This was a such a sweet read - a perfect second chance romance story 🥰 Kind of How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days vibes. Both MCs were so likeable, and I was dying to read a happy ending for them. The epilogue was adorable. Also, Tessa and Ron?! Kind of left us hanging there so hoping for a book about them?!

Lana is writing a relationship column in an online site, she hopes that she can finally get a change to move to a different topic but she didn'expect the new opportunity to come with the arrival of her highshool ex boyfriend Seth, in her work.

This is when they are presented with a competition to get a new writing job, they have to create a list of tasts for the other. Seth must find a long lasting relationship while Lana must stay single and work on herself for the duration of the competition.

The problem is that Lana and Seth can't stand each other, their break up and an incident two years ago made it so they can't stay in a room together for long. At least so it seems, because as they begin to complete tasks together they get close once again and some not so forgotten feelings resurface.

I liked the tasks they had to complete and the way they handled most of them, it was a great chance for both of them to grow up and fight for the things they truly wanted and deserved.

As this is a second chance romance, I wasn't entirely convinced about the reason behind their past hurt, there was a bit of miscommunication that I believe it could have been resolved must sooner if they were more honest to each other the first time around.


* I want to thank the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

'Just My Type' is a great second-chance romance novel, and it would be perfect for you if you're looking for a light-hearted romance read.

But unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this as much as I'd expected, because there was simply no chemistry between Lana and Seth. It didn't provoke the reactions I usually get from reading romances. However, I believe this book would be great for those who are looking for a fluffy romance book without all the heartache, tension and angst. It's one that you can read for pleasure and not have to stop everything else you're doing to finish it ASAP.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest review. 😊

I loved Lease on Love so I have been dying to read this book but unfortunately it wasn’t my cup of tea.

After a bad break up when they were teens, Lana and Seth went their separate ways. 12 years later, Lana is a dating and relationship columnist who is newly single after years of jumping from long-term relationship to long-term relationship. Meanwhile, Seth is back in LA after spending the last few years traveling around the world and he’s got a job at the lifestyle website where Lana works. When their boss decides to pit them against each other in a competition where Lana has to learn to be single and Seth has to become boyfriend material, Lana is determined to win and get her a column of her own but as old feelings become impossible to ignore, she quickly realises winning won’t be easy.

From the start, I had a bit of a hard time getting invested in this book. I didn’t love any of the main characters right away and honestly I wasn’t the biggest fan of the whole competition thing they had going on either (I get that this is fiction but it felt very unrealistic). Also, I wish we’d got to know more about their breakup earlier so that we could (try to) understand Lana better. Her anger towards Seth did feel a bit unjustified and I was a bit underwhelmed when I finally found out what had happened. I get that people react to things differently and the breakup clearly hurt her a lot but it was hard to relate to her and understand where she was coming from.

As for Seth, I’m afraid I can’t say much about him… it was fairly clear from the beginning that he was still in love with Lana and that he wanted her back. He seemed like a nice guy who wanted what was best for her and he did work on himself throughout the book as well, which was nice. I really wish we’d got some chapters told in his POV so we could know more about his journey as well. Seeing as they both had their own tasks, I think it would have been really interesting to follow both of them along, rather than just Lana.

Lana’s journey was a big part of this book (so much so that this often didn’t feel much like a romance) but if I’m being honest, by the end of the book I felt like there hadn’t been that much character development, which was a shame, especially considering how big a role this journey played in the book.

Ultimately, this book wasn’t my favourite but I will definitely check out more books by this author in the future!

★ 3/5 Stars ★

A big thank you to Headline and NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This had the makings of rom-com greatness… former high school sweethearts who “can’t stand each other”, a series of fun challenges that pushes them together and a fun cast of side characters. Sadly, it missed the mark for me.

I had two major hang-ups, the first being that the writing challenge that pitted Lana and Seth against each other was too farcical. Their boss, Natasha, was being completely inappropriate by setting the assignment in the first place. She was blatantly manipulating Lana and dangling the job she’d been after for years in front of her face. Natasha was literally exploiting her employees’ personal lives for financial gain. I just couldn’t see this ever being allowed in real life – where was HR in all of this mess?

My other issue with the novel was Lana herself. From the outside her life was perfect… writer, LA home, lots of friends… yet she was very “woe is me”. She complained about how she felt abandoned by her mum who apparently was always more concerned about helping other people’s children. I don’t think this aspect of Lana’s background was built up enough for me to properly sympathise with her. She also didn’t win my support when she talked about Seth’s ‘crushing’ rejection of her at their high school reunion as he did the complete right thing under the circumstances. Taken all together, this made for a heroine that I didn’t really love.

The romance between Lana and Seth was objectively cute and had all the ingredients to be magic on the page. Alas, their chemistry wasn’t off the charts, probably due to the weird dynamic they shared. I didn’t really understand their outward animosity as there was no solid reason for hating the other. This meant that their bickering felt juvenile and unjustified. As soon as they allowed themselves to actually act towards each other how they wanted to, the couple finally shone.

