Bet Against Me is a romance novel between two women who happens to be rivals in business. When I read the description it got my attention thinking I will read some sexy lesbian book. I got a bit disappointed seeing that it contains too much cliches and really slow in the beginning to my liking.
I like to read about hard working and ambitious women, who achieve their dreams, but when it turns into being mean with each other is just not my thing. I got more hooked, when Trina and Kendall turned from rivals to lovers. From that part the book got spiced up, sexy and fast paced.

While the enemies to lover trope may be a bit overdone, I've certainly never read a real-estate version! This was a fascinating book to read, and the characters were very well developed (as well as the main relationship). Trina being an Asian woman was a refreshing bit of representation, as it wasn't the focus of the story, but certainly wasn't ignored. Along those lines, it was wonderful to read a story with a trans character as well.

Trina and Kendall's relationship was a very interesting one to read, although the start was a bit shaky. One issue I had with it was that Kendall apologized numerous times for her classist remarks and behavior at the beginning of the story, whereas Trina never apologizes for accusing Kendall of not having earned any of her success multiple times throughout the story. She expresses remorse once, but it's immediately followed by her once more lashing out at Kendall the exact same way. This isn't a big problem, since it doesn't seem to bother Kendall, but as a reader it certainly doesn't make us like Trina any more.

The alternating perspectives was a good touch, and really highlighted the contrast between Trina and Kendall's work environment, while simultaneously showing parallels in both women's lives. Overall, this was a great book, and I will certainly be reading more of Fiona Riley's works in the future.

This book fell flat for me. First off, it was very hard to get into for a couple of reasons. One, I love the romance trope of two enemies falling for each other, but this one was just petty, and the characters were so mean to each other - especially Trina, who was extremely unlikeable. I didn't feel any chemistry at all between them.

The second issue I had was that I just kept expecting something to happen. I was bored reading this, and put it down a lot. The story just didn't keep my interest.

I couldn't get into this one. Too slow, too much real-estate, too mean.
The whole premise of the story is based on a ridiculous bet.
Kendall wins best realtor. Trina and her firm are mad because they didnt win so they say some really cruel things to Kendall. So instead of turning and walking away, Kendall says a bunch of cruel things back. (That whole scene was over the top mean)
So Tina's boss challenges Kendall's boss with a bet that Trina can out sell Kendall at some new water front condo. So the the first 50% of the book is about how nasty these 2 ladies can try to be to each other. I got bored. I know they will get together but I didnt care. I didnt like either of the characters or the bet.
The writing was good but wordy. Too much description, not enough story to keep me interested.

This was a very good read. I have to be honest that I wasn’t crazy about 2 out of the last 3 books Riley has written. For me they were good but just missing that spark. I’m happy to say that this book was very enjoyable and more like the Riley that wrote the Match series that I became such a fan of. This was the steamy romance I was hoping for and I’m excited to read more in this series.

I’m a big steamy romance fan and I also love the enemies to lovers trope. And as someone who enjoys watching Million Dollar Listings, I was very happy with the high stakes realtor theme too. This book was definitely a match for me and I would easily recommend it to other enemies to lovers fans. The fighting and banter that oozed into sexual tension was really well done. I also thought the two mains stayed enemies for the right amount of time. A lot of books have that tension end way too fast, but this book had the perfect amount of time to build up some great chemistry.

While I found the real estate parts to be very interesting, the heart of this book is the steamy romance. As I already mentioned before, this romance had wonderful chemistry. The two mains seemed completely made for each other and the sparks between them just kept growing and growing. And because they had so much chemistry, the sex scenes were all really well done. The sex scenes had a good mix of intimacy and dialogue that just steamed up the pages.

I complain about this a lot but I wasn’t big on the big conflict moment. You could tell what it would be about very early into the story. It was a little too predictable for my tastes. But what was even worse was that the character that really needed love and support, and probably therapy, is the one that had to win the other character back instead. That didn’t make any sense and had me scratching my head. While I liked the way the character won the other back because it was sweet, it should have been the other way around with the other main doing the wooing. In my mind, since there were outside forces affecting the characters, the big conflict scene should have been the two mains against the outside force. That would have made more sense and they could have grown closer together since they fought together. Always using an auto break-up for the final conflict, especially when it makes little sense, doesn’t work with every romance book and it’s why I can’t give this book more than 4 stars.

