Lease on Love by Falon Ballard Book Review

“I think you’re going to be good for me, Sadie Green.”

(pg. 41)

About

Author: Falon Ballard

Genre: New Adult Romance

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Synopsis

After getting passed over for an overdue—and much needed—promotion, Sadie Green is in desperate need of three things: a stiff drink, a new place to live, and a one-night-stand. When one drink turns into one too many, Sadie mixes up a long-ignored dating app for a roommate-finding app and finds herself on the doorstep of Jack Thomas’s gorgeous Brooklyn brownstone. Too bad she’s more attracted to his impressive real estate than she is to the man himself.

Jack, still grieving the unexpected death of his parents, has learned to find comfort in video games and movie marathons instead of friends. So while he doesn’t know just what to make of the vivaciously verbose Sadie, he’s willing to offer her his spare bedroom while she gets back on her feet. And with the rent unbeatably low, Sadie can finally pursue her floristry side hustle full-time. The two are polar opposites, but as Sadie’s presence begins to turn the brownstone into a home, they both start to realize they may have just made the deal of a lifetime.

Review

Spoilers Contained Below

To the Jack’s we wish to find and Sadie’s we want to be,

This is my first Falon Ballard book, and it certainly won’t be my last 💚.

I mean, I hope to goodness, Falon Ballard writes more books because I absolutely loved loved loved Lease on Love. From the very first pages, I fell in love with the writing and the characters. For the writing, I loved the honest, unfiltered cadence Falon Ballard has. It felt like I was reading a conversation I would actually have with a friend or thoughts I would actually say if I was cool enough to say them. But I loved how unabashed and unashamed the writing was because it was so darn funny and captivating. The book just all around gave me the best vibes, and I loved that. I was in a reading plateau before reading Lease on Love and this sure made me excited about reading again.

Also, I LOVED Sadie Green. I mean, what a bo** a** bi**** and she gave me the best vibes and energy. The first scene we see of her, she’s hyping herself up as the queen she was because she knew she was going to get a promotion. I loved that whole scene because we should hype ourselves up for important moments like that. I remember I did mock interviews in high school, and one of the biggest tips my teacher told me is how you speak to yourself and hold yourself before an interview makes all the difference. If you’re slouching or fidgeting, it means you feel like you aren’t going to do well and you might get in your head of not doing well. But if you sit up tall or strike a superhero pose or anything, then it boosts your confidence and makes you feel like you can do it. I don’t know. That advice always stuck with me because I become a nervous train-wreck before any interview or conversation with an adult, so we all need to hype ourselves up sometimes.

 I also just LOVED her. She said what was on her mind and she wasn’t afraid to tell it to you straight. Her personality and qualities made her more real and relatable. She was super hilarious too and seemed like such a fun time. I mean, her attitude was spunky and pizzazzy, which I loved.

I was furious for her too when she didn’t get the promotion. But how realistic and expected that Sadie worked all these years, devoting her time, energy, and life to this business and not be promoted. What sucked too was how she was basically prmooseid a promotion in this company, but noooooo they had to give it to a freaking guy named Chad 🤪. Chad had balls and no experience and somehow that made him a better fit for the promotion? I don’t understand the logic in that, but I sure do see the misogyny 🙃. Men are IDIOTS. I freaking loved how Sadie spoke her mind to her boss though 👏🏼!!! You go girl! You tell him what a dumb, sexist pig he was being for not giving you the promotion. What made me really upset for Sadie was when her boss treated her like the typical “crazy, emotional” woman just because she had the one outburst. Sadie had everyraght to be upset and furious. If a man swore because he was furious, I bet he wouldn’t have lost his job but have gotten a gentle warning and a “Do better,” or something. But no, Sadie was a woman and because she was reacting, she was “crazy” and “emotional” and “difficult,” which is frankly, a stupid, irritating narrative I’m tired about hearing whenever a women reacts to anything 🙃.

I also felt like she deserved so much better if her workplace didn’t respect her enough to promote her after all the hours she spent trying to earn this promotion.

“F*** it. I’ll just have to settle for being poor.”

. . . “Now, I say to my tiny room full of plants, “let’s get drunk!”

(pg. 14)

As she should on such a horrible day 😂.

I loved loved loved Sadie Green’s friends. They were such a cool and spunky group of people with fabulous personalities. I loved how each person was so distinct and how we got to know them and their relationships with Sadie. I will talk more about her friend’s relationship with her later, but I really loved that Falon Ballard didn’t push her friends to the side or only made them her hype women + man. She made the friends have their own storyline, which was so special 🥰.

We had Gemma who was basically Sadie’s bff. I freaking LOVED Gemma. She’s such a gem and a fun time. I love how unfiltered and honest she was too. I also loved Harley because she seemed like the sweet balance between Gemma and Nick. I also loved Nick because he was the bro in the group who they were all close with and could rely on. He was also a super understanding and supportive friend.

