3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Count me in for anything written by Falon Ballard! I'm not usually a fan of holiday-themed books (I usually avoid them altogether) but this one is a great example of a short and sweet version that just WORKS! Not novella short, but just *not 100 pages longer than it needed to be* short. I truly enjoyed it!

In All I Want is You, Jessica and Nick, both romance writers, find themselves entangled in an enemies-to-ex-lovers, forced proximity, second chance romance. Five years after Nick broke Jessica's heart without explanation, they are forced to confront their unresolved feelings when Jessica is tasked with presenting an award to him at a holiday event. While Nick has achieved success with his books featuring unhappy endings, Jessica struggles with her writing career, penning happy endings to cope with her heartbreak.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy of this book - just in time for the holidays!

3.5 ⭐️

This had all the makings of an ideal read for me - a book about books, set during the holidays, that features dual POVs, flashbacks, AND a coffee shop? I wanted more depth from the relationship, which came across as very physical/surface level. Still, the ending was absolutely precious, and this was really fun for Christmas.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Falon's books are like a warm cup of cocoa or a really good hug. They always leave me happier than they found me and swooning over my new favorite book boyfriend. All I Want Is You roundhouse kicked me right into the Christmas spirit and I am so glad it did.

There was so much to love about this book! Only one bed, snowed in, THAT GRAND GESTURE! I inhaled this book and am so glad Falon blessed us with a Christmas romance this year!

I fell in love with Falon Ballard's writing when I read Lease on Love, so was very excited to get access to her new holiday romance. Holiday romances are so cozy and delightful and this one did not disappoint. Jessica and Nick are romance authors who became rivals after their breakup. The story builds good background on both characters and bumps back to previous Christmases when they were together and jumps to the now. I love how Ballard incorporates funny tropes into the story line and pokes fun at the genre in the most relatable way. This second chance romance, enemies to lovers, just one bed story was a very quick ready and packed a lot of good spice. Definitely recommend this on your holiday reading list.

Thank you Putnam Books and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Second chance, only one bed, forced proximity due to a winter storm, feuding writers, flashbacks to their previous relationship... I ate this one up! The dual narration and dual points of view were well done.

4.25 stars

Thanks to the publisher for sharing a copy. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this! Very self-referential - two romance writers get a second chance romance. Which means lots of tropes getting referenced out loud and true industry insider comments.

Maybe it was just me, but this book felt short. I think more could have been done with more pages, but I loved what was done in the time given.

I loved the Christmas magic and switched POVs in the past during other christmases.

Unfortunately this one just didn’t work for me.
A snow storm no one knows is coming, a hotel room reservation that just happened to not be found, 4 days stranded in a hotel with no rooms available, only one bed in the room, waking up dry humping each other, a massage that just happens to get mis-booked and now it is a couples massage?! Gag! Plus to top it off a main male lead character that broke up with the women of his dreams FIVE YEARS AGO but as soon as he did it he knew it was a mistake and supposedly had been pining after her since-yet it was FIVE YEARS AGO!! You wit 5 years to apologize for being a chicken shit?
Yeah, this one wasn’t for me. I should have DNF’ed.

Books about authors are always a treat and I loved this second chance Christmas romance. There were definitely some similarities between this and Emily Henry’s Beach Read but they were different enought for me that it didn’t feel like the same story. The side characters were cute and helped the MCs address what they needed to. I did listen to the audio for parts and highly recommend it - the narrator was new to me but did a great job!

2.5 stars. I love Falon, but this was not my favorite! I’m not sure if I’m just not in the mood for holiday romances, but this felt like so many tropes stuffed into a book with very little substance. There were times I enjoyed it, and I did like the spice, but I had such a hard time being invested in this relationship or feeling like they should end up together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for my copy of All I Want Is You by Falon Ballard in exchange for an honest review. It published September 24, 2024.
Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting. I found this book to be way too “spicy “ and the open-door sexually explicit scenes needed a warning.
Definitely not for me.

I very much enjoyed this book. Sometimes I'm not on board with christmassy books, but this one was pretty cozy! I liked the meta vibe of the book that it was authors writing romance about a second chance, but that's what the book was about. Very fun! Not my favorite of Falon Ballards book but I loved the character of Jessica & I truly think it was a cute read!

Loved this book! A sweet second chance romance with the perfect amount of classic one-bed trope. The ebbs of Jessica and Nicks relationship were beautifully written, in typical Falon Ballard style. A perfect short and sweet read for the holidays.

