Overall 4/5 star for me this rom com style book! While it was a slow start for me, once I got hooked I was hooked. I enjoyed the silly plot and the characters nonchalant ways. I will say the book does discuss some more serious topics like the social view of being female. I enjoyed our main characters journey through enemies to lovers and was satisfied with the HEA. I loved the gossiping old ladies and the hint of whimsical with our ghosty. Overall had a good time reading!

4/5 stars
0 chili peppers (closed door romance)

3.5 stars.

Heding Your Bets was a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance, emphasis on the slow. Coming off a bad breakup, Noah sells his business and moves across the country to start over. He buys the property next door to Gillian. They butt heads over the hedge dividing their properties. I liked Gillian. She is extremely comfortable in her own skin and manages to bounce back quickly from a string of bad online/app dates. Noah, too, was easy to like once you ignore his growly entrance into the story. I wish they’d gotten together a bit sooner as I adored the book once they finally did. Denker does an amazing job showing the couple fall for one another. I found it particularly refreshing that Noah comes clean about why he entered the gardening competition and how maturely Gillian handled it all.

***Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Griffin and Jayne Denker. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own.***

Don't they say that usually when people really like each other they usually antagonize each other a lot first? I enjoyed seeing Noah and Gillian come together and work on their gardens. I loved the blue haired neighbor ladies and all their "help!" This was just a fun read!

This was my first official ARC! I did not read The Rom-Com Agenda prior to this, but now I need to. It is set in the same universe/ group of friends.
Enemies/ rivals to lovers where tbh HE falls first. Dual POV - which is my fave, I love seeing both sides of relationships and falling in love lol. I really enjoyed this! Loved the banter and female main character so much. The representation of plus sized women is always my fave. Also the gardening rivalry was HILARIOUS to me. Small town, closed door romance with rivals to lovers and a sprinkle of found family.

"Hedging Your Bets" is an adorable enemies-to-lovers romcom.

Closed door romances are normally not my favorite, but the banter between new neighbors, Noah and Gillian, as they battle and bond, over an annual small town gardening competition, is great.

I enjoyed Gillian's journey of being a plus size FMC navigating the dating scene. The trio of older neighborly women was also endearing.

Overall, this was a quick, fun, lighthearted read. It would make for a great Hallmark movie! 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for the banter.

Spice: 🌶️
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you St. Martin's Press & Netgalley for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest, and unbiased, review.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This was an adorable quick read. I loved the banter between Gillian and Noah (the name of all good book boyfriends!) This was a typical enemies to lovers without real spice. I usually miss it but not in this book. I can’t wait to come back to Willow Cove

If you’ve ever experienced the horrors of using a dating app this book will make you chuckle! The heroine was a strong lead. Having Bette Davis in your ear through times of self doubt help. I liked Gillian she definitely took the bad dates in stride but kept trying, Noah moving to town for a new start helped him through his struggles as well. It’s tough being the friendless new kid on the block. Their love/ hate was fun to watch play out.

It was a really cute read. Something I would expect from a enemies to lovers romance. The banter was cute. I LOVED Inner Bette I thought that was a nice spin. Something I don’t see too often in books. Well, not the ones usually read.

I would like to see this as a Hallmark movie. I think it touches off the bases those types of story’s have. There’s a gardening competition, the handsome rival, a past incident, some insecurities, a head strong female, and a great community.

I love a good romance, and this one was wonderful! It had witty banter, and lovable characters. I was rooting for them the whole way through!

“Hedging Your Bets” is a rom-com by Jayne Denker. I must ask - how adorable is that cover? (The answer is very!). This is the second book in the Willow Cove series, but can be read as a stand-alone book. This book has two neighbors who go from enemies to lovers in a small town. This was an enjoyable read - a bit predictable and not earth shattering, but enjoyable.

Gillian as worked hard to achieve her goals of winning the local gardening competition. Noah is new to town and ruining all her plans. What starts as a feud between neighbors blurs into a relationship of mutual help respect and love. This is a closed door romance with a charming happily ever after in an even more charming town.