While I didn’t like how the final conflict played out, this was still a really good read. It’s just that it could have been one of my favorites of the year. Oh well, I still easily recommend this one to steamy romance and or enemies to lovers fans. This kind of book is Riley at her best and it was very nice to read.

Kendall hissed. “You would never win this competition. I beat you once and I’ll do it again.”
“Bet against me,” Trina challenged as she smiled her first genuine smile since before the awards started tonight. Fuck that stupid award—this was where the excitement was.

With her win for Realtor of the Year award so close she was touching it, Trina was sent crashing down when it was snatched right under her nose and awarded to the elusive Kendall Yates. To add fuel to fire, their respective agencies than pitted them against each other. The Best vs the Best.

As with all Fiona Riley’s books, sexual tension was dripping from the pages and the verbal sparring between characters sent it off the charts.

The book cooled somewhat towards the end and what would have made it from 4 to 5 stars was if readers could know more about Trina. That woman is a bomb!

I just reviewed Bet Against Me by Fiona Riley. #NetGalley

I always jump at the chance to read a romance written by Fiona Riley. There are several reasons for that. Her books are always entertaining with exciting story lines, gorgeous main characters, and some of the steamiest love scenes around. With Bet Against Me, Ms. Riley has created all of these elements and a whole lot more in one amazing tale.
This is an enemies-to-lovers romance with two successful realtors competing in a bet to see who can sell the most luxury condos within a certain time period. Trina Lee and Kendall Yates are both very competitive. Both dislike each other at first sight, but there is also that pesky mutual attraction that they have.

This is one of those books that grabs you at the beginning, and refuses to let you stop reading until the very end. Trina and Kendall are kick-ass women with looks, style, intelligence, and the drive to compete and win. The romance is off the charts steamy; both erotic and romantic with lots of highs and lows. The way Ms. Riley builds romantic tension using both outside forces as well as the chemistry between the two characters is truly incredible. The story itself is entertaining and exciting. She has created a charming love story with this novel. I totally enjoyed this romance and can recommend it to anyone who enjoys a great love story.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Rainbow Reflections: http://rainbowreflections.home.blog/

Entertaining romance. While reading this high stakes, luxury real estate story, I could not help but think about the few episodes of "Million Dollar Listing" I have taken time to view. This glamorous job/career presents a pressure cooker for real estate agents. It seems as though you have to be walking the line of confident and arrogant to be successful.

The premise of the story was interesting with two ambitious and talented realtors. Kendall Yates, is from Connecticut and new to the area. But she works hard and wins Realtor of the year. Trina Lee is established in the area and she thought the award went to the wrong person. As a result, their bosses decide to hold a competition to see who can sale the most units in a luxury apartment complex.

Not only is the competition fierce, the chemistry between Trina and Kendall is sizzling. Each woman begins to question if there should be more to life than selling property and making money. The supporting characters provided life to the story. Especially, Trina boss, Ellison and Kendall's father. I appreciated the character diversity. Well done!

Trina is up for an award as luxury realtor of the year. She is certain the award is hers because she is the best and has put in all the hard work necessary. She didn't factor Kendall, another realtor who is new to the area, into the equation. They meet. share a heated exchange, and end the night committed. To a competition, that is.

At first, their contentious behavior toward each other made it hard for me to like either of them very much. But as the book moved on, my feelings about them changed for the better. There really is nothing better than two women that hate each other so much they either need to fight or.... you know.

I have to say that this book felt deeper than previous Fiona Riley books I have read. I found myself feeling super invested in these two gals. I loved their chemistry and couldn't wait for them to combust together. I wanted them to fall for and make each other's lives better. This could have been a book where the two of them continued to butt heads ,but I was happy that the author took them down a more adult route where they tried to navigate their circumstances with maturity and respect.

I really liked this book with exception of what felt like an anti-climactic ending. The whole book was building up to this foreseeable confrontation/climax. And while it did deliver the anticipated scenario, it didn't offer the amount of conflict or excitement that I had hoped for. It all felt a little bit rushed and resolved easily.

Overall, I'm fairly certain that this is one of my favorites from Riley.

I recommend this book to those who like to read about romance, enemies to lovers, luxury real-estate, chemistry, trying to keep things casual, and flowers.

