Aaaand Jodie Slaughter has been added to my auto-read romance author list!

I so enjoyed this small-town contemporary romance featuring thoughtful mental health rep, personal growth, and sexual tension at bingo. Aja first meets Walker in the frozen foods section of the Piggly Wiggly, where she's having a panic attack. I was sold on BET ON IT from that first scene, and Slaughter didn't let me down the rest of the way through. And she brought the spice! (This book is open door.)

I was a fan of Angel Pean's narration. I think she was well cast and did a great job with the material.

The text (via e-book and ALC) begins with a general content warning from the author; readers are directed to jodieslaughter.com for a more detailed description of sensitive content.

thank you to NetGalley for the audio version of this book for me to listen to. I absolutely loved this book! I loved the entire book. How one moved to the smaller city to get away from city life the other moved from the small city to experience big city living. then they meet in the smaller city fall in love then one runs away leaving the other in a tailspin of grief. This book has more to it but you'll just have to read it to find out!

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I read about half of this book and I was just so disappointed by it that I put it down. Great reader, but not a great story.

Aja Owens is prone to panic attacks. Unfortunately, her most current attack occurred in the frozen foods section of Piggly Wiggly in front of Walker Abbot. She is mortified and hopes to never see him again but Greenbelt, South Carolina is a small town so Aja couldn’t get that lucky. Walker also happens to be one of Aja’s favorite bingo buddies grandson.

Aja is running from her fast paced Washington DC life and Walker can’t wait to get out of this sleepy town and back to his life. Neither of them can ignore the attraction between them so they decide a bingo based sex pact is the best way to have fun without getting too involved. Of course life is never that easy.

This was a cute, steamy rom com. The characters were okay. I didn’t find any of them just absolutely made me more invested in the story. It was good for the type of book that it is.

I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Story: 2 ⭐️
Steam: 4 🔥 med smut
Audio: 4 🎧 I loved her voice but she read SO slow

I did not really like this book. The cover was so cute and it sounded so promising but I was just bored the whole time honestly. This book focuses heavily on mental health. Which is fine but I just wasn’t in the mood for it. I felt very detached from the characters and found myself putting it down and not wanting to pick it back up.

I really loved how this book focused on mental health and showcasing how anxiety can run your life. I am giving it 4 stars because I feel like
Their parts that could have been cut. At points I feel like some of the spicy parts were dragged out unnecessarily. I think if a friend asked for a relatable romcom I would definitely recommend this book. There were some laugh-out-loud parts while I listened to it.

I really wish netgalley had better audio quality on their app because it is terrible. The book was good and fun but this audio was distracting. But that's not the author's fault.

Aja moved to the small town of Greenbelt, South Carolina for a quieter home to get a handle on her anxiety, but so far her only social interaction happens every Wednesday night at bingo with the over 50 crowd. Walker couldn't get away from his childhood trauma in Greenbelt fast enough when he graduated from high school, but when his Gram breaks both her arms, he comes home to help her around the house and at to play bingo for her on Wednesday nights, where he meets her bingo friend, Aja.

I thought this was an incredibly good small town romance with devastatingly accurate descriptions of anxiety. Some of Walker's lines were a little cheesy, but I enjoyed it overall.

I thought the narration was really good. So many audiobooks that are set in the south have really inaccurate southern accents that pull me out of the story, but Angel Pean really nailed it.

This book had so many elements that I’m usually here for - thorough mental health representations (generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks, PTSD), “Let’s just try things once to get it out of our system,” bingo grandmas… But the book felt very disjointed and with lots of emotional whiplash. I am a sucker for peach cobbler and the scenes where they were at the diner made me want to cut up some ripe peaches and bake something tasty. For most of the book, though, I really didn’t feel the connection or chemistry between the two characters – it mostly boiled down to they both witnessed Aja’s panic attack, then realized they both could use companionship (the car scene outside bingo...), then spent most of the rest of the book talking themselves out of their legitimate feelings for each other and convincing themselves they wouldn’t be right together. It just wasn’t it for me.
Do I wish I had read a physical copy over the audiobook? Yes - I think I might have enjoyed the book a little more. I thought the narrator really gave Aja a voice, but I wasn’t as much of a fan of the male narrations and wish they might have had a different narrator for his POV. I also found myself increasing the speed more than my usual audio speed but it was a little too slowly paced.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This title is a beautiful, heavy thing, and make sure you pay careful attention to the list of triggers that the author kindly provides at the beginning of the novel.
CW: Panic Attacks, PTSD, severe anxiety, child neglect (hinted at, but not explicit on page), complicated familial dynamics
With those listed, I need to tell you how powerful this novel is. Our characters are truly amazing humans, who face the world with an outlook far more optimistic than most in their situation.
Aja meets a dreamy man while having a panic attack in the middle of the Piggly Wiggly in town right before close. She expects one thing from him, and he does the exact opposite of what she expects. That leads to her calming down enough to get out of there. She thinks she will never see him again. So, when said dreamy man sits across from her at bingo, because her elderly friend can't do it herself after surgery, she is shocked. She had no idea that he was going to be in town for a while, caring for his grandmother.
Walker hates this small town with everything in him. It brings up the complicated feelings within his family, and how he was picked on for his panic attacks as a kid. He needed help, and wasn't getting it as a teen. Once he moved away to college, he got help with therapy and meds. He has a career that he enjoys, and is good at. He never even sees Aja coming, and it is something that is going to change his world view, and make him consider life in a small town again.
The way these two communicate and draw clear lines for one another every step of their journey is something that I wish I saw in more romance novels! I truly love that this is a common theme when reading a Jodie Slaughter novel. They make consent sexy, and Walker loves Aja's curves and curvy body. You can't get enough of their chemistry, and how the connect not only sexually, but through their anxiety. They understand and empathize with each other in a way that is healthy for both parties.
I hope with all of my heart that we see more from the friends in Greenbelt, because they were a fun group. I would love to see their stories. Thank you again to Jodie Slaughter for this amazing book. Being someone with anxiety severe enough that I need therapy and medication, where I have had panic attacks publicly, I loved everything about this book. It was a beautiful thing, and I cannot thank you enough for the care and consideration that you gave these characters and this book.

