Entertaining and enjoyable romantic comedy. An engaging couple with a sweet enemies to lovers story. Intimate scenes are behind closed doors. If not for the "f" word, this would be a "G" rated book. The small-town atmosphere was a bonus, especially the older ladies. Many delightful characters. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

If you love small town romances with quirky supporting characters, and a very grumpy meets sunshine, this might be the book for you. Noah West has uprooted his life after his longterm girlfriend breaks up with him, On a whim, he buys the marina in the small town where he spent summers. He also buys an elderly woman's fully furnished house. His neighbor, Gillian, is also single. Although they are both immediately physically attracted to each other, they can't stand each other for most of the book. Noah tears out part of Gillian's yard when she's trying desperately to win the town's gardening contest. These two are really mean to each other for more than 75% of the book, so you really have to be patient to get to the romance. Once they become friends, the book becomes sweeter, There's a subplot where Noah is facing an extortion scheme that seems a bit over the top, but this is a Romance, after all. Nothing in this book is terribly surprising, but if you are looking for a Romance that finally becomes cozy at the end, I recommend this one.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book.

I enjoyed this book and really liked the characters. I loved the small town feel of willow cove, with the nosy old ladies and the garden competition. I want to learn more about the different friends in the group and explore their relationships... for me it was the side characters that made the book - Delia and Gray, Uncle Manny, Jenna and Ben, the nosy old lady neighbors. I thought that Gillian's dates gave some good insight into her and her insecurities but man, did I want to hit some of them! I am happy I am not trying to date with dating apps!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

2.5-3 stars

I thought this book was okay. There wasn't anything special or great about it, to make it stand out from all the other romance books. The way that the author kept spouting that it was okay that the fmc was fat because she was a healthy fat, did make me want to stop reading at some points because everyone deserves to be loved/respected/whatever whether they are "healthy" or "unhealthy". Overall, this book was a very quick to read, closed door romance.

Thank you to @netgalley and @Stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @dreamscape_media for a free download of the audiobook.

I wanted to love this enemies to lovers romance, but in the end, it was just fine. The writing was good, but the storyline just seemed bland to me. The book was still cute and I would recommend it to people who prefer a mild spice read.

3 stars

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This was such a weird and quirky story. Never have I read a book where a garden competition is the center of the drama. It was a quick read/listen, and was really fun.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

This book was so cute! It took me a while to get through it, but that's no fault of the book. I haven't been in the romcom mood BUT the banter and antics kept me giggling and the love story was so sweet. Noah and Gillian start off as neighborhood rivals feuding over their respective lawns ahead of the town-wide garden competition. But of course, as any good enemies-to-lovers novel does, their feud only serves to bring them closer together. They each come with their own baggage from prior relationships, and it gave a lot more dimension to the story rather than being all light and fluffy. Overall, I loved it and will continue to read Jayne Denker's books!

Gillian likes her life. She’s a successful pharmacist, taking care of her neighbors in the small town of Willow Cove. Divorced and finally ready to find a new relationship, she tries the dating apps, only to find multi-level marketers, doomsday preppers, and men who can’t be bothered to include her in their conversations. But she thinks the guy is out there, and she believes she’ll find him. In the meantime, she has her backyard garden. It won third place in last year’s garden competition, and after lots of planning, Gillian is planning on winning this year with her English garden.

Noah just moved to Willow Cove, and he quickly upset his new neighbor by ripping out the hedge that separated their property. Immediately, his new neighbor Gillian came out of her house and yelled at him for ripping out his own shrubs. They were on his property, after all. He does notice that she’s gorgeous, but she is way too attached to those boring hedges, so he doesn’t understand why she went so crazy about them. Until he went into town. Everyone he talked to took Gillian’s side, knowing how much her garden means to her. So Noah decides to apologize to her, complete with a cute garden gnome to give her garden a little interest.

Needless to say, the gnome didn’t go over well.

Meanwhile, Noah takes a closer look at the books for the marina he bought. He hadn’t taken the time to go through everything closely before he signed the papers. He had just wanted to create a new life for himself. After his girlfriend in California asked him to move out, he packed up and moved across the country, to the place where he spent his summers with his uncle Manny. Noah bought a house and bought the marina, looking to build a future far away from his heartbreak.

It turns out that he owes the town a lot in back taxes. Like, a lot of money. Far more than he has to offer them. He goes to the town treasurer to try to talk to her, try to work out a payment plan or something, but he hits a brick wall. Louise March is the treasurer and also the head of the gardening club. She is the lead judge for the gardening competition, and she will do anything she can to keep Gillian from winning. Including offer Noah a chance to “win” the competition, in exchange for some lenience in paying the back taxes.

