I usually live Falon Ballard’s books, but this was a bit of a miss for me.

First, I wish this book had been dual POV. I fully don’t understand what Ben sees in Cam because she is not a good person for the majority of the book. And then when she starts changing it feels a bit abrupt, and not quite a personality transplant but definitely a fast switch.

I also don’t fully understand the magical realism aspect. Being in the town is fine and all, but at the end there’s not an explanation or even an attempt at finding one.

I would argue that this book is primarily a piece of magical realism about self discovery, and the romance is secondary. If you’re looking for a romcom like her earlier works this is a bit of a shift.

Once I got about halfway through the book I sped through it, and enjoyed reading the book, but with the beginning dragging how it did I can’t give this book more than three stars. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for the eARC and the opportunity to leave an honest, voluntary review.

Banter. Romance. Magical realism. I’m here for it! I have to say this is my favorite Falon Ballard book! It captured my attention from page one and did not stop until the last page. The FMC, Cam, is hilarious. She is the kind of character you don’t usually read in books. She actually sounds like a couple of my friends lol. Cam is developed very well throughout the story. Loved the banter between Cam and the MMC Ben. Also as always my favorite: NO THIRD ACT BREAK UP!!! It is Open Door which is not my cup of tea but I did over look it because I enjoyed the rest of the story so much. 

4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley @falonballard and @putnambooks for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute read IF you like a little mix of magic and Hallmark. The little Hallmark Town was cute I guess. It reminded me a little of Gilmore Girls due to the town's busy bodies.

I liked how the book focused on helping Cam become a better person in a few areas of her life but the alternate universe that was basically a Hallmark set was more magic than I prefer and made it hard for me to connect. I also really did not like Cam.

I absolutely loved Ben. His loyalty and devotion was amazing but felt misguided.

If you like books with magic this will probably be a much higher rating for you than me.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

⭐️ 2.5/5  |  🌶️ 4/5  
First Person, Single Narrative  |  Open Door Romance 

I wasn’t a big fan of this book. Between the Truman Show type environment in Heart Springs, Cam’s snotty disrespectful personality, Ben’s lack of personality, and the mysterious guru lady Mimi, it just didn’t work for me.

We know why Cam is confined there and that she has 3 specific tasks to complete to get back home. But I’m still not completely sure why Ben ended up there other than to keep Cam on track with completing hers? That whole premise just didn’t work for me.

Ben says he is close with his family but that’s as far as it goes. We don’t hear anymore about his pediatric surgeon job or family, just base level information. A big focus in this story is Cam’s relationship with work and her relationships with family. She’s a workaholic lawyer at her family’s law firm that her toxic you-will-never-live-up-to-my-standards Grandma runs. I also wasn’t a fan of the side story about her mom and how it was just skimmed over. Like, what? It got too stressful for you working at the family law firm so you abandon your 12 year old daughter and move across country? Huh??? And that’s all we’re going to hear about that traumatic information? No wonder Cam’s personality sucks!

Oh! And I’m usually completely fine and not offended by foul language in books, but I was put off by the overuse of swear words in this one. There were many instances where it was just unnecessary and brash. 

I will say though that I appreciated the spice level and steamy scenes. I didn’t think it was overdone or vulgar. 

Many thanks to NetGalley, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, and Penguin Random House for an electronic ARC in exchange for my honest review! 

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book, this is my objective review. Meet Cam: type A legal workhorse, content to be under her grandmother's thumb, grumpy with a capital G. After one purposely apathetic bad date with Dr. Ben Loving, she wakes up the next morning in her worst nightmare: a cheery place called Heart Springs where everything is glossy and perfect. Even Cam, at least on the outside. But how did she get there, and what does she have to do to get back to her old life? Cam was pretty unlikeable at the beginning. Nowhere to go but up, right? I kept picturing Cam as a blonde Lizzy Caplan, all snark and attitude. The alt-reality, supernatural "learn some lessons and make some life changes to go back home" angle was a nice hook that kept me reading. I liked watching Cam grudgingly open herself up, and Ben the hunky pediatric surgeon made for a good complement for her. Cam felt like the more developed character; while Ben had some development, it felt like his purpose was more as a vehicle for Cam's self-growth. He was fine but not terribly dynamic or deep. This is a sweet book about learning to live your best life, and Cam gives it enough of an edge to keep it from getting fully sappy. The writing did pull me in and I stayed up late to finish the book. Readers who like open-door, self-growth romances with snarky heroines and HEAs will love this book!  Publishes February 11, 2025. 

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was such an interesting read! I had a certain idea of what it would be going in, and it was different than I was expecting but still very charming and wonderful in many ways. I have a lot of thoughts, so here goes…

WHAT I LOVED:

Okay so I normally don’t include this section *sigh* but here goes…

WHAT I HATED:

So yes, there were some things I didn’t like about this book, however I still gave it 4.25 stars because it was really inspiring to see Cam change over time, Cam and Ben’s relationship is quite sweet, her finding herself and finding friends and growing in the community is heartwarming to watch, and I just loved reading about Heart Springs. I could actually live in the world of Heart Springs forever and I want more please!! Thank you!

In the first couple of chapters, the female main character was so mean and her language so foul that I almost quit reading. But I didn’t, and ended up enjoying the book. It pokes a bit of fun at Hallmark type movies, which had me cracking up. I liked the secondary characters much more than the primary couple.

Much thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.