I liked this book, but did not love it, because even though I thought the characters were very well written and I really liked the depiction of their struggles with anxiety and Walker’s PTSD I thought it was tied too neatly. Specially regarding Walker’s dad, sometimes shitty parents are just shitty parents and don’t deserve a redemption act, I really didn’t like that all he had to do was show up and Walker had to forgive him, felt like a plot device to get that 75% into the book break up, but overall I enjoyed it.

If you looking for a little sugar and a whole lot of sexy spice then you need to read Bet on It. Man oh man there is some juicy details in here, definitely not for the faint of heart. A fun com-rom that deals with insecurity,love, family, and the importance of friendships.
Aja loves her nights at Bingo and getting to feel like she's a part of something. Everyone is definitely out of her age range but these people are her friends, and man are they crazy about their love for the game. Line up your cars a certain way, multiple cards, and you must be able to read them all fast! One night an incredibly good looking man comes in with his Gram to play Bingo and Aja is speechless and all things clumsy. It's rare to see people around her age and defiantly not that good looking. The two bound over family issues and past hurts, but mostly over their bet....a bingo-based sex agreement! It's really hard to hold back on all the sexual tension between the two of them, but a bet is a bet, or is it?

Aja Owens is a woman I can relate to. Having panic attacks in the frozen food section of the Piggly Wiggly. Trying to pretend everything is fine if she can just breathe through it and not see anyone she knows. Unfortunately, the attractive man behind her needs his ice cream.

Later when she goes to the Bingo place, her elderly lady sitting next to her has brought her grandson with her. And yes, it’s the ice cream guy. The man who saw her panicking in the store. And he wants to know more about her. She’s not so sure she wants anyone in her life.

Walker Abbott lives in Charleston. There is not one thing he likes about his grandmother’s home, Greenbelt. Well, except for the peach cobbler at the local diner. He’s helping his grandmother and counting the days until he can get out of this town. Until Aja.

He is going to shake up her world until she shakes up his.

This was funny and emotional and had a lot of anxiety that I could identify with. Cute story with some funny characters and Bingo.

NetGalley/July 12th, 2022 by St. Martin’s

Friends to lovers? Forced-ish proximity? Small town? Whatever trope just plain worked in this story! First, Jodie Slaughter knows how to write mental health rep with a realistic and empathetic lens. I fell for Aja and Walker from the first chapter and enjoyed every page of this story as their relationship developed. Their understanding, deep appreciation and care for each other was beautiful, then the steam built up and....YES! This is a romance not to be missed.

Aja encounters Walker in the freezer aisle of her grocery store while having a panic attack. Walker is both patient and understanding during their encounter. Yet she is perfectly fine with never seeing him again. Except it turns out Walker is the grandson of her friend and Wednesday bingo partner and he’s just returned back to town. Suddenly, Walker is everyone Aja goes but maybe that’s not such a bad thing? Walker can’t wait until his grandmother is healed and he can return back to the life he’s made for himself in Charleston and not have to deal with the trauma associated with his return, that is until he met Aja.

I think this struck the right balance in terms of super cute romance and “omg did they just bang in the parking lot of the bingo hall” kind of smut. This is on the heavier (?) side of smut so those who try to avoid it you have been forewarned. I will say that the scenes leading up to the two characters falling for each other felt lacking. They just kind of fell into it and I would have liked to have seen some more interactions or catalyst events leading up that actualization. That part lacked “oomph” if you will?

This book offered great representation in terms of mental health. Both characters struggled in their own ways and both were portrayed in realistic ways that had you sympathising with them. While the book delved into some heavier topics it generally kept a lighter, romantic tone but I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a rom-com.

Also, I really would have preferred if everyone in the town stopped referring to him as Wally. There is nothing sexy about a Wally (as opposed to a Walker). I apologise to any Wallys I may have just offended in my review but sometimes the truth hurts.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

so cute and heartwarming! i loved the character growth seen in aja through out the book. i liked how real the characters felt especially when it came to dealing with mental health, i thought the author portrayed ptsd and panic disorder very realistically as well as life in a small town. i would recommend this book to readers who enjoyed get a life, chloe brown and the other books in the brown sister series

