A great second chance romance!   Tony is a smoke jumper and Kayla is a photographer.  While  on a road trip to photograph old fire sites for a book, Tony and Kayla become closer.  Another satisfying read by Tawna.

I received this ARC for an honest review.

Just a Little Bet was a satisfying road trip romance. That brings one time lover's and now close friends Tony and Kayla back together as they travel around photographing old burn sites and visiting Tony's ex-girlfriends- so, they can understand why his relationships always seem to end.

And it was a very readable story, more so in the second half when the real root of Tony's issues with relationships are addressed, and I really liked that elements of coercive control, and the subject of psychological and emotional abuse was explored. As well as the act of gaslighting which was broken down and explained very well. Additionally, Kayla and Tony's transition from friends to lovers contrasted well with the tougher subjects. And all in all it made for an enjoyable and entertaining read. Would recommend.

A little conflicted with this book, the beginning pulled me in and I couldn't stop reading. About 25% it lost my attention and I felt forced to continue. Midway through I was pulled back in. The characters began to show personality and humanity. It kept me reading. He had a difficult childhood which affects his outlook on relationships. She is impatient to find the right one and start a family. Together they go on a journey of discovering who they are and what they want from life and each other.

*************I received an ARC from the publisher for my honest opinion.*******************

I love this book. Love friends to lovers romances.
It was cute and sweet, and alerts us type of abuse.
Words hurt. And you should be careful what you say and how you say it.
This was a 4 stars for me.

A trip to remember. I enjoyed the journey of Kayla and Tony. Both has issues to deal with in order to fully commit to each other. The emotional abuse issue was written well and the terrible impact it has on the family, especially children. Although there was little on the smokejumpers,they were still there supporting each other. 💕 I received this ARC for an honest review.

This was my first book by this author, and I am glad I gave it a chance. At first I felt that everything was being a bit over explained and wondered if I was going to like the book. However, the farther I got into it, the more I felt like the over explanations fit and it wasn't really over explaining at all.

Tony and Kayla are best friends, they tried dating, but it didn't really work. Kayla bet Tony to go on a road trip with her, talk to his exs, and see why they didn't work out. They hadn't seen each other is a romantic way since they became friends, but spending so much time together made them see each other in a different way.

Tony had a hard, emotionally abusive childhood dealt by his stepfather. He didn't believe he deserved love or what it really was, until he realized Kayla was everything to him. He let Kayla in more than he has anyone and realized that she was the one for him.

After finishing the book, I felt satisfied, I felt like these two characters are making strides in making themselves better, Tony has his mom back, and Kayla is reaching her goals. When you are immersed in a world with characters you feel like you can connect. However with these characters, you can relate but they seem like they are tangible, real people. Good book!

I enjoyed this one! I rarely see stories involving two exes who've decided to stay friends, and I thought that the relationship dynamic Kayla and Tony had from the beginning was unique and full of tension. It was an interesting twist on the friends to lovers trope, since it's really lovers to friends to lovers, but it worked.

The romance and chemistry between the two leads was great and I liked the fact that, with the dual POV, it gave me the chance to see into both of their heads. It gave me an insight into both of their struggles with relationships and family, and also gave two sides of the story when it came to their first try at a relationship.

Overall, I think the character arcs were a bit stronger than the plot arc (the road trip and photography kind of got lost in the shuffle a bit), and while some of the exposition could've been cut down to make the story a tad shorter/pacing better, it was still enjoyable and would love to see what the author does next.

Just a Little Bet by Tawna Fenske a smoking hot five-star read. This is number two in the Where There’s Smoke series but they can be read as stand-alone as the other characters only pop up a tiny bit, my goodness Kayla and Tony make you smile, especially when they have a little runaway friend. The passion that Kayla has for her photography really shone on the page, you could visualise the pictures she was taking the description was that good. There were a couple of bits that didn’t live up to a five-star read, but overall, it was great. I loved how my two favourite worlds collided, the abbreviations that I have chuckled at for ages as a book configuration and a murder podcast where on the page!! Give this one a shot and watch Kayla and Tony as they journey to each other, if you ever wonder about why a relationship didn’t work out, pick this up, it shows you that what you think isn’t always what happened.

Enjoyed it

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Friends to lovers (second chance)
Part of a series: Where There's Smoke
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue

I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC from NetGalley.

Another rip roaring funny story in this series. Tony and Kayla set off on a trip to take pictures and all interview his exes to find out why he is such a lousy boyfriend. This leads to some laugh out loud situations that neither of them are prepared for. We also get to meet the best character of all Fireball, who becomes the center of attention in more than one scene. There is also the serious issues being faced by Tony’s mother that has caused the spillover in his life that the author does a wonderful job with. Tony and Kayla go from ex to friends to lovers and then they have to deal with their individual baggage before they can find forever. It is a wonderfully fun story.

Smokejumper Tony Warren has been dumped again by his latest girlfriend. She is just the latest in a series of failed relationships. He and his best friend and former girlfriend Kayla, are going on a road trip where they are going through a self help book and interviewing his past girlfriends. They have a bet on whether he is a bad boyfriend or afraid of commitment. Kayla has her own issues, she wants the whole husband and kids thing, but she keeps picking one bad guy after another. This road trip is both a literal and emotional journey for both Kayla and Tony. Tony and Kayla are likable characters and following them to their second chance is worth the journey. I received an arc of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

I love friends turned lovers stories So, I enjoyed this book Kayla and Tony have been friends after dating briefly. Tony has some major issues we don't get to until almost the end of the book. These issues have messed up all the relationships he has. He doesn't want marriage and kids. He does not see it in the cards for him.