Noah can’t help but feel an attraction towards his neighbor. But she is also completely infuriating. And this is business. If the town tries to collect on his tax debt before he has the money together, he loses the marina and his livelihood. So, putting in a garden is it. He starts clearing out the weeds in his backyard and chooses new plants to go in the beds. But will it be enough to win?

Gillian watches as her cute neighbor works in his garden. He clearly has no affinity for gardening, as he puts sun plants in the share and shady plaints in the sun and protects weeks like they are valuable. She isn’t worried about his winning, as she’s been working on her garden for five years now. But she can also tell that he’s up to something. Can she figure out what’s going on in time to win the competition as she planned, or will she figure out a way to change the game?

Hedging Your Bets is the latest rom com from Jayne Denker, whose The Rom-Com Agenda introduced readers to the charming town of Willow Cove. Now it’s Gillian’s turn to be the friend who finds love there, and this story of enemies-to-lovers is even more charming than the first. Maybe I think that because I’m a big fan of the gardening story line, but these characters are so charming.

I really loved this book. Gillian’s sunny personality meets Noah’s grumpy one, and neither one is the same from the start. There is a sweetness to their courtship, even when it looks like they are just fighting. Gillian and her friends keep the action moving along, as the pages seem to to turn all on their own. Reading this was fun and delightful and lovely, and it made for perfect reading in below freezing temperatures, so I could dream about warmer days with beautiful flowers outside. If you are into gardening or just love a good rom com, then you will want to start Hedging Your Bets as soon as you can.

Egalleys for Hedging Your Bets were provided by St. Martin’s Griffin through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exhange for my honest review.

The first half was a little slow for me but the sercond half did get more exciting. However, during the second half, there were a few phrases there that just gave me the ick. I powered through but it totally ruined the book for me.

overall a 2 star read

Book Review
Hedging Your Bets by Jayne Denker

Rating: I liked it!

This was a pretty medium paced read with a cute storyline. Gillian is a strong, independent, garden loving, pharmacist who frequents the dating apps. Noah is a recently single artist that moves next door to Gillian. These enemies don’t take very long to become frienemies and they also don’t take long to become lovers from there. 😜

There were a few different conflict points in this book but none felt super substantial to me. Gillian is a great plus size rep that has struggled with men in the past because of it, but honestly she was great at being herself. So even that conflict just felt a little light.

I loved the garden competition and the group of nosey old lady neighbors. They were hilarious. Sometimes I felt like there were a bit too many characters to keep track of, but by the end it was easier. I also felt like some of the side characters had storylines introduced but not expanded on. Which is fine, but sometimes seemed irrelevant to bring up.

Read if you like
🌷 Garden competitions & Gnomes
❣️Enemies to lovers
👵🏻 Sassy old lady neighbors
🏡 Small Towns
🚪 Closed door romance

Thank you to NetGalley for this early ARC!

I found this book on NetGalley and the cover absolutely drew me in. I've never read anything by the author, but the gardening, plus-sized heroine, and battling neighbors sounded promising. I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review, and as the 2 stars indicates, it was okay.

I had an exceptionally hard time getting into this book. It is a slow-burn, closed door romance, that was less enemies to lovers and more bad first impression that you can't move past. Neither protagonist is particularly likable or relatable, and to me, the entire book would have been better if told from the POV of the chorus of neighborhood busybodies talking about the hot young neighbors. THAT would've made me laugh and keep reading. There was so much potential, and it just fell flat.

However, if the author writes about about Louise Marsh and her rise to power, I'd totally read it.

*ARC Review*

This book was a slow read for me. I just could not get into it. I usually love a small town romance but found this one slow and did not click with the characters. I found the two main characters to be quite annoying and did not really care what happened with them (is that too harsh??). I liked the body positivity aspect of the story and the strength of the female main character. I did not like the extortion theme and found its relation to a gardening competition to just not make sense. This one wasn't for me.

rating: 4⭐️
spice: 0🌶️

tropes:
- enemies to lovers
- close proximity (neighbors)
- small town
- competition (gardening)

thoughts:
this was a cute and fast paced, closed door rom-com! this follows characters we met from Jaynes previous book, “the rom-com agenda” Gillian and newcomer Noah!

Noah upends his life and moves across country to start over. Gillian is having terrible luck on dating apps but when her neighbors point out a new face… maybe there is hope? Noah moves in next door to Gillian, who he finds beautiful and charming… until he rips out the hedges that separate their yards… then it’s war.

the rest of the novel follows their journeys of figuring out life and somehow doing that brings them back together 💕

you should read this if you enjoy cute meddling neighbors, closed door romance, fun gardening competitions and a great group of friends!

thank you St martins, netgalley and jayne for this advanced copy!

