This was a sweet, closed-door romance about enemies to lover neighbors, Gillian and Noah. You can expect some laughs from obnoxious nosy neighbors, butterflies as the couple gets to know each other, and if you’re me, a desire to reconsider the black thumb (am I really that bad of a gardener?) 3/5 stars as I won’t find myself to pick it back up to reread but I happily finished.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC, opinions are my own.

This was a fine enough read. I liked the gardening aspect being part of the main storyline. And I thought the meddling neighbors were the kind of quirky small town funny that I like in a small town romance setting. The two main characters were both fine but I didn't find myself loving either of them. And they both had back stories that felt like they were mentioned like once and then just forgotten about. I liked some of their banter (like the gnome) but I was never just totally sold on their chemistry and many of their interactions just kind of read as clunky. I didn't like how much time the book spent following Gillian going on bad dates. And I thought there were too many side characters thrust in for this length of novel. The blackmail plot was fine as a conflict and I thought the main characters handled that well, but I did think the reason behind the blackmailer was flimsy at best and could have easily been better.

This book was an incredibly cute romantic comedy! The characters were witty and had decent personalities. The group of older lady neighbors (especially Judy) added some real fun to the book. The plot was interesting, although I think it could’ve been reworked a little. The obsession with pharmacy as a career to start and then basically disappearing by the end led to some discontinuity along with the Aiden plot stopping. The time jumps could’ve been handled a little better but I really hated inner Betty making several appearances. It was completely unnecessary. Overall, I still really enjoyed this book and think it’s great for a fun read! 3.75⭐️, 1.75🌶

A fun, quirky, closed door, enemies-to-lovers rom-com with plenty of body positivity and small-town charm. The main characters are loveable and the side characters are endearing. I certainly hope the author returns to the town of Willow Cove in future novels!

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

Title: Hedging Your Bets
Author: Jayne Denker
Genre: Romance
Rating: 2.50
Pub Date: January 9, 2024

I received a complimentary eARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad

T H R E E • W O R D S

Witty • Predictable • Underwhelming

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Gillian has been happily divorced for several years and, after trying a few dating apps, prefers to stay that way. Navigating her way through dates with fat-shamers and lackluster men has left her with no desire to do anything other than work in her garden in her spare time. Who needs rude comments and awkward first-date conversation when soft roses and vibrant tulips are so much better?

Noah West has just moved to Willow Cove. After a rough breakup that leaves him looking to get far away, he relocates to the same small town he spent summers in as a teen—and moves right next door to Gillian. A big believer in minimalist design and that the best kind of plants are non-flowering, he knows as soon as he meets his neighbor that they are going to clash on just about everything. Now if only he could keep his eyes off her too. That might be helpful.

When a gardening contest brings out the competition in Gillian and Noah, dueling plant arrangements and fiery banter ensues. But is it possible that beneath all their differences, they might just be perfect for each other?

💭 T H O U G H T S

I'll admit Hedging Your Bets was a total cover request for me. As an avid gardener, I am here for any book where gardening plays a role. Additionally, I was intrigued to see how a gardening competition would play into the plot. Aside from that, I didn't know what else to expect from this rom-com.

What I like:
• the cover. The art is simple, yet conveys a lot. It honestly may just be my favourite part of the book.
• the gardening. Gardening as a hobby isn't something I come across often in books, so I was excited it was included here. Gillian's garden is her escape and I could definitely relate to that.
• the meddling neighbours. It's no surprise I love older characters and I absolutely adored Gillian and Noah's quirky, nosy neighbours. They added the humour I was hoping for.

What I didn't like:
• the chemistry. The banter felt genuine in the beginning, yet the whole enemies-to-lovers trope seemed undeveloped and confusing. Eventually their chemistry became forced and dragged on... and on.
• the gardening. There just wasn't enough focus on this aspect. I would have liked more time (for both characters) spent working in their gardens separately. The synopsis really focuses on it and it didn't deliver.
• the blackmail. I absolutely detested this part of the plot. It was ridiculous, childish, and petty for adults to behave in such a manner.
• the length. This could have easily been 30-50 pages shorter. I wasn't a fan of all Gillian's dating scenes (it just felt like filler). The two MCs spent minimal time together until around the half way point.