OVERALL: Due to its contrived plot and questionable heroine, I couldn’t get behind this rom-com that was so full of promise. It didn’t have enough effortless charm for me to properly enjoy it.

Would I recommend?… No, I’m not sure this romance deserved a second chance

I loved this second chance, enemies to lovers romance! Lana has to be one of my favourite female main characters: she is genuinely funny and seems more real compared to some of the other main characters I have read in romance books. The story follows Lana, a dating and relationships writer who wishes to write about movies and TV shows instead, as she begins to navigate her newly single life. As someone who goes from long term relationship to long term relationship, she is pushed to learn how to be by herself, which is made even more difficult by the reappearance of her childhood sweetheart, Seth (who has since become a serial dater). When they are both up for the same job as a serious writer at a local newspaper, their boss sets them to work creating a list of tasks for each other for them to complete and write about over ten weeks. The person who produces the most traffic wins the competition and takes the coveted position.

I absolutely loved the characters - particularly Lana - and also loved the references to pop culture throughout. It makes the story feel modern and more relatable as it feels more real. The only thing that let it down slightly was the epilogue - it seemed a bit random but was fun nonetheless.

Just My Type, the second novel from Falon Ballard, was such a fun read. It was an absolutely brilliant rom com that had me totally hooked! 4.5 ⭐️s

In Just My Type we’ve got:
💻 Lana, our Marvel loving , smart and funny FMC
❤️ An amazingly supportive and fun female friendship group (I had so much love for Meg)
💻 A second chance romance, that features former teen sweethearts turned work place enemies to lovers (well kinda enemies but it’s one sided)
❤️ Each of our MCs going on a journey to figure out who they are and what they really want
💻 Serious How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days vibes - only they both know the score from the start
❤️ There is miscommunication running throughout, mainly linked to their past and they’re first meet in the present, but it’s resolved well
💻 Seth, our great MMC who comes across as solid and kind as he is swoon worthy, despite having made the wrong choice for what he thought was the right reason in the past

There is so much to enjoy about Just My Type. It had me chuckling, smiling, feeling cross on Lana’s (our FMC) behalf and rooting for Lana and Seth throughout. I loved that whilst this is a romance, Lana’s main priority was to figure out who she is herself first and that she needed to be whole before she could embark on the future she longed for with Seth. Their eventual HEA was perfect for them ❤️

The only thing missing for me was that I’d loved to have seen if anything happened with Tessa and Rob in the epilogue.

This was a great read and one I’d highly recommended to second chance rom com lovers.

Firstly, thank you Netgalley and to the writer/publisher for allowing me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was EVERYTHING, I love me a good enemies to lovers trope. But this was more than that. Childhood sweethearts to enemies and then hit with a second chance. When Seth rocked up to LA and Lana's place of work the morning after she got out of a disaster of a relationship I knew we were in for some drama.
I really enjoyed the premise of this book and thought it was portrayed really well. The book was paced well and as we went through the story we saw Lana's personal growth as well as more of Seth/Lana's past.
The book was well written, flowed well and was entertaining. I think the only thing I would have loved to have seen was that the book was dual pov, but I totally understand why Ballard did not go down that route. This ARC has now put Ballard firmly on my radar and I am so excited to read more!

Thank y0u Ballard for letting us into Seth and Lana's world...I am now a huge fan of sunflowers!

This book may have single handedly made second-chance romances my thing...

I don't have anything against second-chance romances per se, they just usually offer me little excitement - they're just not my thing. Having said that (!) the added rivalry factor in this book intrigued me. I think as a true enemies to lovers gal, any added angst to a situation automatically draws me to a book. I really enjoyed the tension between Lana and Seth in their dialogue (that initial live video though - deliciously awkward).

I shocked myself entirely by really liking the emotional turmoil/heartbreak added by the characters previous breakup years before! I tend to flit between emotional, sometimes heart-wrenching romance novels that have that deeper and often sadder aspect to them, and light hearted modern romance that fit more into a rom-com description. This book definitely lands on the more emotional end of the spectrum and I thought the more serious topics, e.g. Lana's dysfunctional relationship with her mother and subsequently her boss, were handled with the relevant respect they deserve.

HUGE fan of Falon Ballard's previous novel Lease on Love - solid 4.25 rating for me on that one (I'm stingy with my ratings). I found I had such an emotional connection to the two main characters - a little more than with Lana and Seth in Just My Type I have to say. I noticed I was less emotionally invested with this one. To be honest I can only think it might be simply that any physical description of the characters was strangely scarce? Yes its a relatively small thing and something I only realised toward the end, but definitely puzzled me nonetheless. You get to know a character by building an image of them in your head, even subconsciously. I think this could've been the reason couldn't feel quite as close to this female protagonist compared to other romance novels.