Because Sadie got passed for the promotion and she didn’t have a job, she had her whole life ahead of her as an unknown. She lived in a ratty apartment that she sure as heck couldn’t pay rent now because she didn’t have a job. She also didn’t have a job, so she had to find one. On top of all that, Sadie felt like her life opened up enough that she had time to do things she never did when she was working herself to the bone for her other job. That means she opened herself up to the dating scene. Sadie went out with her friends and got shiz faced drunk, and during that inebriated state, she set herself up on a date with someone. In my personal opinion, she shouldn’t have been setting herself up on matches while drunk, but she was living large and in charge so good for her.

But I knew her date wasn’t actually a date the minute she set it up because no way she could have been that clear headed to actually do what she intended.

Nope, her “date” was a roommate matching site.

From the moment we met Jack in his graphic-tee and hipster vibes, I was like, this is not a date. He would have tried harder 😂 or he wouldn’t be so confused.

You know when life just works wonders? I felt like this was that moment for Sadie because what were the chances that she would go on this “date” and find a place she could afford and actually would love to live in. I mean, that’s pretty darn lucky. Also, Jack’s estate??? Gosh darn, Sadie green hit the jackpot 😂 (pun intended). But she really did and I was happy for her because she deserved something good in her life. I’m not too sure about the safety of living with someone you just met and who says you don’t need to pay rent, but gosh I would have considered it too. Jack didn’t seem like a creep. In fact, I loved his honesty in how he said he needed some laughter in his life. Once he said that, I was like, “OOOOOH, he must have a dark past or something!” Because no one just says they need some levity and laughter in their life without having gone through a period of time when there wasn’t. Jack had layers and I was interested in what we would uncover with him.

I laughed that the thing that sold Sadie to live with Jack was the fact that he had a garden. But it made sense with how her last place lacked any sort of authentic greenery or a space for it. It was Sadie’s passion and love, so of course that was the selling point.

Sadie Green always wanted to sell flower arrangements. She love gardening ever since she was little because it was her sense of peace—-a getaway from her life. Gardening also allowed her to control something and nurture something when things were rough for her growing up. I loved learning why gardening meant so much to Sadie because we all have hobbies that are passions because they help us feel less alone, peaceful, and safe. For me, that passion was always reading—-books. It is also writing and art, but more so reading. There is no finer and more magical escape than reading a story in another world with different people of complicated, but beautiful lives.

Because here’s the thing, Sadie Green was bold and brazen, but she had an underlying insecurity that screamed in the back of her head. She was her toughest critic and was constantly hard on herself. Growing up, she had a father who battled narcissistic personality disorder and would spit rude and demanding things at Sadie and her mom. The mom never said much or fought back and that hurt Sadie because she felt unprotected by her father. But the damage was done because Sadie grew up believing all the things her father said. She thought she wasn’t good enough or that she was rude, selfish, and an a**hole. Throughout the book, Sadie’s internal dialogue is her biggest challenge that she has to work through because it stops her from being loved because she doesn’t feel good enough. It also comes to the point where I felt like Sadie was so quick to tear herself down as an a**hole that no one liked and that she couldn’t do something. Personally, she would call herself an a**hole way too often and it hurt me—-pained me—-because she was absolutely not selfish or an a**hole. Sadie Green was the exact opposite in fact. But I guess it goes to show how trauma lives with you and that words do hurt. The way people speak to us matters because words have the power to hurt and heal.

Honestly, when Sadie first had the inkling of negative self-talk, my first thought was, “Who put those ideas in her head?” Because those ideas ALWAYS, always, come from somewhere. No one thinks condescendingly of themselves with so much purpose unless someone has once told them all these things before and made them believe it. It made my heart ache like a throbbing wound to feel that pain within Sadie because I know it well too. It wasn’t even until a few years ago when someone told me I was hard on myself, that I had to take a step back and realize that I was. I had been saying all these negative things about myself to myself for so long because I had that criticism and hate of people taunting me in the back of my mind. The voices will always be there, but they haven’t been as strong because I realized I was tired of hurting myself the way others have hurt me. It’s a difficult lesson to learn and I wouldn’t wish anyone to be hard on themselves, but the world makes us hard on ourselves the way people were hard on them.

Anyway, I felt like Sadie deserved to give herself so much credit because she was a kind, genuine, compassionate, and dedicated person. It was hard to see her not see herself the way I saw her, or the way her friends and Jack saw her. Whenever Sadie would tear herself down, they too would get angry and uncomfortable because they were tired of Sadie derating herself when she was an awesome person. Sometimes we can’t see our worth because we think we’re worthless, but we are worth more.

“Time to germinate some seeds, motha*******!”

(pg. 73)

But for the most part, Sadie knew how awesome she was, especially in her work and passions. I loved how she up cycled everyday things and arranged flowers in them. I also loved how Jack never made her feel uncomfortable or like she was taking up too much space. I can only impinge how awkward that must have felt for her because she just moved in and here she was taking up all this space. I would have felt awkward because it was Jack’s home first and foremost and she was just living in it for free. He was so sweet though in being patient and kind. I liked that he wasn’t mad or weird about her flower business, instead supporting it by doing anything he could to help her.

“‘Damn. These are even better than the first one. Gorgeous work.’ He taps on my screen for a few seconds.

. . . ‘What are you doing?’

