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!

What I most enjoyed about this book was how the two main characters were so caring and understanding about each other's mental health struggles. I am loving seeing all of the representation in books recently. Ajah and Walker are both upfront about their anxiety and PTSD respectively. Sadly, I did not feel as if they had other facets to their personalities. They were one dimensional which made it hard to feel any connection to them. I loved the idea of two characters seeing each others vulnerabilities and falling in love but I was mostly bored by this book. Nothing seems to happen as pages drag on. This one did not work for me,

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

This contemporary romance novel was a fun one for me. It has lots of great representation that I liked a lot.(Black heroine, biracial couple, plus-size, mental health) While I write this, I am waffling between 3.5 and 4 stars. It was a good read but I had a little trouble getting into it. I liked both characters but had trouble connecting with the characters as a couple. The spice level was good and the bingo theme was very fun!

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martins Press for a complementary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I always love a book that focuses on mental health and body positivity! This was a fun, steamy read! I will definitely be reading more by Jodie Slaughter

This is a sweet and STEAMY contemporary romance that also handles issues of mental health.
Aja has moved to Greenbelt, SC from D.C. for a slower pace of life and to help her deal with her anxiety and panic attacks. She meets Walker in the Piggly Wiggly as he notices she is having a panic attack and helps her through it. He also happens to be the grandson of her bingo partner, Ms. May, and has PTSD from a rough childhood.
They form a bingo sex pact and things get hot and heavy from there.
I liked how Slaughter incorporated both Aja's and Walker's anxiety/panic attack issues and their situations were very realistic. Aja's trying to not overthink everything and is even making new friends in Greenbelt.
I also liked that Aja is unapologetically fat and her weight is not even an issue.
A good read. Recommended for fans of Talia Hibbert.

4.5 stars! I really, really loved this one *dreamy sigh*

Definitely for you if you enjoy:
- Strangers to lovers
- Fat character who isn’t self deprecating
- Dual POV

tw: descriptions of anxiety and panic attacks, mentions of drug abuse

When Aja moves to Greenbelt for more quiet in her life and in her mind, she doesn’t expect to have a panic attack at the grocery store in front of a hot guy. She’s embarrassed and is trying to move on with her life but when she goes to the weekly bingo night, she finds that her favorite older bingo friend is walking in with the same hot guy who happens to be her grandson, Walker, who’s here to help take care of her while she recovers from a fall.

Walker is absolutely here only for his grandmother and is gonna book it back home when she feels better. He can’t stand Greenbelt, the bad memories, the rumors and the people who spread them. Dealing with the aftermath and his PTSD is hard enough but when he meets Aja, his life changes. When the sexual tension between them is too much, they decide on a bingo-based bet to sleeping together. They both know Walker will leave soon and it can’t mean more but when they spend more and more time together, it’s impossible not to think of some way it could maybe work for them both.

📚

Oh my gosh what a book!!! I really loved this one. It was sweet as much as it was serious. The main characters were so lovable, the supporting cast was so fun and the topics discussed were talked about with lots of care.

Aja and Walker were written so greatly. I love a fat character who just gets to be. No snide comments from people or the love interest, no self deprecating comments, no woe-is-me talk. Just a fat character existing and that made my heart soar! Walker was so southern in the way he was written and I felt all of it. The way both characters describe their anxiety to one another were with kindness and it was really nice to read that on that level of understanding. Usually it’s just one person having it and the love interest trying to understand or something. I appreciated that they both were able to understand one another.

The dialogue in this book was fun and I love a more dialogue heavy book. I also adored the supporting cast in this. They were all fun and supportive without being overbearing. It was just a perfect mix.

I think there was probably more complexities to dive into with both characters that would’ve made this a 5/5 for me but I still loved this one. Sometimes when I get ARCs, I don’t buy the physical books but I think with this one, I definitely definitely definitely will!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sending this to me in exchange for a honest review.

•• Received a copy for review.**

I loved Aja & Walker. There were so many things that were relatable, specifically small towns and how they work. Walker’s experience was heartbreaking but so true of small towns. Everyone knows your business, and they never let you forget it. You pay for the sins of your family and they build boxes around who they decide you are and expect you stay in those walls.
I loved that they meet in a bingo hall. Another small town thing. It’s the place to be in some towns. Prior to casinos, it was the way to win some money while socializing.
Jodi Slaughter made this book the perfect balance between sweet, serious, and very sexy.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did…but I think it’s more of a personal preference for me rather than a fault with the author’s writing. The slow burn romance was amazing. The author let the sexual tension really build up over the whole book in a way that felt natural. I loved the amount of diverse characters and how vocal everyone was about their mental health and anxieties. Sometimes it’s hard to include these issues without coming off as preachy, but the author made it really natural. I also really liked all the side-characters, which is always important to me.

