Jody Slaughter has written a fun, spicy, and simply delightful romance with this book. I can’t wait to recommend it to my romance readers.

Bet On It by Jodie Slaughter ⭐️⭐️

Mini summary: Aja and Walker both deal with anxiety. Both stemming from different reasons. Because of this shared burden, they feel comfortable and safe with each other, plus that love spark isn't too bad either. But will their anxieties be able to keep them together? Or ultimately drive them apart?

Sadly for me, I couldn't get into this one. Something was just lacking for me. Not sure if I just didn't fall in love with the characters or the fact of that the story had a Bingo element the author mustn't have known much about the game (there is no B90 🤣) and the use of it in the story seemed...weird?

Anyway, it's a no for me, but it might be a yes for you!

Pub date for the contemporary romance is July 12, 2022.

This was a cute book in theory. It has all the composite parts of a good romance, but ultimately I just wasn’t sold on the character’s chemistry. While I found certain aspects of the personal arcs interinting, the overall relationship progression bored me, at no point was I particularly rooting for them to get together. However, I appreciated the anxiety representation and the sensitive way the author built both character’s varying challenges into the narrative,

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

I thought that this book was perfect for me! I loved the BINGO theme and how the characters were so open with their mental health struggles in a way that felt relatable to me. Towards the end, I do think that the BINGO aspect could have been worked in more, but I did enjoy the happy ending.

I am so happy there are more novels out now that deal will real life issues. Mental health needs more of a spotlight as the majority of humans have some kind of life issues. I just did not buy in to the relationship of the main characters.. DNF for me.

Thank you St Martins for the ARC to read and review.

Aja and Walker’s story was sweet but I didn’t really care about either character. I liked that they were flawed characters but I just wasn’t invested. I also hated the twang that Walker’s character spoke in - it was very distracting.

Thanks for the ARC!

Bet On It is a romance with a very funny (and unique) setting for a meet cute: the bingo hall. To be technical... the meeting may have happened in a grocery store first, but the bingo hall is where it's at! 2022 is the year of the severely anxious, panic-disordered protagonist, and the men who can't help but want to take care of them and love them as deeply as possible. This book continues in that vein, and I have to say, I'm going to need a break from reading about anxiety after this. The banter, the steam... all of the elements are there to make this an engaging and fast read, and I recommend it for anyone who enjoys their romances set in small towns and with meddling grandmas. Thanks to NetGalley for an early review copy, all opinions are my own.

Bet On It is the story of Aja and Walker, two people who share some of the same mental health issues that allow them to understand each other a bit better than others in their pasts. Each of them has their own struggles, but they take comfort in and enjoy each other so much that just being friends is not an option. There are some steamy sex scenes that might be a bit too much for some readers, and some of the character's issues may come with triggers. Otherwise, Bet On It is a fun, quick read.

Aja Owens has just moved from Washington, D.C. to Greenbelt, a small town in South Carolina, trying her best to make new friends despite her anxiety disorder. Those efforts have led her to the local bingo parlor and meeting her bingo friend, an elderly lady named Mrs. May. Shopping in the local Piggly Wiggly one day, Aja suffers an anxiety attack and stands stock still in front of the freezer section waiting for it to pass. Another shopper, Walker Abbott, who Aja does not know recognizes the situation as he, too suffers from anxiety issues and offers to help. Mortified, Aja manages a few minutes of conversation and leaves the store. Unbeknownst to Aja, Walker Abbott is Mrs. May’s grandson, in town to help his grandmother who has just broken both her wrists and, of course, Mrs. May drags him to bingo night. Sparks fly between the two and romance blossoms, albeit an unwelcome one, that both Aja and Walker are bent on ignoring.

Jodie Slaughter has written an enjoyable and steamy romance that fans of this genre will certainly appreciate. While she describes both characters’ struggles with their anxiety disorders in a manner that enables the reader to clearly understand their emotional state, her overuse (in my opinion) of the F-word ruined the book for me. She has a better command of the English language than this.

What a wonderful book! I love that I am starting to read more and more books with romance and mental health topics. This is a beautiful trend that we need. This was such a cute book and I loved every minute of it! Read it! Now!

I really liked the premise of this book and I felt like the mental health representation was important. It had just enough spice to be considered a romance but to me felt like it was more about mental health than love.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Aja was okay and I was rooting for her, but way Walker spoke drove me up a wall. The random trauma the author threw at him so he could relate to Aja I guess? seemed gratuitous. And the ~sexual chemistry ~ the author tried for was too forced.

