I’ve loved every book by Lacie Walden so far, so it’s no surprise this one was amazing as well! This takes place in the small town of Redford where everyone knows everything. When a rich community member dies, he creates a town-wide game to win a $10 million prize. We’re following Jess: a book editor who loves her town, Nikki: her sworn high school enemy, Ross: Jess’ loving father, and Carter: the grandson of recently deceased and new to town.

This story is so much more than a typical love story, but instead about friendship, family, and community. Definitely add this one to your bookshelves when it hits stores!

THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN is a perfect read for those who love Hallmark movies set in small towns. It would be an especially fun read for those who like closed-door romances.

For me, however, THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN was disappointing. It wasn't a terrible book. It was quaint and cute. But it fell flat for me compared to Lacie's two other novels.

THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN is geared more towards women's fiction. The romance between Jess and Carter takes a backseat to, well, the game in town.

The story is told from multiple points-of-view and I wished for only two points-of-view: Jess and Carter.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Putnam Group for an e-copy of THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN to read.

I rate THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN three out of five stars.

Great weekend read. Nothing better than a small town and the tales that come from it. Great characters, good growth, and a great time!

This was a cute book! Is it a romance? Probably not, but I love a small town-centric story. I'd definitely read it again, and loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

I think i have read everything Lacie Waldon has written. This book was pretty much like the previous ones but i still enjoyed it. I kinda thought i knew how it would end up but it was a cute fun read.

I thought this book was quite good, definitely surprised me! Loved all the different perspectives and getting in the minds of so many characters. Would absolutely recommend this to anyone looking for a fun read!

This was a sweet book about a small town and a race for $10 million. I enjoyed this book but honestly I was expecting more. It’s categorized on NetGalley as a romance but it felt as though the romance fell on the back burner for some of the story. I think this would be better categorized as a contemporary fiction with a side of romance. I feel like Jess was a relatable character who gets into some embarrassing moments. There were also 4 different POVs in this story so it was kind of difficult for me to follow. I’ve never read a LaCie Waldron before and I’m not sure if I’ll be picking up another.

What a sweet book about a small town whose residents have to play an intricate game together after the death of a wealthy, longtime resident. To bill this as a romance is a bit off - it’s more so about the town, it’s members, their feuds, and how they get beyond them.

I was so excited to read The Only Game in Town, because I was a fan of The Layover. This book was a disappointment in comparison. The wacky main character is too naive and sugary sweet to believe. The thought of a series of challenges including riding a barbie jeep, to win $10 million is pretty weak.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

I started this book at just the right time. I was looking for a sweet light-hearted book, and that’s exactly what this is.

Jess is from a small town called Redford. When the mayor dies, his grandson Carter visits Redford for the first time. There’s a fortune up for grabs, but to receive it residents must compete in a series of silly games.

This book was silly. And definitely more of women’s fiction than a romance. But I enjoyed the light-heartedness of it and the overall message about community taking care of its people, even when you don’t always agree.

If you like reading about challenges and games, or small-town romances, grab this one this spring!

This is a light and fluffy cotton candy treat of a book, a perfect dessert book.

Jess is colorful and quirky and just adores everyone. She's happily living the small town life, after a brief stint in NY, when Jasper Wilhelm, the town's gazillionaire dies. Before his death, and unbeknownst to his grandson Carter, Jasper decided it would be big fun to team up known enemies in town in a competition for TEN MILLION DOLLARS.

Silliness ensues, where people who otherwise seem to have jobs take time off to participate in shenanigans. Carter, the grandson of Jasper, a financial advisor in Atlanta and all around not chill dude, learns the backgrounds and dramas of the townsfolk, and loves that Jess finds joy in all the simple things. When teams lose an event, and their chance at the money, they shake it off and feel happy for those still in the game, because small towners are generous in this way.

Like I said, this is light and fluffy, so it should come as no surprise that the working out of differences, and the eventual winning and losing are also painted with sunshine and rainbows.

ARC provided by NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!

Super cute story with all the small town charm you could ask for. The book opens with an embarrassing moment for our MC, Jess, where she’s being cornered by some ex-high school bullies. She’s rescued by a handsome stranger, Carter, who is in town for his grandpa’s funeral. His grandfather, Jasper, is the town’s beloved unofficial mayor, who the town learns also happened to be an eccentric millionaire. Jasper then proceeds to have the strangest celebration of life consisting of a weeklong townwide game with the winning duo taking home his 10 million dollar fortune?! And the kicker - he pre-picked all the teams and put all the town enemies against each other lmao. What?!!? This book was a ton of fun, but even with all the silly banter and happenings, it did drag a little at some points. Still a super cute book that I would recommend for a fun read!

