Cute story overall but this felt more like women's fiction than romance. We focused a lot on the heroines journey and not so much on her relationship with the hero.

I really enjoyed this one, and was grateful to have received an eARC to review. Lots to love about this one: small town romance, friends to lovers trope, plus size rep, mental health rep and interracial romance. Great storyline and I loved the cute romance here. I also appreciated the MC, plus sized and happy with herself...and why shouldn't she be? Definitely recommend.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Bet on It had its cute moments for sure. Aja and Walker definitely had more awkward moments than anything else though. Which, yes, could be cute at times but not for everything. She has her insecurities but he's not a saint either. So, when they spark some interest in one another I was kind of intrigued to see where things were going to head between them.

As for the sex bingo? Heck yes that sounds all kinds of fun. I was totally here for it all and was very excited to see their romance blossom. That being said, I was surprised when we turned things into more serious topics and their issues rather than just focusing on the romance. The balance between these made the characters more interesting to me and it made them feel so much more real than anything else.

Eventually their feelings felt more genuine too because we were rushing the romance parts. They evolved and the pages just kept flying by. Doesn't mean that they didn't have their pros and cons because things did annoy me at certain parts. Still, it was such a good book, and I really enjoyed these two.

In the end, I'm really happy that I got the chance to jump into this book.

I absolutely adored this book and would give it more than five stars if I could. ALL OF THE STARS!!
I thought author Jodie Slaughter did a great job of tacking complex mental health issues like anxiety and PTSD in her MCs while still keeping Bet On It light and heartwarming. I’m definitely hoping that there is a sequel or another in the series featuring some of the other characters - maybe Miri?

Read if you love:
🥧 Peach Cobbler
😛 Steamy encounters under the stars
💕 Friends to lovers

Thank you to NetGalley and Jodie Slaughter for an advanced copy. This is my honest review.

Aja was a well-written character who was very relatable. Aja and Walker had sparks flying from the first moments, and kept up the romance AND the friendship/support throughout the book, which I loved. I look forward to more from Jodie Slaughter.

As sweet as Minnie’s Peach Cobbler! I definitely don’t know what I was expecting from this book but I wasn’t expecting to feel so giddy while reading it. I literally couldn’t put it down and those scenes between Walker and Aja definitely were spicy. I really loved this story. It was smart, sexy, and serious all in one. Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read it:


TW: Childhood Trauma, Anxiety

I've never read Jodie before, but I really liked the sound of this romance.

Aja has just moved from Washington D.C. to Green Belt in search of a slower pace to help with her anxiety. One night in a grocery store, Aja has a panic attack in a grocery store and a kind stranger helps her come out of it. This stranger happens to be Walker Bennett, former local who has come back to help his grandmother. Walker isn't happy to be back in Green Belt, but when he meets Aja, he feels drawn to her. One night post-bingo, sparks fly and Aja and Walker make a sex pact that the two have a lot of trouble keeping going forward.

I will admit, I had a little bit of trouble getting into this one. The beginning scene of Aja having a panic attack really threw me off. It felt a little too close to home. But once we get past that, I actually really appreciated how open she and Walker were with each other about their mental illness. Beyond this, it was really intriguing to me that they ended up going to bingo and this became part of their routine. I would have never in a million years thought, hey let's become friends over bingo. But I guess, small southern town, you have to make friends and keep connections where things are going to happen.

Beyond this, wow the chemistry. These two had it. HARD. I just was blown away that once they let themselves really just lean in and enjoy each other, they really found something that was worthwhile.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. Thanks for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book, especially the characters and the representation of their mental health challenges. Aja has anxiety and panic attacks and Walker has PTSD from a traumatic childhood. TW, drug addiction and abandonment. It was so sweet to read about their mutual care and understanding of each other. Also, who knew a story revolving around bingo could be so hot?! These two have crazy chemistry. There aren’t a lot of spicy scenes, but they’re quite detailed. So many bonus points for a sexy, fat heroine and a hero who’s obsessed with her body.

