Fun, interesting, and compellingly real. This is a romance with great characters, laughter, and steamy smexytimes. But it's also an aching, seemingly accurate and astute protrait of anxiety and PTSD, how it effects a person and the people around them. I was cheering for Anja and Walker, and sympathizing with them throughout the whole book. If you're a fan of New Adult romance, this would be one for the keeper shelf.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

While Bet on It is definitely a steaming hot romance, it is much more than sex and falling in love. It is an exploration of anxiety, depression, trauma and PTSD. It is about managing your mental health and learning how to trust people. Aja's dealing with anxiety while Walker deals with PTSD from his childhood. Aja and Walker aren't supposed to work but they understand each other in ways that no one else can or has tried.

I really loved the way that Ms. Slaughter brought mental health into the forefront in her novel.

'Bet On It,' was a really fun romance with relatable characters. There was really great representation of trauma, as well as anxiety. Both subjects are handled very well, and realistically.

Strong female lead, who knows she is curvy and sexy. Male lead who knows just how to handle her panic attacks, and finds her unbelievably sexy. And bingo. Are you kidding me?

Really enjoyed this one!

Bet On It features a thoroughly spicy romance evolving between Aja and Walker, but also encounters the nuances struggles of mental health and family issues.

I loved the depth and representation of each of the characters, but I found myself skipping some things. As much as I liked it, some parts were repetitive (I thought I had lost my place and reread a chapter at some point). Like most books, the sense of time is also a bit lost or confused.

Asia Owens meets Walker Abbot while she is having a panic attack in the Piggly Wiggly. While she is grateful for the stranger who helped her find her center, she didn't really get a good look at him until she runs into him again the next time she is at Bingo. Walker is in town helping his grandmother who recently broke both of her arms. But Walker would prefer to be anywhere but this town as his memories growing up are not pleasant ones. Meeting Asia has been the best part of his time there. Although he knows he will be leaving soon and doesn't want to start up a long distance relationship he cannot ignore his attraction to her. They soon enter into a friends-with-benefits type pact that allows them both to act on this sparks without any commitment. But soon they realize they both feel more than they bargained for.

This book has some great mental health rep with him dealing with PTSD and her having anxiety issues. I loved the frank discussion of mental health and therapy. But something about this book just missed the mark for me. I enjoyed the premise and the characters but I had a hard time connecting to the characters. I think the relationship evolved between them so fast I didn't really have a chance to get to know the characters or feel invested in them.

Overall, I would give the book 3 starts.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the EARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

My new motto is that any romance book that mentions a Piggly Wiggly store is a book worth checking out. There can't be anything less romantic than that, you would think, and you would be wrong. I enjoyed this book so much and a great deal of it was because it was so ordinary, human and decent.

Aja is a young woman who moved to a smaller town - Greenbelt, Carolina - due to her panic attacks. Work is not a problem since her job allows her to work remotely. She knew no one there, so started going once a week to play bingo. Her bingo partner is a lady in her 80's.

Walker could not get out of Greenbelt, South Carolina, fast enough. Nothing could drag him back except for his grandmother, who raised him. When she fell and broke both arms, he moved back to help her until she heals.

He encounters a young woman - Aja - in Piggly Wiggly having a panic attack, and since he also has experience with those, he helps her to get through it. So a few weeks later ... when he takes his grandmother in her casts to help her play bingo, who does he meet there but Aja. I loved their romance.

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher St. Martin's Press/Griffin via NetGalley. It was a pleasure to read and review this book.

Aja and Walker meet when she is in the middle of a panic attack at the Piggly Wiggly. Little does she know, but Walker suffers from PTSD and knows a lot about what she's going through. They run into each other again at the bingo hall where Aja has been sitting next to Walker's Grandma ever since she started playing bingo. Aja and Walker have a connection, but it has a time limit. Walker is just staying long enough to help his grandma while she heals from an accident. He has no intention to stay. Will they be able to resist the attraction they feel? Will they be able to abide by the rules they set for their time together? Let's Bet on It!