‘Sending these to myself.’

I jump up and down, not making any progress, until he finally finishes and hands me my phone back. ‘Why are you doing that?’

He shrugs, taking a long swig from his beer. ‘Because they’re beautiful and I might want to look at them again.’

The words zing me. Right in the heart.”

(pg. 104)

You and me both, Sadie!

WHAT A SWEET, KIND thing to say 💚. He was admiring the flower arrangement Sadie made and the photos she took of her work. When he looked at her work and sent himself the photos, I didn’t feel like it was some sort of move or line (definitely a bit flirty), but well-meaning. Also, I felt like there was something else about this scene that gave me a clue about who Jack was, but I’m going to save that talking point for later 😉. But I loved how he didn’t think what she was doing was ridiculous or crazy, but he thought she was talented.

And what a supportive roommate indeed when he cleaned out the mysterious upper attic area for her once her business took off.

I really liked how Falon Ballard wrote about the realistic struggle of starting a small business from scratch. Sadie did not thrive right away, she had to grow (pun intended). I admired Sadie in how she created something for herself from nothing but her talent and determination. It just goes to show that if you work hard or you really want to do something, you can truly do anything you put your mind to. I loved how she built herself up on social media because gosh knows social media is key these days to growing your platform or getting your name out there. I’m no business major or guru, but I know that social media is a lot about marketing and business these days with all the ads, sponsorships, or related posts. It’s kind of weird to think about how social media was in 2012 when I first had it—-just posting what was going on in your life and fun things. But now, it’s a whole different world. You can network, you can buy, you can sell, you can promote. In many ways, it’s beneficial for those starting a business or who have a business because gosh knows no one watches or wants to watch commercials these days. So I thought Sadie was very clever and strategic with getting herself out there. I also loved how she created a brand for herself—-Bridges and Flowers.

I also loved the environmental sustainability of her business given the time we live in. But I don’t think Sadie was environmentally friendly just for clout, but because she actually loved to create things from whatever was around her. I think that if you start a business, especially with the many small businesses these days, there has to be something different—like an it factor—-that makes you business stand out from others. Or at least have a purpose that’s unique to others. I don’t know. Again, I’m not a business guru 😅. I’m not too sure about the flower arrangement business because where I grew up, flower arrangements isn’t really popular, but I’m happy Sadie had a market for it in New York. I enjoyed hearing about the setbacks and struggles Sadie felt because it’s hard starting something new because you want it to be as successful as you know it can be, but when it feels like it’s going nowhere, it hurts. You might start to doubt that dream/business and feel like a failure. But I believe with time and effort, things work out and pay off.

Things did pay off and work out for Sadie, which I was soo happy for her. She got some social media exposure with a celebrity who boosted her sales, which is always a fun time and good thing. But with the influx of orders, Sadie felt overwhelmed since she was essentially working independently—-she couldn’t hire workers and had no space to do it.

Sadie legit has the best people in her life.

When her life got so overwhelmed by her flower business, I LOVED how down her friends were to help make the arrangements and deliver them for her. I mean, get you supportive people in your life like that 👏🏼!!! I also want to mention how much I freaking burst with love when Sadie told them about her career change. Most friends would have thought her insane or that she was doing the wrong thing—-quitting her job to pursue a “frivolous” independent dream. However, they were incredibly supportive of her from day one. They knew how much starting a flower business had been Sadie’s dream from college, but they thought she had given up on that dream ever since she started working at her corporate job. Life gets in the way sometimes. But I love how when she didn’t get the promotion, it wasn’t a rejection but a redirection—-a redirection to what she had always wanted and should do. Having supportive people in your life who don’t question what you want to do, makes all the difference. Also, the fact that they all remembered and knew how much Sadie wanted this dream, was amazing because it meant they listened to her 💚.

It just warmed my lonely heart that Sadie had stellar people in her life who would drop everything to help her. That’s so rare to find.

Where can I find a Nick, Harley, and Gemma?

Also, where can I find a Jack?

I freaking loved Jack. He was slow to get to know (not in a bad way) but it made it so worthwhile to get to know him. I say this because I’m a lot like Jack where I don’t open up to people right away and it takes me a while to trust them or feel comfortable with them. However, Jack seems very cool and nerd cute. Also, super responsible and cleanly. What I kept wanting to know was why the heck he needed a roommate besides for some liveliness in his life. I mean, he sure had some money if he was living like Larry 😂, but he wasn’t working or anything. All he did was stay home in that mysterious basement room doing who knows what and then popping out at some point to make a sandwich. What was he doing?

Apparently they were both unemployed. But they were large and in charge.

I really enjoyed the slow unwrapping of Jack the mystery because I could tell there was more to him than just the person Sadie thought he was.

Sadie thought Jack didn’t like her and that was why he was avoiding her and spending all this time in the basement. She also thought Jack didn’t like her because he could never look her in the eye or how he didn’t laugh around her, but he did around her friends. In my eyes, I knew Jack was just a nervous cinnamon roll and a gentleman because he wasn’t sure how to act around Sadie, so he did what he was comfortable with—-he skirted around her. I do the same thing. When I used to like someone and had crushes, I would sometimes avoid the person because I was scared I would say something dumb. It was also hard for me to look at the person because I was nervous they would see how much I liked them. That’s what Jack was doing and it wasn’t because he didn’t like Sadie, but because he did.

