Okay I have been trying to get through this for a month and it just isn't happening. I think this is a "wrong person wrong time" issue, because it is exactly the type of book I usually LOVE. I'm going try this one again when I'm playing my garden in may and see if the timing is better!

I'm 60% of the way through, and it is really well written with FUN characters and a great setting, so I think readers who love "Friends to lovers" would probably really enjoy this one!

Hedging Your Bets by Jayne Denker is such a fun novel. It is a cute rom com based on gardening. This is a second chance romance and enemies to lovers format. The novel started slowly and at first I thought they were all elderly. Overall, it was an interesting read. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

Feuding neighbors during a small town gardening competition, count me in! This book has a very slow start, the back half of the book is where the action really happens. I found that Gillian went on too many terrible dates, which felt like the easiest way to paint Noah as perfect for her. I did really love the small town politics and the meddling seniors, they made the book for me. Despite the slow start this book was a cute fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC.

This was a charming, enemies to more clean romance that was such a pleasure to read. Gillian is divorced and has tried the dating scene a few times, but nothing ever worked out, so she decided to give all her attention to her beloved garden. Noah needed a fresh start after a big break up and moves in next to Gillian. They don't quite get off on the right foot when Noah accidentally ruins a part of her garden. Despite the heated rivalry between the two, sparks undoubtedly fly between them, and Noah can't keep his mind off of Gillian. As the animosity (and attraction) between them began to grow, the banter between these two was a lot of fun to read. I also enjoyed the cozy, small town atmosphere and the quirky and lovable side characters. A very sweet and charming story with lovely characters!
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Gillian is happily divorced. And she is about ready to write off dating apps after dealing with all the less than stellar matches it has provided. She instead finds enjoyment in her garden and prepping it for the annual garden competition.

But when Noah moves in next door and doesn't see eye to eye with Gillian about how their gardens border one another, they get into some serious clashes around the garden competition.

Both Gillian and Noah feel a magnetism towards one another that is at odds with their garden war. With they both be able to bury the hurts of their pasts to be about to allow a relationship to flourish?
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I was excited about the premise of this one. I like a neighbor enemies to lovers romance. But this one was just okay. I feel like the build up to them getting together was much better than once they got together. Once they were together, their relationship lost any sparkle the banter of their pre relationship flirting had.
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This is a closed door romance. There is implied intimacy and language.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the book that I read along with the library audio.

This was a fun, whitty bantered, slow burn enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy. Gillian is this amazingly kick-butt strong woman who happens to go toe-to-toe with her grumpyish, good looking, new neighbor in the town's garden competition. The more he gets to know her, the more Noah realizes how fantastic she truly is and finds himself feeling guilty for needing to win the garden competition, his future depends on it. This is a fun read with supporting characters who are as whitty as the main characters - and a few that a reader may recognize if they had read The Rom-Com Agenda.

Gillian works as a pharmacist but loves gardening in her free time. She's been trying to win the town gardening contest for years, but the mean neighbor always beats her. When Noah moves in next door and messes with her hedges, they become enemies.

The story is about their slow journey from enemies to lovers, set in a charming small town. I liked the meddling neighborhood grannies who try to help. The romance took too long to develop for me, and some parts felt unrealistic. Still, it's a fun, easy read with a quick pace.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read Hedging Your Bets.

This was a cute closed door, enemies to lovers novel. I loved the neighbors in a gardening competition. The main character had some body issues that I didn’t love. It was a okay audiobook, but it wasn’t particularly memorable.

Thank you St Martins Press for my gifted copy.

Jayne Denker kicks off 2024 with the release of her newest romcom, Hedging Your Bets. What was my first read of the new year ended up being just what I needed to start 2024 off right!

I really related to Gillian’s struggle with online dating and her desire for a real connection with someone (although unfortunately for me, I do *not* have a hot new neighbor that I can pine over lol) but I loved how Denker shows the realities of the modern dating world in a humorous, but also sobering light.

Denker also does a good job of giving a snippet of what it’s like to end a relationship when there’s a child involved. It’s not gone into great detail, but even the little bits of Noah grappling with missing Aiden shows more realities when dating.

I also really enjoyed the small-town trope mixed in with enemies-to-lovers! It’s a classic, but not overdone, story aspect that I will never get enough of!

If you’re a fan of fade-to-black romances then I highly recommend this book enough!

*I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest opinion.