I loved this book! Aja and Walker are everything. The real talk about anxiety was on point. The body positivity was phenomenal because it was there but it wasn’t a statement or anything to overcome. Aja is fat and happy and beautiful, period. I don’t have firsthand experience with the kind of trauma and PTSD that Walker was dealing with but it felt well-handled as an outsider. And all of this was cushioned in a fun Bingo-based sex pact with SPICE 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Original romcoms are hard to come by, so add this to your TBR. I hope to see more fun, sexy diverse romances from Slaughter in the future - she could become an autobuy author for me. This was a free ARC from NetGalley, but I plan to purchase a copy for my collection when it’s released. 4.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley, St Martin’s Publishing Group, and Jodie Slaughter for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is my first time reading something by this author and I really enjoyed it. The story caught my attention from the beginning and held it all the way through. True to its genre, this book was not only fun and hilarious, but it also dealt with difficult and serious issues such as mental health. The author takes a realistic approach to this topic and I like the way it was handled with sensitivity, but also reality. Aja suffers from anxiety attacks, and when she is in the grocery store she is hit by one. A stranger, Walker, recognizes what is happening and offers to help her. Fate brings them together again and they both really connected. They aren't looking for a relationship, so they make a bet which keeps things light and fun, without any commitment. The romance was intense, and the story was filled with emotion and heart. Both Aja and Walker are so vulnerable yet they are exactly what the other needs. Both characters were well-developed and were relatable and endearing. The storyline was well-crafted and definitely held my interest till the end. I enjoyed the story and am hoping to read more by this author in the future.

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

When I first saw the plus sized character on the cover I was immediately concerned. How many time have I read a book or seen a movie or show that makes a mockery of someone who isn’t rail thin? I was very pleased with the body positivity in this book. Not only that, it was fun and enjoyable even while dealing with hard topics 🧡

Bet on It
➖rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️’s
➖steam: 2.5/5 🌶‘s

This was such a lovely read! It was sweet and spicy (which is everything I want it a romcom), but it also had such relevant mental health representation! Aja struggled with anxiety while Walker struggled with PTSD and I appreciated how carefully and honestly those were both portrayed throughout the story. Aja & Walker are such genuine and well-developed characters and seeing them learn to trust each other with their pain and struggles was so rewarding as a reader.

what I loved:
➖the bingo theme!!
➖a+ character growth
➖the body positivity!!
➖realistic mental health rep
➖small town setting

Overall this book just worked so well for me and I absolutely can’t wait to buy a physical copy. Thank you so much to Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed the premise of this - I thought it was really unique and interesting! I also appreciated the way anxiety and PTSD were portrayed, the author took a lot of care with both the characters and readers (I also appreciated the trigger warnings in the front of the book!). The third act breakup felt very authentic to the story, and neither church said horrible things to the other. My biggest issue with the book is pacing - it felt off to me, and I felt like the chapters sometimes ended in weird places and I wanted more from the scenes. But overall, I really enjoyed this and I’m excited for what comes next from Jodi Slaughter! It felt a little like she was laying the groundwork for another character’s romance and I’m very intrigued.

I thought this book was really cute and simple. After reading so many heavy fantasy novels, this was a nice break. It was light hearted and fun! ⁣
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I liked that the point of view was written from both Aja and Walkers perspectives because I was able to better understand their thoughts and feelings. This was an important aspect to me because the book centralized around mental health and having the multiple POVs allowed me to better understand their struggles and how they dealt with them. I personally didn’t feel triggered by anything in this book but just as a warning there is a lot of talk about anxiety, childhood trauma and ptsd. Having said that, there was nothing graphic or disturbing mentioned in the book. I also felt that the author wrote about these mental health problems in a way that could be absorbed by those who personally understand those things and those who have not had experiences with them. ⁣
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As for the romance, I felt as though it was cute, fun and yes a bit cringey. Some of the things they said to each other didn’t feel realistic for me but mostly it just made me chuckle to myself. Who know, maybe people actually do say those things I’ve just never heard them! I enjoyed watching the relationship blossom from a friendship into something else. Their relationship at all points of the book was positive, uplifting and goofy. ⁣
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Thanks to St Martins (publisher), Jodie Slaughter (author) and NetGalley for the digital ARC!