Trina and Kendall are rival realtors in Boston. When Kendal wins Realtor of The Year over Trinia their bosses start a competition to see which one can outsell the other at the new Seaport Condo.
The entire story felt forced and did not keep my attention.
Thank you NetGalley, Fiona Riley, and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC for my personal review.

Since her debut novel ‘Miss Match’ was published in 2016, I’ve read all of Fiona Riley’s books. I enjoyed her first series ‘Perfect match’, and was excited to start with ‘Bet against me’, book one of her ‘High Stakes’ series. I loved it and can’t wait to see what’s coming in the next installment.

Trina Lee and Kendall Yates are luxury property realtors working in competing companies, both very ambitious and extremely good at what they do. But there’s just one place at the top and neither of them is willing to be second best. When their respective employers decide to bet who will sell more properties in one of the most expensive buildings in Boston, both women jump at the chance to win the bet. If only a pesky mutual attraction wouldn’t get in their way…

This was an entertaining, fun, and hot novel and a very promising start of the ‘High stakes’ series. I admit that I wasn’t a fan of Ms. Riley’s previous book ‘Not since you’ but with this novel, I’m happy that she’s back to writing what she does best: hot and sweet romances with lovable characters and superb chemistry.

This is an enemies-to-lovers romance with the setting of the cutthroat Boston luxury real estate environment. Even though the bet story sounds a bit extreme for the real world, Ms. Riley has researched the business well and it works in the plot, at least to an unknowledgeable person like me. There is a good amount of detail about the real estate business and the fierce competition in that high-end market. I enjoyed reading about it a lot.

Ms. Riley’s readers know that her books feature likable characters with great chemistry between them. This book has it in spades and, as usual, the author delivers pent-up sexual tension and hot intimate scenes. Even though both leads come across as jerks at the beginning, the story slowly reveals their human and lovable side and show why they are made for each other. I wasn’t that invested in the subplot of Kendall’s past but it makes sense in the context of the story and helps to see the character in another light.

Overall, another entertaining, fun, and hot romance by Ms. Riley. I can’t wait to see what’s next in the series. 5 stars.

ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

See all my reviews at www.lezreviewbooks.com

This was an engaging romance that focused on two rival up and coming queer Realtors. I felt like at first the hatred between the two characters was way to extreme and it didn’t seem contextualized. They both came off as vapid cruel people for the first 1/3 of the book. Once they stopped being aggressively mean to each other I was able to see redeeming characteristics of both protagonists. Despite the annoyances I had of the hatred in the beginning I really like having queer romances, so this book was fun for me. The flirtations between the protagonists were very heated and believable.

As an aside that doesn’t have to do with the rest of the review, I really liked how the character of Jax was portrayed with the pronouns they/them/theirs with little fanfare. It is good to have any gender non conforming/non-binary representation in books.

Thanks to the publisher Bold Strokes Books, Inc. and to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Trina Lee and Kendall Yates are both up for Realtor of the Year in Boston. Trina knows she has the trophy in her purse, but when the award goes to Kendall she and her co-workers are left stunned. When Kendall and her boss are confronted, they leave the party with a bet placed that whoever outsells each other in a new high rise that is new Realtor of the year. Oh how this could all go done so terribly.

After I finished reading this one, I thought about it the entire night. First let me say that I love Fiona Riley's romances. I always look for her new books and will continue to do so. With that said, Bet Against me fell flat for me. I really wanted to enjoy this one and found myself really only liking Kendall. Both characters have some family issues, but Kendall really is the one who rises about her troubles. I thought that I would eventually get the point were I would be okay with Trina, but that really didn't happen for me. I was really detached from this one. This one even has some steamy scenes, but I felt indifferent about them. I just really want to get through this one. Now I will say the writing was perfectly fine, I just hated Trina and couldn't see Kendall wanting to be with her. The ending even sorta rubbed me wrong.

I give this one 3 stars because I still really like Fiona Riley and will continue to read her books. Plus she is a talented writer.

