I deeply appreciated the mental health rep in this book. The patience and space both MCs held for one another was incredible. I also appreciated that it showed how hard it is to make friends as adults, and how wonderful it is when people welcome you into their circle. I loved the bingo theme, and most of all, I appreciated the body size diversity in this book. Highly recommend!

Absolutely loved this book! The representation with these characters was amazing. Anxiety and PTSD played a huge part in the lives of Aja and Walker. Together they found a connection and pushed though their struggles together. I would only say this book was too short. I wanted more from these two instant lovebirds. It was the perfect adorable romance to get me out of my slump. Thank you Netgalley for a copy to read.

This is a spicy rom com. Fans of open door romance will love this one.

Walker has begrudgingly come home to Greenbelt to help his grandmother recover from an injury even though he swore he would never return to his hometown where he underwent so much trauma as a child & adolescent. Aja has left the city and purposefully chosen a life in Greenbelt that is far from the hustle and bustle of city life. She spends her Wednesday nights at Bingo, where she meets Walker who is there to help his grandma keep playing despite both of her arms being in casts.

What ensues is a friendship with lots of sexual tension. They make a pact that they will only give in to their chemistry if one of them actually wins a BINGO game. Knowing that Walker's time in Greenbelt is limited, this pact is their attempt to keep themselves from falling in love and protecting their hearts, but it doesn't seem to be working.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review! First all, this cover is EVERYTHING! I love that the female protagonist has a real body! This Rom-com was so fun and the author did an amazing job!

These characters were sweet and I loved that this romance didn't have your average first encounter you see in most romance books. It had really good mental health representation and I enjoyed seeing these two comfort each other.

I just wish there were MORE moments of us seeing them fall in love. I felt like I barely saw the romance blossoming. It was just missing some more scenes for me...it mostly felt lust driven throughout the whole thing. And the conflict near the end came so sudden then resolved so quickly.

But despite that, I enjoyed reading this!

I absolutely adored this book. It was heartfelt, emotional, and the hero was down bad for the heroine (which is always a must).

I loved how this review portrayed anxiety and PTSD. Slaughter didn't shy away from highlighting the difficult side of dealing with anxiety and trauma (and the trauma that comes from dealing with anxiety). If you're someone who is triggered by mentions of anxiety, panic attacks, or PTSD, then take care if you choose to read this book.

But omggggg watching these two people fall in love was just 🥺😍🥺😍🥺😍 I love them so much and I want a Walker in my life. No, not want, I *NEED* a Walker in my life.

OH AND THE SPICE?!??? TOP TIER 🥵

Review will also be posted to ShelfIndulgeWithMe on Instagram.

TL;DR: Five stars; no notes. BUY THIS BOOK YESTERDAY.

It’s so so so lovely of a book with two very anxious people trying desperately to connect and feel connected. There’s found family and forgiveness, healing and therapy, emotional depth and understanding, and really freaking hot sexual tension.

I love love love this book and will read ANYTHING Jodie Slaughter deigns to write.

FIVE STARS!!!

This was a great romance novel with excellent representation! I enjoyed the main characters and the plot lines.

Thank you to Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Jodie, I think you did an amazing job with having mental health as a focal point.

This is the first book I’ve read that not only discussed mental health in both the Female AND Male POV but the most important part to me is that nobody is trying to “fix” anybody. In so many novels it becomes a “project” or a dependency on the other to make all their problems disappear, but this is not how real life works. The same thing when anyone dives into their childhood trauma.

Aja is a prime example of being able to be thick, and anxious and still be enough. Did I want a deeper dive into her anxiety and the root of it - like we got for Walker? Of course. But I would not change a thing.

It is also a major bonus that I am a sucker for a sex pact, and Slaughter did not disappoint.

Bet On It by Jodie Slaugther begins in the Piggly Wiggly with Aja having a panic attack in the frozen foods section. She's mortified when a stranger, Walker, approaches her to ask if she's ok. He knows panic attacks too well and silently comforts her until the panic attack subsides. Relieved she'll never have to see this man again, Aja is thrown when she finds out Walker is her Bingo-buddy's grandson! Undeniable attraction but inability for a relationship, Aja and Walker make a sex-pact that they will only have sex if one of them wins at Bingo...

A realistic portrayal of anxiety attacks and background stories, Bet On It was a steamy meet-cute, strangers to friends trope that digs deeper than most.

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

3.5 stars

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC for review.

I really enjoyed the representation of mental health in this book, and the honesty with which the characters shared their struggles with each other. I loved the main character of Aja and watching her grow within her friendships in the book. However, I had a hard time connecting with the other main character, Walker, as her love interest. It was clear they were attracted to each other, but it seemed like we were missing details on how they actually fell in love. I found myself way more interested in the first half of the book more than the second, especially on the sections that were focused on Walker's perspective.