Walker is only in town for a limited amount of time, to help his grandmother recover from a fall, so in order to not get too attached to each other, Aja and Walker make a sex pact…they can only have sex (again, after a steamy first time) if one of them wins at bingo. While that premise added tension, it’s ultimately what kept me from loving the book more. I felt like the natural progression of their relationship was stunted and it lost some momentum toward the end. But the ending was super cute and I loved their sweet, quiet love story. I definitely recommend it 🥰

I also loved Aja’s new group of friends and the small town they live in (except for the gossips). I heard this will be a series, so I will definitely read the next one! It will be a second chance romance, which I loooove.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

POC lead who is plus size, Count me in. It was so nice to see someone who is real and relatable. I instantly fell in love with these characters. Swoon it was so funny and sweet.

If you're skeptical about how fun a BINGO night can be... this was definitely not boring. This was a cute story full of lots of sexual tension & restraint. We also stan a book with content warnings up-front. I appreciated how Jodie showcased anxiety and panic attacks and how they can differ from person to person – I thought the communication between the main characters and the struggles they both faced was great to read, and of course, I'll be looking for book reviews from OwnVoices readers.

Overall, a sexy book about love, friendship, and most-definitely for fans of open door romances.

4.25 stars rounded up to 5.

Yeah, comparing a woman to a burger is a no for me. DNF. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up
Aja Owens originally from DC moved to Greenbelt, NC for the small quiet town. Quiet being good for her anxiety. One night at the Piggly Wiggly in the freezer section she has a panic attack. She tries to calm herself with her head against the freezer door. When a male stranger comes up beside her and stands with her.
Walker Abbott is a sports journalist who lives in Charleston. He comes to Greenbelt the town he despises to help his Grandma who fell and broke both of her arms. She enlists "Wally" to help her with Bingo.

That's where he meets Aja again.

I really liked the anxiety/PTSD representation. The romance was good but I didn't love the book. I had a hard time liking the characters and getting hooked into their stories. I may just be in the wrong headspace for this book. 🤷

I finished Bet on It in late July and I absolutely adored it. For me, this is one of those books that just had the vibe. Jodie’s writing was beautiful, flowed well and was perfectly descriptive for me. I can picture fictional Greenbelt, SC as if I’ve actually visited and spent time there. The small town summer settings were immaculate. It was funny, swoony, steamy and yet didn’t shy away from the heavier topics. The entire cast of characters were flawed in very real and believable ways. Mental illness is depicted with such care and respect. I’m purposely not going into the plot much, as to not spoil anything. 

This was easily one of my top reads of the year and I wish more people were talking about it. I also just have to mention that it opens with one of my very favorite meet cute locations (that I don’t see enough of) in a grocery store 😍  

What you can expect:
-Black woman + white man, both cishet
-excellent fat rep
-excellent disability rep
 (They both have anxiety)
-a bingo-based sex pact
-nicknames
-“let’s just get it out of our systems”
-horny for peach cobbler
-low country, summertime small town SC vibes
-the cutest “this is not a date” dates
-a quirky grandparent
-excellent found family
-both MCs are already in therapy
-fairly low relationship angst

CW: on page panic attacks, description of past childhood trauma & neglect by parents suffering with substance abuse, description of past childhood bullying via gossip, anxiety & PTSD, explicit on page sex, on page alcohol consumption

This was a DNF for me. While there was promise about 50 pages in it felt very repetitive and limited. The concept is fun and cut but also too weighed down for me.

DNF for now: I listened to the audio version, and the narrator's voice was nice, but her performance was sooooooooo slow. I tried adjusting to different speeds, and couldn't settle on a speed that I could comprehend that also didn't make me incredibly impatient to keep things moving. And when the narrator voiced the hero, it was just all wrong - definitely didn't depict the kind of guy that's described in the text. So, unfortunately, I could never get invested in the story because I was so distracted by the audio performance. I did like some of the themes that were explored, and this had the potential to be an intelligent, spicy read, but my distraction made this very easy to put down. I would definitely check out the story again in the future, but I wouldn't revisit the audio. So, I'll likely go back to the text once I've distanced myself enough from this frustrating experience.