I liked the book. I wish it was as slow as it was in the first half. The second half plowed through a lot, Tony has a LOT of baggage.

Thank you NetGalley for this free book on exchange for an honest review.

This book was pretty good. Not a light read per se as there is mention of abuse in the past but also not a book I was heavily invested in. The storyline was somewhat predictable (I don't mind that in romance books) and I was missing a bit of depth to the characters. I feel like there was more potential to give them unique traits or just a bit more personality. They felt a little genetic. The writing was good and the pacing was overall well done.

‘Just a Little Bet’ is a delightful road trip romance with sort of a lovers-to-friends-to-lovers feel, and I’m all the way here for it.

After an anticlimactic attempt at dating, photographer Kayla Gladney and smokejumper Tony Warren have become the best of friends. After a drunken night of self-analyzation, they both conclude that they’re terrible at love. And so a bet is made: they’re going to use Kayla’s already planned road trip to seek out Tony’s exes and find out why he’s been so unlucky in love. But when forced proximity and a whole lot of chemistry combine, they might just discover that what they’ve been looking for has been in front of them the whole time.

I love a good road trip tale, and ‘Just a Little Bet’ does not disappoint. From the beginning, Kayla and Tony have great chemistry, and author Tawna Fenske does a great job of slowly blurring the lines between friendship and romance in a really believable way. The plot is fun, but there are also some surprising depths that are mined in the story. It touches on the effects of abuse and neglect, and how they shape a person. It touches on the ways that women are perceived societally and the way they perceive themselves under that lens. And, at its heart, there’s a beautiful, supportive friendship that is wonderful to read.


Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read other books by Tawna Fenske before. Her writing is clear and flows well. Her dialogue is fun and sexy. This book is no different. Enjoyed reading it even though I haven't read other books in this series. It's a stand alone. Love the characters and I like how the 2 characters work out everything at the end.

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley for giving me an ARC and an opportunity to review the book.

Best Friends, Lovers, Exes, Best Friends. Can they be lovers again? Tony and Kayla are best friends on a journey of self discovery. Can they discover themselves and their love?

It is a wonderful book about self discovery, self growth, dysfunctional relationships and getting over them.

Just a Little Bet by T. Fenske is a stand-lone, contemporary romance novel.
Meet Smokejumper Tony and his best friend Kayla Gladney. What started out as a fun, witty bet/ story, turns into something totally different.
The attraction between the friends grows - only do they act on it ? What begins as an easy read turns into an emotional one. This turn I hadn't expected. The story becomes touching, heart-wrenching and the characters some tough decisions had to be made.
Just a Little Bet is a slow burn, well written with a beautiful and well deserved hea. 4,5 stars.

This book was good , I did enjoy reading it but it wasn't my all time favorite. It had a lot of feelings , it was funny, definitely had some steam to it and like I said it was a decent read just not my top favorite reads! Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me!

This was a case of the second half of the story being a lot stronger than the first half. If I didn’t have so much faith in the author I am not sure I would have stuck around for the second half.
Kayla and Tony are best friends who used to date briefly and seem doomed to enter into relationships that quickly stall out. In an effort to find a solution to their relationship woes they agree to visit some of Tony’s exes to determine if he was a bad boyfriend or just running from commitment. Except it isn’t that simple at all because Tony has real issues in his past that he has never worked through.
The first half of the book is the obvious set up and the visits with the exes which were annoyingly over the top. The second half of the book is more serious, and better for it, as we learn about Tony’s past and get to know him better. Tony and Kayla grow even closer as they learn about each other and share their scary emotional fears. It made for a satisfying end to their journey.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

ony is a smoke jumper, Kayla is a photographer. Previously they used to date but it didn't work. None of their relationships do, but at least Kayla and Tony stayed friends. After Tony's latest break-up, they go on a road trip together to check out some burn scars, both literally and figuratively. Kayla wants to photograph sites of forest fire. They're reading a self help book that is supposed to help them stop sabotaging themselves. Their road trip is also a trip down the memory lane because they meet Tony's ex girlgfriends in a bid to figure out whether he's a commitment phobe or just a random jerk in relationships. After some revealing encounters with Tony's former girlfriends Kayla and Tony admit they've still got that sexual attraction thing going but they're calling it a friends with benefits arrangement. Kayla's wondering if life mirrors fire sites and things could start growing in the ashes, but he's got a lot of history that he doesn't talk about. He's wondering what if... but every time he's on the brink of saying certain important things out loud she changes the subject.

I wasn't hooked from the beginning because I thought their dialogues felt like a too obvious set up for kitchen table psychoanalysis instead of conversations that people might naturally have. But it gets better as the reader learns more about Tony's point of view, and the emotions start to feel more real. You struggle with him as he yearns for love but is scared of screwing things up.

The writing style is effortless and flows well. I noticed only a couple of minor typos, nothing glaring. Most people have a navel instead of a naval, and an adopted dog would be the adoptee, not the adopters.

I really liked the life after burns metaphor, it spoke to me.

I got an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for opinions, which works well for me as I've got extra.