars for me was because

1. i didn’t fully get why she hated him and i didn’t get his pov from that moment really either

2. i’m not a big fan of miscommunication and that’s a lot of this book

3. the fmc seemed a bit whiny through there and there

overall though, i would definitely recommend picking up this cute, fun romcom!!

thank you to netgalley and penguin for this arc copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

I was very disappointed in this book. I don’t think Grayson did enough for me to like him and it felt like he just disregarded what he did to Emmy. He acted like she shouldn’t have been upset and blamed her for his poor acting in their scenes. I just wasn’t invested in this story unfortunately and it did not get better.

I just love Falon Ballards writing. I always feel her characters are so real and like I could know them in my day to day (not that I'm a Hollywood celebrity). Hated the third act break up but she redeemed herself.

- Work Place
- Enemies to Lovers
- Second Chance
- Forced Proximity
- Spice (3/5 🌶️)

Emery Harper is the Only child of a Hollywood power couple, and an Oscar winning screenplay writer. Her Oscar came from a drama filled film she wrote post her father death. Having that out of her system she decided to return to her Rom-com roots. This is her baby, That she can’t seem to cast the perfect leading lady in. Her Bestfriend and director of her film talk her into taking on the role.

Grayson West is the leading man in many action films but wanted to take on a different kind of role. He knew what he was getting into after he took on the role in the film the woman his first kiss came from wrote, even if their first film together was a total flop.

Can they work through their history and make a good film, or will they let their past tarnish both of their reputations further?

The banter is amazing and I loved every minute of this, except the third act break-up in my personal opinion its a way to common occurrence in most romance novels.

this is a super fun hollywood romance that’s easy to eat up! i just wish it had a bit more depth

the premise is so good! i’m a sucker for a second chance, hollywood romance! the set up was so enticing, i flew through the first half of the book. but it got really bogged down after that. i already had my reservations about the mmc from the start, but nothing he (or the fmc for that matter) said or did convinced me they were in love (and that quick too?!) this was begging for a dual pov. the mmc was going through so much but there’s no resolution for their history or current conflict.

this book is decent if you don’t think too hard about it but development that would’ve made the characters’ motives more believable and relatable! it was just hard to find something to connect to and really fully enjoy the story. i also think i’m not a fan of Ballard’s writing style but i so want to love her books.

3.5/5 Stars

Falon Ballard gave a classic "hallmark" love story in Right on Cue.
I really enjoyed the dynamic between Emmy and Grayson. While not complete enemies the competition and rivalry between then ran deep and was done well; however, I did struggle a bit with liking Grayson (this could be due the single POV and lack of his thoughts).

Overall, the storyline felt a little bit rushed for me. After deciding to sleep together to help their acting, Emmy and Grayson started to spend more time together. However, quite a bit of their interactions happened off page and we didn’t get to see those deeper bonding moments leaving us with two characters that had great physical chemistry. I think there is a time and place for the miscommunication trope but this one didn’t hit for me. The MCs are grown adults that just refused to communicate with each other.

The addition to news articles, podcasts, and social media posts were one of my favorite things about this book. These provided a sense of reality as well as giving a different sort of POV.

⭐️rating: 4.5/5

I loved this and ate it up! I almost couldn’t put it down, and if I didn’t have to eat or sleep then I would’ve finished it in one sitting. Love love love!

It’s such a perfect rom-com with loveable characters, amazing tension and spice, and top tier dialogue and banter. I devoured it!

I also loved that the FMC actually got her period! In so many romances I’m always wondering when so much time passes and it’s never on the page. I’ve read very few books that include it, and I loved how it was done in this book. And the way he took care of her 😍😩 ugh my heart!

And the build up of STEAM and HEAT while they filmed [redacted scene]…my GOD🥵

The only thing I didn’t love was the conflict at the end, it made me want to shake the character a bit. Then their makeup was okay, but it was still a little ehh for me while reading. I mean I loved the characters and their relationship, but the conflict and resolution just took away a little from it. Though the epilogue helped, and it had exactly what I hoped it would.

Anyway, I loved reading Right on Cue and it hit all the right things I want in a rom-com. I loved it and would definitely recommend!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the advanced copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Emmy Harper is the daughter of Hollywood royalty who took her experiences and became a brilliant screenwriter of romantic comedies. But when her father died suddenly, she wrote a darker movie that ended up winning her an Oscar. And now she’s back to rom coms, with a new one that has revived the rumors of her being the next Nora Ephron. No Reservations will be directed by her best friend Liz and star a hot actor they both adore. Or it was going to, until their male lead goes snowboarding and has to spend a couple of months in a cast for his broken leg.