*All I Want Is You* by Falon Ballard is a refreshing, witty romance that balances humor with heartfelt moments. The story follows two complex characters navigating love, career ambitions, and personal growth. Ballard’s writing is sharp and engaging, with plenty of playful banter and emotional depth. The chemistry between the leads is undeniable, and their journey feels both authentic and satisfying. While the pacing slows down a bit in the middle, the character development keeps the story moving. Overall, it's a delightful read for anyone craving a modern romance with a mix of humor, passion, and real-life challenges.

4.5 Stars

I absolutely adored this book! This is a second chance romance. Both Main characters are authors with the same publishing company where one is super successful and one is not. This book is not super Christmasy it is just based around Christmas time. It has some of my favorite tropes and I ate it up. For sure add this one to your holiday reading line up.

Thank you to Penguin Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this book.

This was a wonderful, fun, cheerful and steamy read! I loved the characters and their lovers to enemies to lovers storyline! The setting was fantastic and fun! I love the grumpy/sunshine aspect of their relationship as well. They were swoon worthy!

I love Falon Ballard’s novels but a Christmas novel about romance writers - I don’t want to put it down. A great holiday read about a second chance romance and writer’s block. Snowed in at Christmas time Jess and Nick are enemies to lovers as they write a romance novel together. Thanks to NetGalley form an advanced copy! Love, love, love it.

A short, sweet, holiday romance about two writers getting their own second chance romance. Includes the one bed, slow burn, enemies to lovers and forced proximity tropes.

Both Jess and Nick are romance authors who are struggling with their current drafts. Nick has had a lot of success over the last 5 years since publishing his first book but the Jess can’t seem to break out of the “mid” category and is balancing a job as a barista to help make ends meet. Basically under threat by her publisher, Jess is asked to present an award to Nick…who she hates. Jess has hated Nick since he broke her heart 5 years ago, ruined Christmas for her, and also because he doesn’t include HEAs in his romances—something that is sacred and fundamental to the genre.

Begrudgingly, Jess shows up, presents Nick with his award, and hopes to sneak off to her hotel room and leave promptly the next morning. Slight hiccup though…there is no room reservation under her name and the weather has taken a turn for the worse. Enter Nick, who saves the day by offering to share his hotel room (ONE BED) with Jess.

This reminded me a little of Beach Read by Emily Henry in the sense that it’s about two authors who find their way back together. There was also a funny amount of “self awareness” as the two romance authors and their romance author friends all point out the parallels (and flaws) of comparing their situation to typical romance tropes and stories.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers at Putnam for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Who doesn’t love a snowed in one bed trope to help kick that second chance romance into drive? This book offers up a wintery backdrop that will have you wanting to be curled up by the fire while reading. Despite being a second chance romance, I felt that this book did not have enough tension between the characters. Some of this is due to only one knowing why the break up happened (which turned out to be not very dramatic in the end). I just wanted to feel the angst and conflict more. I found the book to be breeze to get through, but just didn’t feel that emotional connection I prefer for a second chance romance. I recommend this for anyone looking for a Hallmark Christmas vibe.

I could not put this book down! The rivals to lovers trope is becoming a new favorite, and this book sprinkles in forced proximity and second chance. In this novel, two romance authors who previously dated have to do an event together, which spurs a subsequent project, forcing them to work together.

The friend group was adorable, and I found myself laughing while reading their text chain. The plot was quick and moved well. I felt like there was always something happen.

The reason the couple broke up was due to a miscommunication, that the MMC refuses to tell the FMC for most of the book. It hangs over the couples' heads for a large portion. It felt like it was built up to the point of extreme frustration for the reader. It almost made me care about it less, because I just wanted to move on from it. I feel like even if the conflict came out earlier, them working through it could have taken up the back half of the book, instead of waiting so long for the reveal.

Overall, this is an unputtdownable, fun Christmas read.

Falon Ballard is hit or miss for me. I loved "Just my type" but didnt care for "right on cue". "All I want is you" wasnt perfect but it scratched that holiday rom com itch. It was witty, steamy and short! I love a short book. I had a few problems which knocked my rating down. First off, i dont buy that a male romance author would be as popular as Nick Matthews was by writing unhappy endings. Also he dumped Jess for his career and opportunities and I felt like she forgave him very quickly.

This was a solid 3.5/5 and one of my fav Christmas reads of the year