This romance was different from many. I liked both characters and how they pushed themselves to get through the tough moments they faced every day. I especially loved Aja's determination to change her life for the better. The whole Bingo setting was definitely unique and fun. Both Walker and Aja grow through the course of the book, and I loved that. Walker had to do a little groveling at the end. It was satisfying and sweet. There is some steam, but I really didn't care about that. The story would have held its own without it. 4 Stars.

My sincere thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my opinion of it.

I wanted to really love Bet On It by Jodie Slaughter, but unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me. The premise is fun--a woman moving from the big city to a small town starts going to bingo to meet people. She meets an old lady, who befriends her. That lady's grandson is forced to come back to his small hometown when she's injured and needs his help. Boy and girl meet. Become friends. Fall in lust. Make a bet.

Normally, I love books which tackle real life issues like mental health. Both characters suffer from panic attacks. Aja has generalized anxiety disorder. Walker has C-PTSD. Like in life, these mental health issues affect every aspect of the character's lives, but I felt like the way it was handled was a bit too heavy-handed and clunky. I offer the critique cautiously because I know everyone experiences anxiety in their own unique way.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC. Overall, I did enjoy the story, despite my aforementioned complaints. I listened to the audiobook, and I found the narrator's performance distracting, so this might have been a rare case where I would have been better off just reading the book myself.

I love a friends to lover set in a small town and this books delivered it. There’s anxiety mixed with personal growth and issues that were really realistic.

Aja first meets the man of her dreams while she’s having a full blown panic attack in the frozen food section of the local Piggly Wiggly. The next time they meet, he’s her bingo partner and from then on she knows her life will never be the same. A random, out of nowhere, sex bingo pact is made and how can one not develop feelings.

I laughed and felt emotions all to true. I loved the anxiety issue the main character has, because that can be relatable to many. The only thing I didn’t care for was the child neglect the book also touches on. All in all, I enjoyed the story and the characters.

Bet on It is a fabulous read. Aja and Walker's relationship is so sweet and I loved their immediate and palpable chemistry. Their story perfectly captures the complexities of anxiety and how it's different for everyone. The writing was thoughtful and careful with potentially triggering subjects. I loved the small town, the bingo pact, seeing Aja make friends. While I wouldn't call it a rom-com it did have funnier lighter moments. Overall I thought this was a great read.

3.5 stars on the blog
TW: Generalized anxiety disorder, Panic Attacks, PTSD, Child Neglect/Endangerment (in the past), Past Drug Use (secondary character)



Two people with mental health problems meet in an unusual way or maybe not and then again in a Bingo hall surrounded by some intense seniors who take bingo seriously although I found it hard to when the callers made incorrect calls. Bet On It was an interesting romance in that both main characters had anxiety disorders, yet it was obvious they craved connection with someone with whom they felt safe.

Aja recently moved from the D.C. area to Greenbelt, South Carolina craving a slower, less threatening to her mental health and a small town atmosphere. While she works from home, she does go to bingo one night a week where she sits next to an older woman, Ms. May and to the Piggly Wiggly for her groceries. She’s working at getting out more and then one evening late getting groceries Aja has a panic attack and there’s no way she can get out to her car, a man steps up and tells her he’s going to stand nearby until she feels better. Once she does she thanks him and leaves only to run into him again when he arrives to help his “Gram” who has casts on both her arms play bingo.

The last place Wallace (Wally) wants to be is Greenbelt where the memories are too fresh and he can feel the panic rising every time he turns around. Having PTSD from a less than stellar childhood, he doesn’t want to be there but for him Gram who raised him after his mom was gone and his dad was in jail he’ll muddle through and be there for her. He recognized the panic attack the woman was having in the grocery store, but more than that he noticed the woman herself and he isn’t sad that she’s someone his Gram knows and he will be seeing at least once a week like he’s there.

I felt like the author did a great job of writing a character with generalized anxiety disorder and one with PTSD and the way that affected their everyday lives. I also appreciated that she included the use of therapy in the book and both these characters employed coping techniques during this story. At times I felt like there was so much about their disorders that we didn’t get to know these characters very well, but I think that was the point. Their disorders are a big part of who they are, how they see the world, and affects every aspect of their lives.

