This book was a fresh take on a classic friends-to-lovers trope. I especially appreciated the mental health and plus-size representation in the protagonist(s). If you’re in a reading slump, this fun story will definitely break you out of it.

Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Bet on It by Jodie Slaughter is absolutely adorable! Featuring unique and interesting characters that feel like someone you could meet in real life - you will absolutely fall in love with them. The relationships between the characters felt genuine and real, something that could seem unrealistic in some stories. I am someone who can be made incredibly uncomfortable by steamy/spicy scenes but these ones were kind of... charming? in their own way. Overall, this book was wonderful and you'll love to watch the relationship between the main characters grow.

What do you get if you throw two thirty-somethings into a community mostly made out of gossips and older people? What if one of them grew up in the little town and has past demons to deal with? And how in the world do you make a game of Bingo sexy and alluring?

Well, you get Bet On It by Jodie Slaughter, a novel with two main characters dealing with their own mental illnesses. Aja and Walker gravitate to one another right away and, because both now their time together is limited, make a pact: no sex unless one of them wins a round of Bingo. Things get steamy between them, but both also find a way to be vulnerable with each other.

This book is spicy, romantic, has great representation of different character types (Aja is a plus-size queeeeeeen!) and great communication between all of the characters.

Jodie Slaughter did a great job with this book and if you’ve liked books by Tessa Bailey, you will also enjoy this one!

Bet On It will be published on July 12, 2022 and I have received a ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The cover and title is what drew me to this book. Such a cute quick read! I found the characters to be relatable. I neither seeing the growth of the characters overall and the body positivity

This book was incredible. Both characters have a type of anxiety disorder, which was relatable, and the fact that they lean on each other for support was so cathartic to read.

Thank you St. Martin's Press through NetGalley for providing me with ARC

Amazing Book! Check TW but I highly recommend everyone read this book.

This is a HEA romance with the topic of mental illness. Jodie Slaughter did an absolutely fantastic job of walking you through Aja and Walker's realistic struggle with their mental illness (such a real and important topic) without making the book too heavy. I loved their journey, the game they played, the chemistry, the obstacles they overcame in order to have their HEA!

The descriptions used when referencing Aja being a plus size woman and Walker's absolute fascination and attraction to her AND her body was breathtaking. A lot of romance books I've read with a plus size heroine has the love interest develop attraction after getting to know her character. Or there are other characters or society who treat her badly because she is fat. I loved how there was absolutely none of that in Bet on it. Walker was instantly attracted to Aja, her fat was a thing of beauty, not something he saw past.

I cannot leave out the side characters. Walker's friends (Cory, Adya, and Jamie) and Aja's developed friendships (Miri, Jade, and Olivia) are #friendshipgoals. Their utter acceptance and understand of their mental health and the issues they struggle with because of it is inspiring. If only people in society could have the same actions these 6 do....

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this e book in exchange for my honest review!
Friends to lovers is my favorite romance trope, and this book did not dissapoint. Exactly what I needed to get out of my reading slump! This book also touches on important themes (like anxiety) that I think most of us face with, it was nice to have a good and accurate depiction of that in this book. Spicy, but not over the top for me. I loved the representation in this book too!

Who knew BINGO could be so sexy? I sure as heck didn’t, but Jodie Slaughter’s Bet on It had me rethinking the game. After moving to a small-town to help escape some of the anxiety living in a city caused, Aja found her social life revolving around Wednesday night BINGO with her new town’s elderly population. However, she finds herself lonely and craving the company of people her own age.

When Ms. Mae, a spunky, bingo-loving retiree, is in an accident, her grandson comes back to town for the first time in over 10 years. Walker, known to the rest of the town as Wally, has a past that haunts him every time he steps foot in the small town, but when he meets Aja, he begins rethinking his decision to stay away.

It took me a few chapters to become invested in this book, but once I was hooked, I couldn’t put it down. Some of the things I loved:

- A fat main character. Aja and Walker both allude to her fatness, but it is never once in a negative light. I don’t recall a single moment in the book where Aja was self-conscious of her size. And Walker didn’t love her in spite of her fat, it was just part of her that made him love her. As much as I love books where characters work through their insecurities, I absolutely love a book that has a fat person just living their life.
- The portrayal of mental health. Both main characters had mental illness, which was part of their developing relationship. Dealing with anxiety myself, I really connected with how it was portrayed in the book.
- Dual POV. I know that dual POV isn’t for everyone, but I personally love knowing both sides of the story. I especially loved it for this book since both characters had their own mental illnesses that affected their relationship.

