Bet On It is a cute romance with anxiety and PTSD rep that is set around two people who meet at bingo. The side characters are adorable. The small town feels are so good. However, the dialogue (especially for Walker) was so distracting for me. The inconsistent dropping of g's at the end of words to make it sound more accented was hard to read. It was either all dropped and too much or not dropped for sections and then jarring when it popped back up. It's fast paced and easy to cruise through on a quiet day, but wish the writing had been a little smoother.

Walker has no intention of staying in tiny Greenbelt, SC after his grandmother heals. Despite his powerful attraction to Aja, all they can have together is a temporary friends-with-benefits arrangement. But what happens when they catch feelings?

Despite the cover, this is an angsty, emotional contemporary romance. It's well-written with relatable characters and an engaging plot, but darker than I expected.

CW: panic disorder and PTSD.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
There is so much to like about this romance read.

Read this if you like:
Two characters dealing with anxiety issues
A character-driven story
A romance set in the small town south with some very public steamy encounters
A character dealing with past childhood traumas
A plus-size protagonist

Overall I did enjoy this book. I had some issues with Walker. His inner monologue was cringe at times, and his decision towards the end was hard to understand. This book is a light-hearted read even though it deals with some heavy topics. Fans of steamy romances set in the south should check this one out.

BINGO!
This romance read was one I am so glad I got to read an advance copy of thanks to St Martin’s Press + NetGalley, it was even better than I was hoping for, I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I fell for these two characters and this story.

Speaking with a friend recently about how personalities are written in books lately and I was thrilled to be reading this book at the time. I had not read a book by Jodie Slaughter before, but I can’t wait to see what she writes in the future. Her writing style and how she not just tells us that her characters have anxiety, but shows us those actions, moods and the reaction and support of others around them blew me away.

In equal parts STEAMY love scenes, personal growth and tough topics this story comes together in a way that felt like a hug, full of hope and emotion. I enjoyed reading Aja’s character especially, how a plus-size, smart woman was able to recognize what she needed to grow as a person, and as a result open up to opportunities for love and friendship. Both of our MCs had great friend groups, and I can’t wait to see if Slaughter writes about them in future titles!

Bingo and cobbler will always make me smile, and I loved how well rounded the relationship was with what could be considered a short timeline / instalove — to me it was so obvious how much Aja and Walker liked each other, and I was cheering them on from the first moment they met. For me Slaughter nailed the pacing and how she showed both characters struggles and mental health, it was refreshing to read a story that was so relatable and real that gave me the HEA but also felt more realistic.

This was a cute, quick, semi spicy read perfect for the summer time!

I am not sure that this will be incredibly memorable, but I enjoyed my time while reading it.

Sweet rom-com with a friends to lovers trope. Fortunately this is a more compelling story because of the main characters and their backgrounds. Aja has anxiety disrder, Walker deals with PTSD and both are not ready for a relationship. Yet fate, grandmothers and bingo change the course of their lives. Thanks to netgalley and St Martins Press for this advanced copy.

DNF at 37%. I thoroughly enjoyed the mental health representation in this story. I felt it was written very well and felt relatable. I liked that both main characters had their individual mental health obstacles and found common ground there. I actually really enjoyed that Walker's grandma and the bingo joint played a key role in the characters coming together. It was different, fun and down right cute. I just wasn't into the quickness of the sexual innuendos and banter. I realized I wasn't looking forward to seeing how their relationship played out and decided that was my cue to bow out.

There was a lot to love about this one! It’s heavy on mental health, focusing on anxiety and PTSD, but it was done with such care and honesty. And Greenbelt, South Carolina was the most charming town. I’m dying for a piece of the peach cobbler from Minnie’s Diner.

Walker escaped Greenbelt and its misery twelve years ago. Now he’s back to temporarily help his grandmother, never imagining a game of local Bingo would introduce him to the wonderful Aja. Let me tell you, this setup was so unique. As the tension between them starts to grow, Walker and Aja form a pact where they can only hookup after one of them wins Bingo. It was hilariously fun!

Aja being somewhat new to town, finding friendships that accept her wholeheartedly was beautiful. As a romance I really enjoyed the conflict and happily-ever-after, but overall the internal dialogue was SUPER heavy on their sexual attraction, which isn’t my preference. I wanted more chemistry outside of that. I can see others really enjoying this one!

