This one wasn’t one of my favorites but I’m sure others will enjoy! It was a slow start and it I had trouble staying engaged. I wish the characters held my attention more.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin's Griffin for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a cute story about Noah and Gillian who are neighbors competing in a garden competition. It was a little slow getting together, and I didn't always feel the chemistry between them. But it was a fun story.

I wasn’t a fan of this story. It had the potential to be really good however this fell flat to me. So far every story with a curvy female lead has the character be written in a way that makes her come off as a redemption story from being screwed over. I want her to just be a character that’s curvy and that’s it. This story ties her weight to her divorce which is a real life thing that happens but I would have loved if she could have just been who she was and that’s that. I also didn’t really fall in like with Noah and the relationship just felt boring to me. Again this just wasn’t my cup of tea unfortunately.

hedging your bets is a small town, slow burn, romance novel. I thought this book was cute, but I thought it was a tad slow. there's slow burn then there's sloooooow burn. if it's not done the right way, I can get bored with slow burn romance books.

the enemies to lovers just didn't do it for me. it was just noah and gillian being jerks to each other. i just felt like they didn't have any chemistry.

i think that this is a good book to start out with if you're just getting back into reading romance novels! i adore the cover and the title

Adorable romance is my genre right now. I love a good "enemies to lovers" trope. However more time could have spent on Noah and Gillian's relationship and less on their friends (maybe save that for a series?). Overall, I recommend this to those looking for a quick enjoyable romance read.

I really enjoyed Hedging Your Bets, I loved the enemies to lovers. I enjoyed the curvier FMC, and the found family aspect.

I definitely enjoyed the fact that there was no third act break up.

As a romance reader, one of the things I struggle with the most in the genre is when the love interests finally get together, and then everything is (briefly) destroyed when a conflict comes up that could have been easily resolved had these characters just *communicated with each other*. So imagine my extreme delight when the plot of Hedging Your Bets gets around to having one lover reveal to the other a secret that could destroy everything... and instead of flouncing away lover #2 receives the information pragmatically and helps lover #1 come up with a solution. Finally!! A romance with functional adults at the center!!

This is the second book in Jayne Denker's Willow Cove series, and I'm really hoping for at least one more -- she's created a group of characters that are so easy to fall in love with and root for, and a chance to spend more time in this lovely little town with this lovely little group of people would be so nice.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this one early!

Hedging Your Bets was a sweet, small town, closed-door romance. Gillian, a long-time resident of Willow Cove is serious about her garden—and serious about winning the gardening competition. When grumpy Noah West moves into the house next door, and starts pulling out a hedge that borders their properties, sparks begin to fly.

I enjoyed this enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity rom-com, with a fun supporting cast of characters (especially the neighborhood busy bodies).

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced readers copy. I recommend this book for readers who enjoy a clean rom-com with plenty of slow burning sizzle

This was a sweet, very cozy, closed-door romance. Gillian is a pharmacist who loves competitive gardening. Noah is her hot but cantankerous new neighbor.

There was no deep dive into characters, but it was entertaining. I especially appreciated that Noah actually confessed to Gillian about his deal with the evil Ms. March. Too often when reading romance, I find myself yelling (in my head), “just tell her/him, already!

If you’re looking for a cozy distraction, this one is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin's Griffin for this complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I had read the first title in this series and jumped on the chance to read more by this author. I really enjoyed the enemies to lovers, forced-proximity (neighbours) story of these two gardeners!

His spur of the moment decision to move across the country complete with house purchase and new job didn't take into account his beautiful, curvy, pharmacist neighbour. With her sights set on winning the gardening contest this summer he was an immediate thorn in her side as he ripped out hedges separating their properties.

The sequel is done almost perfectly in the sense that you get little doses of the other characters we met in book #1, but there's also a lot of focus on the star duo which I appreciate.

This was a nice romance. I didn’t connect as much as wanted to with the characters. I felt Noah was a little too broody and quick to anger.. I loved the small town setting!

I liked the idea of this book but it feel flat for me. Too slow, not a ton of chemistry. I had a hard time picturing the MCs. Took me quite some time to figure out their general ages.

This was a great closed door romance. Both MCs were likable and relatable. The side characters were just as great though, including the gnome 😝

Read this if you enjoy…
-gardening
-grumpy-ish cinnamon rolls
-closed door
-small town
-tight friend group
-funny nosey neighbors (think golden girls)

I really enjoyed Gillian and Noah's story. I did not like the inner Bette moments. The hedge destroying was a bit too short of a scene for me to have so much conflict leading the rest of the book. So much fun and heart in this book.

This was a sweet, closed door romance that I enjoyed! The plot and cover is what drew me in, but it wasn't something I haven't read before. I would still recommend it.

This was such a cute romcom! I loved Gillian and Noah as a couple. The gardening competition was a unique aspect to the story and very fun!

This story really made me want to dive in to gardening! Which wasn't really the whole point of it, but a definite underlying theme. This story was so cute, I really enjoyed the FMC and her independent "I can do it all," attitude, as I saw myself in her. The MMC was cute and grumpy but with a nice soft side (lil cinnamon roll!). Overall 4 stars, this author is great!

2.5 stars, rounded up

I struggled a bit with this book. It took me a week to read which is quite long for a romance (which are typically pretty fast reads for me). This didn’t really hold my interest and the stakes felt very low. Both of the characters were flat and I found Gillian kind of annoying in spots.

I also had some issues with the writing style. For example, Gillian’s reaction to seeing Noah shirtless was “Great googly moogly” which..:.ugh. It made her seem like she was about twelve instead of a divorced woman in her 30s. Other scenes too were just weird and didn’t really fit with the (mostly clean) story.

Plot wise, it was fairly slow. The whole garden competition took quite a while to get going and the stakes felt fairly low.

Love the cute cover and the punny title, but I wish I had liked this one more.

Hedging Your Bets by Jayne Denker is an entertaining, delightful, and clean romance that is once again set in Willow Cove; the fictional small town from The Rom-Com Agenda where we fell in love with Leah and Eli. This time we learn more about Leah’s friend Gillian.

Gillian is a long time resident of Willow Cove and is known for being smart, sassy, and single. Noah is new to town, having had his heart broken in California, and moves in next door to Gillian.

As someone who regularly enters the local Gardening Clubs annual competition, Gillian is appalled when she sees Noah ripping up flowers and plants that serve as a border between their yards. He’s ruined her hard work and she lets him know it, vowing to stay away from him. That proves difficult however considering Gillian is the local pharmacist and Noah is plagued by his newly found east-coast allergies.

Noah, feeling bad about their first encounter, offers up a garden gnome as a sign of peace. Gillian responds by hanging it in his backyard.

This frenemies story was a four star read for me and I really enjoyed it after immediately reading The Rom-Com Agenda. I definitely recommend it to those who prefer cute, clean romance that is a slow burn.

Thank you NetGalley, Jayne Denker, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ahead of the anticipated January 9th, 2024 release date in exchange for a candid review.

I quite enjoyed this book. A fun closed door romance. Gillian, a plus sized woman, venturing into the dating world after her divorce, has a new (and hot) neighbour that she is butting heads with. But he really that bad?! I loved this author’s writing style. The storyline was funny, cute, entertaining and just plain fun. It also delved into the hard conversations about weight. I really liked Gillian - she was a strong, independent woman - a professional Pharmacist who loves gardening and has the greatest group of friends.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. I recommend this book for those looking for a well written and fun romcom.