A cute Hollywood love story with an interesting premise. Yes, it’s a second chance romance, but many years delayed. It’s also friends to enemies to lovers. Also even employed the one bed trope in an unexpected way! The main characters are well-developed, as are their family and friends. Good depth, and fun writing. In keeping with the Hollywood theme, this was part Hallmark and part Cinemax, and all pretty good. The third act conflict felt a little forced and definitely avoidable, but still finished with the expected and happy ending.

I will definitely continue to read the author’s work.

*I was honored to read an ARC of this book via NetGalley and the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.*

I ADORED this book.

First of all, enemies to lovers is my jam so I knew from the start it was going to be great with the banter and tension. However, I did not expect to fall in love with the characters and the depth of them that Ballard created.

Emmy and Grayson are such a good pair.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

🦇 Right on Cue Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

❝ “Don’t deny yourself something beautiful because you’re already thinking about what happens if it goes wrong.” ❞

❓ #QOTD What's your favorite rom-com OR recommend a romance novel you don't see promoted often enough? ❓

🦇 Former actress-turned-screenwriter Emmy Harper is ready to bring her latest rom-com to life. When the production can't find a leading lady, Emmy steps under the spotlight for the first time in over a decade. The last time she acted was alongside costar Grayson "F*cking" West, who she blames for her disastrous first film and the early end to her acting career. When Emmy's leading man backs out, Grayson steps in for the role. Their animosity nearly ruins the film until they discover a way to save the production, their careers, and potentially their relationship, on and off camera.

💜 I had the great fortune of reading Just My Type when it was an ARC last year, so I'm delighted that I got to read Falon Ballard's next novel! It's obvious this story is a work of love. This second-chance romance is a reminder that one small moment can have a major impact, both on a relationship and your career. However, it's also a reminder that you can overcome mistakes or false pretenses. Emmy's first project with Grayson, when they were both just teens, changed the course of her life. I loved seeing Emmy heal from that pain while being forced to recognize the pain SHE caused Grayson. The concept of a romance writer keeping romantic interest at a distance, while having an opportunity to heal through her work, was also a delight. The strongest aspect of the book wasn't Emmy, however, but Grayson. His vulnerability is raw and real; proof that a man of muscles still has a heart underneath. The story is peppered with texts and news articles, adding a Hollywood element to the story while putting the relationship under the public's scrutiny--which only puts additional pressure on Emmy.

🦇 Unfortunately, the characters seem a bit superficial. We're not given a lot of reasons to love or relate to Emmy, who is a bit stubborn. While I loved seeing Grayson's vulnerability from Emmy, I wish the story was dual POV, so we could see reasons to adore Emmy through his point of view. One of the biggest mistakes was the lack of a flashback to show, rather than tell us about Emmy and Grayson's first project. Hearing a brief recap took the emotion out of the moment, when that moment obviously had a major impact on both Emmy and Grayson. The reliance on smut to develop the relationship and move the plot along was a bit frustrating, too. I have to warn you guys, there's a third-act break-up (thank you, miscommunication trope). The situation is resolved almost too quickly, making it all a bit anticlimactic.

🦇 Recommended to all the romance lovers out there (especially you Hallmark movie fans). If you want to swoon over a leading man, Grayson is it.

✨ The Vibes ✨
🎬 Enemies With Benefits to Lovers
🎬 Forced Proximity
🎬 Workplace Romance
🎬 He Falls First
🎬 Second Chance Romance
🎬 Celebrity Romance

🦇 Major thanks to the author @falonballard and publisher @putnambooks for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Main character, Emmy is a movie producer and her upcoming movie is going to be a rom-com set in a quaint small-town where the main character would fall for the owner of the inn. Long story short, Emmy couldn’t find anyone that fit the female lead so her co-producer and best friend (with the help of Emmy’s mom), convinced Emmy to act the part. It would be her first time acting in over a decade since Grayson West ruined her career.

Wouldn’t ya know, she showed up to her first day on the job and who’s there to play the male lead but Grayson “F*cking” West. Her enemy.

Clearly this wasn’t going to go well. This is where things get wonky. The two must have had some pent up sexual tension and they started getting intimate and then *poof!* — gone were the crappy performances during filming. They had instant chemistry and the movie ended up being so captivating and truly showed how much the two loved each other despite their enemy status.

