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A review by jennastopreading
Change of Heart by Falon Ballard
lighthearted
slow-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
2.0
Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this title!
It is going to physically pain me to write this review, but reviews are meant to be honest, right? *sigh*
For starters, I've liked or loved the other four books I've read by Falon Ballard. They were fun, fast paced, had likable main characters (both male and female), and great banter. Great romcom's, and she's been an auto read author for me since I read her first book, Lease on Love.
Unfortunately, CHANGE OF HEART had none of those characteristics. And I am so, so sad about it.
The plot read like a horrible Hallmark Christmas movie with 50 plot holes. The FMC was intolerable throughout most of the story, and she was the narrator - so if you don't like her, you're stuck with her! The MMC seemed decent and charming...from what we saw of him, but he was hardly present for the first 50% of the story. So the banter and chemistry we're used to getting in her books? Basically non existent. And for whatever reason, the pacing felt sooooo sloooooow - probably because the book was almost a Groundhog Day sort of trope, but not really.
And don't ask me how many times the MMC said the word "sweetheart". My soul (and will to continue reading) crumpled a little more each time he said it, and it was easily over 200 times throughout the story. It started out as a sarcastic pet name and turned into an actual nickname that he used for her after they fell for one another - I was not at all amused.
Once I got to the 70% mark or so, I was so bored that I found myself essentially only skimming and reading dialogue. That's when you know it's bad.
As much as I love Falon Ballard and will read another book of hers in the future, this one was a no from me.
It is going to physically pain me to write this review, but reviews are meant to be honest, right? *sigh*
For starters, I've liked or loved the other four books I've read by Falon Ballard. They were fun, fast paced, had likable main characters (both male and female), and great banter. Great romcom's, and she's been an auto read author for me since I read her first book, Lease on Love.
Unfortunately, CHANGE OF HEART had none of those characteristics. And I am so, so sad about it.
The plot read like a horrible Hallmark Christmas movie with 50 plot holes. The FMC was intolerable throughout most of the story, and she was the narrator - so if you don't like her, you're stuck with her! The MMC seemed decent and charming...from what we saw of him, but he was hardly present for the first 50% of the story. So the banter and chemistry we're used to getting in her books? Basically non existent. And for whatever reason, the pacing felt sooooo sloooooow - probably because the book was almost a Groundhog Day sort of trope, but not really.
And don't ask me how many times the MMC said the word "sweetheart". My soul (and will to continue reading) crumpled a little more each time he said it, and it was easily over 200 times throughout the story. It started out as a sarcastic pet name and turned into an actual nickname that he used for her after they fell for one another - I was not at all amused.
Once I got to the 70% mark or so, I was so bored that I found myself essentially only skimming and reading dialogue. That's when you know it's bad.
As much as I love Falon Ballard and will read another book of hers in the future, this one was a no from me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content