3.5 stars!

I hadn't read Lacie Waldon's other books, but I was intrigued by the small-town, forced proximity, rivals/enemies to lovers, grumpy (MMC Carter)/sunshine (FMC Jess) premise of 'The Only Game in Town." The townspeople of Redford, GA have recently lost one of their own, Jasper, who was Carter's filthy rich grandfather. Carter helped Jasper with a secret covert mission while he was alive to make the lives of Redford's residents easier with his money. Jasper's will states that the people of the town will be able to compete in a series of games to try and win his vast fortune. No one loved Redford quite like Jess, and she really needs the money for a shocking problem that has just come up. To tell you the truth, EVERYONE in town needs the money for different reasons. Unfortunately, every single Redfordonian seems to be paired up with their least favorite person, sometimes even a sworn enemy. Carter and Jess slowly start to spend more time with one another, but as the games get increasingly wackier and the stakes get higher and higher, the reality of their situation starts to sink in.

There is a lot to like about this book. It's got a lot of fun banter and tons of zany scenarios to keep readers entertained. I found myself invested in Jess and Carter's blossoming relationship, and their scenes together are great. I liked Carter's character arc, but he was a bit too self-absorbed where Jasper's fortune was concerned. I also really like Nikki's character development, even if she is an absolute jerk for the first half of the book. Jess got a little annoying at times, though. She was a really immature character, masking her real feelings underneath yards and yards of glitter and rainbows (and this is coming from someone who loves glitter and rainbows). She borders on "manic-pixie-dream-girl" territory. She's just sOoOo QuIrKy that she didn't feel like a real, grounded person/character! In fact, a lot about this book is quirky for little to no reason other than the obvious "look at this cozy, small town, don't you wish you lived there instead of the big, bad city where no one knows their neighbors?". It feels like Waldon was trying way too hard to recreate the magic of "Gilmore Girls," but with only half as much success. I thought the story dragged at some points. It might be because there are a few too many games and no clear-cut rules until the very end. It might be because there are a lot of random subplots, some of which go nowhere and are obviously only introduced for the sake of adding more drama (what happens with Jess's dad really made me angry...I hate when stuff like this gets added into stories for shock value and then gets dealt with off-the-page!!!). It could have been because of the multiple POVs that come and go willy-nilly. Jess, her sworn enemy Nikki, her dad Ross, Carter, and tons of people get a point of view here, and not all of them are necessary. Be aware that this is a fade-to-black, closed-door romance with only some making out directly on the page.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lacie Waldon, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

I’m not sure I’m going to do justice to Lacie Waldon’s engaging novel, The Only Game in Town. It’s amusing, relaxing, and the little bit of conflict in this story is easily handled. I like the people of Redford, Georgia, and it’s just fun to watch them compete for one week.

Jess Reid loves her small hometown. Nothing changes. That’s one reason she returned home after college, to be close to her father, Ross. He was a single father who raised her after her mother left, and they enjoy spending time with each other. But, Ross hasn’t looked too good lately, and Jess worries.

She hadn’t worried about Jasper Wilhelm, the town’s eccentric benefactor who always made life fun in Redford. He kept the town going with his events and made-up holidays. Now, that Jasper’s dead, he has one last surprise in store for the town.

Jasper’s grandson, Carter Barclay is finally in Redford. He and his grandfather had been close, and Jasper had a way of bringing out the less-stodgy side of Carter. But, Carter couldn’t ever bring himself to visit the town his grandfather loved. Now, he’s stuck here for at least a week, due to his grandfather’s plan.

Jasper Wilhelm devised one last game for the residents of Redford. He has multiple challenges for them, and the winning team will split ten million dollars. The town’s already planning their teams, until Jasper’s lawyer announces that the philanthropist matched the teams himself. Why would he form teams made of people who were feuding?

