“Lease on Love” by Falon Ballard is a roommates/friends-to-lovers, age-gap, slow-burn romance tale. The story follows Sadie Green, a financial analyst living in NYC. When she’s passed up for a promotion she’s spent the better part of the last six years working for (having it go instead to the boss’ green son-in-law - who she’s expected to train), she has some choice words with her boss which ultimately leads to her dismissal. Dejected and unemployed, Sadie goes out with her besties, in the hopes of drowning her sorrows in delicious cocktails and drunken karaoke escapades. Sadie finds herself swiping right on a dating app later that evening - after six years of putting work first, she’s made the decision to go on a date!
Fast forward to date day - Sadie arrives at the predetermined location and finds nerdy Jack, complete with a Lord of the Rings shirt and large framed glasses (not Sadie’s usual cup of tea!) Sadie learns from Jack that instead of swiping right on the dating app as she thought she had done (during her drunken daze the other evening), she had expressed interest as being Jack’s new roommate on the “Roommate” app instead. Not one to turn down an opportunity to save money (damn those student loans!), Sadie visit’s Jack’s Brooklyn brownstone and falls in love with the space immediately.
The story continues to follow Sadie and Jack as they start to befriend one another and Jack is quickly accepted into Sadie’s group of New Yorker friends. Sadie finds herself falling in love with her landlord, but Jack expresses wanting to take things slow and doing right by Sadie; he’s been grieving the loss of his parents for the last seven years and isn’t sure he’s ready for a relationship. Sadie navigates trying to find a part-time job while investing in running her own small business as a florist, operating from Jack’s kitchen and newly remodeled garden.
I enjoyed the authenticity that Ballard brought to Sadie’s character. She cursed like a sailor, was often self-deprecating but in the same breath could also be sarcastic and witty, and struggled with self-doubt constantly when she was seeing small successes in her new professional endeavors - things I think I connected with on a personal level. Jack’s character could have been developed a little more thoroughly - I felt that his backstory remained a mystery for the better part of the book.
“Lease on Love” is a quick, fun, rom-com read that’s funny and inspiring. With relatable characters, witty banter, a swoon worthy love story, and set in an idyllic Brooklyn neighborhood, this book is highly recommended for fans of Emily Henry and Beth O'Leary!
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