Thank you NetGalley and Publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not for me. I really wanted to love it, but did not unfortunately. I was not invested in the characters and found the story a little dull and boring. I found myself just wanting to skip to the end to see how everything went instead of just reading. However, do not let this deter you from reading, because there were also a lot of great parts about this book.

I loved the anxiety representation in this book! I felt I could understand what the characters were going through even if I was not invested in their lives, I understood. I also loved the body positivity and inclusivity. The banter was also one of the best parts.

Overall, this book was cute and unique but did not capture me and keep me hooked.

Bet on It is a fun romantic comedy set in small-town South Carolina. Aja moved to Greenbelt a year ago because life in D.C. became overwhelming to her. Walker grew up in Greenbelt, and had gotten out of the small town as quickly as he could. Now his beloved grandmother is injured and he must come back to take care of her. What I loved about this book is that both Walker and Aja suffer from anxiety. The author does a great job talking about what that is like - and since this book is dual POV, it's a little different for each of them. As a person with anxiety, I found their love story so charming and relatable. I liked that both characters were able to deal with it on their own - they weren't looking for someone to save or rescue them. I've read several romances where one character has anxiety and it feels like they rely on the love interest to save or fix them. This wasn't that. The author made their story feel more real and less fairy-tale-esque. I loved seeing the characters' personal growth.

The steam in this book was A+. also!

I felt the final conflict and resolution was a little bit silly, but I still really enjoyed reading Bet on It and would totally recommend it.

I have mixed feelings about this one. It was a quick read, but it left something to be desired in the romance.
The story is about Aja Owens who suffers from Anxiety Disorder and Walker Abbott who suffers from PTSD. They bond over bingo and peach cobbler in the small town of Greenbelt, SC. This story has the common “we are falling for each other but have to pretend like we aren’t because one of us is going to leave in a short amount of time” trope.
The best part of this story was the support characters. I really liked the group of friends Aja made and would like to hear their stories. Walker’s grandmother was a no-nonsense type of woman who knew she’d made mistakes, but was looking to correct them. Greenbelt made a nice setting for the story as well. You could really feel the small-town vibes.
My problem with this story is with the romance. EVERY interaction the MCs had included an “emotional breakdown” or anxiety. I feel like their entire relationship focused on their struggles with their mental health. Finding common ground on mental health struggles should not be the foundation of a relationship. I don’t know anything else they had in common.
Overall, it was a decent book. I would recommend if MCs who discuss mental health and counseling is something you are interested in. 3.5 stars
Thanks NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review.

Aja and Walker meet while Aja is in the middle of having a panic while in the frozen food section of the local Piggly Wiggly. Walker has just come back to his hometown in order to take care of his grandma. From the moment that they meet there is an immediate attraction that grows even more when they run into each other again at the local bingo hall. Unbeknownst to them their grandma's have been bingo buddies for months.

This is a fun and flirty book. Aja's girlfriends are great because they remember Walker from when he was younger, tall, gangly and everyone called him Wally.

The area where I had the hardest time was when the characters were discussing their issues with anxiety. I felt like they over shared. Adults don't over share like that, but HS kids do and these are supposed to be adults. These moments made it hard to read parts of the book. I found myself wanting to skip ahead.

Overall this was a good book.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you St. Martin Press and NetGalley for the eARC! All opinions expressed are my own. This review does NOT contain any spoilers. :)

☆☆☆☆☆ Overall
(Spice: ☆☆☆☆☆)

Trigger/Content Warnings: generalized anxiety disorder, complex post traumatic stress disorder, mentions of childhood trauma, descriptions of panic attacks, mentions of past drug abuse (involving side characters). (If you know of something I should include here, please let me know in the replies and I will happily add it here! Thank y’all!)

Before I say anything else, I would like to state that this book has bewitched me, body and soul. I will need at least 3-5 business days to fully recover.

Reading the blurbs and reviews from other readers, I honestly expected to connect more with Aja throughout this book than I did with Walker. However, as someone who has both c-PTSD and an anxiety disorder, I felt for both of them so deeply. I could not possibly choose whether I love the steamy, heartfelt romance plot or the beautifully accurate depictions of mental illness and perseverance that Slaughter was able to capture in this book. I simply refuse to think of choosing.

The small town atmosphere, the dialect, and the mannerisms all woven into this story make my lil Carolina heart soar. This book feels like home, like a piece of Minnie’s peach cobbler, and now that I have tasted it, I am ready for so much more. This book delivered me everything I could ever ask for from a romance novel, but it hit on so many more levels than just romance.