This arc was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

This book is so good. All the characters are excellent, including the secondary cast. The leading women are the right amount of complicated, sassy, sentimental and loving. The romance is hot, smart, and oh so romantic. The competition and the menace of the father adds extra elements of intrigue and zip to the plot. I really liked the inclusion of an Asian lead, that was written properly without any fussing or weird stereotypes. Reading this book made me happy. You can’t ask for more than that. It’s excellent. If you like romance you should read it as you won’t be disappointed.

rep: lesbian mc(s?), Vietnamese-Chinese mc, sapphic side-characters, trans side-character
tws: abusive father, slight physical abuse in ch 30

it's not often that books have this amount of chemistry between the characters so wow. both Kendall and Trina are very ambitious, powerful and confident women and amazing realtors and I'm like so gay... it was such a nice change from the type of main characters that the other romances I've read had, you have no idea how invested I was and how much I enjoyed their banter and their flirting. also it had me blushing more than a few times.

they're off on a rocky start, that's true, and they're kind of archnemesis, but I absolutely loved them both and how their relationship progressed. enemies to lovers excellence! I'm really disappointed to see that quite a few people find them annoying or "too mean" and we all know why that is cough misogyny cough.

the truth is, they're both amazing and powerful women and even though Trina disappointed me a bit in the end, (like can you at least hear your girlfriend out before shutting her out??) I still felt for them and rooted for them. I still think Kendall deserved to be treated way better in that situation but oh, well. they're in love and happy and that is all that matters.

that is one of the reasons I'm not giving it a full 5 stars. also because I read a review from an Asian reviewer who was not that happy with the Asian rep. another small detail was the use of "themselves" when referring to Jax, and I'm pretty sure the correct form is "themself". (speaking of Jax I would die for them they're so neat!!)

anyways, I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this and how much chemistry Kendall and Trina had. really recommend it!

Trina and Kendall are in the biggest competition of their life to prove who is the best realtor of Boston's luxury market. Through the competition they find they might lose and gain more than just the Realtor of the year title.

I am a big fan of Fiona Riley so getting this book was a no-brainer and as always I was happy with her story. Although I found it a bit difficult to read at first, mostly because of Trina's attitude, it progresses into a good sexy story that leaves you wanting for more. The writing and character development was great, as well as the supporting characters. Overall a great book!

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a hot sexy and competitive romance story.

I received an ARC copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

I absolutely loved this book! After a bit of a dry spell with the latest lesfic offerings, this was probably my favorite release of the year in the genre. I felt the two mains were very fleshed out, realistic and lovable characters. Their chemistry was immediate and convincing and the teasing banter of their competition kept me smiling and rooting for their inevitable getting together. The love scenes were really, really good too which is a nice bonus. Will definitely read again!

I went back and forth with this novel.

It's about Trina and Kendall. They're rival realtors in Boston.

Kendall has only been in Boston for about a year, running from her family (which is a doozy of a family) and trying to make her way in the real estate biz herself, seperate from her family name.

Trina has always done it with her team, and has been a Boston Realtor for longer. She is at the top of her game. Then she loses Realtor of the Year in Boston to Kendall. And, her boss Ellison makes a bet with Kendall's boss that Trina can out sell Kendall when it comes to a new Seaport Condo place.

Of course, while they start as rivals/enemies, they slowly become more. But, then Kendall's familmy comes back into the picture, and everyething goes all to hell for the burgeoning couple.

I went back and forth because a lot of the rival stuff was so antagonistic, but, then that would completely disappear at the drop of a hat at other times and it threw me off.

On the other hand, the characters were amazing. From Linday to Jax to even the 'bad guys'. It was a fun read.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books

This s a fantastic read with two main characters, Trina and Kendall, who each has a good friend as secondary characters. Trina works for a more feminist type boss and supportive environment while Kendall works for scum and basically works alone since she doesn’t trust anyone to work to her standards.Both characters are rather quite focused on selling high end reality. When these two first meet sparks fly, the attractive, and the ugly. There is the bitting put downs. that Trina is especially good at , they are sharp witted and easily can get Kendall off balance.
This book is more than an enemies to friend type of book. There is incredible erotic tension that the author builds into the story that at some points made me want to yell “just kiss her already”.
I don’t want to say more about the storyline because I don’t want to give the plot away however there is a major roadblock toward the end of the book that made me cry. Fiona Riley is an exceptional writer and she brings all of her skills to bear in this book. I highly recommend it.

I read a lot of books from this publisher and they all follow the sameish format. Will they or won't they and then they do. Some bit of conflict leads to separation and then the happily ever after. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, in fact about 90 percent of what I read these days is that format. It is my bowl of chilli on a cold day, just so much comfort and steam :) This book is exactly that.