I thought it was cute that Jack had this little bromance with Nick and how Nick took him to get his hair all cut. I loved when Jack got all cleaned up too because it blew Sadie away to how there wasn’t a nerd underneath all that cuteness—he had just been hiding. From what? We didn’t know yet, but again, it was fun to figure it out. In my heart, I felt like Jack went through a rough time of darkness because he lacked laughter and joy in his life. Also, he seemed socially awkward around people, which made me think he wasn’t used to being around people or hadn’t been in a long time. I say this because I am the same way. There was also the part where Jack thanked Sadie and her friends for inviting him out to the bar—-the Hooter’s bar where Sadie also worked at to get coin, which we love a working woman. But the fact that Jack thanked them for inviting him, really gripped and tugged my heart. No one thanks someone for inviting them somewhere unless they are so used to people excluding them. I know the feeling. So it made me think he was used to being left out or forgotten, which made my heart sob because Jack seemed like such a great guy 😢. I’ll be your friend, Jack! Then there was also the way he was super rich but he didn’t talk about his parents or where his wealth came from. I was thinking his parents passed away unexpectedly when he was young and he had to raise himself. So he inherited all this money but he was still grieving their lost. I don’t know.

Side note, but I freaking CACKLED when Sadie took a whiff of Jack after his makeover 😂. Not a pine scent. It was funny because on bookstagram, I read one of those reading tweet-things and it said something along the lines of, “It’s not a fictional man unless he smells a tree.” I mean, that’s not wrong 🤪. So reading that Jack smelled like pine had in me rolling on the ground—-what a coincidence. Men either smell like a tree (pine, oak, wood) or some mix of a citrus. I kid you not.

Anyway, back to what I wanted to talk about.

Even though Jack wasn’t forthright in his crush, I could tell he liked Sadie in other things he did for her; he showed her he liked and cared for Sadie. It was in the way he made her coffee or knew her order and got it for her without any questions. It’s the way he would watch TV with her—-the Real Housewives—-even though that was probably the last show on Earth he probably wanted to watch 😂. But it was incredibly sweet how he would sit there night after night and watch it with her even if it seemed like a cliché show to watch—-it became their tradition and I loved that 💚.

“One of these days, I will crack you, Jack Thomas.”

(pg. 86)

Same, Sadie, same.

But I loved their playful relationship and how I could tell they were blooming to something cuter.

Speaking of cute, I LOVED and LAUGHED at all the nicknames Sadie gave Jack like Jack Attack, Jack in the box, or Jack o’ lantern. What a versatile name that Jack 😂.

I also freaking cackled at how when Sadie would first enter the house when she first started living there. She would yell, “Honey, I’m home,” like they were in some sort of old timey 50s show. But I thought it was super cute though because they were just starting to get to know each other, and it broke down a bit of awkwardness when she announced her arrival. What got me was when Jack started to say, “Honey, I’m home too (pg. 103).” 🥺💚

Jack’s such a cinnamon roll.

“He’s too good, too pure, a nice guy from top to bottom and back to front.”

(pg. 124)

But with every goodness comes a darkness.

Yikes, that just got wayyy deep 😆.

But yea. I feel like the kindest people are the people who have been hurt the most or have felt a lot of pain and they don’t want others to feel it. Jack was the epitome of a good guy, so it had to be something.

I wasn’t that surprised when Jack opened up to Sadie. I was right. His parents were in an accident when he was younger. When he disappeared on a trip early on when Sadie first moved in, he was actually in Connecticut where his parent’s house was. He still owned the house so he goes down there sometimes to take care of the house, but he also wants to sell it. I understood why Jack would want to sell the parent’s house because it holds all these memories and it has been difficult for him to move on while holding on. But I think Jack felt it was time. I loved though when he said he wished Sadie would have been with him when he visited his parent’s house.

But when Jack opened up, it shifted their relationship because she understood his darkness and realness. But it also made her love him even more.

“Gem, I’m not hooking up with my nerdy roommate. Ever. Seriously. Let it go.”

(pg. 82)

I liked how he was more flirty and open about it. I almost combusted at the fact that he went to the bar where she worked and stayed the whole night to read just so he could walk her home so she wouldn’t be walking home alone at night. What a gentleman 👏🏼. Not that she can’t protect herself or needs saving, but in this wild wild world of people, it’s scary for women to be walking alone late at night, so him staying there to walk her home was his way of telling her he cared about her. Also, I love Jack the reader ☺️. We love a reader! I feel like Jack and are are one and the same in some ways because we can read in the most unreadable places—-most of the time (the noise gets to me if it’s too loud, but for ht most part, you learn how to read in noisy places if you really want to read). Anyway, I also loved when he cooked her pasta because we love a man who cooks for you. But I was kind of like Sadie when Jack cooked her a meal because the whole time they had been eating out or buying when he could have been cooking her a fine meal—-where did those cooking skills come from 🤪. It was relatable when Jack said pasta was the only thing he knew how to cook. Yea, same. I also loved loved loved how considerate he was when he gave her his Captain America hoodie because he knew she would be cold and didn’t have warm pajamas. He was thinking about her and her needs, and that is such a huge sign of how much he loved her and saw the real her. He was absolutely a considerate king and a gentleman, which was so refreshing and sweet. It makes me sad when people are sad or suspicious of a kind person in a relationship because they think that it’s some sort of ploy or game, when really its’ someone being an actual human being and not a piece of trash 🙃.

