This book has what it needs to be a 3-4 star read for many people, it just wasn't for me. I struggled to connect with the characters and was easily frustrated by both of them. I also found some of the storyline surrounding taxes and the gardening competition to be a little over the top,

Both of our MCs had a lot of redeeming qualities, but their constant self-sabotage and our FMCs constant focus on her size just became repetitive. I also felt like somehow this book chose to make every man that our FMC came in contact with sexist and a walking red flag. I would have liked some potential competition or a realistic love interest to up the tension between our main characters.

The side characters, especially our old lady gang was a hoot, and I enjoyed the appearances they made. Overall, I think this book will be super enjoyable for some, especially is you enjoy a light hearted, enemies to lovers-esque romcom.

I really enjoyed this story! Gillian is such a firecracker of a character, who clearly has captured the hearts of everyone in her town-- the way every single person made sure to tell Noah how amazing she was really spoke to her character. I loved her dedication to her town and the people she loves. And Noah is sweetheart who starts on the wrong foot in town, pulling up Gillian's beloved hedges and making an enemy out of her, and thus essentially the town. I loved how dedicated he was, though, to making Willow Cove his home after suddenly deciding to move there. Noah and Gillian start on the wrong foot, then become kinda friends, then rivals in the local garden competition, which makes their connection even more fun and tension-filled.
I really felt for Gillian and her awful luck in love, especially relating to her exasperation over the way internet men feel entitled to comment on someones weight (newsflash, no one has that right!!!). So I loved how Noah was able to be kind and loving with those twice-burned parts of Gillian, while also being a contentious foe at the beginning and during their rivalry.
Overall, very cute story with low spice and big build-up! Very fun, cute, and sweet. Thank you for the ARC!!!

Lighthearted romance about two lost souls looking for love in a small town filled with quirky characters. I wanted to like this book more but felt the characters needed to be developed more so I could actually care about and root for them.

Mein Leseerlebnis

Das schöne Buchcover und der sich frisch anhörende Klappentext sprachen mich gleich an, daher bin ich mit Freude und Zuversicht ans Lessen herangegangen. Doch beim Lesen musste ich leider schnell feststellen, dass die Chemie zwischen mir und der Liebesgeschichte nicht stimmte.

Das lag vor allem an den Dialogen, diese hörten sich für mich nicht besonders natürlich an und konnten mein Interesse daher nicht halten. Auch konnte ich mir die Hauptcharaktere nicht als richtige Personen vorstellen.

Zudem gibt es in der romance ein besonderes Element, mit dem ich wenig anfangen konnte. Und auch das Kleinstadtleben war dieses Mal nicht so ganz mein Fall.

- keine Bewertung, da abgebrochen -

Für wen?

Wer ruhige Liebesromane mit Kleinstadtgefühl mag, sollte sich das Buch näher anschauen.

Mein Fall war die Liebesgeschichte zwar nicht, aber ich kann mir gut vorstellen, dass die romance andere Leser:innen gut unterhalten könnte.

A fun return to the same small town (and group of friends) as Denver’s Rom-Com Agenda. This is another cozy story, low stakes but engaging. I had a great time checking back in with this group of family and friends, rooting for this enemies-to-lovers pair to get past their obstacles and into one another’s arms!

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of Hedging Your Bets by Jayne Denker.

Solid 3 stars. Fade-to-black, so if you prefer no spice this one's great. Lot's of tension which had you rooting for the characters. Pleasantly surprised by the amount of communication between characters. Love me some good plus-sized rep. Not a huge fan of her "inner Bette" especially at the very end; seemed unnecessary to me

The first bit of the book was sort of putzing around. Nothing really came together until a little over halfway it felt. I was still thoroughly invested in this slow burn, enemies to lovers, hate to love conglomerate.

I could not figure out how they were going to come to a conclusion without a third act breakup (as there typically is one in many romances), but I was happy to see how it all shook out in the end.

Would recommend for slow burn romances lovers who like a dollop of hate to love and a sprinkle of tension in their books.

Cute romance! Enjoyed the banter and the progression of the relationship. Thanks to the publisher for the arc. All opinions are my own.

This was a cute romcom, I enjoyed it as a good time, and the banter was quite fun to read.
If you like a light enemies to lovers, gardening and east coast living vibes and are looking for an easy read, definitely pick this up.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"When small-town neighbors go head-to-head, better start Hedging Your Bets"
- Light hearted
- Closed-door, low-spice romantic comedy.
- Opposites attract
- Enemies-to-lovers
- Feuding neighbors and dueling hearts
- Dual POV

Cute read - enjoyed some of the banter (the gnome especially) - the small town bitties also were enjoyable (almost wished they played a bigger part). As a fellow gardener with a full figure - I enjoyed those connections to the main female character. I'd love to see books where the full figure person doesn't have to question her size.

Many thanks to Jayne Denker, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hedging Your Bets is a delightful read. The buildup between the divorced Gillian and newly relocated and single Noah was slower than most enemies to lovers stories, with enough grumpy and type A personality to keep you enthralled.

I could have done without some of the secondary characters in the peer friends group, as it did not really enhance the story in any significant way, though the older ladies that kept poking their noses into the romance got a chuckle or two.

Gillian just wants to win the garden competition but Noah throws a wrench (or a gnome) in her plan. The development of the “villain” Louise could have been deeper, but it still kept me engaged throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for my advanced copy.