I has such high hopes for Hedging Your Bets, yet I never became fully invested in this rom-com. There were elements I enjoyed, but the ones I didn't outweighed those that I did, leaving me with a unsatisfied feeling once I finished. I'd definitely pick up another rom-com centered around gardening, but I am not sure this author is for me.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of enemies-to-lovers

⚠️ CW: divorce, body shaming, fatphobia, misogyny, sexism, toxic relationship, alcohol

Two feuding neighbors in the midst of a small-town gardening competition sounded like all sorts of fun. And it was! But it was nearly halfway in before I felt like the story truly started.

I liked the meet-cute and the initial bickering, but it shifted into a lot of time spent with Gillian going on numerous over-the-top, unbelievably terrible dates. It seemed like an easy means to paint Noah as perfect. The chemistry felt a bit forced because of that.

The latter half is where the story amped up the action and excitement for me. I adored the shady small-town politics and adorable meddling seniors.

A cute read, but unfortunately a very slow start. Though I will say, I was happily surprised by this being a closed-door romance! We don't get enough from publishers.

Small town rivals to lovers.

Gillian has been happily divorced for a while, she works as a pharmacist but her real passion is her garden, and she enters the town's garden competition every year hoping to win. When her neighbour gets up and packs from one day to another and Noah moves in right away. From the get go they get into one misunderstanding after another. Noah is running away from a bad break up and looking to start over, but buying a house and a business sight unseen and having a neighbour her clashes with may prove to be too much for him. With the circumstances having them both enter the contest, and being complete opposites, will they find a way to realize maybe they are right for eachother

This was a fun time, and i really enjoyed the small town vibes. The group of friends Gillian has was so supportive and comforting, the towns gang of old ladies who take no crap, know everything and defend their residents no matter what. The plus size rep was great too see if not too heavy handed on the "she is bigger but healthy". I appreciated that the author tried to add the rep, but plus sized people deserve love and respect even if they aren't "healthy". That among other little things too away from some of my enjoyment but it was still an entertaining time.

"Hedging Your Bets" is a sweet, fun, and original story from author Jayne Denker! It was great to visit Willow Cove again. Really enjoyed this small-town setting! The characters feel three-dimensional and are so lovable! They have personalities, thoughts, emotions, and personal difficulties of their own. The author has done great work exploring the shift in their relationship from enemies- to- lovers and the romance between them is sweet, swoony, and has lots of emotional depth! I had a great time getting to know Gillian and Noah and seeing our friends from book 1 'The Rom-com Agenda" again. The speed of the plot is perfect, the author's writing style is smooth and brimming with wit, humor, and heart. I enjoyed every page of this book! The neighbor ladies are so cute and were so much to get to know! The gardening competition was a lot of fun to read about. The romance was great! I really enjoyed the enemies-to-lovers aspect of the story. It was great to see the character development of both Gillian and Noah and seeing them slowly realize how wrong they originally were about each other. This is a story that is: creative, delightful, and SO. MUCH. FUN. Absolutely a must read! 5 stars

Thank you very much to the author Jayne Denker, St. Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy to read and review honestly.

Hedging Your Bets is a closed door romance that is cute with lots of plants and banter.

The writing is easy to read and it’s easy to finish.

This book had the predictability of a romance but unraveled like a comedy but had some serious discussions about dating, dating as a plus sized person, attitudes about varying body types, and embracing you who are despite people who try to force you into a specific box. I loved Gillian and her ability to let certain things go, stand strong for herself when necessary, and change her perspective to get a win against the true bad guy.

#arc
#netgalley
#hedgingyourbets

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the E-ARC. While I have enjoyed this author work before I did not vibe with the communication between Gillian and Noah I think what was meant to be a playful "hateness" just made both of them sound angry. I did enjoy it from about the 70 percent to the end that was perfect. But overall I still enjoyed the book. Cant wait to read more

I’d like to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
This was a cute, small-town read with closed door romance.
The vibes of this book were so cozy that it made me wish I lived in a quaint little lake community.
I do have to say that the beginning of this book was quite slow which made me put it down a lot, but once things got interesting I didn’t want to put the book down. I felt that Gillian was a very relatable character for plus sized women. Her constant struggles with worrying about what other people think of her body or the food she eats is something that most, if not all women have dealt with at least once in their lives. Noah was such a softie with a big heart. I would definitely put him in the cinnamon roil or golden retriever boyfriend category. Overall this book was adorable, made me laugh and it also made me want to go out and buy a garden gnome!