Let’s go back to that mysterious attic I mentioned earlier—-the one Jack cleared up so that Sadie could have more space once her business expanded. I loved that he also bought her coolers to house her flowers because he knew that she kept her flower in the guest bathroom before. I mean, the support was phenomenal 👏🏼. I also am a sucker for when the love interest wipes away the tears of the protagonist 😫💚—-gets me every freaking time. What a lovely moment and what a sweetheart Jack was.

But I also wondered the entire time before we saw the attic, what was up there? I mean, it had to be his secret room or something! Jack was already a closed book, yet he opened his home and arms to complete stranger. However, he had one rule or one part of him he didn’t want her to see . . . this attic.

Now, when Sadie showed him her flower arrangement photos and he sent them to his phone for later, again, I didn’t think it was a move. I felt like Jack had to have had artistic eye because if he wanted to admire the photo layer, there was a visual aspect that captured his attention. I mean, he could have been just a normal person who liked to admire flower pictures taken by a girl he liked, but I didn’t think that was it. As someone who is a enneagram four, I felt like Jack secretly created art in this room and he didn’t want her to know or show her yet because he was embarrassed or something. I know what it’s like to hide art because you are scared of showing it to people, scared of what they’ll think. It’s also incredibly vulnerable to show someone art when it’s inspired by them. So, I thought we had our very own Julian Blackthorn in good old Jack 🙈. Again, it was just a hunch.

What I didn’t see coming about Jack’s backstory was how he was numb to his grief and fell into a really dark period. He used to do a lot of drugs and have sex with any and all women because he didn’t feel anything. I don’t judge Jack at all because I know what it’s like to experience that numbness and to want to feel anything, so you do anything to feel something or maybe you do things because you don’t feel anything. It’s painful because numbness is the absence of emotion/feeling and it’s worse than feeling deeply sad all the time because all you feel is nothing. But then he cleaned up his act to be the son his parents would be proud of, which I would just like to hug Jack. It’s difficult to lose someone or people in general, and it’s even more challenging to pull yourself out of a dark place when you feel like you have no one else around you. Jack paid off the house he and Sadie lived in and he went to therapy.

“How did you come out of it?”

His face breaks into my favorite smile, the one that crinkles the corners of his eyes. “My therapist recommended I look for a roommate.”

(pg. 162)

I smiled when Jack said that because it made more sense as to why he wanted a roommate.

I mean, financially he really didn’t need a roommate but he didn’t want to feel alone anymore and he needed light in his life. That all brought him to Sadie—crazy how the universe works 💚.

He just never expected to like like his new roommate so much, but he did. He was the nervous cinnamon roll I talked about earlier—-not really knowing how to talk to her because he was scared—-but he also didn’t want to start something with her because he felt like he still needed to work on himself. As much as it pained me (and Sadie) that Jack, the ever so honorable Jack, didn’t want to be in a relationship with her yet, I understood and respected his choice. Before talking about his past and their feelings, Sadie and him joked that they wouldn’t be good for each other or how Jack felt like he would ruin her or something. I always wondered why he was so cryptic and hard on himself when he said that, but now I knew why. He went through all these things that he wasn’t proud of but was trying to amend in his work, life, and self that he wasn’t ready to be in a relationship. What I admired was how much self-awareness and honesty Jack had to tell Sadie he wasn’t ready to be with her because he was working on himself to be a better person and be the man she could one day deserve. It takes a lot for a person to be like, “Hey, I’m not perfect, but I’m working on it so I can at least be better.”

“I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you. And I’m trying, I promise I’m trying to get ether. I just need a little more time.”

(pg. 174)

So much mad respect for Jack.

Did I mention he’s such a good guy 😆?! Probably ten million times in this blog post alone.

But he just was. It’s so hard to find someone even with a sliver of that much goodness on the inside. Saying that to Sadie wasn’t easy because he did want to be with her romantically, but for his well-being and hers he put up those boundaries—-a mature call. I liked how Sadie respected his boundaries even though she obviously still liked him and he liked her. It was just a matter of how long Jack needed to work on himself and when he felt comfortable to take a next step with her. Not going to lie, but I wanted to know exactly what Jack had to work through because it sounded like he really was healing and in a better place mentally and emotionally. I know he still wanted to sell his parent’s house, but was there more to his internal battle that he was going through? I thought having a dual POV at some points or at least a little more dialogue or detail about what exactly Jack was working though would have been great.

“Because feelings are dumb, and surely if I ignore them, they’ll go away. That’s how these things work, right?”

(pg. 165)

Hahaha, yea right.