This was cute. I really liked the characters and the give and take between them.
Liked all the gardening in it too..

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

Such a unique book, I loved the plot, and oh my god the characters we're so amazing!! I definitely will be recommending it!!

My second book by Denker, and I am enjoying these so far. This was a good follow up on The Rom-Com Agenda but in a way that didn't make it imperative for you to have read the first book in order to enjoy this or to catch onto the relationships. There are a lot of players, but after the initial flurry (and me having to go back to the previous book to recall who is who) it settles down. Jenna is probably my favourite, because she has some pretty awesome lines and is unfiltered like me in a lot of ways.

The characters are fun and the romance builds nicely. There is an enemies to lovers element, but it doesn't really play out quite the way I expected, and there really isn't a major blowout to complicate the story and the romance. I am done with romances where there is a (contrived) falling out towards the end that has to be resolved through a great gesture or something similar. I mean, yes it's a trope that works. But I think I've become jaded or have read too many of those stories and appreciate a story where the drama is less tear us apart. I suspect it's because I am more and more convinced that the relationships that last are the ones without the drama.

Anyhow, Gillian and Noah are very likeable characters, even when they are at their worst - Noah has more worst moments for sure - and the garden competition does not end up being too much for this book. Yes, gardening plays a role, but Denker refrains from putting too much into the flower pieces. And most of the garden scenes are eclipsed by the gnome. I love a good gnome in a garden, and the way that the gnome is incorporated is just plain fun.

Oh. I also love the three old ladies who stick their nose into things. Probably my favourite moment was when Noah went to brunch with them instead of folks his own age. I have to admit I wanted more of them throughout the book.

So, good main characters, fun secondary characters, conversations that flow nicely, a plot that progresses well, and a romance that just works. Hoping there is a book 3.

This book was decent. It took me a while to get into, but when I was in it, it went pretty fast until the end, where I felt like it dragged again. When they got together, finally, I thought that is where it started to drag again. The relationship between our MC's was hot and cold for me. I really enjoyed the banter at points, but sometimes I just felt like Noah said some crappy things about Gillian behind her back at first. I know it was enemies to lovers, which is my favorite trope, but some of the things he said at first rubbed me the wrong way. I also was having some trouble keeping all of our supporting characters straight most of the time. It felt like I was already supposed to know these people, but not having read The RomCom Agenda, I did not really get into their friend world as easily. There were some funny parts for sure, and I liked that there was some different body type representation from our FMC, but this book, to me, was just okay. I was decently entertained, but I am not frothing at the mouth over it.

I enjoyed book 1 in this series but was slower to connect with this storyline. Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

A fun romance around a new neighbor and a gardening competition. I enjoyed Thai typical premise with fun characters and conversations. A good beach read.

Light-hearted enemies-to-lovers rom com, where new neighbors Gillian and Noah feud over their small town garden competition.

A sweet story told in dual narration, Gillian is a pharmacist and gardener in her small town. She is a favorite of most everyone in town, but has not found 'the one' and is struggling through dating apps. Her weight, eating habits, and health is a discussion point in this book. Noah moves next door after Gillian's neighbor ups and moves to Florida, He has had his own breakup experience as in looking to set down roots. Of course their initial 'meet cute' does not go well, and sparks fly.

As they banter and argue over the gardening contest, Gillian and Noah, seem to hate-lust for each other, but hold fast to the "we are soooooo different" of course we can't like each other. It felt more like insta-love (if you're into that) and I did not feel much depth to their relationship.

I loved that "All About Eve" was in the book, however, the extended dreams/imagining of Bette Davis was kinda weird and did not feel like it fit in with the rest of the story. The supporting characters really pulled it together for me. Overall, if this is your jam, you will really like it.

I did have the opportunity to read an advance copy through NetGalley in exchagne for this review. Thank you to St. Martin's press.

2.5 out of 5 stars. The premise for hedging your bets was so cute and there were quite a few things that I enjoyed about it like the banter between the love interests. But overall it wasn't for me. I didn't really understand Gillian's desire to continue to online date when every time she went on one some over the top problem happened, and because she always said she didn't wanna be going on them. I also didn't get why every time Noah went to apologize or make up for his initial mistake he was snubbed off by her. It felt a little drawn out in that regard but overall it would be a great book for someone who loves the slow burn enemies to lovers romance style.

DNF at 33% - I’m sorry, I really tried to finish this but couldn’t get over the emotional and destructive binge drinking by Noah.

I can handle a lot of dark content in the fiction I read, but the overall self-pity attitude, lack of an actual apology (nor actual remorse), and toxic masculinity made me not want to continue reading this. I.e. Noah thinking his “charming” smile was enough. It would take a lot for me to get over the enemies to lovers hump and find Noah endearing enough to be a good match for Gillian.

I also found the writing to be wordy and clunky. I couldn’t get into the book and am unable to finish it despite multiple attempts.

I was kind of scared for a bit towards the end, I was expecting a third-act breakup but I’m glad that didn’t happen. Gillian is someone that a lot of woman can look up to. She’s comfortable in her own skin and what other people have said about her may have affected her when she was younger but she doesn’t let it affect her now. I’m glad she was the first one to say I Love You. I’m happy that Noah gets to stay and doe what he loves alongside the love of his life.