Jess wants that money to help her father. Carter thinks his grandfather intended him to win so he could continue to help the town secretly. They may be on opposing teams, but from the evening Carter rescued Jess from three of the mean girls in town, they can’t see enough of each other. Jess’ joy in life lights up the community. Carter, a stick in the mud, needs that spark in his life. But, this game may be their downfall.

There are several narrators in this charming story, but it works. Those narrators add depth, bringing the characters to life, with all their pettiness and flaws. And, the game itself! Jasper Wilhelm had a devilish streak when he invented those challenges. The Only Game in Town is entertaining. Just a refreshing change of pace.

The Only Game in Town was a cute and sweet romcom.

When Jasper died he left 10 million dollars to the town of Redford. The only catch: only 1 team could win it during a competition and he picked the teams.

I loved Jasper’s game and how it brought the town together.

I loved the most of the characters. The main characters were great and the side characters were even better.

I definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for a feel good romance.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Putnam for a copy of The Only Game in Town exchange of an honest review.

Read if you like:
🏘️ Small Town Romances
💋 Forced Proximity
💰 Rivals to Lovers
#️⃣ Multiple POV
↔️ Opposites Attract

This one has such a cute premise and I was so excited to read it! I love the idea of forced proximity with the town competition keeping them in each other’s orbit as they are competing for the money, but are paired with their enemy/opposite.

The meet cute for these characters was so fun and loved seeing the way they worked together so quickly when the mean girls came up to them.

However, this one is so much more than a romance, it’s truly about the town, the people in it, relationships, and fun challenges mixed in to help tell the story.

If you want a fun and competitive small town romance plus some, definitely check this one out from Putnam Group. Thank you so much for my ARC in exchange for my thoughts!

DNF at 30%

I tried so hard to keep reading this book. But the truly ridiculous premise, total lack of chemistry between the leads, and constantly changing POVs just made it impossible to keep reading.

A wealthy benefactor, Jasper Wilhelm, leaves 10 million dollars to a pair of residents in his small town. The catch is that they have to compete for it with a partner that he has already chosen for them. Carter, Jasper’s grandson must also compete. He is the only outsider and the residents of Redford are not sure what his motives are. Jess loves her hometown so much that she moved back and would love to use that money. Carter and Jess find themselves competing and confiding in each other along the way. Sparks fly and choices need to be made.

This was a fun romance. Good chemistry between the love interests. I loved all of the characters in the town and the small town vibe. The premise was pretty unbelievable but it made for a cute story. Not really sure about Nikki’s story, it was kind of all over the place, and the friendship with Jess’ dad was odd. Loved Carter and Jess though ❤️

3 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Only Game in Town is the perfect blend of The Westing Game and the small-town feel of Gilmore Girls.

Growing up The Westing Game was one of my favorite books, I owned a copy that I had completely destroyed from reading it so many times. The moment I read the guidelines for the game devised by Jasper Wilhelm, I was transported back to the feeling of reading the same thing in The Westing Game for the first time. Hello childhood nostalgia.

I adored EVERYTHING about this book. I loved the crazy cast of characters especially Jess and Carter, the bond that Jess has with her dad, and the crazy cast of characters that inhabit Redford. Having multiple POVs for a book like this was just perfect for this book.

Hands down The Only Game in Town is one of my favorite reads of 2023.

I'm always a fan of a small town romance, so I was really excited to read The Only Game in Town!

And overall, I found this to be a cute, charming rom com read. I wasn't overly attached to the characters or their love story, but I was engaged enough to fly through the book. I enjoyed the premise of a town competition, and the dynamics amongst all the town members.

Overall, I think this is a cute rom com and fans of small town, closed door romance will enjoy this one!

Thank you Putnam Books for the gifted copy.