Hedging your bets is a cute rom-com featuring a smart, independent, plus- size pharmacist (Gillian) and her moody neighbor (Noah) who end up going head to head in the city's gardening competition.

The cover is what originally drew me in and overall the book was an enjoyable, quick read. The conflict that caused the main characters to be enemies was a little far-reaching and easily resolved, but allowed for some decent banter/tension throughout. My favorite characters in the book were easily the neighborhood grannies. The way they interacted together and with Gillian and Noah were hilarious and had me wishing they had more scenes.

"Just great--stealth grannies"

"Gillian Pritchard," Arnette said in her scoldy voice, which was no less effective at a reduced volume, "I want you to take a good look at those shoulders. And if you don't go over and introduce yourself right now, there's no hope for you."

-Enemies-to-lovers
-Dual POV
-Found family
-Small-town

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this book's reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts!

This was an enjoyable quick, beach type read. Parts were predictable but it was a nice change from some of the heavier things I’ve read recently.. i absolutely loved the old lady neighbor mob and the hanging gnome but could have done without implications re: body type, etc.

This was a really cute and sweet read, and you definitely didn't miss the spice in this one with how entertaining the back and forth between the main couple is. The gnome bit they did was particularly entertaining. I also really liked the supporting cast of characters and the small town vibes. I recommend this if you're looking for a quick and cute read.
The Inner Bette Gillian had was really the only part that threw me. I could have done without that as it did not really fit the rest of the book. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Pressfor the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Opposites attract in this small town, enemies to lovers romantic comedy. Gillian and Noah’s relationship was so fun to follow. I loved Gillian’s confidence and Noah’s sweet shyness. Readers get to follow their journey to love and witness all the challenges they overcome on the way. I also fell hard for the side characters and their big personalities- they were by far my favorite characters and a perfect addition to this story!

3.5 stars for well-developed characters and a good plot line.

Hedging Your Bets was a cute romcom, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. It is a cute enemies to lovers with a garden competition intertwined. The characters are lovable, even with a beginning of grumpy/sunshine which turns out to not be so grumpy; however, all the side characters are equally lovable. There is character growth and development, and the characters are extremely well rounded.

It is a closed door romance, so those looking for spice beware, but the tension is high. It is a great story between Gillian and Noah and shows their growth. There is diversity and shows the highs and lows of online dating and dating in general.

This was cute! I enjoyed the banter between Gillian and Noah and their growth together. There definitely was room for more exploration of their relationship (a good bit of time was spent on others) but overall I enjoyed this book (though I could’ve done without the Inner Bette).

Hedging Your Bets was such an enjoyable book that was a great read to round out my summer reading!

The book offers dual POV following two neighbors, Noah and Gillian. Gillian is a local to an idyllic upstate New York town and Noah is a returning "summerer" who is now making Willow Cove his full-time residence seeking redemption after a heartbreak. When Noah's hope at redemption turns out to be a financial liability he is extorted by a too-big-for-her britches city government official to enter the town's annual garden contest - in which Gillian is a top competitor!

What made this book standout to me was how natural the progression from enemies to lovers seemed. The transition felt organic and realistic and not rushed at all. I loved the banter between the two characters and the commentary from the cast of supporting characters who knew all along that these two belonged together. This progression also featured a really great redemptive character arc for the main male character. Additionally, for Gillian, you witness her fall in love with someone who appreciates her for who she is and is not looking to change her appearance - as she's experienced with men in the past.

This book was an easy read and I flew through it. I rated four stars as I thought it was a very well-done romance! One thing I would've enjoyed to see in the book was a more descriptive timeline - at times I was confused on how long time had passed or where we were in the relation to the summer.

Loved this book! It was such an easy and quick read! I’m a sucker for small town romance AND enemies to lovers and this one didn’t miss the mark! Also, love the body positivity! We need more of that!

Definitely a cute, low-spice rom-com. A bit slow and definitely a closed-door romance, but still enjoyable!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.