I’m conflicted. Originally I rated this a 4 star book but the more I think about it, the more I’m annoyed with how their relationship turned because they shared an intimate connection. Kind of goes hand in hand with how I feel about open-door romances. The plot was amazing but there wasn’t really a key turning point other than the intimacy where they turned to lovers and I would have liked to see something more exciting be their turning point.

Such wonderful characters and such a fun plot! What kept this from a 5 star is the miscommunication. Just talk. It’s not that hard. Besides that I absolutely enjoyed this book.

Fairly predictable rom com but it was still a good read that I enjoyed it. It was also a quick read.

Emmy Harper is a nepo baby and a Oscar-winning screen writer. Emmy, and her best friend are making a new rom-com movie and Emmy became the lead female love interest. Only problem, the male lead had to change; it was her arch enemy - the man who turned her world upside down at 15, Grayson West.

Grayson got his big start in a indie movie with Emmy and went on to become a huge action movie star. He wants to get into more serious roles so he jumped at the opportunity to be in Emmy's new movie.

Only problem is Emmy still holds a severe grudge with Grayson, and he is trying to get back into her good graces.

I really enjoyed this book and how open Grayson was with his emotions and his patience with Emmy. The grovel scene could have been more, and I wish it was a dual POV.

Right On Cue follows Hollywood’s favorite nepo-baby, Emmy Harper, a screenwriter of rom-coms rivaling Nora Ephron and Grayson West, named Sexiest Man Alive (twice!). When Emmy agrees to star in her first movie since her first attempt at acting when she was 15, she has no idea that her co-star will end up to be none other than Grayson West, the same co-star from her first tanked movie. Tensions are high as Emmy and Grayson bicker and argue on set, but when they decide to cut the tension with a sexual proposition, the sparks–on set and off—start flying. Slowly, Grayson and Emmy begin to let their walls down and their co-stars with benefits agreement turns into something more.

After not loving Ballard’s debut novel, Lease on Love, I was admittedly nervous to read this. As I read this novel, some of Falon Ballard’s writing grated on me, similarly to my first experience with her work. Her characters feel superficial and do not have a lot of substance. For example, Emmy is supposedly grieving her father who past a few years ago, however, her father comes up maybe twice in conversation throughout the whole novel and the presence of that plot point felt like an afterthought, rather than something intentionally added to give the character some more emotions. Emmy doesn’t feel like she could be a real person, but instead is just a hodgepodge of popular heroines from romance novels without anything grounded in reality.

The one thing that saved this novel from my DNF pile was the plot, as flimsy as it might seem. Once Emmy gets to set and begins to interact with Grayson, the book is a lot easier to fly through. Ballard excelled at writing chemistry between Grayson and Emmy, even if the characters are one-dimensional, at best. But then again, she had to go and give this story the dumbest third-act break up I’ve read in a while.

As I’ve been writing this review, my qualms with Ballard’s work seem to be with the style of her writing. It is very millennial-coded and will most likely not age well. I visibly grimaced by her brief references to TikTok (“kombucha girl” – do not do my girl Brittany Broski like that) and use of terms like “himbo”. And although I do enjoy when authors use media-style posts in between chapters to give more insight to how their characters interact with the world, a la Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman, the way that Ballard utilized these breaks seemed derivative.

Overall, Right On Cue is a quick read with a cute story and good spicy scenes. Is it the next great rom-com? Probably not. But it’s not a complete waste of time either.

I really enjoyed this romcom! I haven't read many celebrity romance tropes but I really loved this take on it!  I loved the banter, emotional tension, forced proximity and how it felt like a romcom in a romcom.  The articles sprinkled throughout were a fun addition. The things that kept it from 5 stars? I wish some of their bonding didn't happen off the page so we could see more than just the physical chemistry. I would have liked a bit more on Emmy's career over those 15 years rather than glossing over it.  The miscommunication trope/third act breakup felt kind of rushed ..  I don't understand how it only took 3 weeks from the wrapup til the premiere?? I definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a fun romcom and am looking forward to reading Ballard's backlist now!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group, for sending me this ARC.

Falon does it again!