Hedging Your Bets
by: Jayne Denker
St. Martin's Press; St. Martin's Griffin

Set in the charming lake community of Willow Cove in New York State, Hedging Your Bets is a delightful romantic comedy. Gillian and Noah's story was a perfect first book for the New Year 2024. Having read and loved Denker's The Rom-Com Agenda in January 2023, I did not hesitate to choose her new book to start my year 2024 with humor, romance, and the fun of a small-town gardening contest.

I enjoyed the community of Willow Cove that Denker has created, where everyone knows everybody and all of their business. Female lead Gillian is a divorcee who is a pharmacist by career, with a hobby as a master gardener. She clashes and competes with her new neighbor, Noah, who moves back to the community where he spent childhood summers.

Set amid the atmosphere of neighborhood, local hang-outs and restaurants, and the beautiful lake, I was completely entertained and enthralled with every moment in this book.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press; St. Martin's Griffin for an advance reader's copy. My review is my own.

#HedgingYourBets #NetGalley #JayneDenker #RomanticComedy #StMartinsPress

A lovely, small-town, closed door romance with an enemies-to-lovers plot!

Gillian is professionally a pharmacist, but her passion is her garden, something she’s worked on for five years in order to win the competitive annual garden contest. Unfortunately, new neighbor and marina owner Noah initially took a dislike to the property line boxwood hedges that were in his yard, but were part of her “borrowed landscape” garden design of multiple flower beds and romantic spaces. Oops. Even though Noah is immediately mesmerized by Gillian and the town consensus is that she’s a wonderful person, her gardening rage towards Noah makes for awkward neighborly interactions. And when Noah gets conned into participating in the garden contest with an anti-romantic, hard lines, modernistic design, Gillian despises him even more.

I liked the growth the two characters showed, and I also appreciated that they had great communication and understanding once they got together.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this story, it made me laugh a lot, a fun romance. I found the premise of the book about the gardening contest very original and I enjoyed it a lot, also it has a great representation of body positivity.

If you are a fan of enemies to lovers, rom com, light and sweet romance this is definitely perfect for you,

There was lots of body positivity, enemies to lovers, and a cute small town with fun characters. I adored this book!

I loved nearly every second of this! As a very amateur gardener I loved actually reading about my hobby in a fictional setting.

The wit+banter were perfection.

Noah gets off to a rough start with his new neighbor Gillian when he not-so-accidentally destroys part of her beloved garden. Noah is ready to make amends when a town competition drives them even farther apart.

Hedging Your Bets is an opposites attract romance. It takes place in the same small town that the author’s other book, The Rom-Com Agenda, is set. They aren’t necessarily a series and can be read individually. This book is low spice and closed-door.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. I had trouble getting past a lot of the “body/fat” talk throughout the storyline. The FMC has a lot of hang-ups with her appearance and that is referenced frequently. I have no problem reading about MCs having body image issues but I would caution as to the language that is used when talking about it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press (St. Martin’s Griffin)!

Gillian is a happy divorce in Willow cove trying to get back on the dating scene. When her new neighbor Noah ends up wrecking her precious garden things do not start off on the right foot. Especially when Noah learns Gillian is trying to win the town’s gardening competition. Things become even more complicated by the fact that the a woman on the city counsel is threatening to make him pay back taxes on his new business if he doesn’t sabotage Gillian and her chances of winning the gardening competition. As they get to know each other Gillian and Noah realize they judged each other to harshly and actually like each other. Will Noah sabotage Gillian’s garden or will he make the right choice and go against the threats?

I liked how the issue of body image was discussed and approached by the author. And loving flowers myself, I enjoyed the premise and small town setting. A fun read!

Recently out of a long term relationship, Noah moves east to start over in the town he vacationed each summer as a child. Happily divorced Gillian is trying her hand at dating again finally, but not having much luck. Sight unseen, Noah buys the house next to Gillian and when he messes with her garden, sparks fly and not in the good way.

Hedging Your Bets is a cute, funny romantic comedy set in a small town with a grumpy/sunshine troupe that I liked quite a bit. It’s the second installment of this series, which I didn’t know when I started reading. Luckily, I’d read the first one, but other than a few continuing background characters, there wasn’t anything I needed to know to fully enjoy this new book. I love the fact Gillian loves herself the way she is and isn’t looking to change or improve herself, but rather just for someone who loves her the way she deserves. I’ll definitely recommend this one!