Meeting the man of your dreams is a dream come true, but not while Aja Owens is having a panic attack in the frozen foods section in Piggly Wiggly. Walker Abbot is back in Greenbelt, South Carolina, to take care of his grandmother, who is also Aja’s bingo partner. Walker hates Greenbelt and wants nothing more to get back home to his life, but Aja has drawn him in. Throw in a bingo-based sex pact, and things are about to get interesting.

I loved the title and cover of this book. It’s creative and fits the story perfectly, and it’s refreshing to see a curvy girl represented. Don’t let the cute cover fool you; this book gets deep and goes into some heavy topics: mental illness, anxiety disorders, PTSD and panic attacks, childhood trauma, and drug addiction.

I really enjoyed how candid the conversations between Aja and Walker were about their mental health. The openness and the way they bonded were incredibly heartwarming, and it helped to build an intense connection between the two. Now, there were a couple of spicy scenes in the book, but I needed some more! That’s the only thing that kept me from rating this book 5 stars. The chemistry between Aja and Walker easily draws you in and has you fully invested in seeing them grow together, and I would have loved it a little more. This is my first read by Jodie Slaughter, and definitely not my last!

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

DNF 65%

This is 100% a book I plan to come back to and it’s delightful but also trying to read it right now, I’m bored and it’s making it a struggle. I love the premise of two people with internal scars and trauma coming together and making a bet to use bingo as an excuse to explore their sexual attraction, but along the way developing feelings and having to figure out how to make something between them work long term. I also love the side characters and the friends Aja makes as she gets out more in Greenbelt. There’s a lot of really amazing interpersonal dynamics at play, but as much as that’s a favorite element for me it’s not holding my attention. Still strongly recommend this book for a fun, cute romance of two people learning to be open to new chances with a side of bingo and betting.

Aja and Walker connected immediately. Both are struggling with anxiety, and they seemed to be destined to fit together. I liked the characters in the book. It moved along at an okay pace. Both Aja and Walker felt real. I loved their chemistry and their bingo dates. It was a fun book. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This book was amazing! Finally a romcom with a MC that I can relate to. This book did a great job of showing different aspects of anxiety- all while creating a romance I couldn’t get enough of!

This was fine, but I just didn't really click with the characters. Good mental health rep and fun, but it felt like the book kind of dragged on and like the characters were coming up with weak excuses to not date.

#BetOnIt:⁣
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“Aja was of the opinion that a friendship reached true intimacy once you felt comfortable enough to lightly drag each other now and then.”⁣
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You had me at bingo. No, really. Pre-Covid, my parents would go the bingo hall on post and it’s some of my favorite memories. The accuracy of the bingo patrons is 100000% accurate, and I couldn’t help but smile. Bet on It was a quick read that really dug deep into trauma in a way I didn’t think a romcom really had for me before. It’s also really steamy steam, so headphones are advised!⁣
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I really don’t think I’ve ever read a book that goes this in depth with realistic scenarios on anger and anxiety. Most will touch the subject, but Bet on It had extensive discussions on it and I loved it. The way Aja felt stuck in trying to find ways to make new friends, but felt like she didn’t know how really hit me. I always feel like it’s a vicious cycle of self-isolation because of the anxiety in making new friends, so the anxiety of trying to put yourself out there causes you to shut down and just self-isolate. ⁣
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I try not to run too much with a book that’s steamy because I end up forgetting how to use my legs and stand on the sidewalk with my mouth gaped open and cheering for the characters. I am quite sure if I had pearls to clutch, they would have been clutched and ripped from the neck. They went from 0 to 100 real quick and that 100 was a hot one y’all. Angel Pean reads this book and I need all books read by Angel Pean please and thank you. Some readers can make you laugh at a steamy scene, but she made those steamy scenes! Headphones on, get the audiobook.⁣
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Overall, I really liked that we had a fun/quirky romance but that balanced well with a heavy dose of discussion on mental health. It’s a sex pact in the South with bingo y’all! I mean.. c’mon! Thank you so much @smpromance and @macmillan.audio for the gifted copy. Bet On It is out today!⁣
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QOTD: Let’s go to Bingo y’all! What color dauber are you grabbing? I’m going with the lime green one with glitter ✨

This book was absolutely what I needed in my life.
I love to see a plus-size Black girl be great!
Aja and Walker are the cutest couple.
I loved the discussion of mental health and the normalization of therapy.
Aja and Walker may very well be one of my favorite couples of the year. Slaughter did an amazing job of crafting these characters and making them real people with depth and distinctively wonderful
personalities.
The banter was amazing, the growth and understanding as they navigated so many new relationships (platonic, familial, and romantic) was very relatable.

