Book Review: Change of Heart
In the contemporary romance novel Change of Heart by Falon Ballard, Campbell Andrews doesn’t believe in love when she goes on a first date with heartthrob pediatrician Dr. Ben Loving, but she just might be forced to have a change of heart.
Imagine being a workaholic lawyer and waking up in a perfectly cute small town where the dresses are frilly and pink and falling in love AND finding a new meaningful passion for your work are the only ways you can return to your real life. And your new neighbor in the sweet lil town is guess who? The guy you just rejected on last night’s first date: Dr. Ben Loving.
At first, Change of Heart might seem as light and frothy as the top of your vanilla latte. However, there is more depth to this novel. Campbell lives a true character arc as she searches for purposeful career that she is passionate about, rather than striving for perfection and billable hours. Working at her family’s law firm, she worked for approval, never questioning her dysfunctional family relationships or workaholic habits.
Campbell learns lessons that might seem trite but that everyone has to learn, like finding something meaningful to do with your life and building true friendships. Ben and Campbell have undeniable chemistry, too--a true love story. And yes, there is some spice, which I think Ballard does well in her novels without going overboard.
My Thoughts
In the first chapter, I definitely found Campbell to be annoying and not super-relatable when she was on her first date with Ben. She seemed a bit like a caricature of “big-city-lawyer who has no personal life and goes to small town” like in a Hallmark movie. I think that was probably intentional, though. Anyway, while at first I didn’t relate to her character, because I am very over the workaholic stage of my life, I gave the book and Campbell a chance. As the book went on, Campbell’s character became more complex, and I enjoyed the friendships she built with others in town.
I would also have liked to get to know Ben’s character more. He mostly seemed like a kind, perfect, doctor-guy who was also hot and good at woodworking, but if the author had added a few quirks to his personality, that would make him more interesting. Readers found out that Ben would not get to go home until Campbell completed her tasks, but as far as the logic of the magic of how and why they were both were transported there, that didn’t make much sense either. There’s also a matchmaking trope, where Campbell has to go on several dates. I couldn’t tell if that was a ploy for her to indirectly reverse psychology get her together with Ben?
Anyway, don’t think too hard about it and enjoy it the way you would a Hallmark-ish holiday movie. If you like matchmaking tropes or romance with a hint of magic, then you should read Change of Heart.
More Books, Please
Falon Ballard has written several other contemporary romance books. Two of my favorites are Right on Cue and the holiday romance All I Want Is You. If I had to choose, All I Want Is You might be my favorite out of all of her books.
Stay tuned: I will be posting a review of All I Want in December for my 12 Days of Christmas/Holiday Books countdown. I LOVE a forced proximity, snowed-in at the inn, just-one-bed and “forced to write a book together” romance.
