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A review by girldetectives
Right on Cue by Falon Ballard
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Emmy Harper is the next Nora Ephron of romantic comedies, the daughter of a true Hollywood power couple, and a recent Oscar winner. Grayson West is an action star and Emmy's archnemesis.
Well... sort of.
When there are no other suitable options, Emmy is forced to take her first on-camera role since she was a teenager. This time around she'll be starring in her own romcom. But how is she supposed to ace her return to the screen when a last minute casting change means that she'll have to convey anything but hostility towards the man who broke her heart when they were teens? Will her second movie with Grayson West be as big of a disaster as the first?
I love a good Hollywood romance and I really loved Falon Ballard's Just My Type, so I was super excited to get an advanced copy of Right on Cue. While this one wasn't my favorite, I do think there's a lot to love about it. Emmy and Grayson have a lot of chemistry and the small town setting for the majority of their love story is a nice change of pace from some of the other Hollywood-set romances I've read lately. I also appreciated the moments where Emmy and Grayson connected about their fathers - Emmy working through the grief of her father's death (parental death tw) and Grayson with the complicated feelings of not meeting parental expectations.
However, the tropes in this one just weren't for me. Though they didn't get along at the beginning, I wouldn't classify this as enemies to lovers - it's much more ended-on-bad-terms-exes to lovers. I wish there'd been more breathing room with the third act conflict, more bonding moments between Emmy and Grayson where they got to know each other again, and that we'd been able to see more of Emmy's friendship with Liz, the director, during filming.
If you're in the market for a wintry Hollywood romance featuring right person, wrong time/second chance romance, miscommunication, friends with benefits who catch feelings, forced proximity, and a fair amount of spice, this one might just be for you.
Well... sort of.
When there are no other suitable options, Emmy is forced to take her first on-camera role since she was a teenager. This time around she'll be starring in her own romcom. But how is she supposed to ace her return to the screen when a last minute casting change means that she'll have to convey anything but hostility towards the man who broke her heart when they were teens? Will her second movie with Grayson West be as big of a disaster as the first?
I love a good Hollywood romance and I really loved Falon Ballard's Just My Type, so I was super excited to get an advanced copy of Right on Cue. While this one wasn't my favorite, I do think there's a lot to love about it. Emmy and Grayson have a lot of chemistry and the small town setting for the majority of their love story is a nice change of pace from some of the other Hollywood-set romances I've read lately. I also appreciated the moments where Emmy and Grayson connected about their fathers - Emmy working through the grief of her father's death (parental death tw) and Grayson with the complicated feelings of not meeting parental expectations.
However, the tropes in this one just weren't for me. Though they didn't get along at the beginning, I wouldn't classify this as enemies to lovers - it's much more ended-on-bad-terms-exes to lovers. I wish there'd been more breathing room with the third act conflict, more bonding moments between Emmy and Grayson where they got to know each other again, and that we'd been able to see more of Emmy's friendship with Liz, the director, during filming.
If you're in the market for a wintry Hollywood romance featuring right person, wrong time/second chance romance, miscommunication, friends with benefits who catch feelings, forced proximity, and a fair amount of spice, this one might just be for you.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the e-ARC.
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief and Death of parent