I really loved this one in the beginning but the romance fell short for me. :( The main female character was so relatable too which is why I was so sad this one fell flat.

I really appreciated the mental health representation and I thought the steamy scenes were done well! Super cute, I enjoyed it.

Aja offers a very relatable journey with her life and friendships. I felt very drawn in by the struggles with her anxiety and panic attacks; hit close to home. The way in which the author handled it was perfect. It wasn't sensationalized and it wasn't a put down on Aja as a person, it was just part of who she was, plain and simple.

That being said, the over all connection between Walker and Aja seemed more lusty than full on romance; him focused on her butt and her focused on his broad shoulders. Don't get me wrong, there was plenty of spice, there just wasn't enough to fully grab me.

Certainly glad I was granted a copy of this to review as I did enjoy it.

The mental health representation is so on point in this novel!! I appreciate that the first moments that we find our love interests meeting is during Aja’s panic attack at the Piggly Wiggly. Seeing how Walker and Aja both deal with anxiety throughout the novel is also great.

And a bingo sex pact? I’m so in.

I always love when older adults are side characters in romance novels, and bingo is such a fun setting that Aja feels at home in. The fact that Walker is her bingo buddy’s grandson is a great catalyst for a friendship(and more) after their initial meeting.

There was plenty of spice, and I appreciate any time we normalize mental and menstrual health in romance! Period cramps aren’t sexy, but they happen, and I liked that this story feels more real because of it.

This is one I intend to revisit and would highly recommend!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced review copy of “Bet On It” by Jodie Slaughter. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

I greatly appreciate the author including content warnings at the beginning. That being said, I found the first chapter very stressful and overwhelming and it didn’t make me want to keep reading. I do think having representation in literature about panic attacks and mental illness is important and some readers will appreciate seeing themselves in the pages, I find these kinds of books overwhelming and exhausting to get through. Romance as a genre absolutely has room for more mental health representation, but usually when I’m reaching for a romance book I want a different experience. I have to it myself in the right headspace to read a book dealing with heavy mental health discussions and I am so rarely in the headspace to tackle that and that’s totally on me. I need to know my limits more and stick to the kinds of romance books that don’t overwhelm me.

Again, I greatly appreciate the trigger warnings and I hope these become more common place in romance stories.

A story of sweet and steamy romance and lots of mental health rep! Overall cute but not a memorable one for me.

Aja moves to a small town due to her anxiety issues and on her weekly Bingo night meets Ms. May's grandson, Wally. Only she had met him before when she was having a panic attack in the Piggly Wiggly. This is labeled as a romance but honestly I didn't feel it. I didn't really connect with the characters. They seemed kind of awkward and instead of meaningful conversations for the most part it was just lusting after his broad shoulders and her big behind. By the time I got to the end I just didn't care. I wasn't feeling it.

I'm giving it 3 stars rounded up from 2.5.

Also this is definitely not a closed door romance. This one is definitely open door and all the windows too.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital copy.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I feel like it could be better advertised for what it is which isn't as cute and fluffy as it seems

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for sending me an early copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!

As someone with an anxiety disorder, I would like to start by saying that this book was very well done. Both Aja and Walker learn about themselves and their own strength. They were both so understanding and open with one another, even when it hurt, and I appreciated that. It was refreshing to not have to watch characters deal with the daily things like being shamed by those around them or being told it's all in their heads. I loved the way that they grew and healed and didn't give up parts of themselves to do it.

I really loved their romance and thought it was adorable and sexy at the same time. The whole bingo concept was the cutest, and I loved the way it played into their relationship. There was so much gentleness between them and I loved the way they fit so perfectly together.

I also really enjoyed the plus sized representation and the way that nothing was ever really said about Aja other than how gorgeous she was. She was such a powerful character and her confidence even in the midst of her anxiety was so inspirational. I loved that every part of her was so authentically her and that she never shied away from any of it.