They’d been having a lot of trouble casting the female lead, until Liz finally wore Emmy down and got her to agree to taking the part. Her read through with the original lead had been pitch perfect, and no other actress they had auditioned had come close to Emmy’s performance. So she agrees, despite not having acted since she was a teenager. Her parents had refused to let her become part of the industry before she was ready, so Emmy was 15 when she’d acted in her first movie. It was a romance staring Grayson West. And it had been bad. After their first on-screen kiss, Emmy’s first kiss, Grayson had made some disparaging remarks about her kissing, and about her acting, and about her only getting the job because she was a nepo baby. Emmy had been destroyed. She stopped acting and turned to writing instead.

Now, over fifteen years later, with an Oscar on her shelf, Emmy is ready to try acting again. But what she doesn’t find out until she’s on the set is that the male lead is not who she thinks he is. The new lead is none other than Grayson West. And not only is he there, in her face, but he says he doesn’t remember who she is. Immediately, Emmy is livid. Should she quit? Should she get him fired? Liz convinces her to give it a try, but the read-through of the script doesn’t convince Emmy that everything will work out. Grayson is natural in scenes with the other cast members, but the scenes with Emmy has him sounding like a robot.

Things don’t get better when the camera starts rolling. Grayson is just as wooden in his scenes with Emmy, and she reciprocates with iciness. It doesn’t make for a great rom com, to have the two leads hating each other so obviously. So Liz changes the schedule. She clears a couple of days and brings in an intimacy coordinator, to film the sex scene next.

Emmy and Grayson are forced to face the fact that they have to find some chemistry for their characters, as well as to find enough respect for each other as actors, to film these scenes. And as they shed their fears and insecurities, and actually talk to each other about what’s going on in their heads, the chemistry between them flares into a flame and they create the best scenes of the film so far.

They choose to keep the chemistry going between them, a costars with benefits arrangement, but when Emmy finds herself falling into feelings for Grayson. she has to decide if she will let the past come between them again. Is she ready to move forward and create a new future, or will she repeat her past mistakes and find herself alone all over again?

Right on Cue is the latest rom com from Falon Ballard, who is clearly having fun writing stories about love and forgiveness, about courage and healing. This one brings a thoughtful romance to the world of Hollywood, internet gossip, and a life on display.

I have loved Ballard since her first novel, and this is another fantastic read. The characters are smart and interesting, the plot is like candy, and the steam between these characters is hot. From the beginning, you can tell how spicy the romance will be, once Emmy and Grayson get out of their own way, and the writing just sparkles on the page. I am a fan of Hollywood stories, and is is a good one, with the famous parents and the paparazzi and the internet trolls. If you’re missing the good, old-fashioned rom com movies that you could watch over and over with your best friends, then this is the perfect book to pick up to scratch that Ephron itch.

Egalleys for Right on Cue were provided by G. P. Putnam’s Sons through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Picture this….Nepo baby screenwriter thrown into acting. Last minute leading man recast. Years of built up anger and hurt + forced proximity -> Leads to 🔥🔥.

Grab this book for a cute and quick read! I loved Emmy and Grayson’s roller coaster relationship while they try to make her screenplay come to life without killing each other. And who doesn’t love a cozy inn snuggled in a snow covered small town as a backdrop. The third act breakup is a downer but the closet scene makes up for it! 😏
And insert a clap for her makeup artist for the sideline humor and her bestie for knowing a scene shakeup needed to light a fire! 👏🏻

Thank you Netgalley & Putnambooks for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

👉🏻Read if you like:
•Second Chances •Romcom •Sexual Tension •Third Act Breakup •Enemies To Lovers •Celebrity Romance

🤔 What’s your favorite RomCom movie?

Spoiler Free Arc Review: 4.25 ⭐️

This story follows Hollywood screenwriter FMC Emmy Harper and actor MMC Grayson West. Emmy’s most recent romcom project is struggling to find its leading lady, and when her best friend/director Liz suggests Emmy be the lead and revive her formal acting career, she reluctantly agrees. Little does Emmy know that the boy that broke her heart so many years ago has been last minute cast to be her love interest.

Overall this book was swoon worthy, cute, and easy to get in to. The enemies to lovers storyline was extremely well done with believable chemistry and character growth. Emmy herself is a great FMC- independent, strong, successful, and hard working. I actually did not like Grayson at first, but it shows how good Ballard’s writing is because as Emmy began to soften to him, I did too.