The way that Walker and Aja navigate their mental health, as well as triggers and traumas and everything else under the sun, is something so special to me. My favorite part of these two people coming together was that they did not try to fix each other. They supported each other in the ways they knew how, and asked how to show up for the other when they were unsure. They were unassuming (in regards to mental health, but sometimes clueless in other arenas hahah) and they took the other as they were and didn’t push their boundaries. This made me fall even more in love with them, and I thank the author so, so deeply for this representation.

Another thing I loved was that Aja’s size wasn’t the center of attention, like a spectacle or something. As a fat woman, being able to read a romance lead say she was fat as a fact, not something to be ashamed of or a way to put herself down, literally made me feel so seen. And the spice?? Scorching and well balanced - I mean, who doesn’t love a sex bet that is fueled by bingo?

I loved this book. I don’t know what else to say, but this book is just beautiful in every way. This was my first read by Jodie Slaughter, but it will definitely not be my last.

Aja Owens has moved to the small town of Greenbelt, SC, from Washington, DC, seeking some peace and quiet. She has major anxiety issues and often experiences panic attacks, which she is in the middle of one in the frozen food aisle of the Piggly Wiggly when she meets Walker Abbott. Walker ("Wally" to his Grandma) knows panic attacks all too well and he talks the beautiful stranger through it.

A few days later they meet at the bingo hall when Walker accompanies his grandma, Miss May, and is introduced to her bingo friend (that his grandma has casually mentioned for months in their phone calls). The two decide to become friends, even though the sparks are flying. We all know how this will go! Some pyrotechnics in the back seat of Aja's car in the bingo hall parking lot after a win lead to a deal that they'll ONLY hook up when one of them wins. (Some hot scenes come later too, do not fret!) They continue to grow closer and closer but Walker is also dealing with the impending arrival of his long-estranged father in Greenbelt.

I loved watching these two learn to trust and support each other and, of course, fall in love. I also appreciated a hot plus-size heroine with not one mention of any kind of body shaming! I really enjoyed this book and hope you do too!

I got this because I was obsessed with the main female Lead character but man was I surprised with how well written, sexy and warm this book is. Teaches readers about mental health and the character building was so good. I didn’t expect myself to fall in love with Aja and walker as fast as I did. Read it in a day.

I really enjoyed this! I gotta say, I'm trying to erase the cover version of Walker from my mind because that illustration makes him look like an awkward thirteen year old. I really liked Aja and Walker and this was so nearly a 5*, I just felt the ending was a bit rushed and I would've liked a bit more fleshing out of some of the side characters.

I love spicy rom coms! This story was great! And I absolutely adored the focus on mental health, but not the obsession with it, I’d that makes sense. I will definitely be reading more from Slaughter in the future.

It was definitely cute and I enjoyed that it touched on the mental health subjects of anxiety/anger. It is always good when those aspects of life are normalized and incorporated - makes those who deal with those things realize they aren't broken and it's more common than they think. I didn't necessarily feel the relationship between these two, but it was an enjoyable story.

I really connected to the way that Aja and Walker related to each other through their mental health issues. The story she’d a light on how difficult it can be for people who struggle with their mental health to be in relationships and made the situation relatable.

This was an enjoyable and cute book. I liked the characters and the dynamic between them. Overall, a good read.

This gives a new meaning to "BINGO." Aja has moved from DC to a small town in South Carolina. We first meet Aja as she's having a panic attack in a grocery store and is comforted by Walker. Walker hates this small town in SC based on his childhood growing up in a small town and just wants grandma to get better so he can back to his life in Charleston. This is a story where both Aja and Walker have issues and open up to each other, but can their game of bingo and each other help them overcome all the troubles and worries of the small town. I really enjoyed this book and liked that the characters embraced their backgrounds and were open with current struggles. It wasn't just a cookie-cutter movie-like book, which is a great thing.

Thanks to Netgalley, author and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I liked that it addressed mental health/illness with both main characters. I also liked the bingo aspect of it because it was a fairly unique premise for me. I enjoyed seeing Aja deal with her struggles to make friends because I could really relate to her in that aspect. Aja and Walker’s relationship felt realistic to me and I enjoyed seeing their feelings grow and change. The last quarter of this book kinda dragged for me and I felt like a lot of things were repeated during that part. I would still recommend this book to anyone looking for a steamy romance with some deeper emotions as well.