The book does include trigger warnings at the beginning since it deals with past trauma and mental illness. If you are okay reading the potential triggers, I absolutely recommend this book. It’s cute, spunky, and definitely hot. I’d rank it about 3 out of 5 for spiciness.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for allowing me to read this eARC and provide my thoughts on it!

3.5 starts

Phew, this book was STEAMY! There was undeniable chemistry between Aja and Walker. Some of the dialogue between the characters didn’t seem to flow very well, and I would’ve liked a tad more character development. But overall the plot was lovely.

Jodie Slaughter also does a great job tackling mental health issues. As someone who suffers from generalized anxiety and panic attacks, I felt she described the anxiety and trauma of the characters very well. I’m glad she didn’t shy away from including mental health in her book.

I liked this book, but did not love it, because even though I thought the characters were very well written and I really liked the depiction of their struggles with anxiety and Walker’s PTSD I thought it was tied too neatly. Specially regarding Walker’s dad, sometimes shitty parents are just shitty parents and don’t deserve a redemption act, I really didn’t like that all he had to do was show up and Walker had to forgive him, felt like a plot device to get that 75% into the book break up, but overall I enjoyed it.

If you looking for a little sugar and a whole lot of sexy spice then you need to read Bet on It. Man oh man there is some juicy details in here, definitely not for the faint of heart. A fun com-rom that deals with insecurity,love, family, and the importance of friendships.
Aja loves her nights at Bingo and getting to feel like she's a part of something. Everyone is definitely out of her age range but these people are her friends, and man are they crazy about their love for the game. Line up your cars a certain way, multiple cards, and you must be able to read them all fast! One night an incredibly good looking man comes in with his Gram to play Bingo and Aja is speechless and all things clumsy. It's rare to see people around her age and defiantly not that good looking. The two bound over family issues and past hurts, but mostly over their bet....a bingo-based sex agreement! It's really hard to hold back on all the sexual tension between the two of them, but a bet is a bet, or is it?

Aja Owens is a woman I can relate to. Having panic attacks in the frozen food section of the Piggly Wiggly. Trying to pretend everything is fine if she can just breathe through it and not see anyone she knows. Unfortunately, the attractive man behind her needs his ice cream.

Later when she goes to the Bingo place, her elderly lady sitting next to her has brought her grandson with her. And yes, it’s the ice cream guy. The man who saw her panicking in the store. And he wants to know more about her. She’s not so sure she wants anyone in her life.

Walker Abbott lives in Charleston. There is not one thing he likes about his grandmother’s home, Greenbelt. Well, except for the peach cobbler at the local diner. He’s helping his grandmother and counting the days until he can get out of this town. Until Aja.

He is going to shake up her world until she shakes up his.

This was funny and emotional and had a lot of anxiety that I could identify with. Cute story with some funny characters and Bingo.

NetGalley/July 12th, 2022 by St. Martin’s

Friends to lovers? Forced-ish proximity? Small town? Whatever trope just plain worked in this story! First, Jodie Slaughter knows how to write mental health rep with a realistic and empathetic lens. I fell for Aja and Walker from the first chapter and enjoyed every page of this story as their relationship developed. Their understanding, deep appreciation and care for each other was beautiful, then the steam built up and....YES! This is a romance not to be missed.

Aja encounters Walker in the freezer aisle of her grocery store while having a panic attack. Walker is both patient and understanding during their encounter. Yet she is perfectly fine with never seeing him again. Except it turns out Walker is the grandson of her friend and Wednesday bingo partner and he’s just returned back to town. Suddenly, Walker is everyone Aja goes but maybe that’s not such a bad thing? Walker can’t wait until his grandmother is healed and he can return back to the life he’s made for himself in Charleston and not have to deal with the trauma associated with his return, that is until he met Aja.