I'm a sucker for enemies to lovers (or in this case enemies to costars to lovers), so this was perfect for me. The banter, the storyline, the location--all of it worked!

It is hot hot hot, so if you love the spice this is a great one.

Third act break-ups aren't my fav, especially when it's just miscommunication, but I get that it's necessary for the happily ever after ending a lot of the times.

I have enjoyed all of Falon's books and this one definitely did not disappoint.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the eARC <3

This is my third Fallon Ballard book and I love everything she's written.

This is a single POV (Emmy) romcom about Emmy, a nepo baby screenwriter and Grayson, an Adonis of an action star who share a history from their teenage film premier roles that didn't go well and how they end up starring opposite each other in the first romcom today Emmy wrote since her father's death, which impacted her deeply.

I like that Emmy and Grayson have a messy past and complex feelings about each other. Their first interaction as adults has Emmy full of rage, reminded of her teenage disappointment and embarrassment. Their inability to act civil to one another is bubbling with tension, threatening the film's success. What was a terse, hostile relationship turned into an offer of one-time sex to break the tension, which obviously evolves into more.

Emmy, Grayson, and the side characters of her mom, and the wonderful glam squad duo of Sam and Amanda are most well developed. Despite being the director and Emmy's best friend, I got very little from Liz, which may have been intentional for her to serve as a mirror for Emmy rather than a deeply developed side character.

The 3rd act conflict between the two is rooted not only in the miscommunication trope, but also their respective insecurities.

Read this book if you like:

- Grief and loss impacting a character's development

- Celebrity romance

- Banter

- Second chances

First thought: Enemies to Lovers is one of my favorite tropes and this one didn’t disappoint! It had everything you want: tension, witty/snarkiness, swoon worthy moments. all set on a winter Hollywood romantic comedy set. This is an automatic TBR: Yes!

Emmy is the daughter of Hollywood legend power couple who are basically #relationshipgoals no wonder she became a romance screen writer. Her newest script just got picked up to become a movie and her best friend is directing it. The only issue is they are having trouble casting the leading lady. So she gets roped into staring in her own romantic comedy that’s set in an adorable Christmas winter wonderland.

This will be her first time back on camera after a disastrous first attempt at the age of 15. She had costarred in a teenage romance movie alongside a guy she thought could be her everything one day. But after their 1st onset kiss and finding him making fun of her for it. The rest of the filming went downhill and they had the worst chemistry ever to come across in a movie. She never acted again and forever hates Grayson West for what he did.

Grayson was a kid from the Midwest who fell in love with acting and moved to Hollywood to follow his dreams. After his initial flop at romance he found his niche and became an action star. But that changes today as he finds himself heading to the set of a new romantic comedy he just signed onto to replace the lead male character who broke his leg at the last minute.

So as you can imagine when Emmy walks into the chest of Grayson, the one man she hated for years and finds out he would be costarring along side her sh** hit the fan! This is a must read to find out how this unfolds.

Literally Themes you’ll find:

* Enemies w/ Benefits to Lovers
* Hollywood Romance
* Second Chance
* Forced Proximity
* Movie Set Location
* Hallmark Christmas Vibes
* Spicy 🌶️

I really enjoyed this book because it felt like a storyline that I don’t read that often. The spice was hot and the banter between all characters was great. I was sucked in from the beginning.

But there were other parts that just were not my cup of tea. Grayson’s hot and cold demeanor in the beginning was hard to keep up with and the whole conflict is because of one big miscommunication, which makes me just want to roll my eyes. I got tired of reading the line “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Friends/lovers to enemies to lovers and a second chance romance. Leading man Grayson signs on to work on a film with Emmy who wrote and is staring in a romantic comedy, her first staring role since she was 15. Emmy and Grayson met on set at 15 and 17 respectively and she has not acted since due to an incident involving Grayson. Overall I enjoyed this book and really liked both characters however the pacing and breakup felt off. The first 20% of the book felt very rushed. I also think the breakup and subsequent getting back together could have been fleshed out more. I dont love a miscommunication which seems so easily solved. I did really enjoyed how the author addressed the childhood incident which drove Emmy from acting. I think we often seen this trope occur and it feels a bit unrealistic to allow overhearing something when a child to ruin the rest of your life. Grayson calling Emmy on it was refreshing and a probably more accurate way this would be handled. Overall I enjoyed it and it was a quick read however I did like Falon Ballard's other books better. Will continue to read all she writes.

