Dropping the Ball by Melanie Jacobson: Book Review

 **ARC received for consideration. All opinions are my own.

The Book

Pull off the swankiest New Year’s benefit gala the city has ever seen? Kaitlyn Armstrong has got this. Do it with the high school rival who once humiliated her? Kaitlyn Armstrong so does not have this…

Kaitlyn Armstrong has a mission this holiday season: pull off a glitzy fundraising gala to redeem her family’s reputation. After all, besides one tiny—okay, catastrophic—failure in high school, Kaitlyn is her family’s rock. Who better to trust?

But then Kaitlyn meets the architect she must work with to pull off the event. Micah Croft is the man who broke her nose, her heart, and her perfect academic record in high school.

Now he’s breaking her eight-year streak of avoiding him.

Kaitlyn fell under his spell once and it ruined graduation. Distraction means failure, and she can’t fail again—not when it will cost her family public humiliation in front of Austin’s social elite.

When the gala plans go wrong, and Micah is the only part that feels right, can Kaitlyn risk choosing him over finally making up for her mistakes in the past?

Dropping the Ball is a closed door romcom featuring old high school rivals with a strong dose of Gilbert and Anne competition and pining. It's a holiday romance with all the sizzle and swoon, but no spice.

The Author

Melanie Bennett Jacobson is an avid reader, amateur cook, and champion shopper. She consumes astonishing amounts of chocolate, chick flicks, and romance novels. She grew up in Louisiana and now lives in Southern California with her family, a miniature schnauzer, and a series of doomed houseplants. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and is the four-time Whitney Award-winning author of nineteen romantic comedies and several novellas.

Book Review

Dropping the Ball is connected to the Betting on Love series (Kaitlyn is Madi's little sister), and readers who have read that series will enjoying seeing a few familiar characters make brief appearances... but this can definitely be enjoyed as a standalone. 

The last thing that Kaitlyn expected when she stepped in to help Madi during her maternity leave was to be planning a fundraising gala with the man who had witness (and caused) her most embarrassing moment and for whom she blamed losing valedictorian... and still held a grudge against so many years later. Right away, Kaitlyn and Micah drew me in with their banter and chemistry. While they knew each other in high school, the more they got to know each in the present, the more they realized they there was a lot more going on that they never knew... and I absolutely loved seeing them come together as the story goes on. Unlike your typical holiday romcom which tends to have a much shorter timeline, I loved that this one covered every major holiday from Halloween to New Years... so while you'll still get some holiday cheer, it could really be enjoyed any time of the year too! This is a story that will have you laughing out loud... but will also leave you with a feeling of found family and community that I adored! 

Dropping the Ball is a closed-door romance with kisses only. It does have a small amount of minor language. 

You can purchase your copy here: https://amzn.to/4fOkqWV