The only reason this book didn’t get a full 5 stars is because the miscommunication trope went on a little longer than I would have liked. Other than that, I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a an easy romcom read with a little spice!

DNF @ 25% - I just couldn’t get into this story at all… especially as someone in the art field (I’m a dancer), I found it very hard to stomach that someone would put themselves in a situation when they actively know they’re taking jobs away from other struggling artists. as a dancer, I have only performed in my own works as a choreographer if someone is sick or can’t make it last minute - not because I want to put myself out there or promote myself even more … and I just couldn’t get past that at all, putting the FMC in a bad light from the beginning…

Emmy Harper is a screenwriter that ends up starring in her own latest romcom across from her arch nemesis, Grayson West. Emmy’s first (and only) time she acted was 17 years prior across from Grayson and between his actions and the press, she never acted again. Until now.

The stress is palpable between the two both on set and off. I loved the increasing chemistry between Emmy and Grayson. When they finally get together, the explosion is seismic. Their relationship after is heartfelt and sweet.

However, the third act miscommunication was meh. I don’t like this trope at all. It can be done well but this one just annoyed me. I get why it happened but I would have hoped that they would have figured it out earlier than they did.

The book made me laugh a bit and the secondary characters were great additions.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this eARC. Right on Cue is out today!

Heart racing, stomach flipping—these are actual feelings I had while reading Right on Cue. Falon Ballard has perfected the frustration, the sexual chemistry, and the tension of enemies to lovers so well that I could literally feel it myself. Like holy (insert curse word here) these two just are so perfect for each other, and the single point of view from Emmy giving limited insight into Grayson’s feelings makes the suspense that much stronger. This is one of my favorite tropes, especially when a character is in denial about their own feelings because how could they possibly rationalize having emotions for someone that frustrates them?
The set up is that Emmy has written a Hallmark-esque romcom set in a snowy little town and with no actresses wowing her director best-friend Liz, she must act as the female lead—a role she abandoned at age 15. When she discovers a last minute fluke has landed Grayson West, her first crush and teen failed movie costar opposite her, it’s all Emmy can do to even be in the same room with him. Working on a movie together is the perfect dynamic for the forced proximity of two costars who have amazing sexual chemistry, but let their own misgivings (Emmy’s mostly) keep them from discussing it.
The stakes are amped up even higher between Grayson and Emmy by forcing their characters to block a sex scene—ahhh! intimate touching!—amidst the awkwardness of even looking at one another. Although sex is what initially helps bind these two (an actor must do what an actor must 😉), it becomes pretty clear that feelings are inevitable and the major factor keeping Emmy and Grayson at arms length. This book is super steamy (my fave) and also very funny. Grayson’s sex puns had me rolling, but more than that, it’s about people learning how to be vulnerable with each other and learning to let someone into their heart when they’ve had it broken before. Here’s your warning, there IS a third act breakup that lays heavily into the miscommunication trope, but knowing Emmy’s character, it seemed completely plausible to me. Through it all I rooted for these two, laughed at them, and cheered them on when life got complicated outside the filming bubble. Fallon Ballard has become an autobuy author for me and I would strongly encourage you to give Right on Cue a read. I received an early copy from NetGalley and Putnam. All opinions are my own.

Emmy Harper is Hollywood royalty - both her parents were famous actors and she tried acting herself as a teenager before pivoting to screenwriting after her debut movie was panned because of the lack of chemistry between her and her costar, Grayson West, who is now an action hero. Emmy is back to writing romcoms after her father's sudden death and when they can't find the perfect actress for the female lead, Emmy agrees to do it. When her trusted costar has to bow out due to injury, Grayson West is the only replacement available on such short notice. As they begin filming, Emmy and Grayson's past interferes with their ability to work together until Emmy suggests doing something about all the tension simmering between them.

I really enjoyed this one and everytime I had to put the book down, I wished I could just keep reading! I loved how Emmy and Grayson gave themselves over to their feelings once they hooked up and I loved that we got to see them really together and in love - that doesn't happen in a lot of romances! I also loved how Grayson was really able to show Emmy his sensitive side and be vulnerable with her. One thing that I didn't love was the third act breakup, as it was the miscommunication trope at its finest AKA WORST! But it resolved itself quickly! I do wish that we got to see more of Grayon and Emmy after they reconciled, and it seemed like it went from spicy scene to ending rather quickly, but still a fun and cute read and Falon Ballard will continue to be a must-read author for me!

TW: Death of a parent, parental abandonment, grief