Aside from those small details, I enjoyed the angst in this book completely. I might even open my eyes to other second-chance romances from now on. 4 stars from me - can't wait to see what Falon Ballard does next! (I'm picky, so this would technically be a 3.9 from me but I am totally comfortable giving the 4 stars it deserves).

Thank you to Falon Ballard, and the publisher via Netgalley for the ARC!

This was a super fun read!

I cannot stress enough how much I love Seth. These characters are written so brilliantly as these multidimensional people that you find yourself rooting for them so much. Lana's development was just amazing!

This was such a sweet second chance, enemies-to-lovers, with an adorable HEA.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Falon Ballard and Penguin Publishing Group for giving this ARC.

WOW! Finished it in one day as I couldn’t put it down! It is such a cute romance, funny and witty. I was laughing so much while reading it. The characters and the story are so well written, that all throughout the book I just wanted to keep on reading and see what happens next. I’m trying not to say anything that will be considered a spoiler, the only thing I could say is JUST READ IT! You will love it!

It was okay, second chance trope, estranged school sweethearts turned work rivals
So many tropes but a felt a bit predictable even for a romance book
It has a lot of self discovery which I can see being popular but for me I felt the main character was a bit self obsessed a bit annoying really.
Overall still a funny, sweet story. But it didn't add anything to the genre for me. Just okay

I wish I loved this one more than I did - I thought Falon Ballard’s debut novel last year (Lease on Love!), was a fantastic book, so I was really excited to see her have a 2023 release. Unfortunately, this one fell a bit flat for me.

Lana has worked at a media site for the last 8 years, writing articles about dating and relationships. One day, her high-school sweetheart, Seth, who she hasn’t spoken to in years, shows up at her office and has been brought on as a journalist. Their boss decides to pit them against each other to duke it out for the best reader engagement and the winner will get their own column on the site. Lana will need to complete tasks related to being okay with being single and independent, while Seth is challenged to complete tasks that will lead to him finding long term happiness with one person.

The premise of the book seemed interesting (tropes include workplace romance, enemies to lovers, second chance romance), but sadly, the characters felt a bit immature and I wanted to see more of their chemistry on page. There’s a lot of mystery around why they stopped speaking, and what is leading to Lana seemingly hating Seth, and when the reason is revealed, it just wasn’t super believable to me. One thing I did enjoy was the inclusion of therapy and normalising that - loved to see this!

I’ll certainly read this author’s next book, despite this one not working out for me!

This one is out 7th February 2023 - Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley UK and Headline for providing me with an e-ARC of Just My Type in exchange for a review.

I didn’t dislike this book, I think if a few things were different I could have really liked it! Unfortunately, it just felt like a few things were missing.

Lana and Seth were childhood sweethearts who broke up on sad terms and have been pining for each other ever since. Though when they end up as work place rivals, tied up in competing against each other for a promotion, there’s a lot of resentment and rivalry getting in their way.

I enjoyed the friends and coworkers in Lana’s life (I was hoping we’d get more scoop on Tessa and Rob though!).

It would have been nice to hear a bit more about their past relationship - the snapshots we got were really sweet and I really wanted to know more, I think it would have helped me get more invested in their present relationship and really root for them! And I’m a sucker for a childhood friends to lovers arc!!!

I found the pacing to be a little uneven, and the characters to snap back and forth with how they felt a little too quickly - one minute their flirting and the next she’s pushing him away… which can work sometimes, but it needs to be done a little more seamlessly than it was done here.

tldr: this book was cute, easy to read but lacked a little chemistry and backstory for a second chance romance.

Just My Type is a brilliant second-chance romance that gripped me from page one! I enjoyed the author's debut (Lease on Love), but I loved this one even more. Just My Type follows Lana and Seth, who were each other's high-school sweethearts, and their attempts to navigate a 'competition' that they've been pitted against each other for at work: Lana will complete a list of tasks to try and learn how to be happy being alone with herself, while Seth will complete a list of tasks to open himself up to being a committed relationship. The chemistry that the two characters had was clearly evident from the very first time they appeared together on page, and I thought this delivered on all the second-chance angst that I love to read!

A personal growth story for Lana as well as a second chance romance story for Lana and Seth.
The high school sweethearts turned to enemies is set within a 'How to lose 10 guys' type setting and whilst Lana is experienced with her relationship column she lacks the experience to be single, whereas her ex is a well traveled journalist who is more of a girl in every port and so they are pitted against each other to push themselves, him to settle down and her to love herself on her own.
I would have enjoyed Seth more if it had been a dual point of view story and would've allowed Seth to be a stronger character. I enjoyed the gentle ribbing each of the main characters gave each other and the softening of Lana towards Seth. The biggest triumph was Lana's personal growth and learning to be OK on her own but I hated the development of her boss and the route therapy took her in that understanding of that relationship. The therapist wasn't wrong but it just didn't sit right in how it played out and felt a little judgemental and contradictory, considering it was the premise of the book.