Aja and Wallace both realized that the other would understand their boundaries and while they discussed their disorders they never pushed one another to talk about the reasoning behind them. Because of that I didn’t feel like we really got to know these characters very well, it was all pretty surface stuff (especially Aja as Wallace did open up towards the end) but it was also easy to see they craved human contact which led them down the path to a physical relationship as Wallace knew he would never stay in town once his Gram was well.

I loved seeing Aja work at opening herself up to new people and making friends who accepted her and didn’t push her past her comfort level. I felt she was brave. I also loved that as an overweight woman, she loved her body and wasn’t embarrassed about it and didn’t really care what anyone else thought which in a way was a huge deal considering her anxiety. Walker was very, very appreciative of her body and let her know every chance he got.

I did enjoy this book, but it was a pretty heavy read and I think I would have liked it more if a bit of levity had been sprinkled throughout.

3.5/5 stars

Bet On It is a small town contemporary romance.

Mental health and anxiety play a huge part in this story. The book features a plus-sized heroine, lots of games of BINGO and a hero who came home to take care of his Gram.

The book alternates between the male and female 3rd person POVs (Aja and Walker).

The fact that panic attacks and PTSD are normalized in this book is amazing. And I definitely enjoyed many of the characters. This was a super quick read. But I just wanted more from the overall romance. I wasn't as invested in the story as I wanted to be.

Aja is a young woman who navigates anxiety. To make a fresh start she relocates from her hometown of Washington DC to the sleepy town of Greenbelt, SC. She finds an unlikely activity going to Bingo night, mostly frequented by the town’s older residents. When her Bingo table mate needs help recovering from an injury her grandson, Walker, returns to Greenbelt to help her. Walker has his own past trauma and sufferers from PTSD complicating his relationship with the town and his grandmother.
I applaud authors for bringing awareness to mental health. Slaughter tackles several mental health issues, gives representation to normal/healthy sized women, and interracial dating. This all flows without much fanfare, in a ‘this is real life’ way. I appreciate this approach! The small town setting was fantastic, but also used so well. It was a conscious choice for Aja, but had bad memories for Walker. The attraction between Aja and Walker is raw, elemental, and immediate. For me, the abrupt jump didn’t give me time to buy into these two as a couple before there were open door sex scenes. It felt an odd juxtaposition against their their mental health struggles. Although a few elements didn’t work for me I think there’s a great audience for this, especially those that read new adult romance.
I received a review copy from St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley.

Bet on It is a sweet and spicy rom-com that made me want to go play bingo! I love how Jodie Slaughter is able to mix in the light and fluffy romance with the realities of working on your mental health in the perfect package. There’s also great character development for both Aja and Walker and you’re rooting for them the whole time! If you’re in the mood for a sweet as peach cobbler, spicy rom-com set in a bingo-playing small town, this is for you! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

If you want to read a book with quite a bit of explicit sex then this is the book for you. It is a delightful light rom-com. The main characters Walker and Aja meet in a convenience store where Aja was having a panic attack. Walker having had similar panic attacks helped her through it. A couple of weeks later Aja is at her Wednesday night bingo where she hangs with Ms May, She comes in with "Wally" aka Walker her grandson who she talks so much about. There begins the highs and lows of the adorable couple. The one thing if you play bingo (I don't think the author did) is the number calling was all wrong along with some other bingo things. But other than that it was a fun read.
Thanks to #netgalley, #Stmartinspress and @jodie_slaughter

The author has put a warning about panic attacks/PTSD. Aja Owens has left DC for small town Greenbelt, SC. She is on meds and see a therapist. As she is slowly acquainting herself with this town, she has decided playing bingo once a week to get out was a start. Ms May has decided to take her under her wings. Enter Walker Abbott, Ms. May's grandson. He has come home to help his grandmother recover from a fall. From the moment they met, there was a pull but meeting again at the bingo hall was priceless. They have decided to spend time together, explaining what is driving them. With a bingo bet about peach cobbler, the flirting is so hot. Once grams physical therapy is over, the hits keep coming. Running back to his home seemed the answer. It is friends for Walker and family for Aja. They would rather be together than apart.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.
What I loved about this novel was the mental health representation. As someone who deals with anxiety, I could relate to Aja in so many ways. The author captured social anxiety so, so well. I also liked Walker’s POV and his PTSD struggles and growth. I liked how these characters understood each other on a deeper level due to them both understanding mental illness.
However, when it comes to them being together, I didn’t feel the connection. There was a lot of lust, but I wanted deeper emotions.

