A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for giving me an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

So last year, I reviewed Slaughter's Bet on It, the book preceding this. It was a book that I connected with quite a bit, especially as a Black fat woman. In the review, I made a not-a-joke about if Miri got her own book, I'd preordered as soon as they dropped the link.

WELP, I guess St. Martin liked my review because I woke up one morning, with the ARC waiting in my email. Screaming and bad karate moves of joy might have happened.

This book focuses on Miriam "Miri", the lovely nail tech from the last book. Miri and Leo were high school sweethearts who married young. After a big argument, Leo left and they haven't seen each other in about 8 years. The fact that they still haven't divorced each other has never been a big issue for them.....Until Miri wins the lottery for over 200 million dollars and he has a chance at getting half of the money.


This book didn't win me over like Bet On It did. Don't worry, this isn't a case of having too high of expectations for the sequel. Instead, it's the nature of the romances themselves. With Bet On It, we got to see the romance bloom from the start. With Play To Win, we come into Miri and Leo's story with 20+ years of history deep. Unfortunately, Slaughter often tells us rather than shows us what makes that chemistry and history. It made the romance feel a bit shallow to me.


It's a shame too. This is a slow-burn romance! This would have been a great time to show us the ghosts of Leo and Miri of yesteryear that haunts them, to see the angst rather than just be told of the aftermath. The first half of the book felt repetitive to me, especially whenever Miri and Leo talk.


That said, I'm not entirely sure if that was accidental. Once we get into the second half, both characters have moments of clarity and finally get out of their own way. It's like weights have been lifted from their shoulders and they can truly move forward. (Honestly, as someone the same age as the leads, the idea of learning to get out of your own way hits a little too close to home. How dare?)


So if the romance didn't quite work for me, what did? The familiarity and sheer Blackity Blackness of this book. I mentioned in my review of "Georgie All Along" how much I hate it when writers don't nail their pop culture references and Slaughter didn't miss!


At one point, Leo goes to a skating rink with his nephews and meets Miri there, and immediately, Chance the Rapper's Juke Jam started playing in my head. It transported me to going to the rink with my big sister and her friends. The rink is the modern equivalent to regency people going to pump rooms for the "water".

Another moment came as a conversation about toxic heteronormative and a character sums it up as a "Big piece of chicken type of man" and gosh, that takes me back. Seriously, these parts just feel so familiar and gentle to me. I'm envious of how Slaughter's writing captures these moments.

For me, the book shines when Leo and Miri interact with secondary characters. Not only does it give some humor, but it's also when they both hit their breakthroughs about their choices. It's these moments that enable Leo and Miri best moments, honestly.

Overall, I enjoyed this book more when it focused on friendship and community than the romance itself. Still, this was a very gentle and healing read for me. I give it 4 stars.


TW: Sexual content, abandonment, poverty-based trauma.

Thank you to Jodie Slaughter, St. Martins Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I absolutely love second chance romances, it’s probably my favorite trope and this one did not disappoint. I cried a little and laughed as well. The characters were very likable. I went into this thinking I would not like Leo at all because lets me real….if you won the lottery and your husband who left you eight years ago suddenly wanted to be back with you we all would be giving side eye. Anyway Leo was actually my favorite character. His intentions were always good, he just went about things the wrong way. Overall this was a good read and I would read more from the author.

I received an ARC for this title. Miriam Butler has lived a pretty harsh life. One day that all changes when she decides to test the fates and buy a lottery ticket. In an instance, her life is turned upside down and she has to reconnect with her past so she can start her future. This novel was promising. The characters meshed well with each other. I was looking for more from the main character in how she dealt with her love life. After that much time passed, it should have been more of a tug. We never got the buildup that we needed for the justification of the easy acceptance that Miriam used to move on, but they say money changes people in ways unknown.

Thank you, NetGalley and Martin's press, for ARC Play to win by Jodie Slaughter. I enjoy this book. I was rooting for the couple to get back together. This book is about a woman named Miriam who won the lottery and is afraid that her estranged husband Leo wants half of her money, so she asks for a divorce. Leo is fighting for his marriage and trying to win her love back. I enjoy Jodie Slaughter's story, where the main characters try to work out their problems and learn from each other mistakes and learn how to recount and not think about the money.

Thank you to Jodie Slaughter, St. Martins Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was my first book from Jodie Slaughter. It was a cute story about winning the lottery and a second chance at romance.

Thank you to Jodie Slaughter, St. Martins Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

3 Stars

This was cute. Made me laugh out loud a few times. But the middle and end really didn't hold my attention. This book showed so much promise, but to me, it fell flat.

Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read this book. This book was exactly what I was looking for right now! I love how you jump right into the story and I liked the characters from the beginning. You could definitely feel the tension between Miri and Leo and the author did a great job at making you feel the moments of nostalgia between them. I feel like Miri’s thoughts when she won the lottery we’re so realistic in the sense of not knowing what to do with all the money once she finally got it. This book gave me the same feelings as the movies sweet home Alabama and The notebook which I loved.

I loved Bet On It and Miri’s humor, so I was excited to read her story. Having an estranged husband was a shock in that book. I was not disappointed. Miri brought the same sass and sense of humor to this book than the last one. What I really liked about this marriage in crisis, second chance romance is the indecision of Miri wanting to take Leo back. It was relatable. Also as a person who lives in the south, the rumor mill was also a relatable factor. I do also like winning the lottery not being an answer to all of her problems, and the guilt she felt from that. I also loved all the black euphemisms in this book. I will say the use of “cream” in the sex scenes was a bit gross. It was nice to have the comfort of things I’m used to. This was a fun, enjoyable read and I cannot wait to see more from Jodie.

