Member Reviews

Right on Cue is an enemies to lovers, second chance (ish) romance between two leading actors of a highly anticipated rom com.

Emmy Harper, a former actress turned screenwriter, steps into the spotlight again when her new film has trouble finding the perfect leading lady. When the lead actor is pulled from the project due to an injury, Grayson West steps in to play the male lead.

This was such a quick and cute romance. I felt like it was a bit predictable but it was still enjoyable. I loved the banter and the enemies to lovers trope. I felt like the beginning started off slow but once it took off it was a fun read. The spice was great, the banter was amazing, and their growth was so fun to follow. The conflict in the third act was frustrating and didn’t make a lot of sense. Emmy became a bit insufferable for most of the last quarter of the book. The ending seemed to be cut short, but it was still very cute.

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This book is adorable. I thought I was going to be split at first, but it turned out really cute. It has a third act break up, which is not my thing, but as it's a HEA, you know they'll get back together. The pacing is fine and you really grow to like both characters and 100% see why the FMC is completely worked up over my MMC because of their history. Friends to Crushes to enemies to lovers to enemies again. And they're coworkers. My biggest gripe is some of the industry things, but that's coming from someone who works directly in the industry. Marketing team interviews on set was actually the unit publicist, referring to some of the interviews when it was a creative content day, the MCs not having personal publicists and the studio they're with not providing the studio publicist? Even on the carpet?? Again - little nuanced things that only someone who works directly in the industry would pick up. If you don't work in the industry, I think it would be fine because you wouldn't pick up on those things.

Would def reread again and I was ready to when I finished it.

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This was a good read. I liked it

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the E-ARC.

All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

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Falon Ballard's newest romantic comedy features enemies to lovers romance, and it's a fun read! Due to circumstances beyond her control, Hollywood screenwriter Emmy Harper is forced to star in her own romantic comedy movie. This wouldn't be so awfully bad for Emmy, until she realizes who the male lead in the film will be...one Grayson West. Emmy blames Grayson for her disastrous performance in the first film she was in and still harbors a lot of hurt and resentment from their last run in. Now they are forced to work together closely, and soon they are revealing hard truths and growing closer than either of them anticipated. This would make a great Netflix film, and I really enjoyed the banter between Emmy and Grayson.

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I have always loved Falon Ballard's novels and this one is no exception! It felt like a classic Hollywood story with a screenwriter and an actor finding each other again after filming a movie when they were teenagers. I always love a second chance trope in a romance novel. The only thing I didn't like in this book was I felt like the third act break up reason was preventable. It didn't feel as high stakes to me why they would break up, if only they just communicated to each other. But I do feel that a lot in romance novels.

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I love a good hate bang as much as the next gal but I needed Grayson to not be such a raging prick ALL the time. I understand there's bad blood and that bad blood can make for heat in sex scenes, but when a character edges into insufferable, I just root for the FMC to ditch the MMC and move on.

That being said, I did enjoy Right on Cue. It's a fun, flirty book full of hate and angst. Romcom in a nutshell!

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I received an advanced copy of Right on Cue by Falon Ballard from the publisher Penguin Group Putnam via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Emmy Harper is considered the queen of writing romantic comedies, but once her father passed, she wasn’t sure she could do it again. But with the break and taking care of herself, she is finally back to dive into the genre with her latest project, but there’s no female lead who quite fits the role, so Emmy is pulled into the role and acting for the first time since her debut fell apart a decade ago. Unfortunately, a last minute injury benches her trusted co-star, the replacement who gets cast is Grayson West. An action star known for his abs and who makes blockbusters, he’s the perfect sub, except for the fact that Emmy blames him for destroying her acting career. As filming starts, the friction is clear and threatening to shut down filming, and so the two need to get their act together, but is their friction really sizzling chemistry?

What I Loved: There’s sexual chemistry here between our two characters, for sure. I think some of the trauma and grief were done well.

What I Didn’t Like: UGH. I’m so sorry. This book did not work for me. As I collect my thoughts, I feel that I liked it less than I originally thoughts. Let’s start off with why this book was unlikely to work for me: enemies to lovers is not my favorite trope (I find that it is difficult to do this trope and want the two to be together, cause oftentimes they are quite cruel to each other) and I really don’t love Hollywood romances. Here some of my biggest problems are that the scenarios that are the set-up for the book seem unlikely to occur. But biggest issue these two are just horrible to each other and act so immature and unprofessional to make me dislike both of them. I truly found the characters immature and not a good fit and I couldn’t get over it.

Who Should Read It: People who like enemies to lovers and Hollywood set romance.

Summary: Two actors who are enemies of one another are forced together for a film and hate and sparks fly.

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I haven't read anything by this author before and after reading the summary I was excited to start reading and I was not disappointed. Emmy, once an actress, is an award-winning screenwriter and is best known for her romantic comedies. But when she endures a tragedy, her rom com writing days seem to be over, until recently when she is encouraged to jump back into the genre once again. Along with writing, she will also be acting in the new movie, but is forced to work with Grayson, who she blames for ruining her first movie and ultimately her acting career. As Grayson and Emmy work close together, the chemistry between them absolutely sizzles and explodes and neither can deny the attraction they feel towards each other.
The story was fun and lighthearted and I had a good time reading it. A great way to pass a lazy afternoon on the beach!
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

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This book didn't "wow" me . At 1st I thought it was cute but then it just bored me and not going anywhere. The ending was okay.