Such a cute and fun read ❤️

A nickel's worth of free advice: before you settle down to read this, check Yelp for the best place by you for peach cobbler, or find a good recipe and hit the store. You're going to be craving it something fierce by the time you're done!

This book has a lot going for it. It's an interesting story with characters that are easy to care about. The chemistry between them sizzles and the open-door spice is quite enjoyable! It's often funny, and the overall tone is quite hopeful, especially about people's ability to grow and change.

What I especially loved about this is the excellent fat rep and the thoughtful, complex treatment of mental health. Aja is unapologetically fat. She doesn't spend time dragging herself or her body, she dresses well, and she owns her sexuality. Her fatness is not an issue at all in the book--it's just a part of who she is. It also doesn't factor into her relationship with Walker. He appreciates her body not because of, or despite of, her size, but because he's attracted to HER. This is exactly how I want to see fat bodies represented on the page.

While I don't have personal experience with the mental health issues experienced by Aja and Walker, there was a lot I liked about how they were portrayed. They certainly were central to the characters' lives, but they didn't define them either. The story allowed them to have off days and better days. It acknowledged the fear of being a burden or being othered because of mental health issues. It even got into how continuity of care can be a real challenge in our health system. Reading this did a lot of help me gain more empathy and hopefully be a better friend and ally.

I struggled a bit with the focus on the logistical issues of a potential relationship between Aja and Walker. They didn't seem quite so insurmountable to me and I wanted to knock their heads together a couple of times! Also, the timeframe for them coming to the realizations they needed to felt a little long. I understand why the had the conflicts they did, but several weeks? I'm not sure I would have been quite so forgiving.

That said, this is a really, really enjoyable read that I'm sure it is going to stick with me for a while. Pick this up for a smart, steamy story with real depth and a great heart!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

📚: Bet on It by Jodie Slaughter—————————————————
“I definitely didn’t think we’d try to make some kind of sex arrangement like we’re in a dirty ’80s movie or something.”—————————————————
This book is so soft and also extremely hot. Fans of Get of Life, Chloe Brown will fall in love with Aja and Walker, two anxious people who just get each other. Read it on a plane and will def reread at some point when I can acquire peach cobbler for an immersive reading experience.
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***I received an ARC from NetGalley and am posting my honest review.***—————————————————
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
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#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #readingromance #romancereading #romancelandia #epreads22

Thank you so much @StMartinsPress & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 12 July 2022)

SYNOPSIS | Aja has recently moved to a small town, but as she suffers with anxiety, she has difficulties meeting new people. Her main method of meeting people is going to the local bingo hall. Whilst there she meets Walker who has returned to the small town he grew up in to help his grandma recover from a surgery.

WHAT I LIKED:
- I've never read a book featuring bingo

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- I felt no spark between Aja & Walker which ultimately made it really difficult to root for them as a couple
- both characters deal with mental health struggles & while I appreciate the representation, it was extremely heavy on the page which sucked a lot of the enjoyment out of the reading experience
- I was initially drawn to this book as it sounded like a light hearted read revolving around a bingo sex pact... this isn't what it was
- ultimately that they went from not speaking to declaring love for each other in the span of 10 pages

Bet On It is a sweet small town friends to lovers. This adorable story centers around mental health and growth. Both Aja and Walker suffer from anxiety and childhood trauma which was extremely relatable. Their meet cute happened to be at the local grocery store while Aja was having a panic attack. She hoped to never see him again, out of embarrassment. As it turned out, Walker “Wally” ends up being Aja’s elderly bingo buddy’s grandson. After the grandma’s attempts of them spending time together, the new friends fall for each other after making a sex-based bingo pact. Overall, this was such a cute and fun read and had a bit of spice.

Thank you to NETGALLEY and St. Martin’s Press/ St. Martin's Griffin

Wow what a steamy ride!

But also so vulnerable with the two main characters that meet during a panic attack. Two complex characters that both understand anxiety and PTSD and know how to be there for eachother.