THIS COVER!!!!!
romcoms with anxiety rep >>

this book had me HOOKED from page 1; our mc is having a panic attack in a grocery store and who helps her out? our love interest of course!

this book has a fwb element that was just so fascinating (bingo!) i adored aja and walker so much; i truly felt for walker

yes it’s insta love but it’s a guilty pleasure of mine so

This book was almost perfect. Having two characters deal with mental illness was surely a risk Wally (PTSD) and Aja (GAD). How do you balance their relationship while navigating their conditions? Idk but Jodie Slaughter managed to pull it off. The layers of tenderness, community, setting boundaries, failing, and starting over again was chef's case. The only thing that I can critique was the pacing sometimes felt like a lag. It could be that she wanted to slow down the story to give the reader some time to breathe but it made the ending feel rushed. Nonetheless I loved these two trying to figure it out together.

PS. I want a HEA for Miri, do I need to start a petition?

So happy I was able to get this ARC! It was giving me everything that needed to be gave and had amazing complexity!

I really enjoyed this romance. It was super quirky and I really appreciated the anxiety representation. I also really loved the small town atmosphere and how bingo was part of the story!

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

Bet on It was definitely a unique story line for me. Two people who meet during a panic attack. Their combined anxiety gave me anxiety at times! A sweet live story. The very explicit sex scenes caught me off guard, so beware future readers.

A sweet, simple romance. I did enjoy reading Bet On It, but had a hard time connecting with any of the characters. I thought that the author, Jodie Slaughter, did a good job at mental health representation. Some of the descriptions of the sexcapades were a little weird for me. An average romance that won't stand out to me to remember in 2022.

Thank you to St. Martin's & NetGalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

A story that will keep you engaged with the storyline.
Main characters, Aja and Walker, have emotional issues. They meet accidentally at a grocery story in the freezer isle and go there separate ways. Then another chance encounter happens at the Bingo Hall. What happens next? The chemistry between the two of them is fully charged.
Very emotional read with mental health struggles.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Bet On It features something I’ve rarely seen in romance in that both Aja and Walker, the MCs, are dealing with generalized anxiety (and PTSD in Walker’s case) that has greatly affected their lives. Both characters have been in therapy for years and have tried to organize their lives so that they set themselves up for success instead of failure. Their first encounter happens when Aja suffers a panic attack one night at the local Piggly Wiggly. Walker sees her difficulty, recognizes it, and provides a calm, soothing presence to help her get through it.

When they next encounter each other, it’s at a bingo game. Walker is visiting his small hometown from Charleston, SC to help his injured grandmother, who plays every week, and whom Aja has become friends with. From there, a sweet yet quite smutty summer friendship and romance grows between them. They bond over their shared experiences and a strong mutual attraction. Both feel like the other “sees” them in a way they haven’t experienced before, but they both know their relationship has an expiration date since Aja specifically moved to town to get away from the pressures of her life in the big city, while Walker hates it there and moved to Charleston to get away from all of the bad memories associated with his childhood.

Aja and Walker were sweet, caring and careful with each other. The romance felt balanced in terms of the power dynamic, with both characters working hard to achieve their own personal growth and protect their own mental health. I also thought that their mental health issues were incorporated organically into the story in a way that never felt preachy but this is definitely not a rom-com (in spite of the cute cover) and the anxiety descriptions might be a trigger for some readers. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

This is a hesitant four star read from a debut author and I would rate this as 3-4 steam (out of a 5 scale). I absolutely loved the body positivity of a fat female heroine. I liked the focus on mental health. It might have been slightly less than 4 stars but I enjoyed it and it wrapped in a lot of things and I am bumping the rating a bit. This is solidly romance and not erotica. It is on the spicy side compared to books I have been reading and I loved the descriptions in the sex scenes.

This was absolutely adorable! I mean a story revolving around bingo and has such great representation? It's giving me all I could've wanted! The anxiety representation throughout the entire story was so well done. It was honest and vulnerable. This is another book we can add to the positive therapy moments pile! We love a book with a positive perspective on therapy! Something I didn't quite care for was the insta-love. It just happened so fast and threw me through a loop really. There could've been plenty of moments where the couple as a whole could've grown and expanded with their relationship but it didn't get to that point so I wasn't entirely as invested.

This was adorable! Definetely brought back memories of going to Bingo night with my grandma.
I loved this sweet friend to lovers romance. Both main characters struggle with their mental health, I thought this was dealt with really well.
Side characters were wonderful, kinda hope this becomes a series because I need Miri's story 😁

I adored everything about Bet on It by Jodie Slaughter. As someone who suffers from anxiety and panic attacks, this was a swoony romance story of my heart. From the opening scene of Aja's panic attack, I found her empathetic and so relatable. Aja and Walker's chemistry is steamy and sweet. I loved the setting, the importance of bingo and bingo hall dates, the peach cobbler, Ms. May and the girlfriends Aja makes in Greenbelt. The representation for mental health and a plus-sized black woman with a sweet southern boy was fantastic.

This was a great story. Highly recommend it for fans of contemporary romance. Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for providing me an e-arc of this wonderful book.