There is nothing I love more than a closed-door, truly funny, rom-com, and Hedging Your Bets by Jayne Denker completely delivered. I loved the various characters in the book, especially Gillian's 3 older neighbors Carol, Arnette, and Judy. These women were hilarious and delivered lots of comic relief to the storyline, not that anything ever got *too* serious. The viewpoints alternate between Gillian and her neighbor Noah, and this story was perfection on audiobook! Katelyn Levering narrates our FMC while Nick Mondelli narrates our MMC, and together they really brought these characters to life for me.

I kinda loved that the rivalry between the two characters is based on a gardening competition, and sometimes the way Noah acted was just so eye roll inducing, that he seemed like a kid acting out. Especially when he pulls out a bunch of bushes and so ensues the love/hate feud between himself and Gillian. I could have done without some of that, but overall, I still generally enjoyed him as a character, and they definitely made for a cute pairing in the end. I would have loved some more characterization and depth to the story, but overall Hedging Your Bets was sweet and fun, and I would give it a read if you are in the mood for something light.

The language on this book felt really complicated for no reason, and even though the story had potential, it felt wasted and really dull for me.

I absolutely loved this book. This was my first Jayne Denker and it definitely won't be my last. It was witty and definitely kept my attention throughout the entire book.

3.5 stars. This was a cute, quick read. Although it was quite predictable, it also has some lovely supporting characters that add a bit of extra laughs.

We’re heading back to Willow Cove with “Hedging Your Bets” by Jayne Denker. This time we follow pharmacist Gillian Pritchard. Gillian has been on a series of unfortunate online dates, when a chance encounter with her new neighbor leaves her fuming. Noah West might be gorgeous, but he has some stuff to learn about this small town, but especially about Gillian, starting with her garden and how pulling up the hedges is a high offense.

Enemies to lovers, this book is full of fun banter and wit. Gillian and Noah are less of a will-they, won’t-they and more of a they-will-but-when kind of situation. It was a light, easy read that flew by and didn’t get too complicated, which was nice, but I did wish this book packed a little more of a punch plot-wise. I liked the low spice level. I think for the setting and style this book was a nice read.

In the end, I gave it 3 stars. It is cute and sweet, I just wish a little more had happened to keep me guessing or to jog my interest.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! This book is out now!

This was a cute and quick read, but I felt like it took a little too long to really get Noah and Gillian together. I loved the character of Gillian and how she is no nonsense, tough girl who takes no crap, but I think the characters fell a little flat for me - especially Noah. I needed a little more from him and his character seemed to be like two different people through the story. Definitely a cute idea but needed a little more to it.

Noah the male protagonist of Hedging Your Bets was too much of a grump to grab much of my interest and his stomping on the garden of our female protagonist gave him much hope to say yeah this couple is interesting. Our female protagonist is going to be preyed for sabotage since Noah has to pay back taxes. Just not much of a premise to gain any ground for me as a reader.

As a garden educator, I was looking forward to this story but it wilted for me.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review Hedging Your Bets by Jayne Denker.

Divorcee and local pharmacist Gillian Pritchard has been put through the wringer as she re-enters the dating scene. After one bad date too many, she’s almost sworn off men for good. She’s decided to focus on getting her garden ready for Willow Cove’s upcoming garden competition, but her new heartthrob of a neighbour, Noah West derails her plans. The pair clash over just about everything, but the spark between the two of them is undeniable. If you like enemies-to-lovers romantic comedies, you’ll want to pick up Hedging Your Bets by Jayne Denker.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC of this book! All opinions in this review are my own. I have read another book by this author and was excited to get an early copy of this one. That being said, the premise of this one (a garden competition) was just a little too far fetched and silly for me. The two main characters, Gillian and Noah, were likeable and I was rooting for them but I found that I was just a little bored as I was trying to get through the book. It was super slow and with this type of book, I find that it's easy to get bored if things don't happen a little quicker. Thanks for the opportunity to review.

This book just wasn't my cup of tea. I didn't connect to the characters (inner Bette just wasn't for me). I'm also not a gardener so I wasn't that into this part of the story.

Such a lovely book! A small town enemies to lovers romance was just what I needed when I stumbled upon this up. I loved the banted between Noah and Gillian. They become enemies when Noah tramples part of Gillian's garden which has she has spent a lot of time cultivating. Noah owes money in back taxes, hence why he has to sabotage Gillian and her chance to win the gardening competition. I also really enjoyed the grumpy/sunshine aspect and even when they were fighting, I got a sense of sweetness in their relationship. While I don't usually go for closed door romances, this one did not disappoint.