A lottery win, a chance at a new start and reawakened love, this novel is the ultimate romantic comedy and didn’t disappoint in the slightest. I can’t wait to read more of her books.

A cute romance with a lot of old baggage and vey steamy sex scenes. It seemed to drag at times.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC

Swoony, unique, and surprisingly deep. I loved Jodie's follow up, PLAY TO WIN, and continue to look forward to her representation. This one has great chemistry and a love story to root for!

Usually I speed right through these types of romcom books, but for some reason I just didn’t connect enough with the story to keep wanting to pick it back up. The overall plot of Miri winning the lottery and having a second chance at love sucked me in, but the story moved a bit slowly. I liked the characters and how the story ended, but it just took a little too long to get there for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Free ebook, this was a solid read. It was very cute and great idea but the pacing just was a little off for me. A lot of topics were touched on but not explored. It felt almost like an intro to the characters and their world but I never fell into their situation. I wanted to love it but it was just okay.

Does a multi-million dollar lottery win mean ultimate happiness? That answer isn't so easy for Miri. In Play to Win, Miri certainly wins big but she can't figure out why she can't be more excited about it. When her estranged husband enters the picture, stress only rises even higher. This story is an interesting read on the search for happiness and learning to trust your heart.

Play to Win is a super fun rom com with a thought provoking angle of the impacts of poverty and how the trauma of poverty doesn't just leave the moment you get money.
I really enjoyed reading from Miri's perspective. I related a lot to her habit of pretending everything is okay and that she's strong enough to handle everything on her own until it all comes crashing down into depression.
At the end, I wasn't entirely satisfied with Leo. I don't think we learned enough about what he was doing for 8 years and why he stayed gone after he left. I liked the two of them together, but if I was one of Miri's friends I would have been side eyeing. If you're gonna make you're hero do shitty things, he needs to do more than show back up when asked.
Overall, definitely a recommendation to romcom lovers. The steam happened more at the end of the book, but WHEW. It was some top tier steam.

3 stars/ my review is very late. I thought I had written my review for this arc when I initially read in march.

From what I remember, I absolutely could not get past Leo’s reason for leaving his wife for 8 years!! He left his wife to handle everything on her own and he did not grovel enough in my opinion. I also didn’t like the pacing and not much happens until around 50% and there wasn’t much focus on just Leo and Miri until the last maybe 20%. I found it boring and it didn’t feel like a romcom

Play To Win takes a unique look at a second chance romance. Miri wins the lottery... like BIG TIME.. but there's one little thing she has to deal with first. Her estranged husband Leo who walked out on her 8 years ago and who she hasn't seen since. He comes back to town, not wanting any of her winnings, but instead her love.

I thought the lottery aspect of this was really interesting but didn't play out much in the second 3/4 of the novel. Miri struggles with what to do and we get a little insight into her struggle, but it wasn't enough that it felt genuine to me. The second chance romance was fun and it was nice to see these two high school sweethearts be brave enough to come back together and try again. There are some pretty steamy scenes, too.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel but didn't love it. It felt a little too long for what was happening. Also, the epilogue was REALLY long including a giant sex scene which I thought was weird.

If you like second chance romance, inclusive romance, and HEA-- give Play To Win a try!

This was a feel good, second chance romance! I would have loved if they went into more detail about some topics covered, like non traditional roles in relationships and couples counseling, but overall it was a great book.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Jodie, Jodie, Jodie... I don't even know what to say. This was so dang good! I can't get over it. From the beginning to the end I was engrossed in the story, the characters, and the plot was very well done. I can't get enough of Jodie's writing. It's relatable and fun. It was good! I enjoyed it!

⭐️Note that there were a couple errors that I noticed. In the last couple chapters when Ms. Patrice was talking about her first love it says Candice but then a couple pages later is says Wanda. I assume that the mix up was from the character Candice that buries money but that threw me off and I had to keep going back to make sure I was reading it right.

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story started off with a bang. I enjoyed how it gave insight on Miri's upbringing and her relationships with her friends, family, and her community. Everyone should have friends & a Mom as supportive as Miri.

The concept of her winning the lottery after being down on her luck for most of her life was great as I'm sure most people can either relate or cheer for the underdog. I also, enjoyed that she had a second chance with her marriage. After those things though, it left me wanting more. Especially seeing that it took more than 50% of the book to get them together. IMO there should have been more about how they reconciled, being courted/falling in love again, going to therapy together and individually (sinc it's mentioned in the book) for the remaining half but it wasn't until about 5% of the book. Then the spice in the epilogue to me was last minute and unnecessary at that point most people are already past the investment of the book and it should be wrapping up. This was my first book by Jodie Slaughter, it was a great light read but it's definitely a 3.5 stars rounded up and I hate to say that because I'm not a hard reader to please.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61884981-play-to-win" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Play to Win" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1678753097l/61884981._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61884981-play-to-win">Play to Win</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19099766.Jodie_Slaughter">Jodie Slaughter</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5490590171">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.<br /><br />This story started off with a bang. I enjoyed how it gave insight on Miri's upbringing and her relationships with her friends, family, and her community. Everyone should have friends & a Mom as supportive as Miri. <br /><br />The concept of her winning the lottery after being down on her luck for most of her life was great as I'm sure most people can either relate or cheer for the underdog. I also, enjoyed that she had a second chance with her marriage. After those things though, it left me wanting more. Especially seeing that it took more than 50% of the book to get them together. IMO there should have been more about how they reconciled, being courted/falling in love again, going to therapy together and individually (sinc it's mentioned in the book) for the remaining half but it wasn't until about 5% of the book. Then the spice in the epilogue to me was last minute and unnecessary at that point most people are already past the investment of the book and it should be wrapping up. This was my first book by Jodie Slaughter, it was a great light read but it's definitely a 3.5 stars rounded up and I hate to say that because I'm not a hard reader to please.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/106405075-red-smith