However, the banter between the two characters just felt…off to me. I can’t put my finger on why. There were sections that were just a hair to cheesy I guess? I wasn’t jarring but I just wasn’t into it. The plot line itself wast just okay. It was sort of high-stakes, but I had a really hard time getting invested in it.

Overall I liked the book a lot, it just didn’t have that extra thing that made me love the book.

The cover of this book was the first thing that caught my attention because I love bingo, and it’s a tradition in my family to play on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. However, what truly made me want to read it was the blurb. Stories that involve mental health are my favorite, and this one was a very beautiful, special one.

Before I begin with my review, I want to encourage everyone to check the trigger warnings at the end of the caption, and also on Jodie’s website. Every topic dealt with in this book is treated with care and while it’s very raw and real at some points, it doesn’t feel triggering. This story will help people without anxiety to understand people who suffer it, and I think that’s very important.

The romance was intense and wonderful. Even though there was a time limit for them, Aja and Walter can’t help falling in love because they understood each other deeply. This isn’t a story about healing thanks to love, which, in my opinion, is wrong. This is a story about learning to trust someone else with your pain and letting them be there for you while you hurt. Both Aja and Walter deserved this beautiful, pure connection, and everything that happened was perfect for them. Theirs was one of the most deserved happily ever after I’ve seen since I started reading romance.

I strongly recommend this book if you feel like it could be for you. I wish it came out sooner so everyone could read it ASAP. You’re in for tons of southern accents, the sweetest peach cobbler, beautiful, accepting friendships, bingo nights and great steam mingled with deep, emotional conversations.

TW: PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, parent neglect, drug abuse, panic attacks.

Rating: 4.5/5
Steam: 2.5/5

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for my advance review copy!

A spicy rom-com with anxiety/PTSD/mental health rep! truly wonderful and emotional story that centers around bingo. The first time Aja meets Walker she is having an anxiety attack in a grocery store. Walker does a simple act of kindness and stays by her until the attack passes. The author does a great job talking about how anxiety can effect different parts of your life. It was such a feel good and relatable book for me. I wish I had friends like Aja’s and Walker’s. The friends and family in this book are so loving and supportive.

I received this book complimentary from NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

This was so sweet! I really liked both Aja and Walker. I love the trauma history and just the story of it all! It was well written and sweet. I enjoyed this one.

This is just as much a book about living with mental health issues (specifically anxiety & PTSD) as it is a lovely romance, and I think that is so important. I loved watching this story unfold and getting both Aja and Walker’s insight into not only their feelings for each other, but also how they approach the world around them. Plus, Jodie Slaughter brought some heat in this one! I don’t think I’ll ever look at peach cobbler and not think of this book.

Because of the nature of going in depth with the characters’ respective mental health issues, this is a little heavier read than I anticipated, but it was still extremely enjoyable & that just added a layer that I believe needs to be expressed more often in romance novels!

This book is more than just a sweet romance. Which of course it really is that too. But I like how the author deals so realistically with panic attacks and mental health issues in such a positive way. Also. The characters are just so funny and feel like people you want to hang out with.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy.

Looking for a contemporary romance with a bingo-based sex pact and a main character with an anxiety disorder? This is the book for you! Slaughter is a new to me author- I enjoyed reading this one.

This book! Fiction featuring people who live with mental illness is increasingly common, but few books have captured it so accurately or with as much sensitivity. Even better, the romance at the book's heart is charming. And the smut. It's...verrrry smutty. All in all, a terrific find.

I was so looking forward to this new book! Unfortunately it fell a bit short for me and felt like it was missing something perhaps. That said, I support the author and will definitely check out her future novels.

Fun, sexy, and emotional, I loved this debut! The characters felt so real, and the author's gentle and honest portrayal of anxiety was not only poignant, but life-giving!

This was a wonderful book by a fabulous new to me author. I enjoyed the characters and plot in this story and I absolutely will read more books by this author.