This is the feel-good, small town romance you didn't know you needed to read...but will absolutely be glad you do! Could so easily be made into a Hallmark movie.

The townsfolk are so enjoyable to get to know, and their feuds make it fun to follow along in their antics. The main part of the book centers around the town eccentric's death and the "game" he invented to see who gets his millions after he passed. Enter his grandson, from out of town, and the game begins. All the little underlining stories merge together and it's just a cute little romance.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a digital, temporary ARC in return for my review.

Small town romances are usually too Hallmark for me. However, the competitive game aspects really drove it home. Throw in some opposites attract main characters in Jess & Carter and you have yourself a winner.

Lacie Waldon should be really proud of this book. Its made me reconsider my general malaise over stories involving millionaire benefactors.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

I was really excited about it because I like when the main location is my home state! Georgia!
This was an amazingly sweet reading! And perfect for those who like small town romances. The Povs of this book were interesting and unique. You could read not only thoughts of main characters but her father, too! The story is not only focused on the love of the main characters, but it is also a story about a small town, their society, their life, what problems they face. From the first pages, the book seems interesting and addictive with its narrative. I read this book in just a couple of evenings and am very happy that I found it. Jess and Carter are doing completely different things and they don’t have a lot of common interests, they are complete opposites but attracted like magnets. Jess is a cute and witty character that immediately attracts you to her. I really enjoyed this book. It was light, nice, cute, sweet and will improve your mood. Also, an important part of the book is devoted to games (look at the title) at the end of which some residents will receive money. It was not a bad idea and it was interesting to watch. Also, a very important part of Jess is her relationship with her father. I like it when the book focuses on the relationship of children and parents, because this is an important part of our life. I really laughed many times while reading this book. I highly recommend it to you!

I loved this book. I've read a lot of books where we get the POV from one of both main characters and this was the first time I've read anything that included a couple of side characters as well. There have been several times while reading books that I've wish that I could read what other characters were thinking or feeling so I absolutely loved that this book gave me exactly that. The part with the Barbie jeeps was probably one of my favorite parts. This is the first book I've read by Lacie Waldon but I look forward tor reading more from her.

Lacie Waldon has joined some of my other favorite authors who have recently taken the risk of breaking the typical romance mold, and I am INTO it.

His grandfather's death bring Carter to Redford, GA for the funeral and the non sequitur game Jasper orchestrated for the town with a grand prize of ten million dollars. Quirky Jess is a lifer in the small town who just got a serious dose of motivation for winning the prize. Their attraction is immediate, but is all fair in love and war?

The Only Game in Town delivers a small town, feel good romance and so much more. It's sweet, it's funny, it's tender, and it has major Gilmore Girls vibes... what more could you want?

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy to review! I loved it.

I loved reading about the challenges Jess and Carter, along with their partners Nikki, Jess’s high school (and current) bully, and Bryce have to conquer (children’s rideable Barbie Jeeps play a huge role in the most hilarious!), but each character’s reasons for competing in the game were what made this book relatable and truly gives the reader an insight into who these characters are.

I absolutely loved Lacie’s first two books, so I was looking forward to this one. This entire books takes place around this inheritance game. There were four POVs which kind of threw me off. I was expecting a fun romcom, but instead it was more of a contemporary fiction book that happened to have a romance at the end. This does not fit the normal mold for a romance book. It was a fun book, but didn’t meet my expectations.

Thank you GP Putnam and Netgalley for my early copy in exchange for a honest review.

I picked this one up because the plot sounded amusing, and Lacie Waldon had some avid Goodreads fans. But while I enjoyed the potpourri of townspeople, the storyline wasn't as engaging as I'd hoped, and the romance felt flat.

I think a lot of people will enjoy this story. There are some madcap moments in the game set up by the town's recently deceased millionaire philanthropist, and the cast of characters is fun — from main character Jess's snarky partner Nikki who has been terrorizing her since an incident when they were teens to her witty single father.

Waldon sets up a lot of highly emotional issues in the book (alcoholism, cancer...) that somehow never had the gut punch that they could have and were not satisfactorily wrapped up in the book's abrupt ending. Some of the road bumps the characters face felt contrived.

I did appreciate that this was a closed-door romance and that there was lots of real getting-to-know-you conversation between the love interests.