I tried so hard to read this but I just could not connect with either of the characters.

I ended up DNFing it at 30%.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.

Bet On It was a fun read, definitely entertaining with some deeper emotional content. I just did not love it and I don't know why. It didn't click with me and I forgot the characters as soon as the cover closed. Fun read but not world changing.

The first time Aja Owens encounters the man of her dreams, she’s having a panic attack in the frozen foods section of the Piggly Wiggly. The second time, he’s being introduced to her as her favorite bingo buddy’s semi-estranged grandson. From there, all it takes is one game for her to realize that he’s definitely going to be a problem. And if there’s anything she already has a surplus of, it’s problems.

In Walker Abbott’s mind, there are only two worthwhile things in Greenbelt, South Carolina. The peach cobbler at his old favorite diner and his ailing grandmother. Dragging himself back after more than a decade away, he’s counting down the days until Gram heals and he can get back to his real life. Far away from the trauma inside of those city limits. Just when he thinks his plan is solid, enter Aja to shake everything up.

A hastily made bingo-based sex pact is supposed to keep this…thing between them from getting out of hand. Especially when submitting to their feelings means disrupting their carefully balanced lives. But emotions are just like bingo callers—they refuse to be ignored.

Jodie Slaughter's Bet on It is a heart-stoppingly fun, emotional romance that will have readers falling in love until long after the last page is turned.

This book was just sadly not for me! I was hoping for something different but it turned out to be something I was not expecting, which is okay and I'm sure someone else would love it!

This romance was so fun. I loved the premise and the characters were easy to connect with and root for. But my favorite part was how Jodie Slaughter handles fat rep in such a neutral, safe way. It made the book a joy to read.

Okay. I love Bingo, I. From the south and I'm also prone to grocery store anxiety attacks. I felt SEEEN. AND THE STEAM🔥🔥🔥. The overall story was good, well paced and kept me interested. Overall a good time.

Steaminess 6 out of 5, the author surely knows how to write sexy times. Overall storytelling, maybe a 3. I liked the focus on the relationship, but everything else was so rushed and lacked depth that it gave the impression of a cheap cardboard film set. I think this author can produce great works, she just needs to polish her craft more.

This book was heavy on the mental health focus, anxiety and PTSD, and was really well done. Charming small town and all the cobbler you could enjoy. And the bingo!

What didn’t work for me was the couple as a couple. There was a heavy focus on their sexual attraction and not the actually relationship developing. I had a hard time investing in their romance.

Aja Owens was in the middle of a meltdown when she met Walker Abbott for the first time. Never in her wildest dreams did she believe there would be a second encounter, and at Bingo Night of all places. Mercifully, even when Walker realizes Aja and then woman he met that night are one in the same, he doesn’t treat her differently. If anything, he finds it refreshing to meet someone who lives with anxiety like he does.

See, Walker is a worrier too-his anxiety compounded by the fact that he’s back in the one place he hoped to never return to. But with his grandmother needing his help, he temporarily returns to a town that’s full of more bad memories than good ones.

So when Walker and Aja begin to bond, things get murky. Pretty soon staying just friends feels next to impossible. They begin a no strings attached relationship, as a friendly bet, but each quickly learns what they didn’t expect to wager were their hearts.

Bet on It was an interesting romance with a bit of a split personality. In the beginning, Walker and Aja both come across as shy, even awkward around one another. But around the halfway mark, things heat up tremendously, so much so that their very steamy hookups ring untrue with how the the characters are depicted in the first half of the story.

Another thing that irked me was the male narration in the audio. I didn’t feel like the narrator matched what a white man named Walker would sound like. In fact, besides the stray mention of his being Caucasian, and the cover itself, there’s no discussion of their’s being an interracial romance, which felt like a missed opportunity. Instead, the focus was on the mental health angle. Important? Yes. Inconsistent in its approach?Somewhat so.

I really enjoyed Bet on It! This book started off sweet and then took an unexpected super steamy turn! I loved Aja but I didn’t really care for Walker. I appreciated the mental health rep and seeing how the characters dealt with it and grew from their experiences. I also thought the Bingo aspect was a unique twist on this romcom!

Cutesy and just what the doctor ordered.

I could t help but fall in love! Aja is adorable and great, she deserves the world. Laugh out loud moments at the bingo hall and throughout the story.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

Unfortunately, this one just didn't grab me. I DNFed about 30% in. I didn't have an interest in the characters or care what was going on.

*Thank you @stmartinspress for the copy in exchange for an honest review. Review not posted to Amazon/Goodreads because less than 4 stars or DNF.*

I liked the plus size and mental health representation in this book. It had a LOT of representation actually. Maybe too much in what i wanted in a romcom but Im glad i read it!

Walker and Aja were an interesting couple. Both transplants to this small town, they bonded as friends (sort of) and it wildly went off the rails. They don't really fit into each other's careful life plan... but aren't plans meant to be broken? Can they find enough common ground to realize taking on the world together might be the most appealing option out there?

Sending my apologies for not being able to provide a review. I am unable to offer a review for this book - I had sent it to my kindle to read and the file did not download properly. Unfortunately the book has been archived and I'm unable to re-send it.

Cute, but ultimately forgettable. I didn't connect with the characters enough to really root for them together, but the representation it gave for anxiety, etc., is obviously important.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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I really enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters, as well as how they dealt with their struggles.

As someone who suffers from anxiety, it was really refreshing to read about it in a book as more than ‘this character had a panic attack,’ or ‘I felt my chest tighten,’ because that’s not all anxiety is, and it made me feel more seen than most books with anxious characters do, which I really appreciated.

Bet On It is a pretty sweet mix of found family mix of good-hearted elderly bingo partners and friends to lovers built on a small town backdrop with anxiety issues. (I don't think I really sold it the way I wanted to but it's all there).

Aja first meets Walker in the frozen foods aisle in the local Piggly Wiggly whilst having a panic attack. She's embarrassed but being that she'll never meet that kind stranger again, she decides she will deal with it. Then her bingo buddy brings her oft-talked-about grandson, Walker. Cue the second panic attack meet cute.

I really enjoyed how the author managed two very different feeling aspects of anxiety and panic disorders. Aja and Walker were a cute couple and I absolutely adore pairings that start from a no-strings pact. LOL, it is always endlessly funny how they never work out. (I know I'm simple like that) Aja and Walker complemented each other well and the smexy times were pretty hot. The secondary characters, small-town backdrop, and the bingo antics really added a layer of levity to what can sometimes be a very sobering topic.

All in all, I really enjoyed the book and look forward to more from the author.

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

A very funny, cosy romance, with PTSD and anxiety rep. For my full review, please see the audiobook edition.