They were doing so well until they had a fight of sorts.

Sadie was in her floral studio in the attic when she noticed that the corner of stuff wasn’t all that covered by the tarp Jack put over it. The corner of stuff were the things Jack moved to make room for Sadie’s floral studio, but he always asked her not to look at the things, so she respected her privacy. But saying to not look at something is like dangling ice cream or jewels in front of someone’s face and expecting them not to want to touch it or have it. Sadie walked over there casually to put the tarp over the corner of the objects that was peeking out, but instead she saw three beautiful canvases of flower paintings—her floral photos Jack took from her phone and sent to her. I told you he was an artist.

When I say I love Jack, I do, but MAN DID HE SCREW UP with what he said to her in anger. It’s wild how sometimes people use the most vulnerable or insecure thing they entrusted you with and fling it back to you as retaliation. I was ready to do a 180 on my love for Jack, but he was also incredibly sweet with his apology and admitting his fault, so I’ll give him that. But my gosh was he a dang idiot for what he said to Sadie.

He fed off her insecurity of being selfish or narcissistic, and said she talked too much about herself that she didn’t ask him if he was an artist or about what he did. That wasn’t fair because how the freak was she supposed to know that she was rooming with Van Gogh 😆, and for didn’t even want to talk about what he was going through so she was really just respecting his wishes.

Jack said he stopped painting after his parents passed away and that it had been seven years since he last painted. I understood Jack feeling disconnected from his artistic, creative side because when the last few years I felt like I couldn’t create any art I was proud of. The pandemic played a big role for me feeling uninspired to create, also my burn out with school. It sucked to feel like I had no creative juices in me that wanted to make anything. I feel like I still battle creative dryness in the sense that I haven’t been doing much to feel inspired and I am a person who feeds off of inspiration of others, life, and my experiences, but when the pandemic shut things down for the last few years, it felt like my creativity shut down because I was in survival mode. I now sometimes feel like I don’t go out enough because of what’s going on to get inspiration or feel inspired and it feels like a part of me is missing if I am not being creative. Jack probably felt like he was missing an essential part of him too. He also probably felt embarrassed and shy about creating something again, especially since it was inspired by Sadie.

What I loved about this scene was how self-aware and honest Jack was about Sadie being the reason he felt inspired again.

“And it feels good to be painting again.”

“You painted my flowers.”

“I did.”

“They’re beautiful” I meet his gaze, my breath fluttering in my chest once again.

“You inspired me.” He leans in and brushed the softest kiss on my cheek.

(pg. 200)

Inspiration always helps 💚.

Bro, but that kiss on the cheek felt like a tantalizing promise of more. Don’t leave us hanging, Jack 😫.

The Halloween moment they had with Sadie’s friends was a fun time. I didn’t expect Jack to go all Jack-ell and Hyde on us with his usually nerdy, sweet demeanor to someone who was a bit more flirty 🙈. But I wasn’t mad at it. He said, let me be flirty, nerdy, and thriving Jack 👏🏼. I also loved loved loved Thanksgiving with the Sadie friends fam bam. Jack really had to go out there and say that he was thankful for Sadie coming into his life because it brought him so much more than friendship and light 🥺.

“You changed my life, Sadie. You brought family and friends and laughter and happiness and a whole dang floral shop into my home. Our home. And with all of that, you brought me back to life.”

(pg. 223)

I’M SORRY, HEART A-JACK 😫💚, stop making me tear up!!

I didn’t know who could follow after he said something like that because dang he really set the bar high on things to be thankful for that year. But I was incredibly happy Jack was happy and he found a home with Sadie and her friends.

“I felt like New York was where people came to make their family. And that’s what I wanted more than anything.”

(pg. 282)

They were truly a found family. Ugh, I LOVE a found family.

Let’s talk about Sadie’s friends who were her family for life.

Sadie’s relationship with Gemma was a bff and sister-like relationship where they were always honest with each other. I loved that when Sadie needed help, Gemma would always be there, and when Gemma needed help grading papers, Sadie was also there for her. We love a supportive friend! The thing about Gemma that I really liked was the fact that she had her own problems that Sadie could understand and so could I. Gemma was a teacher, and someone who is becoming a future teacher, I could understand Gemma’s frustrations as a teacher like they were my own.

“I just keep waiting for things to get better, get easier, but it seems like very year is worse. Higher, more unrealistic expectations, less support. Always less money.”

(pg. 245)

This is such a common thought I think most experienced teacher’s have. But then again, I think if you are not even a teacher, you know that teaching is not an easy profession and many teachers are exhausted by the long hours and responsibilities but they do not have enough time, resources, or energy. Teachers need more support, money, and time for themselves because gosh knows they are educating the future minds of tomorrow and yet they get treated like the last good meal at the bottom of the trash can and it’s absolutely ridiculous. I mean, who does society think that all the other jobs stem from? TEACHERS. You have to teach someone to know something and to be somewhere, so I don’t know how or why teachers are not supported better and it doesn’t not get better for them. And it is the lack of support and the terrible education system of support in America that has so many teachers quitting there job because they don’t make as much to get by and they also don’t want to work themselves to the ground for nothing, so they quit even though they might like working with kids and enjoy their job. It’s just a tough world to be a teacher when it shouldn’t be that way at all.