I love Jodie slaughter books, and this one didn't disappoint. Funny romantic, witty. This book has everything for a great romantic summer read

I was intrigued by the premise of this book, as I believe mental health issues are often part of life. The anxiety disorder of Aja and the PTSD of Walker sounded like a unique and interesting foundation for a romance.
Unfortunately, this book does not contain any romance. It struck me as unlikely that the only aspect of romance that would work in these two was a sex drive. Neither Aja or Walker seemed to be capable of the intimacy that good sex generally requires.
I did like the character growth of Aja as she tried to reach out and make friends. I didn’t like Walker at all since he was content to stay just as he was.
This book did not hold my interest and took me several weeks to force myself to finish. I was disappointed that such a great concept failed to produce a good story.
Thanks to Net Galley, St. Martin's Press and the author for the ARC. I give my honest review voluntarily.

Before going in, I didn't know anything about this book. I downloaded it because it was "read now" and Talia Hibbert had blurbed it. And of course because of the pretty purple cover!

I can now say that blurb feels very fitting because this is a book that I think will appeal to you if you love Talia Hibbert's books! The main character is a fat Black woman with anxiety, and the love interest has PTSD. They actually initially bond because they both get panic attacks!

I have to say the love interest had to grow on me a little, but I love Aja, our main character, from the start. I loved seeing them bond because they were both lonely, and trying desperately to keep things casual when you know that's not going to work.

I also loved Aja, who is lonely in a town where she barely knows anyone, getting adopted by a friend group in the process - some books might have used the love interest as the end-all-be-all to "cure" her loneliness, but the fact is, of course, that friendship is important too.

This was what I needed right now, even though this fun book about small-town bingo also reflected some more serious mental health and family members with addictions issues. The first half worked a bit better for me than the second — I liked the slower burn and the friendship they were building, but then the sexual relationship (both the writing itself and the sex pact that said they could only touch each other if one of them won bingo) didn’t work so much for me and I felt like I missed some scenes where their relationship started to change. But overall I loved the setup, the recognition of how difficult it can be to make adult friendships, having two sensitive people both noticing the slights that others may not, and some generally great examples of communication in articulating why they’re hurting.

Absolutely enjoyable rom-com! Loved everything and that cover is *chef's kiss*!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: July 12, 2022
When Aja meets Walker for the first time, she is in the middle of a grocery store, battling a panic attack. Embarrassed, she desperately tries to avoid him only to run into him again at the local bingo hall, where Aja has unknowingly befriended his kind grandmother. Walker though, is only in town to help his grandmother while she recovers from surgery, and he makes it no secret that he cannot wait to leave the town behind him. Aja hopes to start a life in her new town, and she knows any romance with Walker is doomed to fail.
Jodie Slaughter is a romance novelist, and “Bet On It” is a cute, yet sappy, smoldering story that fits this bill. Walker, a stereotypical White Southern boy, meets Aja, a Black woman from out of state, and they are immediately attracted to each other, though the relationship cannot possibly survive. But of course, star-crossed lovers is the stuff great romance stories are made of.
Aja is a great character, and I immediately connected with her anxiety disorder. Walker, too, suffered from PTSD and anxiety, which formed the basis of their initial connection and subsequent relationship. Slaughter has taken the romance novel into the 21st century, and it made for an instant rapport between character and reader.
I am normally not a romance reader (although I love novelists like Nicholas Sparks, who have just the right amount of sweet and sappy) and “Bet On It” is definitely romantic, but it is also erotic and almost smutty. I am not a fan of novels that are inundated with sex and sexual innuendos, and this novel is RIFE with them. Right from the start, Walker’s internal monologue about Aja made me want to take a shower (I skipped pages of text that were related to “soaking wet panties” and “riding d*@k”, for example). Walker and Aja’s friendships with people from their home towns were juvenile, and their conversations were difficult to read (there was a lot of “hey girl” and “yo bro”, for example) but I did sincerely enjoy the adult, connected friendship between Aja and Miri.
Overall, this novel is a cute Southern romance with two modern millennials who connect over the challenges faced by their psychological disorders. Aja is a charming and admirable character, who I enjoyed immensely, and Walker eventually grows on you. A lot of smut, a little romance, and an occasional Bingo win or two, and “Bet On It” is bound to please.

4.5 stars. Loved it. I feel like this one is going to be a popular read for the romance community this summer. I loved the anxiety/panic attack rep. As well as the plus size rep. I especially loved how they supported each other. What a great read.

One of my first dates with my spouse was in a bingo hall, so Bet On It hooked me immediately! There are so many wonderful parts of this book, it's hard to name just one - body positivity, strong, supportive friendships, healing from trauma, thriving with anxiety, and of course a spicy romance. I enjoyed it from start to finish!