Synopsis: Jess and Nick are bitter exes who haven't seen each other in five years until Jess is asked to present a writing award at their company's holiday party. And when they get snowed in and Jess doesn't have a room, it's Nick who offers her the extra space, forcing them together to deal with the problems they had ignored.

My take: I loved everything about this second chance romance. I'm a huge fan of Falon Ballard's storytelling and writing, so this wasn't a surprise at all. Plus, this has so many tropes I love - second chance, one bed, forced proximity -- and the two characters are both romance writers. I loved their banter and the intense sexual tension between these two who were both still hot for each other and also in love with each other (even though they wouldn't acknowledge it). It was such a cozy Christmas read that made me laugh and swoon. Definitely pick this one up if you want one last holiday read for the year!

This was a sweet holiday romance! Since it was so short, the pacing wasn't perfect, and a few moments were a little cheesy for me, but I always love Falon Ballard's romances and she does steamy scenes so well.

A fun holiday read! I am a sucker for a forced proximity, there’s only one bed at the snowy inn moment. I always look forward to Ballard’s releases and they always deliver!

This was an okay read, nothing groundbreaking. I always love how Fallon does banter, but the two characters weren’t doing it for me. It’s a good story for holiday season.

Ok this was cute!! I loved this story and finished it in one day! I wanted more! I loved the second chance romance and how they still loved each other, it was a bit too spicy for me, especially considering the length but I loved it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
256 pages

“𝐈 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝, 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 — 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 — 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰.

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬.”

@falonballard is a wiz at spicy scenes & we are blessed with many in this book. thank you to her for doing the smut lords work while still making this christmassy ❤️

jess & nick (no affiliation to new girl but of course it’s funny and pointed out in the book) have so much sexy banter in this one. i thoroughly enjoyed jess’s character so much. i thought she was a relatable character and super funny!

read this one if you like:
▫️second chance romance
▫️enemies to lovers
▫️one bed
▫️forced proximity
▫️she loves christmas & he hates it

I really enjoyed this festive, spicy, second chance romance! Plus, I love when the main characters are writers! This is my first time reading this author and it won’t be my last!

I did enjoy this book for a light romantic Christmas read. I thought it was unnecessarily crass at times but I am not huge on spice so that’s probably my own fault. Overall a good book.

This was everything I wanted in a Christmas book and one of my favorite romance tropes. I enjoyed the evolution of the characters and the overall story. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend!

Jess and Nick are both romance writers for the same publisher, and although they used to date, they can’t stand each other (in theory 😉). He is very successful and she is not so much; he hates Christmas and she loves it. She is asked to present him with a publishing award at a small inn in the middle of nowhere in December (what could go wrong?), and when a snowstorm hits, they’re stuck together. Will sparks fly, or will this be the worst Christmas ever? This book was hilarious, and it’s a super quick read. If you love a second-chance romance with forced proximity, you’ll like this one! It made me laugh and even tear up at the end (I’m getting emotional in my old age lol). Another great read from Falon Ballard!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the opportunity to read before pub day! ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ALL I WANT IS YOU is out now!

Let me first wipe the happy tears from my eyes 🥹

I am so in love with this story. It was cute, it was believable, it has Christmas magic, and the sweetest grand gesture. Enemies to lovers, second chance romance, only one bed, cozy Christmas vibes, fated mates… perfection 💯

Falon Ballard, I love Nick and Jessica so very much, thank you for bringing their story to life!

“Nick Matthews is the worst. I hate him. Truly, I do.”
“She arrives in a whirlwind, like she was trapped in a snow globe and only just managed to escape.”
“Why does the thought of Nick meeting the right person, a person who isn’t me, feel like I just found out there’s no Santa?”
“Nick Matthews is the love of my life, the man who owns my heart-my fated mate-and I cannot wait to see what the next chapter brings.”

bitter exes, professional rivals, just one bed — what could go wrong?!

read that blurb and was ALL IN. plus, it’s falon, and i looooove her romance. it’s fun, festive, full of tropes (but in a way that pokes at them a bit, because they are both romance writers after all).

the scenes where they were channeling all the tension and unspoken feelings into the books they were writing had me GIDDY!!! we love a romance about romance writers featuring a looooot of romance. 😏

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ + 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

I thought this was a fun, holiday romance filled with second chances and flashbacks to Christmases past. If you’re looking for an easy beach read set in the snow, this is a great one to pick up.

And I triple dog dare you to say the title of this book not in your Mariah Carey singing voice…

I'm a mom of three kids under the age of five years old right now. I work full-time. I...am...tired. I'm exhausted. I can barely keep my eyes open for a full chapter before bed. BUT I DEVOURED THIS BOOK! I haven't read a book this fast since before I had kids. This book was witty, sarcastic, and steeeeeamyyyyy.