What a. Fun sweet and steamy read. I read it so fast but i enjoyed the story about overcoming anxiety to find love. Really relatable

I can’t remember the last time a book resonated with me the way this one did. Yes, this was a romance, but it was also a book about overcoming obstacles and loving yourself. The main characters both struggle with their mental health and are drawn to each other because they honestly see each other’s struggles. The openness between them as they work to improve their own lives is what makes this such a believable love story. I saw so much of myself in Aja that I felt at times this book was about me, but she’s also my hero for getting out of her comfort zone and working to build relationships, friendships as well as a romantic relationship. Add a love of Bingo, which speaks to my old soul, and I had an amazing time reading this! I can’t wait to see what else Jodie Slaughter publishes! Oh, and the editor made this a 5 star for me, because it was almost grammatically perfect!

As a person who struggles with generalized anxiety disorder, I loved and appreciated the understanding within the pages of this book. I was hooked within the first 3 pages. The story unfolded slowly, and the only drama came from just the healing journeys each of the main characters went on.

My only negative critique is that I wasn't in love with the way the last chunk of the book evolved. I'm glad Walker and his Dad had their talk, but I would have loved more depth and emotion and drama to showcase why Aja and Walker are who they are. We saw alot of their present, but not a lot of their past. I think it would have helped connect even more to their characters.

Gosh, this. This was EVERYTHING I could want in a romance book. It did a fantastic job working through anxiety disorder and how it effects each person differently and how each person has to deal with it differently. I teared up, I laughed out loud and there were a few points I wanted to scream get it together. I feel like the H should have Groveled a little more but it was still a good notion. 5⭐

This was such a fun , sweet and steamy story! Don’t let the cover full you it’s very steamy! I love the relationship between the two main characters and I also love how this book spoke about mental health. I would recommend this book and will definitely read more by this author.

Bet on it is a contemporary romance between our main characters Aja Owens and Walker Abbot and takes place in Greenbelt, SC. Aja is newer to town and stays to herself outside of the weekly bingo game with the elderly in town. Ms. May is Aja’s bingo friend, and after an accident has left her with 2 broken arms, she drags her hot grandson Walker to play her cards. Unfortunately, the first time the two met, Aja was having a panic attack at the Piggy Wiggly.

This book goes from Piggly Wiggly panic attack encounter to friends to bingo sex pact to lovers, say that five times fast! Jodie Slaughter can write some Grade A sexual tension and her sex scenes are STEAMY! I also loved that this has dual POV, it’s my favorite way for a romance to be written. There’s also great fat rep in this book, good consent, and I really enjoyed the side characters. Some of my favorite scenes were of Aja and her new girlfriends, I found that those side characters had some of the most personality of any character in the book. I would very much be interested in reading one of their stories in the future.

Both of our main characters have anxiety – generalized anxiety disorder and PTSD respectively. While I haven’t suffered from anxiety attacks to this extreme, it felt like the author took great care and did a lot of research on the topic. There are additional content warnings for past drug addiction and child neglect to be aware of too. Having characters struggling with mental health throughout a romance novel may not be for everyone, and especially will not be for you if you’re looking for something light. But if you are looking for a romance with some heavier themes I think you’ll like this.

I’m bringing this down to 3.5ish stars because at times I wanted more from the characters outside of their anxiety, so they felt a little flat at times. Some of my misgivings are overlooked at times if I have nostalgia relating to aspects of the story like where it takes place, and a certain event it includes. I don’t personally have that connection, but I think people who grew up in this part of the US will feel seen and get some warm and fuzzies.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was pleasantly surprised how quick I was sucked into this book! I find myself being in a book reading slump after reading a good book (I had just finished A Flicker in the Dark), but I was able to jump right back in with this one.

Bet On It was equal parts sweet, fun, inclusive, and very steamy! I mean - I know the illustrated covers make a lot of readers think that the story might not be as steamy as others that use live models.

I enjoyed how much attention was placed on mental health - most specifically anxiety. As someone who experiences anxiety, I appreciated that anxiety wasn't just mentioned, it was explained and was a consistent presence throughout the book. That, mixed in with the awesome chemistry between Aja and Walter made for such a fantastic story. It truly was such a great read!