Just My Type

This book was so cute! I really enjoyed how it was written with the interspersed articles of both characters. It let me see a bit into the mind of the MMC who didn’t have a POV. Normally, I am not one to really like second chance romance’s, but this one was really well done. They had just enough tension as well as actual problems that it made it believable that they weren’t still together / couldn’t just quickly get over it all. It also made for really good Friends to enemies to lovers that I am a sucker for. Their banter was funny and adorable. I also liked the underlying plot of bettering yourself outside a relationship. Its kind of rare to see a romance book advocating to be single (even as a comedic devise), but I really liked it.

Overall, I would definitely recommend! I will also never look at a sunflower the same way again (if you know, you know).

The opening was so good that I thought for sure I was going to love it, but unfortunately it did not hold up.
The chemistry is okay. It's not unbelievable at least, but both characters had pretty valid reasons for why they should not be together and they just threw all that out the window to rekindle their high school romance.

Also, HR would have a field day with this kind of thing. The premise of this book would likely result in an immediate firing of their supervisor and sexual harassment lawsuit against the company that's allowing this to happen. A friendly competition to see who gets to have their own column? Sure, that's fine. The things Lana has to do for the competition? Not okay. Even before Lana edits the list to be noticeable worse, it's not okay for a workplace to knowingly allow that kind of thing.

ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

In Just My Type, LP and her high school ex boyfriend, Seth have to go head to head for a job. They're tasked with challenges for the serial monogamist LP to become OK with being single and for Seth to find a long term relationship.

The book was quite enjoyable, especially if I put aside the little things that bugged me about it. I enjoyed reading the main character's personal growth, and I especially liked where the author took the concept of learning to be by yourself, that you don't have to be single to stand on your own two feet.

I was very vested in the workplace drama. LP's boss is... a piece of work. I was really impressed with how that whole arc was handled as well.

The romance was super cute. I love second chance romance, and I could truly feel their connection throughout the book, how much they mattered to each other. How they clearly still loved one another even if they're in denial about it. It all wrapped up quite adorably by the end too.

There were many other great small details like the strong friendships, complicated mother-daughter relationship, and in depth therapy sessions. Like not just saying she went to therapy and have everything magically fixed but having the sessions on page, throughout the book.


Everything that bugged me:
- I couldn't stand the main character for most of the book, she comes across very immature, and thinks the whole world revolves around her.
- The emotional resolution of a lot of the problems are very surface. She attends a single event, and is cured of her anger towards her ex, she attends another and is cured of her resentment towards her mom and so on.These are complex and real feelings that deserve more space to heal.
- I didn't get the resolution of LP and Seth's differences on what happened with them in the past. She seemed to have such strong feelings about how he messed up last time they saw each other. Then when they actually talk about it, she takes all the blame?
- There are a lot of unexplained and unresolved details. Like what happened with #LongTermPotential, why Seth seemingly keeps going hot and cold, why he made the blind date act that way etc.
- Initially I thought it was cool that the MC was using Norse Gods in place of saying God, like “Oh my Loki” but then I realized, no, she means the Marvel characters, and it immediately became cringey.
- Other cringey parts too, especially one possibly problematic one where the MC thinks she'll just make a gay guy kiss her since it won't mean anything to him?! WAT?!...

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Being a little sick and having ended up spending 9 hours in the hospital, mostly to be attended and diagnosed, I needed a light book, that I would be able to read while with fever, and that would help me pass the time.

Just my type was a very wise choice. When done well, second chance novels end up being my favorite because we see a more significant growth in the characters and more believable problems.

I've found the FMC a bit annoying but it does get better while the story develops since she is invested in her personal growth. MC was really nice and their HEA made perfect sense.
This book has a lot of miscommunication but, somehow, it is quite tolerable.

Recommended for contemporary romance fans

It's so hard to express how good this story was. It's definitely now one of my favorite romance novels. I read it almost entirely in one sitting cause I just had to know how it ended. Usually books in this genre follow the same model but I was honestly on the edge of my seat the whole time.
It was such a great take on the big tropes by having both friends-to-lovers and enemies-to-lovers. There was also a lot of comedic relief throughout the novel, which solidified it as an amazing romcom like all the nostalgic movies it referenced. It mentioned How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days a few times and it really reminded me of it — not in the plot but in vibe and the joy it brought me.
I'm just absolutely in love with the story between Lana and Seth. There was just so much intensity and longing throughout the novel — it felt like I was living it! There's a major quote in the story that just took my breath away and it hits you like a ton of bricks when it happens.
There was also so much beyond this story besides romance. It was hugely about finding yourself and really highlighted the importance of therapy and communication. Lana's story is really touching and she's one of the best leading ladies I've seen.
Highly, highly recommend this one!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review. And thanks to Falon Ballard for sharing this story with the world.

High school sweethearts to strangers to lovers? Sign me up.

Lana does not know life outside of a relationship. After each long-term relationship ends, she jumps into the next one. Her high school ex, Seth, is the complete opposite. He runs from commitment and never gets into anything long term.

Then Seth shows up at Lana's job and is pitted in a competition against her. Lana must stay single for the duration of the ten-week assignment, and Seth must commit to dating someone seriously and setting down. Will the competition bring them together, or pull them further apart?

I really enjoyed this book. The writing style and characters were so engaging. I loved Lana's development over the course of the story as she struggles with being alone for the first time in over a decade. I wish there was a bit more pining in between the bickering and the love. If the story was in dual POV so we could get to see Seth's emotions, it would have made this book go the extra mile. The story still worked well in the end though. Despite never reading Falon Ballard's debut novel, I was totally hooked by this book and will be going back to read it! I would recommend this book as a quick romance read that focuses more on the competition than the relationship.

I received this book as a free eARC from the publishers in exchange for my honest review but I'm way behind in my reads. SO SORRY!