Publication Date: February 11, 2025
A workaholic is faced with striving for the one goal she never wanted: love.
Campbell Andrews despises exactly three things in life: incompetence, tardiness, and love stories. Making partner at her law firm at thirty-four, she has no time for anything or anyone else. And certainly no respect for those who choose love over work. That is, until she wakes up in Heart Springs—her own personal hell.
The good news? She’s not dead. She’s been magically transported to a small town straight out of the Hallmark channel, complete with a meddling mayor, seasonal festivals, and friendly townsfolk. Cam can’t stand it, but in order to make it back to her real life, she has to fulfill three tasks . . . foremost among them, experience true love. It seems impossible. But anything’s possible with a change of heart.
Change of Heart by Falon Ballard is a contemporary romance filled with so many twists and turns that I doubted Cam would ever find true love.
Set in Manhattan and also a small town called Heart Springs, the two locations couldn’t be more different, and neither could some of Cam’s actions. Is Heart Springs a figment of her imagination since no place could be so kind and stress-free?
Cam is a high-powered attorney in her family‘s law firm and does nothing but work. The firm represents clients who buy up small companies, and after being in Heart Springs, she feels she’s no longer fulfilled. Her date with Ben, a pediatric oncologist, ends before it begins since she focuses solely on her career. When Ben shows up in Heart Springs, living in the house next door, what is really happening? The premise is totally unexpected, but Cam is searching deeply for what she really wants out of life.
The story has a good flow, and several friendly people Cam and Ben both get to know, but the story is definitely centered on Cam. Heart Springs has friendly people who embrace her and want Cam to find herself, but when she does, will she be able to live her life the way she always has? When she and Ben realize that they want a relationship and love each other, what does it mean since they’re not in their high-pressure world?
There were a lot of surreal moments, and it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not, but for all of it, Ben is by her side. But does she deserve him, and can she change her life for the better when all is said and done? There is closure and a chance for a happily ever after, especially with the epilogue that takes place eighteen months later, and it was the icing on the cake. I look forward to reading more books by this author.
Change of Heart is a contemporary romance, unlike others I’ve read. I enjoyed the story as Cam finds herself and realizes what’s important in her life. Maybe you’ll look at your life a little differently, too.
Falon Ballard is the USA Today bestselling author of several rom-coms and the co-host of the Happy to Meet Cute podcast. When she’s not writing a romance book, reading a romance book, or talking about romance books, you can probably find her at Disneyland. Ballard lives in the Los Angeles area.
