Change of heart: a novel

A successful lawyer in her grandmother's firm, Cam knows only work. She made partner yet still wants to close huge deals. So during Campbell and Ben's blind date, she'd rather answer emails than engage in pointless conversation. But then their waitress comps the meal and encourages romance--with the result that she and Ben wake up next-door to each other in an idyllic, Hallmark-like town. Cam has to complete a set of tasks to return home, including finding a passion and falling in love. Her attempts are humorous, but she finds a job at the bakery and runs a town fundraiser to save it. She and Ben fall in love, but Cam has even more to learn about herself and what she wants. A spicy romance with the charm of a movie, it is refreshing that falling in love isn't the only worthwhile goal. Ben's motivation to overcome the sadness he sees in his work as a pediatrician is mentioned, but Cam and her struggles are the center of the story. A fun rom-com with a stellar heroine.

At the start of this whimsical rom-com from Ballard (Right on Cue), workaholic heroine Campbell "Cam" Andrews comes across as irredeemable. She's late and horrifically rude to her blind date with pediatrician Ben Loving, insisting she knows they aren't compatible and she'd rather just answer work emails for an hour while they sit and eat in silence. This ruthless professionalism is how she made partner at her law firm by 34--but at what cost? The next day, Cam is shocked to magically awaken in the picturesque town of Heart Springs, a locale straight out of a Hallmark movie, right down to the friendly but meddling neighbors. The waitress from her blind date is there to inform her of the three tasks she must complete to return home: find a career she has a passion for, become a valuable member of the community, and experience true love. Thankfully, it turns out that Ben is there to help her achieve these goals. It's a clever riff on the classic small-town romance aesthetic and, though it takes a bit too long, it's gratifying to watch Cam grow into a better person. Readers willing to stick with her through her transformation will be rewarded. Agent: Kimberly Whalen, Whalen Agency. (Feb.)

Campbell Andrews doesn't have time for a blind date. Her steel-willed grandmother who set her up should know Cam only has time for furthering her career in the family law firm that she is set to take over one day. She displays her abrasive and impatient workaholic nature in full force when she arrives at the restaurant with Ben, a pediatric surgeon who seems great for a one-night romp but nothing more. After their meddling waitress gives them their check with a cloying note to be present and accept love, Cam takes a cab home to shake off the horrid date. Then she inexplicably wakes up the next day in a perfectly quaint town straight out of a Hallmark movie, with Ben as her next-door neighbor--and the same waitress telling her she can't go back to her old life until she finds true love. VERDICT Ballard (Right on Cue) weaves a fanciful, slow-burn grumpy/sunshine tale, ideal for readers who enjoy escapist romance.--Nicole J. Suarez

A driven lawyer finds herself stuck in a magical town--and has to find love to get back home. Campbell Andrews only cares about one thing: work. She's a partner in her family's law firm and she has zero time for love, though she keeps getting roped into blind dates set up by her controlling grandmother. On a date with pediatric surgeon Ben Loving, she can't even muster up the energy to have a conversation when there are work emails to be answered. But the morning after her nonstarter of a date with Ben, she wakes up somewhere completely unfamiliar: a town called Heart Springs, where she's always perfectly coiffed, her makeup is perpetually flawless, and her closet is full of adorable dresses that are very much not her style. Weirdest of all, Ben is her next-door neighbor. Cam soon discovers she's been sent to this Hallmark hell to complete three tasks: find a career she "really, truly care[s] about," become part of the community, and find true love. It's only when she completes all three that she can return home. Gross! Mimi, the owner of the town coffee shop who also apparently controls the magical logic that rules its citizens, sets these ground rules for Cam and ensures that she goes out on dates with several men who are absolutely not right for her as she begins trying out new, Hallmark movie--worthy careers as a bookseller, wedding planner, and baker. But as Cam resists this divine intervention, she starts getting closer to Ben. She thinks she may have written him off too quickly, but he's not one of the picture-perfect men Mimi demands she fall for. Cam is a spiky, deliberately hard-to-love character at first, and it's both fun and satisfying to see her realize that human connections and meaningful work can be even more important than chasing someone else's definition of success. Ballard creates a delightful world in Heart Springs and an ideal romance hero in Ben. An entertaining and offbeat romance that balances magic, humor, and heart. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A successful lawyer in her grandmother's firm, Cam knows only work. She made partner yet still wants to close huge deals. So during Campbell and Ben's blind date, she'd rather answer emails than engage in pointless conversation. But then their waitress comps the meal and encourages romance—with the result that she and Ben wake up next-door to each other in an idyllic, Hallmark-like town. Cam has to complete a set of tasks to return home, including finding a passion and falling in love. Her attempts are humorous, but she finds a job at the bakery and runs a town fundraiser to save it. She and Ben fall in love, but Cam has even more to learn about herself and what she wants. A spicy romance with the charm of a movie, it is refreshing that falling in love isn't the only worthwhile goal. Ben's motivation to overcome the sadness he sees in his work as a pediatrician is mentioned, but Cam and her struggles are the center of the story. A fun rom-com with a stellar heroine. Copyright 2025 Booklist Reviews.

Campbell Andrews doesn't have time for a blind date. Her steel-willed grandmother who set her up should know Cam only has time for furthering her career in the family law firm that she is set to take over one day. She displays her abrasive and impatient workaholic nature in full force when she arrives at the restaurant with Ben, a pediatric surgeon who seems great for a one-night romp but nothing more. After their meddling waitress gives them their check with a cloying note to be present and accept love, Cam takes a cab home to shake off the horrid date. Then she inexplicably wakes up the next day in a perfectly quaint town straight out of a Hallmark movie, with Ben as her next-door neighbor—and the same waitress telling her she can't go back to her old life until she finds true love. VERDICT Ballard (Right on Cue) weaves a fanciful, slow-burn grumpy/sunshine tale, ideal for readers who enjoy escapist romance.—Nicole J. Suarez

At the start of this whimsical rom-com from Ballard (Right on Cue), workaholic heroine Campbell "Cam" Andrews comes across as irredeemable. She's late and horrifically rude to her blind date with pediatrician Ben Loving, insisting she knows they aren't compatible and she'd rather just answer work emails for an hour while they sit and eat in silence. This ruthless professionalism is how she made partner at her law firm by 34—but at what cost? The next day, Cam is shocked to magically awaken in the picturesque town of Heart Springs, a locale straight out of a Hallmark movie, right down to the friendly but meddling neighbors. The waitress from her blind date is there to inform her of the three tasks she must complete to return home: find a career she has a passion for, become a valuable member of the community, and experience true love. Thankfully, it turns out that Ben is there to help her achieve these goals. It's a clever riff on the classic small-town romance aesthetic and, though it takes a bit too long, it's gratifying to watch Cam grow into a better person. Readers willing to stick with her through her transformation will be rewarded. Agent: Kimberly Whalen, Whalen Agency. (Feb.)