This was a cute story overall. It seems to be part of a series but works as a stand-alone read. Overall, I enjoyed the connection and banter between the main characters, which follows the enemies to lover trope story line. Their relationship has its typical back and forth of incidents that builds throughout the storyline with some well-meaning help from good friends and nosy neighbors. There are some elements, such as the inner-monologue the main female character has with herself or her imaginary friend, that were somewhat distracting however. The moment when the main characters connect happens a bit too early in the storyline causing the ending to feel drawn out and end rather flat. Overall, it's a great read for anyone who enjoys a mild (not spicy) love story.

Overview: Gillian clashes with Noah, her new (and attractive) neighbor who endangers her chances of winning the annual neighborhood garden competition by removing a hedge between their yards.

Thoughts: What a fun and light-hearted read! Both Gillian and Noah were such likable characters (with depth!). I absolutely loved the chemistry between them, and their banter had me cracking up. The neighborhood busybodies and Gillian’s friends were equally entertaining. AND there is a garden gnome. Who doesn’t love a garden gnome! I enjoyed this one so much that I will definitely check out Denker’s other books.

Take home message: This is a hilarious small-town (and closed-door) romance, which features a dynamic plus-sized heroine and a fun cast of supporting characters. Perfect for those who love the enemies-to-lovers trope and low-angst reads.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s for this digital ARC!

Thank you to Jayne, St Martins and NetGalley for my ARC copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was a funny and sweet romance book with plenty of banter and romantic tension. It was a little hard to get into the plot at first, but once the action picked up it was very entertaining!

One of my favorite things about this book was all the side characters we get to meet. From her awesome group of friends to the hilarious gang of old ladies, I truly enjoyed the relationships beyond just the FMC and MMC.

While it was a great read, I didn’t find myself highlighting or marking anything memorable to save for later. I did like the gardening contest plot point, and that was primarily why I picked it up. I’d recommend it to people looking for the unique topic but it didn’t stand out to me as a top book I’ve read.

Hedging Your Bets is an enemies-to-lovers, small town, low-spice romance. I really liked the story but wish it had more spice. The romance was a bit blah and boring. There were a couple of "window" scenes that were absolutely hilarious, and I wanted more of that.
It wasn't an exceptional romance for me, but it was still a fun, quick read that I would recommend to others looking for something light and easy.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

"𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 '𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶'. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘕𝘰𝘢𝘩 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴. 𝘋𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵."


Man, I'm such a sucker for a good enemies-to-lovers! ❤️

This is my second Jayne Denker 'Willow Cove' ARC and I have loved every minute of both visits!

I absolutely adore Gillian and Noah! And I love Gillian even more as someone who is also on the... well-endowed... side! LOL

Throw in an AMAZING found-family group, nosey neighborhood ladies, lots of failed online dating dates, and a top notch gardening competition... and you've got yourself a tasty little, closed-door 5 Star read! 😍

Huge thank you to one of my favorite publishers @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for this review!
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Denker writes a lighthearted and enjoyable book about two neighbors who simply do not see eye to eye on anything. She uses the characters of Jillian and Noah to effortlessly move the book from beginning to end that is set in a small town. There are nosy neighbors who insert themselves into daily life - invited or not - and the four nosy neighbors of this story are fun, funny & caring plus they have a few tricks up their sleeves.

Jillian is a pharmacist, loves her nosy neighbors, absolutely loves gardening and plans on winning the local gardening competition. Jillian does not like her new neighbor. She does not like inserting herself back into the dating pool. Old feelings about body image resurface with her dating experiences.

Noah rolls into town with a grumpy face and attitude. On impulse - back break ups make people do crazy things - he bought a house - located right next to Jillian - and a marina that ends up drowning in more issues than he imagined. Noah has no interest in gardening or competitions. Noah does find interest in Jillian and Noah falls first.

The Garden Gnome - well, he plays a role in the book that is entertaining, Just know, never, never give one to a serious gardening enthusiast!

Such a lovely read and listen! Make sure to pick it up!

This was a cute romance! I really enjoyed the banter between Gillian and Noah, and I especially enjoyed the gnome that kept making an appearance. While I also enjoyed a lot of the side characters, it did feel like there were too many to keep track of, and I often found myself confusing who was who at times.

I appreciated that there was no miscommunication trope in this one and that they were pretty solid in their relationship once they eventually got together. I will say though that I didn't fully get why they were enemies at the start and the reasoning just seemed a bit flimsy for me.

It wasn't an exceptional romance for my taste, but it was still a fun, quick read that I would recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.