3.5 ⭐️
I thought this was a really fun and quick read. I’m usually not the biggest fan of marriage in trouble type stories but I think this was a different take on that trope that I enjoyed. I think if you like a story with a very strong and confident FMC and a more quiet and reserved MMC then you will really enjoy this book. I also really loved the family and community dynamics throughout this story. The friendships throughout this story were also so beautiful and felt really realistic. I think that’s what I enjoyed most about this book, it felt so real even aside from the lottery win aspect.

*A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with the ARC for this book.

I would categorize this as a good beach read. Black female main character, messy relationship with an estranged husband, life changing lottery win. A lot of interesting and somewhat original aspects of the story. I really liked the characters and the plot line but it was a little slow paced which I struggle with when it comes to “beach reads”.

This was good, but I ended up with slightly mixed feelings. I really enjoyed the writing, and some quotes and scenes were really romantic to me. But overall I did feel like I was missing something. I felt like the romance arc, being a second chance romance, didn't quite get the redemption arc it deserved, and everything was left until a little too late in the book. I also felt like Bet On It just had that little bit more substance, which I definitely would have liked here as well.

jodie i <33333 you forever. always so meaningful and fun and good for my heart.

Miriam Butler’s life is going nowhere in the slowest, most excruciating way possible. Stuck in the same barely-paying job she’s had since she was sixteen and spending every night sleeping in the spare twin bed in her mother’s house, her existence might be hilarious if it wasn’t so bleak. One trip to her favorite corner store upends everything when she finds herself the winner of a Mega Millions Lottery Jackpot. Unfortunately, not even life-altering roses come without their painful thorns. Hers just so happen to be in the form of an estranged husband who has the right to claim his share of her money.

It’s been eight years since Leo Vaughn has had a conversation with his wife. When she calls out of the blue, practically begging him to come back to Greenbelt, the last thing he expects her to tell him when he gets there is that she’s come into a whole heap of money. She offers him a life-changing proposition of his own. Take a lump sum, finally sign the divorce papers, and be done with her for good. Only, a forever without her is the last thing Leo wants. So he gives a proposition of his own. One that won’t cost her nearly as many millions, but will buy him the time to do the one thing he’s been hungry to do since he left -- win her back.

What a fun romcom! I really enjoyed this book. It was the perfect light read that I needed and I will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

My Thoughts

Miriam Butler, Miri to friends and family, winner of 22 million and change has been scrambling for money her whole life and now she has it is not sure what to do with it for her own sake but has no problem sharing with others at all.

Having gone from almost rags to riches from one day to the next is not the worse thing to happen to anyone but for Miri it comes a close second to the day 8 years prior when her husband Leonard, Leo for short, walked out without telling her his reasons or contacting her since.

8 years is a long time and yet for them both it seems like yesterday when they see one another again when Leo responds to Miri’s unexpected summons.

The small town of Greenbelt, South Carolina is one where living day-to-day and hand-to-mouth is common for people of their acquaintance, both friends and family as well.

This is much more than a tale of sudden overwhelming wealth changing things for the better for Miri and her Mama Ms. Patrice.

Rather it has many facets to it from new opportunities to second chance for Leo and Miri to name a few important ones.

Whether the pair grab their second chance or not is a good question so to get answer you have to read book to know for sure, and I suggest you do.

Other important questions are raised and answered quite nicely by stories end and after having read this passionate look into the ins and outs of these fictional characters lives I am fully satisfied with their portrayal as living breathing people and its positive outcome for not only certain main characters but town of Greenbelt as well.

I still don’t want to play the lottery but this showed why certain people do and glad it worked for Miri.
[EArc from Netgalley]

On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

Jodie Slaughter's latest novel, Play to Win, is a delightful second chance romantic comedy that will leave readers with a smile on their face. The story follows Miriam Butler, a young woman stuck in a dead-end job and living in her Moms’ spare bedroom. When she unexpectedly wins the lottery, her life takes an unexpected turn. She reunites with her childhood sweetheart, Leo, and the two embark on a journey of self-discovery and love.
The characters are well-developed and the plot is engaging. The dialogue is witty and the romance is sweet. Slaughter does a great job of exploring the complexities of relationships and the power of second chances. Play to Win is a charming and heartwarming story that will leave readers feeling hopeful and inspired.

This one was a toss up, and I had a hard time deciding how I felt about it. I think I'm sitting at a 3.5. It started out strong, but it just lost something along the way for me. I didn't really get the chance to truly connect with the characters, and it felt like there was so much thrown into the storyline in the middle to end.

This was supposed to be a second chance romance, but it had no build up. No angst. No real emotion. They spent so many years away from each other and then they go from one extreme of barely talking to each other-to the next extreme of oh my gosh put your big D in me. It just wasn't there for me. I wanted to feel their pain and their longing for one another but I don't think that part of the story was developed well enough.

I was gifted this book in exchange for my honest opinion through NetGalley and I truly appreciate the opportunity to read and review this ahead of time!