A review by keepcalmblogon
Lease on Love by Falon Ballard

hopeful 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? It's complicated

3.0

I was so stoked when this romance became an escapist fantasy: a brownstone in Brooklyn for a pittance (yea, that word was in the book. Twice.), a girl beginning her dream career, with supportive friends and a hot roommate. I was left wanting at the end though. The conflict in the story wasn’t conflicting enough, a supposed lie blown way out of proportion, and a self-conscious MC who overcame emotional and verbal abuse from her father.

I never want to discount anyone’s trauma, but I wish Sadie’s self-esteem issues had been more thoroughly fleshed out. As a character who thought in absolutes, instead of questions, her self-doubt was confusing. I could not figure out WHY she felt worthless, WHY she felt like an asshole, WHY she felt selfish. It was so unclear until she admits her childhood home life to Jack more than halfway into the story. Even then, her abuse is only alluded to, which felt like a cheap way to add conflict into the story. As an escapist romance, I suppose the story didn’t NEED conflict, but as a piece of literature, it could have been so much more, even if it was still escapist, they are not mutually exclusive. The conclusion of the story is nice enough, but the build up had me expecting so much more, and that climax was not what Sadie and Jack deserved.

Despite the lackluster ending, I was a huge fan of Jack’s nerdy shirts (NOT hipster, I resented Sadie calling him a hipster, he was clearly a gamer and Sadie was the hipster), Gemma’s pottymouth, and the subtheme of the problems with the American education system, from underpaid teachers to student loan debt. In the end, I’ll give this 3 stars.
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