That was my teacher tangent 😅. I’m passionate.

But it was just disheartening to hear Gemma voice these frustrations that I have heard so many teachers talk about as well. And knowing Gemma was a lively character, but to see her question her job even if she loved it more than she hated it, really got to me because I feel like many teachers feel that way. They just need more support and respect.

I also enjoyed Sadie’s relationship with Harley. They had a special and sentimental relationship. What I really enjoyed was the conversation after Thanksgiving where Harley was voicing how she was nervous to meet Nick’s parents because she was a Black woman and she wasn’t sure how Nick’s parents were going to see her or if they were going to accept her. That was an understandable and valid worry to have because people are judgmental and can be very rude, but I was happy that Sadie and Harley had a cute heart to heart to validate each other’s emotions. I was also happy for Harley that Nick’s parents did like her and that she didn’t need to worry at all. I also enjoyed reading about Harley and Nick’s relationship because having two friends in a friend group can vastly shift the friend dynamic and make things uncomfortable. But I liked how Sadie and Gemma were so open and down for Harley and Nick to date each other—-that they were basically rooting for it (ha, there goes another gardening pun 😂).

Then there was Nick who was also a gem. He was a cool dude.

I liked how he had such unwavering belief in Sadie as well and did not talk Sadie down from wanting to open/expand her floral business when she approached him about it. I think most people would have talked Sadie down or would have told her to not take the risk, but the fact that Nick supported Sadie by investing into her floral shop, was beyond the sweetest thing ever. I liked how he was very serious about it too because we saw Nick-the-friend, but we also got to see Nick-the-business man who did want Sadie to succeed because he had the best interest for her. I liked how he also talked things through with Sadie to see what would be viable and safe business-wise. That’s a good friend right there.

And Sadie just had to get the shop because it was practically made for her!

It just felt like fate.

The shop had a nice little garden in the back like the shop was begging her to buy the place and grow something there. I mean, not all shops have a backyard garden!!!! The shop was just asking Sadie Green to put her green thumb to work. However, I understood why Sadie was hesitant to expand her business. She was just starting out, and financially wasn’t sure if her business would make it. And heck, it’s always scary to put yourself out there and try something new. I have never opened a business before, but I can imagine the nerves and fear because you’re placing your trust in something and investing your time, money, and energy into a project you love, however, there is a chance that it might not succeed.

But I say, never let the fear of failings stop you from trying.

Because at least you can say you tried and you learned. I think that’s better than never trying at all and wondering what could have been if you did something. Also, I understood that Sadie felt like the open space was too good to be true that she didn’t want to disappoint herself if someone else bought the space before her. So it was easier to not have expectations. I do the same thing too because you know . . .

True that.

A sad truth, but true.

She did get the space like the universe was telling her to do so. Also, I was happy for Sadie and that she took that leap of faith to try open up her shop because her business was blooming 😉.

Yes, I said blooming.

I was sooo excited for her!! And her opening day was absolutely stunning and fun. Let’s go Jack Attack with that Bridge and Blooms painting because WOW. Get you an ARTIST 👏🏼!!

A professional artist if you know what I mean. THIS JACK ATTACK WAS A PROFESSIONAL ARTIST 🤯. I mean, I knew he was an artist, but no professional. But when that older lady started mentioning how the art looked like a famous artist she knew who disappeared or stopped making art, I was like, “It’s Jack.”

Jackson Bennett.

Well, that explained how he was living like Larry. He was a rich bro with BANK from all that art.

But not going to lie, I thought Sadie’s reaction was a bit of an over reaction 🙈.

I mean, Jack just omitted the truth that he was a famous artist, it wasn’t like he lied to her about something worse. And honestly, living with a rich a** artist isn’t the worst news to find out. I don’t know. Not to invalidate her feelings or whatever. I mean, I understood why she was upset because she felt lied to and I would have felt that way too. I could understand why she would need space from Jack to figure things out, but I still think she blew things out of proportion by attacking him and pushing him away because it was easier to push him away and self-sabotage rather than admit she really did want to be with him. The whole artist blow-up was just a convenient way for her to get out of this relationship that was becoming too real to her and she was still having doubts about.

You know what I absolutely do not like? Something that is absolutely not okay?

When someone uses your deepest insecurity to hurt you.

When she said “Wow, you’re really going to hide behind your dead parents” (pg. 311), I was like, sis that was taking it too far. You can attack him all you want because we all knew Jack could see through her anger as self-sabotage, but to drag his parents into it. My gosh. Like Jack did deserve to grieve how he wanted to grieve and if he wanted to hide away from the art world and not tell anyone he used to be some hot shot artist, then that is his business. I don’t think it was fair of her to retaliate with a comment about his family. I mean, that was rude.

But again, hurt people hurt people. Sadie was coming from a place of hurt because of the way people have hurt her. So she unintentionally hurt others; in this case, Jack.