I tried to like this but the book was so cringey. I don’t buy the connection between the characters other than that they both have mental health struggles. I DNF about 40% in. The dialogue was awful and the sex? Just…no.


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

This story kept me interested from beginning to end. It had me reminiscing about a college fling who was a country white boy. It’s a cute story following POVs from each character, Aja and Walker. As they struggled being millennials navigating mental health and anxiety. it’s setting is place in a small town in South Carolina and it just tugged on my heartstrings just a tad bit. This story had me laughing out loud, tearing up and ready to slap some sense into Walker! I can relate to Aja moving to a different place for her peace of mind and trying to get herself out there to meet new people. Walker is having to come back to a town he loathes to take care of his grandmother only to meet Aja this time formally. This story is cute that now I want some peach cobbler.

I recommend reading it! The spice was there. It wasn’t too much or too little just right.

this was so cute! i really loved the treatment of mental health and how it is more than just the stereotypical attributes that a lot of romances seem to use as a plot mechanism. it was steamy, sensual and heartfelt and i really wish i could know these characters in person because they are just wonderful to love

Bet On It tells the story of Walker and Aja, who come together to develop a friendship and help each other cope with their everyday mental health struggles. Their mutual attraction leads them to make a bet to avoid catching feelings. Walker is determined to go back to his real life after his grandmother is healed because Greenbelt is the last place he wants to be. Aja has just moved to Greenbelt in order to take control of her anxiety and live her life.
I loved the mental health representation in this book. I loved that Walker was allowed to express and work through his emotions. In today’s society, we see so many instances and ideas of toxic masculinity, where men are taught to be strong and not to feel and express their emotions, much less entertain the idea of therapy. I love how this book dispels that notion and rewrote those misconceptions. We get to see Walker talk about his feelings, go to therapy, and have strong bonds with people where he is allowed to discuss and feel his emotions without being made to feel less. This was one of the most emotionally mature and aware books that I’ve ever read. I appreciate that the characters were allowed to own and work through their emotions. I love that we got to see the everyday realness of dealing with mental health struggles. I saw so much of myself in Aja. As someone who struggles with anxiety, it was so thrilling to see it represented in such a relatable and validating way.
I have to say though, for all the emotional awareness and maturity, I would’ve definitely let Walker grovel more than he did at the end.
Thank you, St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley, for an eARC of this book for my honest opinion.

I requested this book from NetGalley specifically because of its Anxiety and Complex PTSD representation. On those fronts this book worked aces for me. The internal lives of Jodie Slaughter’s characters worked exceedingly well for me as a reader. I thought it was very thoughtful about the way mental health struggles were portrayed as part of the overall story, and as a driving factor in that story.

Because it is a driving factor, the leads could understand that part of each other's experience and be supportive of each other. But let’s back up, the book opens with our heroine, Aja Owens, meeting a handsome stranger in the grocery store while having a panic attack and he stays with her until it passes. They go their separate ways, Aja not even sure she would recognize him again, until he turns up at her weekly bingo night - he's the grandson of her best bingo buddy. Walker Abbott is in town only to help his grandmother during her recovery from two broken arms, and he wants to be gone as soon as possible, as his hometown is full of judgement and the development of his PTSD and anxiety. But he finds Aja Owens irresistibly beautiful, they understand each other but know that any relationship that might strike up would be over in a matter of weeks as Walker is leaving and Aja is staying in the place that is feeling like home, finally, away from big city pressures.

The pair are swoon worthy. But… I’m rating this one three stars, not four and that’s because while lots of it worked for me, there were some things that didn’t. There was a certain amount of expectations problem, the book was heavier than I expected based on the blurb and cover. I also wished there were more quiet moments of seeing them fall in love, more lighthearted moments, and more time spent in this sweet small town, I wanted more of the side characters and charm to help balance the tone and move the plot more naturally.