I'm a librarian so of course I love books about books. Jessica Carrington and Nick Matthews fell in love when they were writing partners. The broke up five years ago when they both signed their first contract with publishers. Jessica only writes happily ever after romances. Nick only writes romance books with sad endings. They both get snowed into a hotel after an award ceremony. This is a perfect second-chance romance and close proximity trope book. The tension was fire. The flash-backs of Christmases past were a perfect snap-shot of how they were (perfectly) together previously.

I really enjoyed a lot of the side characters. I would recommend Falon Ballard to continue with this storyline to give Jessica's best friends (Alyssa and Kennedy) their own story!

I think Starbucks or some coffee shop should endorse this book for how often peppermint mochas are mentioned. I definitely wanted to run to a coffee shop multiple times while reading this book.

Now if you don't like steamy, on the page sex, you will not like this book. If you do like that sort of thing, this book is for you.

I seriously cannot wait to pick up another book by Falon Ballard.

Some of the witty remarks that cracked me up / phrases that reminded me of things that either I or my friends have said...

"Ok, so she has one flaw. I would never admit it to her face, but even her love for the holidays is becoming a bit infectious. Like chicken pox or herpes."

"Hannah is so smart and cool and yet in this moment, all I want is to punch her in the face."

"Alyssa: Open your heart to love!
Kennedy: Close your legs to ex-boyfriends!"

**SPOILER BELOW**
My only critique was when Nick sent his revised books to Jessica's door with their happily ever afters. After reading all the books, Jessica finally calls Nick sometime after midnight. He answers. She says she wishes he was there. Nick rings the doorbell. He doesn't say how long he has been just sitting outside her apartment door? No neighbor called the cops on him? No explanation on what he was doing while he was waiting? I wanted some witty comment from him about waiting in the hallway.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for an advanced copy.

I enjoyed the witty writing found throughout this book! I struggled with this one throughout though due to the constant miscommunication. So much angst, when they could have just communicated? It annoyed me. Overall, a fun and festive read.

I was a little skeptical about this book going in, because it was a second chance romance. I really enjoyed Jess and Nick- their banter and chemistry was so good. Unfortunately, I just could not root for them as a couple. The reason why Nick broke up with Jess was just selfish and really a non-reason, in my opinion. It just didn't give romantic to me at all. Also, I don't feel like he did enough to win Jess back. I just didn't like how that was handled at all. It was really disappointing to me, because I enjoyed them both being authors and the set-up of having them work together. It's hard for me to rate a romance book high when the relationship didn't do anything for me.

🎄Book Review🎄
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Summary- All Jessica has ever wanted is her own happily ever after. But until that happens, she spends her days as a small-time romance writer, penning satisfying Happily Ever Afters to soothe the heartache left by her ex-boyfriend Nick—also a romance writer and now her biggest rival—who has found success writing love stories without happy endings. It’s what he’s good at, after all . . .

So when their professional obligations bring them to a remote inn a few days before Christmas, they’re a little more than peeved, especially when they get trapped sharing a room in a snowstorm. But what’s more fitting for two romantic writers in a slump? Realizing the friction between them might be the only cure for their writer’s block, they decide to turn their frustration into fiction . . . and the pages start flying. But will Jess’s heart soar, too? Nick is the last guy on earth she should love . . . but what if he is really all she wants for Christmas?
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Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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My thoughts- thank you so much @netgalley and @prh for the advanced copy, I so love this authors holiday books! This one wasn’t my favorite of hers but it was still super solid. I felt like their connection was really anything other than physical and jobs. It was super steamy and descriptive of how hot they both are. But I wanted a bit more depth to both of these characters. It had the fun enemies to lovers and single bed trope going for it!
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QOTD- if you could get snowed in anywhere, where would you want to be snowed in/trapped?! Mine would be on a winery in Napa. Lots of cheese and wine, sign me up! 🤣
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A holiday book about writers...

Summary
Professional obligations force the two exs back together to a remote inn a few days before Christmas. While both are peeved, things take a turn when they get trapped sharing a room during a snowstorm. What is this? This forces the two to finally confront each other about the past, but also much more.

This was such a sweet book, with a surprising bit of spice. I had a few issues with the miscommunication but the only actual letdown was that it wasn't Christmas-y at all, aside from it being days before -- no festive feels but it did deliver on regular feels. Still recommend (loved that both MCs were writers) just don't expect it to feel like a super festive holiday read.

I've only read one other by Ballard but I remember enjoying it, I guess I'm going to have to check out her others!

Absolutely 100% yes!! This book touched allllll the feels. It’s the perfect holiday romance. Second chance and forced proximity done so well. This was the perfect blend of all the good, bad and ugly of exes turned workplace rivals. Finding they have to once again rely on the other the way they once did was icing on the cake. Definitely adding this to my yearly holiday reading list.

I loved this book! It was so sweet and such a great love story. I devour anything that Falon Ballard puts out so I can't wait to read her next one.