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readwithria's review
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Grief, and Alcohol
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Death of parent
laheath's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Mental illness, Alcohol, Cursing, and Grief
Minor: Racism and Panic attacks/disorders
kaydeedickins's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Cursing
Moderate: Death of parent and Emotional abuse
Minor: Car accident, Toxic relationship, Classism, Gaslighting, Racism, Sexism, and Alcoholism
readingwithtrey's review
challenging
emotional
funny
sad
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
3.0
This is one of those books that I had to sit and think about after finishing. I’m still not quite sure about my feelings on it, but I know overall, it wasn’t for me.
Sadie was not a lovable character at all. She was a lot. In the beginning of the book, she was so much of a brat that I seriously thought I’d have to call it quits on this. One thing that was really off putting for me was that her and her 2 girl friends used a certain word as a term of endearment excessively. This along with the overuse of modern cliche phrases, really made me second guess continueing to read. But when Sadie accidentally responds to a roommate listing (thinking she’s on a dating app), I thought the story would get better. It was a unique plot line with a lot of potential.
I didn’t buy the relationship between Jack and Sadie. Jack’s character completely fell flat. He really lacked a personality so we didn’t get to really know him. Due to this, it seemed to come out of left field when the relationship started to turn romantic.
The were a couple of nods to diversity in this book. When I came across the first one I thought “wow, unexpected diversity. Go author.” But then it’s literally just like 2 sentences. It really read as though the author was just checking off representation boxes without going deeper than surface level.
I went back and forth between giving it 2 or 3 stars because I know that some of the things that bothered me may not bother others & I try to keep that in mind when rating books. I settled on 3 stars because I did want to know how it ended; but honestly, I probably wouldn’t recommend it🥴.
Sadie was not a lovable character at all. She was a lot. In the beginning of the book, she was so much of a brat that I seriously thought I’d have to call it quits on this. One thing that was really off putting for me was that her and her 2 girl friends used a certain word as a term of endearment excessively. This along with the overuse of modern cliche phrases, really made me second guess continueing to read. But when Sadie accidentally responds to a roommate listing (thinking she’s on a dating app), I thought the story would get better. It was a unique plot line with a lot of potential.
I didn’t buy the relationship between Jack and Sadie. Jack’s character completely fell flat. He really lacked a personality so we didn’t get to really know him. Due to this, it seemed to come out of left field when the relationship started to turn romantic.
The were a couple of nods to diversity in this book. When I came across the first one I thought “wow, unexpected diversity. Go author.” But then it’s literally just like 2 sentences. It really read as though the author was just checking off representation boxes without going deeper than surface level.
I went back and forth between giving it 2 or 3 stars because I know that some of the things that bothered me may not bother others & I try to keep that in mind when rating books. I settled on 3 stars because I did want to know how it ended; but honestly, I probably wouldn’t recommend it🥴.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: Car accident, Death, and Death of parent
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Mental illness
Minor: Child abuse and Car accident
drealovesbooks's review
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
annahamburger's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Alcohol, Grief, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Abandonment, Sexual content, and Car accident
Minor: Sexism and Racism
lexslittlelibrary's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
5.0
This book is so sweet and so so real. It doesn’t take much willing suspension of disbelief to convince yourself that you could be Sadie—down on her luck, making mistakes, and struggling to cope with life as a whole—though maybe falling accidentally into the perfect house of the (flawed and human) “perfect” guy is more difficult to come by.
Sadie is sweet and confident and so easy to root for. She’s not unaware of her strengths as so many rom com characters are, but she is also able to wallow in her flaws as well.
Jack is a beautiful portrait of what it feels like to grieve and feel guilt for continuing to live after that grief begins to pass. He’s fiercely loving and lovable even at his weakest moments.
Top it all off with a great cast of side characters who form the sweetest found family I’ve read about in a while and a second romance to root for and you’ve got a truly incredible read.
Sadie is sweet and confident and so easy to root for. She’s not unaware of her strengths as so many rom com characters are, but she is also able to wallow in her flaws as well.
Jack is a beautiful portrait of what it feels like to grieve and feel guilt for continuing to live after that grief begins to pass. He’s fiercely loving and lovable even at his weakest moments.
Top it all off with a great cast of side characters who form the sweetest found family I’ve read about in a while and a second romance to root for and you’ve got a truly incredible read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Alcohol, and Death of parent
Moderate: Misogyny
kaseybereading's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Alcohol, and Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Sexual content
Minor: Car accident
kaitlinlovesbooks's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent and Grief