I loved this book! It is the perfect book to get you in the mood for summer and to fall in love with! LaCie Waldron has done it again with the perfect rom-com to fall I love with

This book just wasn’t cutting it for me. I’ve loved the author’s previous works, so this was really disappointing. The small town setting usually endears me to the characters and the location, but it seemed way too over the top in this book and forced. The challenge had an interesting premise, but again I just don’t like how it was executed. I think the author sped up the character development to the point where it was just unbelievable. Additionally, I didn’t love Jess as the main character. She was one dimensional and had like two character traits: she put her dad first and she was ~not like the other girls~ The amount of times the author mentioned she was quirky was insane. The only thing we know about her is that she wears interesting clothes combinations…but is otherwise totally normal?! I just didn’t see it.

Really thought I would like this more than I did. It was fine, just fine. There was a little to much going on. Felt like we didn’t get enough time to dive in and enjoy any of the elements because there was too much going on. With all the side characters and stuff it’s almost like this book needed to be a series instead of just one book.

Quirky, zany, a little crazy, funny, and an ode to small towns that make you feel like you belong.
The middle of the story dragged a little and I wasn’t sure where it was going but I ended up liking the book!

3.5 stars

There were a lot of POVs so it took a bit to get connected to the characters. I didn’t get into the romance as much from the story, it seemed to be more about the game.

This book was nothing what I was expecting but I so enjoyed it! It had an Inheritance Games vibe mixed with quirky small town characters and a romance. I was hooked from the beginning. I loved how the game unfolded and how the teams were determined. Throw in some shenanigans, a heartwarming father/daughter story, and a city slicker slowly seeing how charming small town life can be and you've got a great read to curl up with!

I like this Author’s writing, but this book fell a little flat for me. I found it pretty boring. I did like the multiple POVs and the small town setting. There was a serious issue in the book that wasn’t taken seriously, in my opinion. Overall, I was disappointed in this one.

DNF at 30%. I loved From the Jump, and even though I knew going in that this book was going to be "not a romance" and have different pacing, I still couldn't manage to get into the book or stay focused enough to read it. I was just clicking through the pages on my Kindle.
I think this book may be good for readers who like multiple POV, who like some adventure and mystery with their romance, and love the charm of a small town. I will read other books by Lacie in the future, but this one just did not capture my attention enough to be invested to finish it.
Thank you G.P. Putnam's Sons for the advanced copy.

Wholesome, sweet, and a fun story but I was wanting more romance and felt like the storytelling was a little off. Maybe because of all the different povs but all in third person- I didn’t feel like that added much to the story. I think the first half of this book was really strong but it felt flat in the second half to me- I wanted more connection and depth but a lot of the miscommunication and relationships felt petty or lacking. If the romance had kicked in stronger at 40% I think this could have been a lot higher but they seriously didn’t kiss until 75%! I would label this women’s fiction not romance.

Overall, I enjoyed it but I liked The Layover a lot more. It is closed door, very little suggestive content and very little language. I really appreciated that in this day and age. I think a lot of people will enjoy this, just go in expecting more of a women’s small town fiction than a romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I loved this book so much. Lacie has such a great gift on bringing to life a whole town in this story. It felt wholesome and uplifting and the sweet romance parts made it even better.

I liked the cast of characters, some really reliable ones and some unbelievable but so true to the real world. The interactions were hilarious at times and the game was on when I knew who would win the big prize in the end.

A beautiful story about what human beings means when it comes to a big community that is brought together not only for the win but for helping each other and acceptance. The love story is not missing and this book could easily be made into a hallmark movie.

Arc review

What a quick, fun read! This book had me laughing out loud with some super fun challenges in this competition! I loved how Jasper paired up the teams. It was so heartwarming how some of the friendships were mended through this game.

I loved the small town setting…it had a Sweet Home Alabama kind of feel to it. All of the great characters that really made this book special. I absolutely loved Carter and Jess was so much fun with her colorful clothes/outlook on life.

I really enjoy Lacie's writing style. This is the second book that I have read of hers and I can't wait to read more!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam & Lacie Waldon for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

this wasnt really my taste personally. there was so many different povs going on personally it was hard for me to follow.