Aja Owens moves to a small town and tries to build a life for herself. She suffers from anxiety attacks and is very shy. She is afraid no one understands her. One day at the Piggly Wiggly she suffers a panic attack and soon she hears someone talking to her, someone who recognizes what is going on and seems to know what she needs.

Imagine her surprise when she meets him again at her sale place, the Bingo Hall where she goes every week. It just so happens he is the grandson of her favorite person at the Bingo Hall.

Walker Abbott hates his hometown. He has had a difficult childhood. The only reason he is back is to help his grandmother, but he can't wait to leave. Until he meets Aja...

What follows is a wonderful love story. Two very broken people who do the best they can. I really enjoyed this sweet story.

Great steamy read with plenty o f body positivity and mental health awareness. Walker cones back to Greenbelt, SC to take care of his Gram and meets Aja, a woman he saw having a panic attack at the supermarket. They make a bingo-based sex (steamy!) that leads to real feelings!

This book is so good!!

This story was a great read, I really enjoyed it. I loved the mental health rep (as both the FMC, Aja and the MMC, Walker) struggled with anxiety issues with different root causes. Their relationship formed in an organic way that was so cute, and they were able to relate to each other on a deeper level because of their experiences with anxiety.
There were some spicy scenes, which I was surprised by, but definitely appreciated, and which led me to some internal introspection as to why these scenes surprised me. And I think that when we see people with mental health challenges portrayed, oftentimes their Illness makes up their entire personality/life. And we do not see them as individuals who want the same things we do when it comes to relationships, sex and intimacy, and just as deserving of these experiences.
The support system that Aja and Walker had was also an important part of the story, and showcase how having people in your corner can help you through difficult times.
A favourite read for this year.

This was so wholesome! Having this romance set in the South with themes like Southern charm/hospitality while exploring race, mental health, and more was actually really enjoyable. I absolutely loved the rep in this book (Our MC, Aja, is Black & fat with anxiety, and our love interest, Walker, has PTSD. There are also several Black side characters in the story.) I immediately fell in love with Aja and her sweet-as-peaches personality. Her journey to find people in her life who loved her as much as she loves herself was so emotionally relatable and I empathized with her so much. I adored how her relationship progressed with Walker, even if it was a little fast-paced. I guess you could say that there is insta-lust in this book, but I think it was done really well and I was honestly screaming for Walker and Aja to get together as soon as they started interacting, too. Walker's relationship with Grams was also so adorable!

One of the most prominent themes in this book is mental health. Both Aja and Walker had grown up (and now live) in areas where disabilities regarding mental health are swept under the rug, so seeing both of these characters be completely open about their mental health with one another while also regularly attending therapy was really beautiful to see. I loved how both Aja and Walker supported one another during each of their moments of need, and didn't shy away from their needs either. Each of their friend groups also seemed like such a great support system and I immediately went 👀 at the hint that Jade's book might be next.

The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars was that the plot felt quite simple to me at times and the sex-pact the two enact also didn't take up much of the story as the blurb made it seem it would. The ending also wasn't as strong as the rest of the story, given how drastic the third-act break up felt. I'd definitely still recommend this book though, and I'm so excited for Jodie Slaughter's upcoming works!

Let me start off by saying, I really loved this ARC. It had the perfect amount of spice for a rom-comish book, the characters felt real and I’m in love with Walker… I’m just going to say it, now I just have to break the news to my husband. The way Jodie wraps in mental health, anxiety specifically was perfection and made me feel so incredibly seen. I don’t think I’ve read a book recently that was written so openly. It made both Aja and Walter even more likable, it made me root for their own healing and they as a whole even harder.

I found myself giggling, blushing, screaming, and any other gasp or sigh I could fit in while reading this. It was a breath of fresh air from what I’ve been reading.

WHAT I LOVED
🍑 Oh the spice, hot damn it was so good!
🍑 Mental Health being an open topic of discussion
🍑BINGO and all that came along with it

WHAT I WANTED MORE OF
🍑 I wanted more togetherness when it came to the MCs
🍑 The last chapter and Epilogue left me feeling like I need one or two more paragraphs. It felt just ever so slightly unfinished

Overall, it was such a fun and steamy read! I picked it up and found myself not wanting to put it down or finding any moment in my day to pick it up.

STARS
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SPICE
🌶🌶


Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC.

great book about doing bingo and meeting someone. I liked that there was attraction and working on things with family and with themselves. I enjoyed the heat and the romance and finding oneself .