When Aja moves to the small town of Greenbelt, South Carolina, her anxiety disorder makes it hard to make friends - so she takes baby steps by attending weekly bingo nights with the less-threatening elderly residents in town. However, when one of the bingo regulars suffers an injury and her grandson Walker comes to town to take care of her, sparks fly between Aja and Walker. I really appreciated all the thoughtful portrayal of mental health struggles, which felt very real and well-done, and loved how empathetic most of the characters were to these struggles. But Walker was a bit of a caricature of a southern guy from the wrong side of the tracks, and the romance between Aja and Walker went from 0-100 so quickly that it felt contrived. I also found some of the dialogue a bit weird - while all the action takes place in the south, it seemed like the author alternated between writing in a dialect and writing normally ("just fuckin' with ya") - and since I'm choosing that example, I'll also mention that Walker seemed to barely be able to form a sentence without swear words, which did not endear me to him. In all, this was cute, but wasn't my favorite rom com.

Romance that is steamy, sweet and informative. Very likeable characters with their instant attraction building into a friendship fits the friends to lovers troupe well. What really drives this story though their individual mental issues, how supportive they can be to one another based on their individual experiences and how they function and/or work through them and swim out of that occurrence. I think this explores mental health more than any romance book I've ever read yet relatable because I think all readers can relate to at least a little bit anxiety experience in their lifetimes.

Wow, Jodie Slaughter. Just wow. She bit off a lot of tough things and IMO she nailed it.

The arc of the romance is interesting, and not the typical. *Both* MCs are trying hard to not catch feelings, because Walker is only in town for a couple of months and they both know they couldn’t live where the other lives.

The synopsis makes the bingo pact look kinda cute, but what us non-bingo-playing readers don’t realize is that winning bingo is SUPER RARE and it’s one of the things they are using to keep the physical to a minimum & keep those feelings at bay. Reader, it doesn’t work. 😉

This is such an interesting mix of lighthearted dating and being together and finding new friends and the joy that comes with connection, and the serious problems that their disabilities cause. I would never call this book a rom-com, because IMO that implies a different ratio of funny to serious, but Aja is funny, and she and Walker have a lot of fun together.

I also really liked how friends are treated: Aja meets a new person and gets a friend-crush. Walker depends on his best friend and it shows how a friend can be a rock and a tether.

Late in the book, Aja points out that they don’t get to just follow their hearts when they spend so much time trying to keep it together. After the (perfectly understandable and realistic) third-act breakup, they come back together with, “Let’s try. Let’s just f*cking TRY.” And since that’s really all that any of us can do, it really resonated. Highly recommended pending your own personal CW preferences.
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#BetOnIt by #JodieSlaughter is on sale July 12, 2022. Thanks to #Netgalley for the ARC; opinions are my own.
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CW include severe anxiety and panic attacks; PTSD; parental neglect of MC in past, described on page.

This book was so fun but also tugged on my heartstrings because of the emotions involved in the journey. I wasn't expecting it to have the extra emotional depth from the heroine and her background but I loved what we got from it.

Not sure whay happened my my digital copy font and layout made is very difficult to read and not able to finish it. I will buy this book and read a printed copy instead. From what i was able to read i enjoyed.

This was just the cutest little book! I really liked the development of the main character Aja. She was very relatable and likable. I loved that the book showcase anxiety so well. Anxiety is something so many people deal with and having it showcased as a big part of this book made it relatable. I like that there was a lot of depth to this book with the characters and their stories. I especially liked Aja and Walker’s interactions with each other and the level of vulnerability they shared. I would absolutely read this book again!

This book is available on July 12, 2022!

I absolutely loved this book. I not just loved the relationship between Aja and Walker, but between Walker and his Grandmother. There was a great balance of sweet and spicy. There was such a good understanding between the characters because of what they were going through as individuals. I loved the idea of them bonding over a game of BINGO and their mutual understanding of how impactful mental health issues can be on anyone.

What I would really have liked to have seen was the progression of Walker and his father's relationship. While the ending was good it felt slightly rushed.

If you love Talia Hibbert or Ali Hazelwood this book is for you!!

A sweet romance with some heat! I love a budding friends to lover with chemistry and banter that makes me chuckle and smile non-stop.

I appreciate the authors body positivity for our Aja Owens, the difficulty of building friendships as an adult, and the struggles with PTSD and anxiety, but the hopefulness when seeking help and know your boundaries.

Triggers: childhood neglect, addiction, anxiety disorder, panic attacks

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance read.

#betonit #jodieslaughter #alihazelwood #taliahibbert #stmartinspress
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Aja meets Walker in the midst of a panic attack, and he helps her in a quiet, unassuming way. When they officially meet again at Bingo, they bond over similar issues with anxiety as well as mutual attraction.

This is a friends to lovers romance. It's pretty steamy. The things that stood out to me though were:
1. Anxiety is shown to be dealt with as a constant part of life. It isn't dismissed, or put-down. Additionally some good support methods were shown. Note that none of this is done as an info-dump or in a boring way - it's just a part of the characters and the story.
2. The importance and support of good friends is a great part of the story - not the friendship between Aja and Walker - but the groups of friends they both have.
3. The main couple is not the stereotyped young, super-hot, thin/muscular, white couple so often seen in romance. There isn't any dwelling on "his washboard abs" or "her flat stomach and long thin muscular legs", etc. There IS a lot of dwelling on her beautiful body - but it's a real, beautiful body - not some imaginary instagram thing.

Thanks to netgalley and the author and publisher for letting me read an ARC of this book.