Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Lease on Love by Falon Ballard

36 reviews

janelleaking's review

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I wanted to love this. The cover is so pretty! But the amount of unnecessary cursing took away from the story for me. I also didn’t understand how Sadie and Jack could fall in love without sharing major details about their life. 
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skye_era_books's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

The first 90% I would’ve given this a solid 4 stars — not bad at all, but not my favorite. But oh my god the last 10% why is Sadie absolutely insufferable??? Girl shut the fuck up this is not the end of the world??? I’m realizing how much of a pick-me she was throughout the entire book like GIRL. I did like Jack but I feel that his character could have been more developed. I did also enjoy the side characters and the fact that they took Sadie aside to have an intervention because this girl needed it badly.
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panicmeister's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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ashy_t3a's review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved this book, it was a romance I wasn't frustrated with while reading it. There was no miscommunication really throughout this book. The characters would actually communicate like adults. I do wish the author did more on the development and healing of the main characters but overall it's a very loveable and digestible book.
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edhyndman's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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readwithria's review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Lease on Love was an absolutely adorable book! I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.

I’ve been lucky enough to read two of Falon Ballard’s other books as ARCs, so when I saw that I could immediately check out Lease of Love from the library I knew it was a sign to finish her backlist. Sadie and Jack are such amazing complements to each other, and they support each other so well. I loved reading about their relationship with each other and with their friends!

Read this book if you love
💐 forced proximity
💐 slow burn
💐 strangers to friends to lovers
💐 family trauma
💐 therapy rep
💐 found family

Falon Ballard is now officially an auto-buy author for me. 4.5 stars.
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takarakei's review against another edition

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hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I'm currently slumping, but I did listen to it in a day so there's that.

The journey Sadie goes on from getting screwed over in her corporate job to finding something she really wants to do was real for me. I understand she has some past family trauma but we didn't really know why she is so self-deprecating until a bit too far in, so by that point it was a bit overdone.

I do love some forced proximity (they are strangers who move in together because NYC housing costs). Jack is a superb book boyfriend, really top notch and must be protected at all costs. I really kept reading for him because he's IT. I wanted to give him a big hug this whole book.

3/5 🌶️
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laheath's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank goodness for supportive friends because these two main characters have some issues from their past that are preventing them from having healthy personal relationships and professional success.  The secondary characters were also funny and I enjoyed their stories as well, without them detracting from the main plotline.  The female MC's past is briefly explained, and though her excuses and whining become an old refrain, it's not until the very end that she decides to do something about it.  The male MC's past is partially explained fairly early, but the secrets he keeps also threaten to destroy their relationship.  Although the meeting of the two MC's seems a little far-fetched, it's original and makes for a sweet story.
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kaydeedickins's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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maggies's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I think I get what the author was trying to do with this book, but it fell flat for me. I never felt the supposed chemistry between Sadie and Jack, and all of Sadie's friends were pretty one-dimensional as well. The primary conflict between the main characters is blown way out of proportion. There's way too much telling rather than showing throughout the story. It's marketed as slow burn, but actually
the "attraction" starts quite suddenly fairly early on, and Sadie and Jack decide they "don't want to mess it up" by moving too fast, which came across as an authorly gimmick instead of a reasonable choice by the characters.
On top of all that, Sadie's negative self-talk was honestly just annoying. It didn't come across as genuine, especially because
she had gone to counseling to deal with her abusive upbringing, and apparently this still didn't help her gain a more accurate self-image? When Gemma, Harley, and Nick intervene and tell her she needs to go back to therapy, it's supposed to be some lightning strike moment, but she should have been in therapy for  years prior, and they all should have known that.
Most of my complaints are about Sadie primarily because the book is written in her voice and also because Jack is woefully underdeveloped, which is really unfortunate because he had the makings of an unusual leading man at the beginning, and it didn't go anywhere.

Glad to have read the book, and maybe I'll check out another book by Falon Ballard in the future, but this was a decidedly debut novel, so I won't be rushing to read the next, I think.
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