I think this struck the right balance in terms of super cute romance and “omg did they just bang in the parking lot of the bingo hall” kind of smut. This is on the heavier (?) side of smut so those who try to avoid it you have been forewarned. I will say that the scenes leading up to the two characters falling for each other felt lacking. They just kind of fell into it and I would have liked to have seen some more interactions or catalyst events leading up that actualization. That part lacked “oomph” if you will?

This book offered great representation in terms of mental health. Both characters struggled in their own ways and both were portrayed in realistic ways that had you sympathising with them. While the book delved into some heavier topics it generally kept a lighter, romantic tone but I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a rom-com.

Also, I really would have preferred if everyone in the town stopped referring to him as Wally. There is nothing sexy about a Wally (as opposed to a Walker). I apologise to any Wallys I may have just offended in my review but sometimes the truth hurts.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

so cute and heartwarming! i loved the character growth seen in aja through out the book. i liked how real the characters felt especially when it came to dealing with mental health, i thought the author portrayed ptsd and panic disorder very realistically as well as life in a small town. i would recommend this book to readers who enjoyed get a life, chloe brown and the other books in the brown sister series

I loved this book! Aja and Walker are everything. The real talk about anxiety was on point. The body positivity was phenomenal because it was there but it wasn’t a statement or anything to overcome. Aja is fat and happy and beautiful, period. I don’t have firsthand experience with the kind of trauma and PTSD that Walker was dealing with but it felt well-handled as an outsider. And all of this was cushioned in a fun Bingo-based sex pact with SPICE 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Original romcoms are hard to come by, so add this to your TBR. I hope to see more fun, sexy diverse romances from Slaughter in the future - she could become an autobuy author for me. This was a free ARC from NetGalley, but I plan to purchase a copy for my collection when it’s released. 4.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley, St Martin’s Publishing Group, and Jodie Slaughter for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is my first time reading something by this author and I really enjoyed it. The story caught my attention from the beginning and held it all the way through. True to its genre, this book was not only fun and hilarious, but it also dealt with difficult and serious issues such as mental health. The author takes a realistic approach to this topic and I like the way it was handled with sensitivity, but also reality. Aja suffers from anxiety attacks, and when she is in the grocery store she is hit by one. A stranger, Walker, recognizes what is happening and offers to help her. Fate brings them together again and they both really connected. They aren't looking for a relationship, so they make a bet which keeps things light and fun, without any commitment. The romance was intense, and the story was filled with emotion and heart. Both Aja and Walker are so vulnerable yet they are exactly what the other needs. Both characters were well-developed and were relatable and endearing. The storyline was well-crafted and definitely held my interest till the end. I enjoyed the story and am hoping to read more by this author in the future.

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

When I first saw the plus sized character on the cover I was immediately concerned. How many time have I read a book or seen a movie or show that makes a mockery of someone who isn’t rail thin? I was very pleased with the body positivity in this book. Not only that, it was fun and enjoyable even while dealing with hard topics 🧡

Bet on It
➖rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️’s
➖steam: 2.5/5 🌶‘s

This was such a lovely read! It was sweet and spicy (which is everything I want it a romcom), but it also had such relevant mental health representation! Aja struggled with anxiety while Walker struggled with PTSD and I appreciated how carefully and honestly those were both portrayed throughout the story. Aja & Walker are such genuine and well-developed characters and seeing them learn to trust each other with their pain and struggles was so rewarding as a reader.

what I loved:
➖the bingo theme!!
➖a+ character growth
➖the body positivity!!
➖realistic mental health rep
➖small town setting

Overall this book just worked so well for me and I absolutely can’t wait to buy a physical copy. Thank you so much to Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed the premise of this - I thought it was really unique and interesting! I also appreciated the way anxiety and PTSD were portrayed, the author took a lot of care with both the characters and readers (I also appreciated the trigger warnings in the front of the book!). The third act breakup felt very authentic to the story, and neither church said horrible things to the other. My biggest issue with the book is pacing - it felt off to me, and I felt like the chapters sometimes ended in weird places and I wanted more from the scenes. But overall, I really enjoyed this and I’m excited for what comes next from Jodi Slaughter! It felt a little like she was laying the groundwork for another character’s romance and I’m very intrigued.