Aja thought that the best way to control her anxiety was to relocate to a smaller town where she was familiar with the people and the surroundings. What started out a trip to the grocery store takes a turn when she is overcome by her anxiety and struggling to get it under control. Thanks to a sexy stranger she is able to calm herself, but she certainly never expected to see him again let alone find out he was the grandson of her friend and fellow bingo player.

Walker’s return to his hometown is temporary as he is only there to help his grandmother through a difficult time. Meeting Aja was a surprise he didn’t see coming and with each passing day the attraction and the feelings between them escalate but they have some challenges and mistakes to overcome.

Both Aja and Walker have their struggles to overcome but they were so cute together. As their relationship unfolds there is a balance of humor, heat and emotion as the characters are relatable have you invested in their story.

Heat Factor: It starts out really emotionally heavy and gets lighter and steamier as it goes.

Character Chemistry: In the beginning it’s hard to see how much they have in common beyond their mental health issues, but they do end up building a fun, relaxing relationship together.

Plot: Aja has a panic attack in a grocery store right when it’s about to close, and is helped by a stranger—who happens to be her Bingo buddy’s grandson. Both of them have serious mental health issues, and an instantaneous connection that develops into something more (whether they’re ready for it or not).

Overall: It was so heavy in the beginning I had a hard time rooting for anything but more therapy for the two of them—but they did end up creating a really beautiful relationship.

I paused starting this book for a few days, thanks to the author’s very helpful and specific content warning (simply because I was having a really challenging week and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to process the book with a fair mind) and I’m glad I did—because it was fantastic!

The story opens with Aja having a really intense panic attack in her small town’s grocery store. She’s new in town and of course, worrying about having to see these people again is making it harder for her to use the tools she has to settle, pay, and get out of there. And that’s when she meets Walker—a stranger who sits with her so she’s not alone while she’s pulling herself back together.

When she goes to Bingo a few nights later, she discovers that her elderly Bingo buddy’s absence was because she’d had a fall and her grandson (Walker!) is in town to help her. They bond over peach cobbler and Bingo, and over their shared mental health struggles. Aja has generalized anxiety disorder, and Walker has complex PTSD.

This is where I was really starting to get anxious myself, because at that point in the story I was so invested in their wellbeing as individuals that I had a hard time believing they should be embarking on a relationship together. But then they both end up taking small steps to open their lives to other people, on their own and on their own terms–and I really started rooting for them, separately and together. Meeting each other might have been the spark that started the change, but both characters became more dynamic and multifaceted–more real. Romance is for everyone—including people who have to work a little harder to get through the day.

The best part of this one was that when things started getting steamy, Aja and Walker agree to only hook up if one of them wins Bingo at their nightly game. So they both start getting REALLY into the game, and things get really hot and intense when they’re between wins. So they’re essentially building a lot of emotional intimacy while their lack of physical intimacy is just cranking up the tension. FanTASTIC.

The setting was also kind of sweet and dreamy–a small town in South Carolina, where everyone knows everyone. It’s the middle of summer, so everyone is hot and kind of tired. Peach cobbler. Fourth of July. Really, it’s the perfect time of year for this one.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

I had a lot of mixed feelings when reading this book. The book immediately grabbed my attention being bingo themed and having a small town setting. I loved the concept and the characters themselves. Slaughter does an amazing job getting you to love her characters and root for them and I loved how there was both anxiety and PTSD rep and the body positivity was amazing.

What I struggled with is certain phrases that was used during certain scenes that made it hard to continue which made it take much longer to finish the book than I would like to admit.

Overall the book was an amazing and cute read that I would definitely recommend to people.