Thank you to Penguin Group for this ARC! I wanted so badly to like this: enemies to lovers with two romcom co-stars with history. The plot in itself was fun and kinda sexy, but unfortunately the writing was not for me. I found a lot of the dialogue cringy and hard to take seriously, especially once they got together as a couple. And just as a general rule of thumb, miscommunication as a third act breakup is just not my cup of tea. But the book reads quickly and despite not clicking with the characters, I did find myself unable to put it down. It's definitely worth a try if you like the author, but unfortunately it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group, and Putnam for an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

So many of us have an unfortunate thing someone said that hurt us when we were in high school, that has a tendency to pop up in the middle of the night. It still stings when we think about it as adults, and a grudge is still held against the offender. While all grown up now, Emmy Harper still detests the boy who hurt her when she was 15 and walks in to star in her own movie to find that none other than Grayson West, the subject of her vitriol, is now her co star.

The two have to learn to work together or the movie could fail. Will they find real connection and forgiveness along the way? Or will their film be up for a Razzie next season?

This was a fairly easy read, and the setting of the snowy Pine Springs was a perfect read for our snow days this week. The story seemed real, like I was actually reading about one of Hollywood’s “it couples,” but dealt with heavier themes than I was expecting. But if you want some fake celebrity tea energy, grab this one! It even had its own social media posts, articles, and blog posts in between each chapter which was a fun touch!

Thank you so much the NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Actual Rating: 4.25 stars

It’s safe to say that I ATE this book up! Given, I’m always looking for books set in the film industry because 1) I love them and 2) it’s what I studied, but I couldn’t put it down and was so enthralled in Emmy and Grayson’s story. It felt like the perfect pacing for enemies to lovers with lots of tension, jokes, and CHEMISTRY. While in hindsight it was slightly insta-lovey, I was still obsessed with this storyline and was rooting for the characters from start to finish that I put that aside. Their angst was just downright addictive.

The relationships portrayed in this book was so refreshing, specifically Emmy’s relationship with her famous mother. So many books nowadays portray more negative parent-child relationships and this wasn’t the case. I loved every time Emmy’s mom came onto the page. She was hilarious and supportive and seeing this positive mother-daughter relationship was heartwarming.

The only complaint is the third act’s conflict was a bit frustrating and the miscommunication trope is one of my least favorites. It could have been solved in one small conversation, but alas, then there would be no stakes or drama.

Overall, I’m so happy I was able to get my hands on this ARC and I’ll definitely be checking into the author’s other books in the future!

Emmy & her most hated enemy are forced to work together. His first comment is “who are you again?” and from there, it is on! Lots of tropey romance in this steamy romcom!

I am an absolute fan of Falon, and found this one flatter than her other novels. The characters weren’t as lovable or someone I’d cheer for, the romance isn’t as believable and I found it just okay.

*ARC Review*

So cute!!!! What a delightful enemies to lovers story. It really fits the trope as the book, set on a movie set, shows the two main characters at their lowest lows and highest highs. I could not tell you if the movie set antics were accurate, but they were sure fun to read about! I loved the characters and their journey together. Super easy and fast paced read. If you like Hollywood, movies, or celebrity gossip this one will be a good one for you.

Emmy and Grayson were teen actors starting their careers when they were first cast opposite each other. Grayson did something Emmy could not forgive when filming was over, which altered the path she pursued professionally. Many years later, Emmy is an award-winning writer excited for her new romance movie to start production. She is reluctantly cast as the main lead, and Grayson is cast as a last-minute addition to play her love interest. They must learn to work through past mistakes to make the movie successful.

This one was a miss for me, which was disappointing because I loved the author's debut. It took me too long to get into it, and the romance didn't feel believable by the time I did. I needed more dialogue between the two main characters and fewer miscommunications. I also wasn't convinced that what Grayson did to Emmy as a teen was enough to derail her acting career. It also frustrated me that Emmy apologized for what felt like everything.

Thank you to author Falon Ballard, Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and NetGalley for an eARC copy of Right on Cue in exchange for my honest opinion.