Aja moved to this small town to live a slower paced life spending time with the Bingo crowd. Having a hard time making friends and a bit of social anxiety with anxiety. Her bingo buddies grandson is handsome and she is very comfortable around him. But this is his hometown and he had a bad child and teen life with the town spreading rumors so he gets triggered there.

The romance was so sweet and I loved the pact they made. I used to get really amped up and super nervous going anywhere..I used to sweat so much (gross) but totally anxious about everything. But it's like it turns off around my husband he grounds my excess charge. It's crazy when you find that person that fits.

I loved all the descriptions of a full figured female body with all its stretch marks and beauty outside the filter standards. #normalizewomansbodies #normalizecurves

Thank you stmartinspress and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

This is a wonderfully funny and heartwarming romance with a great addition of Bingo. I really loved reading this and will be reading more of Slaughter in the future!

I enjoyed the mental health representation with both Aja and Walker. Both have struggles that they are dealing with in healthy ways. I loved the friends Aja made and how Walker was pushed out of his comfort zone. But I found myself bored and I wasn't invested in the romance.

This book was story was cute. I liked the two main characters and their overall struggles with anxiety and etc. The story was very relatable in how it deals with mental health. There was also a good level of steam in the book. as well. My only issue was that the relationship between the two main characters. Individually I found them intriguing but together they were lacking. Overall a cute story that was just missing something to make it even better, Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Bet on It by Jodie Slaughter is about Aja Owens and Walker Abbott, whose lives intersect in a small South Carolina town through Piggly Wiggly, Bingo, and his injured gram. Aja and Walker lead very controlled lives—they must—and are unprepared for the intense attraction and connection they feel for each other. After becoming friends, they agree to a bingo sex pact for the short time that Walker is in town— to protect themselves—so they can freely satisfy their thirst for each other.

From the opening scene, I was hooked. Captivated by the characters and the world they inhabit, internally and externally, I could not stop reading Bet on It. I was all in for a bingo sex pact, friends-to-lovers romance. But what I got was so much more. Slaughter’s beautifully written exploration of Aja and Walker’s journey from strangers—living/struggling with anxiety/mental illness—to friends who make a bingo sex pact to lovers that fall in love despite themselves grabbed hold of my heart and mind and wouldn’t let go. Her story is original, thoughtful, and full of emotion and heart, with fantastic pacing, excellent worldbuilding, vivid description, and colorful and lively dialogue and character interactions.

Slaughter wonderfully develops and evolves her complex, likable, imperfect, and sympathetic characters through banter and interactions infused with the full spectrum of emotions, shared experiences, and pain that quicken and deepen the connection and bond that forms between them. Walker and Aja’s banter and interactions, which are sweet, funny, sexy, intimate, and emotional, are my favorite things about the novel. Their love scenes are sexy, intimate, intense, fun, passionate, and emotional. These interactions and love scenes further the development of the story and Walker and Aja’s characters and the connection they share. I love Aja’s relationship with her family and Walker’s relationship with his friends, their conversations, interactions, and how supportive they are of them. These relationships—and Walker’s relationship with his gram—offer insight into who Aja and Walker are, further developing their characters.

Slaughter’s portrayal of anxiety and mental illness issues and how the characters live with them is nuanced and thought-provoking. How she describes Walker and Aja’s anxiety—panic, trauma, and PTSD—it’s a living, breathing thing that is another character in the novel. Her description is vivid, visceral, and taking hold of your imagination and emotions, making you feel like you are right there with Aja and Walker in those debilitating, frightening moments.

Aja Owens first encounters the man of her dreams while having a panic attack in the frozen foods section of the Piggly Wiggly. Then, to her surprise, her favorite bingo buddy introduces him as her somewhat estranged grandson. After one bingo game, she knows that man will be a problem for her when she already has more than enough of those in her life.

Greenbelt, South Carolina, only has two things worthy of his time as far as Walker Abbott’s concerned: his grandmother and the peach cobbler at the town’s diner. After more than a decade away, the only thing that could drag him kicking and screaming back is his grandmother, who injured herself and needs his help. So, he’s back in the absolute last place he wants to be, counting down the days until he can return to his real life once his gram heals because this town holds too many bad memories of his childhood trauma and baggage. However, he wasn’t counting on Aja, who changes everything in his life—his whole world.