This was fine? I had issues with the main male character leaving her 8 years ago & like didn’t really have to address his issues with WHY he left?? Spice scenes were great, but the heart wasn’t there for me. Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC!

This was my first read from Jodie Slaughter and I thought it was a really cute second chance at love story! I loved Miri and really enjoyed the magnetism between her and Leo and loved the premise of this book! I’ve bought my own lottery ticket with dreams of winning and this book was a fun little snippet of winning the lottery in money and love! Very cute story!

Play to Win is a second chance romance about Leo and Miri - childhood friends turned sweethearts who married in their early 20s. Now estranged and not spoken to each other in 8 years. Both having trouble financially. Miri wins the lottery ($22 million!!) and has to get in contact with Leo at the advice of her lawyer because they are still married and he might want a cut of the winnings. Leo excitedly comes back home hoping to reconnect with Miri, but soon learns that was not her intent. Wanting to win her back, he stays for a couple of months under the pretense of needing to fix up his Auntie’s house but is determined to get back into Miri’s good graces. Reconnecting with his sister and nephews along the way.

I liked the premise of the book. I thought a romance with the backdrop of winning the lottery was really unique. I liked how conflicted Miri was about coming into so much money. I liked all the glimpses of living in Greenbelt, GA.

But I felt like the romance was lacking. I had to double check this wasn’t a book 2 of Miri and Leo’s relationship. It is a book 2, but a standalone as far as I can tell. Miri’s close friend Aja and her now bf are the main characters in the first in the series. Alas, I guess that might just be the nature of second chance romances. I didn’t feel like Leo groveled enough or had a redemption arch. He up and left his wife and hadn’t talked to her in 8(!!!!) years and just expected her to take him back???!! With nothing to show for his absence. I needed more groveling. And I wish he had made more for himself since that’s why he left in the first place. I kept expecting a big reveal about Leo making it big while he was away.

Unfortunately I didn’t like this book as much as I thought I would.

While the premise of this book sounded cute (winning lottery ticket and a second chance at love), unfortunately it dragged in parts to me. Miriam was a good character, and the descriptions of her situation were strong. Leo was a dream, but at times, he did seem too good to be true.

I wanted a more unpredictable ending as well as stronger banter. This won't keep me from reading the author's books in the future, but I will want more from the next book.

I will also say that I should have read more about the book before choosing it. The tropes/steam in this book was a bit much for me!

This book did start off slow to me. Once I got further into the book, it was a great book! I would still recommend this book. I also will still look for other books by this author!

This was a second chance romance, the main character wins the lottery and has to make amends with her estranged husband. I was entertained by the premise in the beginning but felt this book lagged. I felt like the pacing was slow and my attention wasn’t fully gripped for the entire novel.

I feel like this book had so much potential but it just fell flat a bit in my eyes. I've heard great things about Jodie Slaughter's books before so I think I will try another one of her romances, but this one wasn't my favorite. Part of the appeal to me was that I love marriage-in-trouble/second-chance-romance so much! Usually that means we can skip over the secret glances and the silent pining while the reader is like "Just kiss already!" However, I had so much trouble getting into this one because it was just so slow. Trust, I love a slow burn romance as much as the next girl but you already fell in love, you are flat out married...why is there so much of nothing? I might be just a little biased because I am not knee deep into my romance era as I was a few weeks ago, but I do admit I do like Slaughter's writing style and I think I will try something else of hers soon.

While Play to Win had a decent premise, I found the plot quite slow and writing quite underwhelming. I'm sure it will be the right book for some, it just wasn't for me.

When Miri wins the lottery jackpot she must face her estranged husband after eight years of no contact to seek a divorce so her winnings are protected. But once they reconnect it’s hard for them to end things and Leo fights for a second chance at their marriage

This premise was fun and I loved the dialogue, world building, and every side character popped right off the page! The vibe of the book was a lot quieter than I expected so it took me a second to settle into the story but once I did I felt like I was part of a small town

Overrated Book:
Play to Win
By: Jodie Slaughter

WHAT DO PEOPLE SAY?
An emotional book about second chance romance.

HOW I FELT ABOUT IT:
The premise of this book sounded amazing. However, I still struggled with the overall idea of the book. Miri and Leo seem like they have amazing chemistry, sure, but thats not all you need to make a romance last, and I didn’t see anything that made me feel like they could go the distance. I also felt like, as a lottery winner, there is more Miri could have done if she wanted too.

DO I STILL RECOMMEND IT? Maybe

——

Play to Win was kindly provided as an ARC by Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press. Thank you for allowing me to read this wonderful book!

Release Date: 7/11/23

I went into this book very excited. I thought it would be so fun to see Miri’s life change, and how Leo would fit into that story. While that did happen, yes, I still found this story to be just ok. It had its moments, but in general, I wasn’t in love with the overall story.


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The initial storyline with the main character Miri winning the lottery intrigued me. The book slightly declined in excitement as the storyline progressed, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this second chance love between Miri and Leo. I was rooting for Leo to be given a second chance the entire time. Leo's determination, love, and lack of wanting anything but to be with Miri made his character so admirable.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Matin's Press for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story as I did the previous one in the series.
Miri's life is forever changed as she has won the lottery, and a significant amount at that. With this life changing event, she finds herself having to contact her estranged husband, Leo, and dealing with all the unresolved issues and emotions that led to the breakdown of their marriage.
I liked how the story explored the uncertainty around having a windfall of money having grown up in poverty, and they almost feeling of anxiety that it can cause, even though it's supposed to be a good thing.
The story also interrogates gender roles and expectations, especially the narrative around men being providers for their families, and how that affected Miri and Leo's relationship.