If you're a romcom fan, check this one out! I *bet* you'll fall in love!

Thank you to NetGalley, Jodie Slaughter and St Martin’s Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a quick and easy read that really shows different aspects of mental health issues and how each person deals with them so uniquely. I really loved the characters and I found I didn’t want to stop reading.

This book is probably the most serious contemporary romance I've read. The anxiety representation is spot on. A lot of real-life stuff in this one. The timeline was all kinds of fucked up. Like it literally didn't make sense sometimes. The ending was extremely rushed.

3.5 stars

Really enjoyable! I loved the grandparents and the bingo hall setting too! I thought that their relationship was really well written

I enjoyed this book but also felt a little hoodwinked. I was expecting a light rom com and got a fairly spicy yet also spicy take that missed the rom com part. There were glimpses of humour, yes, but I was left struggling with what their relationship was based on. (Lust? Similar trauma? Any connection beyond that at all?) The sexy scenes were sexy. The representation and inclusion of mental health issues are important. It wasn't a poorly written book, it just wasn't what I was looking for.

There were some great moments in this book! I liked the characters and the 'meet cute' and overall i am glad i read it. I did find, especially towards the end we were 'telling not showing' in the internal monologues of both the main characters, which did take me out of it a bit. All in all a good spicy read (as long as you don't mind nicknames . . . :) ) Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings for this book include mentions of anxiety, drug abuse and child endangerment. Unfortunately, I was unaware of these when I first requested this book. I was also a little misled by the cover as it seemed to indicate it would be more of a light-hearted romantic comedy.

Instead, it included important representation but very heavy material. I was also turned off of this book by Walker's POV - some of his internal language felt off-putting to me. Unfortunately, I DNF'd this book at the beginning of Chapter 4. Although this work was not a good fit for me, I think others may really enjoy this work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so cute, and was such a fun read, I highly recommend! The plot kept me hooked in, and the banter between the characters was so entertaining. All the characters were so well developed. I love this book so much, 5/5 stars!

Bonding at bingo night leads to happily ever after in Jodie Slaughter's Bet on It, a small-town romance that blends the sultry and sweet. Black social media manager Aja Owens has moved to Greenbelt, S.C., for her mental health and is a regular at the local bingo hall, but she hasn't yet made the kind of close friends she'd hoped for. White journalist Walker Abbott has just arrived back in his hometown to help his grandmother, Aja's favorite bingo buddy, after an injury. Aja is in the middle of a panic attack in a grocery store when she first meets Walker, who is familiar with the symptoms from his own experience. He decides to sit and wait it out with her. When they next see each other at bingo, sparks fly.

As could be expected from a novel with a no-sex pact, Bet on It is steamy like a South Carolina evening, but Slaughter (White Whiskey Bargain) balances the heat with humor and compatibility and gives both characters arcs of their own. Aja decides to step out of her routine and makes some close friends. Reconciling with the grandmother who raised him, Walker faces his painful past and the townspeople who made him desperate to leave home. Mental health is an important part of each character's identity, and Slaughter doesn't pretend their struggles are cured by love. Instead, she shows two people supporting and loving the whole of each other. A fun romance with a big heart, Bet on It is a winner.

This was my first book by Jodie Slaughter. I really liked that she chose to highlight the struggles of having an anxiety disorder. Both Aja and Walker are dealing with this.
I had a hard time with feeling a connection between Aja and Walker, but truly enjoyed the personal emotional growth both characters.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It was very cute however it wasn’t a book where I said wow! I must reread that. It was a one and done for me which is okay. I did like the ending a bit better

2.5 ⭐️

I wanted to love this but I couldn’t get that into it. I liked it and was invested enough to finish it - I liked both of the characters independently and empathized with them, but I didn’t think they had that much chemistry together. And that pact was … kinda lame. I mean bingo is kinda lame already, but in an endearing way!

I stuck with this, and I think the ending might have redeemed it a little? But this wasn’t really for me, unfortunately!