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A fun, sweet romcom that is lower on the spice if you're looking for that. There is some miscommunication that felt a little forced, but overall a good read for a romcom!

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a very fun and quick read, perfect for when you are just needing a easy pick-me-up romance on a lazy day! this was my second falon ballard book and I went into it blind, knowing very little about the premise, but thought it was so fun.

oscar-winning screenwriter emmy is ready to start filming for her newest film except one small thing: they don't have a lead actress yet. despite giving up acting after a failed first performance when she was 15 years old, she decides to step in for the part but comes to regret it when due to a last minute switch, her first kiss and former co-star suddenly takes on the lead role across from her. the two must figure out how to overcome their disdain for one another and complicated history, coming with a very unique way to do so. after not having read an enemies to lovers romance in a while, this was such a fun change of pace!

the setting of the book and general vibes were so much fun. getting to see some side characters as well was also cool, while I wish I could have seen a bit more of them throughout. the chemistry between the two main characters was so strong and its an interesting take on a relationship that I hadn't read in a while.

there were a few quips I had with the book though, particularly the third act breakup which honestly seemed unnecessary. the book could have stopped at 75% and I would have been happy with its resolution lol. also I wish we would have seen more of the friendship between emmy and liz because it was mentioned so much at the beginning but then kind of dropped off, with them barely interacting at all which was kind of upsetting.

overall this was a fun read though that I would recommend, especially because I enjoyed the author's writing style!

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Let me start by saying the enemies to lovers trope is my absolute favorite romance trope, but it just did not work for me this time. The male MC was just plain mean and there was never really any good reasoning behind it or redemption for him. She was whiny and just sort of unlikeable. Although I did really enjoy the side characters, like the makeup artists and her mother. I would definitely give this author another try, this one just wasn’t one of my favorites.

Thank you to NetGalley; the author and publisher for my free copy in exchange for my honest review.

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I thought it was a really cute rom com read. It was fun, and I recommend reading this book. The miscommunication in the book was really annoying, but it was very relatable. It was really well written. There was very minimal spice, but very enjoyable.

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I really enjoyed the vast majority of the book, but as with most romance books there has to be a conflict before the HEA. There was a bit too much drama for me. I still hope that characters can generally act as reasonable adults and it drives me crazy when they don’t! 😜

3.5 stars

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This was a really fun story! The only thing that I didn’t love was the main character. I just never felt like rooting for her. If you’re looking for a fun romcom this is a light easy read!

Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy!

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Thank you so much to Putnam for my gifted eARC. All thoughts are my own.

This is my 3rd Falon Ballard book and I really like the easy way she writes her stories. I loved the premise for this book (Small town movie shoot with enemies to more tropes). Emmy is an award winning screen writer whose acting days are done. But her next project is about to start filming and her team can't find the perfect leading lady. So she decides to fill in. When the male lead suddenly drops out and is replaced with Grayson, action movie star and the actor who broke her heart years before, she cant even stand to be in the same room as him.
But all their hating turns to more with a cozy town and rom com to film filling their days.

I felt like it was a little too insta lust for my tastes but I really liked both main characters and understood why they had had their issues in the past. I wanted a little more emotionally from both characters and this has a HUGE miscommunication trope. That being said, I still enjoyed it for what it was.

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I absolutely loved this! It did drag a bit in the middle and had the miscommunication trope, which is arguably my least favorite (I know that is "me" problem, not a problem with the novel itself), but it was overall enjoyable!

Often, when the MCs are trying to overcome a conflict that happened when they were much younger, the characters can often read super young, but Right on Cue does not feel like it. The characters read like adults who were still carrying some baggage from an incident that occurred during a pivotal time in their lives, both professionally, and developmentally.

Right on Cue is full of the same banter, swoon, since, and sweetness we have come to know love, and expect from Fallin Ballard, so if you are a fan of any of their other work, you will love Right on Cue.

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Oh boy did this book tug at my heart. I heavily related to Emmy’s insecurities as she navigated rediscovering something she loved and lost. The story was believable, spicy, and classic. Love!

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This one was a slow start for me, but after it got going - the going got GOOD.

After being forced back together YEARS after their first acting job together (and separately) that didn’t go well…

When the male lead backs out last minute, Emmy & Grayson are forced back together in Emmy’s first acting since that initial movie all those years earlier…

But this time, the stakes are even higher. This is Emmy’s script; that she now has to bring to life as the female lead as well.

After their first scenes go quite poorly, Emmy’s best friend, Liz, who is also the director, locks them in a room together to figure out how to fix it.

And they fix it by becoming “co-stars with benefits.” At least it starts that way.

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Oh my gosh this was not it for me. The FMC had no idea what she wanted. First she wants the MC so badly, ten words later she can’t stand him. I could not with this book. Thank you next.

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