Parental trauma and hurt is very real and can live with a person for years. I still am battling parental hurt and trauma as a young adult, and it’s freaking hard. No one ever talked about navigating that hurt or how deep that hurt runs. It’s like you have this invisible mountain on your back that you have been carrying for years, and year by year, rocks cascade off your back, but there’s still a mountain of things that are holding you back or weighing you down until it either completely falls off or you set that mountain down.It’s not easy.

I could tell for Sadie, it was not easy. The way you grew up effects what you navigate when you are older.

Sadie definitely needed to go back to therapy because she was not the failed a**hole she convinced herself to be. I am not going to lie, I kind of laughed when her friends were on her front stoop for a mini intervention of how they understood Sadie’s hurt and why Sadie was hard on herself, but also how much they love her and care about her and didn’t feel like Sadie deserved to speak to herself in such a harsh way. I could even tell whenever Sadie would mention how she felt like she was an a**hole, her friends would get uncomfortable because Sadie was absolutely the least a**holey person around. It’s really disheartening when someone doesn’t see themselves the way you see them. I thought Sadie was the most compassionate, helpful, and kind person—-just not to herself. I think the intrusive thoughts were resurfacing even more because she was facing all these uncertainties in her life and she wasn’t sure if she could do it or be the person she wanted to be. But that was already within her.

“I know we both have some serious mental blockages due to our unfortunate parental situations.”

(pg. 193)

When Sadie returned to therapy, she really worked on herself. I liked how she apologized to Jack, but how Jack also respectfully said he needed time. I liked that for Jack because he was still grieving and Sadie went and attacked him—-they both needed space to heal. I liked how they still messaged each other in a mature way because they were loving each other through this situation. It was incredibly special and heart-warming how they still had so much love for each other after their big fight—–that they knew the other was hurting and that was why they hurt the other.

Also, couples fight. It’s natural and healthy. But I liked how they both recognized their faults and forgave each other. If I am being honest, I wanted to see or sit in on more of Sadie’s therapy sessions to actual feel and see the work she was putting into herself. We only knew she went back to therapy, but hearing the sessions would have made me feel more connected to her character growth and what she was actively doing to challenge her self-deprecating thoughts. I also wanted Jack’s POV to understand how he was feeling and what he was doing in his time of healing. I think it would have been interesting to see how Jack’s perspective in everything going on because he was experiencing many changes as well.

The ending was sweet 💚.

“I tilt my head up to meet his gorgeous green-eyed gaze.

He grins. “My home is you.”

(pg. 328)

HOW SWEET 🥺.

Home sweet home. Home is where the heart is, and his heart was with her.

They were back together, but taking things slow. They were also working on themselves, which makes sense because people are constantly growing and working on themselves mentally to be the best version of themselves. I was happy that they were going to try find a balance within their growth to be together.

The epilogue was a tease 😂.

Not me over here thinking that we were gin to get a Jack and Sadie proposal, and then actually getting a Nick and Harley proposal!!!!!!

I see what you did there Falon Ballard 🙈. She said, nope, I’m giving you a different proposal epilogue. I mean, I was here for the Nick and Harley proposal, but not going to lie when I say I wanted a Jack and Sadie proposal! It would have been cute if Jack came home with all these flowers and was like, “Honey, I’m home” and proposed to her with a ring in the flowers or something. They were just too cute.

Other things I would have liked to see differently was to dive deeper into Jack and Sadie’s trauma and hurt because I feel like we only touched the surface of their emotions. I wanted more backstories or something that I could read to understand why they were the person they were and how they got to where they are. If I had some backstory, I would have connected to them more and felt more strongly about their growth. I also wanted to know more about Sadie’s insecurities because we all know she thought of herself as an a**hole on multiple occasions, but there was just something missing. Maybe a backstory? I don’t know, but there was more to be said abbot Sadie that I wanted to learn about because she was such a fun and refreshing character, that there was also a lot of unexpected hurt. My next feedback goes along with this, but I waned more deep conversations of why she thought she was an a**hole or why she hated on herself that much. Her conversations were very repetitive about being an a**hole, but what exactly did she do that made her think that? But then again, that could be the point that being an a**hole was just so ingrained in her that that was what she fully believed.

However, there could have been more said and explored with Sadie’s darker roots.

But overall, what an absolutely fun and joyous read 💚! I loved the romance, the found family, the connection, and love. I also enjoyed the writing and found it easy to get lost in and hooked on. I am definitely a Falon Ballard fan now 😊.

Anyway, what was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part? What did you think of the book? 

What is your favorite flower? Mines are peonies and sunflowers!

Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕

I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this 😊.

And as always, with love,

Rating

4.56 Full Bloom Flowers

Characters: Sadie Green is so lovable and likable that it’s hard to believe how hard she is on herself. I LOVE Jack. What a great guy. I also love the cast of characters and how they also had their own storyline in the book.

Plot: I enjoyed seeing a spunky woman make a dream come true, while also finding love and working on herself. I also loved Jack. What a great guy.

Writing: Falon Ballard writes with an unabashed, hilarious honesty that is easy to fall in love with 💚

Romance: Find you someone like Jack on a housing website because Jack is a pure soul and we all deserve a Jack. What a great guy 😂