The attraction between Aja and Walker is so intense that they make a bingo-based sex pact to allow them to satisfy their sexual desire for each other while keeping things from getting out of control. Because going all-in will disrupt their carefully balanced lives, it’s safer for them both to keep their emotions out of this thing between them. But Aja and Walker catch feelings because emotions won’t be denied—especially when the connection and desire are this intense and powerful.

Bet on It is a sweet, unbelievably sexy, funny, steamy, emotional, compelling, and profoundly romantic novel. I love every part of it and highly recommend both the book and audiobook for sex bet/agreement, friends-to-lovers, and interracial romance fans that also like a nice balance of angst, humor, and steam.

Slaughter has become an immediate favorite for me. And I can’t wait to read more from her.

CW: panic attacks, mental illness, drug abuse, and child endangerment.

This was such a sweet and emotional story! Aja and Walker are both struggling with their own mental health issues and never expected to find a kindred spirit in each other, let alone something deeper. The magnetism between these two is palpable! Slaughter has written a realistic, sweet romance with real characters that don't feel even slightly like an over-played trope - our leads are deep and emotional and in therapy! I would have loved to see more of the side characters and spent a little less time in Aja and Walker's heads, but as the major theme of the story was overcoming what was in their heads, it's entirely understandable. If you are wanting an emotional (but not tear jerking) story about two people trying to make their baggage fit together, this is perfect for you.

**Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC**

A cute and flirty rom com with heart.

Aja, after struggling with anxiety, moves from DC to Greenbelt South Carolina. There she starts attending Bingo as a way to get out of the house. The elderly group keeps her on her toes and provides her some much needed socialization. She is surprised when she meets sexy Walker, who is back in town to help his grandmother. The attraction is real but their future is not as Aja loves living in Greenbelt but Walker hates it; having grown up with PTSD in the close, gossipy community.
Wanting to give into their attraction but not get too close and get hurt. They enter a pact. If one of them wins at bingo they will spend the night together. What follows is a cute story about finding people who love you for you, living with mental illness, and finding love in a bingo hall.
Overall I enjoyed this story. Having grown up in a small town I resonated with Walker and his aversion to a place he struggled in. Watching him attempt to heal and mend fences was heartwarming. Aja’s struggle to find friends who loved and accepted her as well as a relationship that meets her needs was fulfilling and hopeful.

I'd seen this book a bit on Bookstagram, so I was really excited to get an eARC of it! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

I did enjoy this story, and I read it really quickly. I rarely read books that take place in the south, so the setting was super fun for me! The concept was also unique, and the author wrote it with fun banter and fantastic spice. That said, the writing wasn't my favorite and although I thought both of the main characters were likable, I found myself only rooting for them as individuals, not as a couple. I don't think the author really captured their chemistry well - the reader is more so told rather than shown that there is a connection. Most of what the reader is shown in terms of connection is physical.

The one thing I absolutely loved about this book and I think the author did a phenomenal job with was the mental health and mental illness representation. Both main characters had generalized anxiety, and the male MC also had complex PTSD from childhood trauma. I think the author handles these topics authentically and really captures how they can impact literally every single thing a person does, every decision they make, and all of their relationships. As someone with a CPTSD diagnosis, I was excited to see a main character in a book who also had this and who was doing the work to overcome the issues it caused. It was really cathartic to read.

I'm rating this 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for this review.

Bet On It follows Aja and Walker, who have ended up in Greenbelt, SC under different circumstances. Aja leaves Washington, D.C. to find a community where she can truly be herself. Walker comes back home to Greenbelt for six weeks to take care of his injured grandmother, even though he vowed to never go home again after a traumatic childhood. Both determined not to participate in a long distance relationship, they bet with each other over bingo and soon sparks (and steam) begin to fly.

I really enjoyed the mental health positivity throughout the book. Both main characters deal with their struggles (anxiety, PTSD) in healthy ways, promoting therapy and other coping mechanisms. Aja shows tremendous personal growth throughout the book, growing into her own and finding a found family that she has been craving most of her life. I also enjoyed the element of the meddling grandparent, trying to push Walker outside of his comfort zone and embrace his relationship with Aja, rather than pine to go back to Charleston.

Bet On It was a quick read. However, I had a hard time getting invested into the character's relationship with each other. It developed too quickly for me and while steamy, I felt Aja and Walker lacked a strong emotional connection/foundation. There were many times I was bored with the story.