Bonding at bingo night leads to happily ever after in Jodie Slaughter's Bet on It, a small-town romance that blends sultry and sweet. Black Social media manager Aja Owens moved to Greenbelt, South Carolina for her mental health and is a regular at a local bingo hall, but she hasn't made the kind of close friends she'd hoped for yet. White journalist Walker Abbott has just arrived back in his hometown to help his grandmother--Aja's favorite bingo buddy--after an injury. When they first meet, Aja is in the middle of a panic attack in a grocery store. Familiar with the symptoms from his own experience, Walker decides to sit and wait it out with her and when they next see each other at bingo, sparks fly.
As could be expected from a book with a no-sex pact, Bet on It is steamy like a South Carolina evening, but Slaughter balances the heat with humor and compatibility and gives both characters arcs of their own. Aja decides to step out of her routine and makes some close friends. Reconciling with the grandmother who raised him, Walker faces his painful past and the townspeople who made him desperate to leave home. Mental health is an important part of each character's identity and Slaughter doesn't pretend their struggles are cured by love. Instead, she shows two people supporting and loving the whole of each other.
A fun romance with a big heart, Bet on It is a winner.

Audio Notes: Angel Pean deftly captures the joy, pain and humor in Bet On It and I look forward to more of her narration.

Good writing, good characters, good pacing, good romance ... but the problem is that "good" is the only word that comes to me. I was really excited for a romantic standout, but this book just stayed solidly "good" all the way through. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing particularly impressive!

Would recommend you pick this up before your next beach vacation! This will be a good summer read for so many people.

Thank you to St. Martin's and NetGalley for providing me with this ALC in exchange for an honest review!

I'm being overly critical, probably, because I didn't actively dislike this book, but I just didn't have a lot of fun reading. Wallie didn't do it for me, what can I say! Aja was such a good, communicative, well rounded MC, so I didn't like him stressing her out! I always struggle when I get to the end of a romance and not only know that I would not have forgiven the romance interest, but I also am mad at the MC for doing so, because I feel like I should at least kind of like the romance interest. Also, I don't know why a bingo sex pact had such a strange affect on me, but it did, and I didn't appreciate them getting all the spicy thoughts over a bingo game! Overall, I like the idea, but not the execution as much.

Slow, sweet and sexy. There is nothing like a man - no matter the race - who can be sensual. Who can make your stomach flutter and he ain’t talking about nothing related to your girlie parts! Improper grammar intended… yesssss! The narrator does a great job of giving you that “I gotcha baby” voice from the male perspective.

Storyline is slow and steady. Aja (pronounced Asia) and Walker connect because of a similar struggle - mental illness. The warmth of someone else recognizing your own struggles and having a willingness to hold your hand through it is something we all long for. It isn’t a storyline (mental illness) many may identify with but it’s real and a sweet love story. You’ll definitely root for them!

This is a romantic comedy that has a balance so it doesn't go into that overly sweet area. It stays more towards a realistic side for when people have baggage that they're bringing into a relationship like many people do. I love the dialog and interactions between the characters. When you add in the narration by Angel Pean, it is a great time.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jodie Slaughter, and MacMillan audio for my advanced copy of Bet On It.

I listened to this book in almost one sitting, only breaking to sleep. I think I am in love with Aja and Walker. No, scratch that. I’m absolutely in love with Aja and Walker.

Bet On It starts in the most picturesque and perfectly southern setting—the Piggly Wiggly. Though, when in the frozen foods section, Aja starts having a panic attack. The store’s about to close, she’s immobile, and all she wants are her Hot Pockets. But soon, Aja finds herself being comforted and supported by a stranger who let’s just say is NOT ugly.

Sure, he was wildly intuitive and possibly the man of her dreams but that was a one-time thing, right? LOL NOPE. Turns out, our supermarket stud is none other than the grand-baby of her elderly friend at the BINGO hall. So, of course, she can see him weekly at BINGO and chat casually. OR, she can become absolutely, positively enraptured by his drawl, his kindness, and how god damn fine he is. It’s up to her.

I’ll let you guess which one she goes with.

Author Jodie Slaughter wrote such love and lust into this one. Not only do I fall in love with the characters and want what’s best for them, but I also found myself connecting to them in a really deep way as they both navigate mental health issues. Plus, I LOVED the fact that (1) Aja isn’t a straight-sized woman and (2) that her not being straight-sized wasn’t the freaking plot of the book.

This book checks all the boxes for me. The audio and narration by Angel Pean was beautiful and the accented southern drawls throughout made me miss the south too dang much!

5⭐️

This book centers around Aja Owens, a woman who suffers from anxiety. She has just recently moved from her home in DC to small town, Greenbelt SC. She decided that the busy city life was not helping her mental state and wanted a slower pace of life. Being new to the area and not knowing anyone Aja decides to attend weekly bingo games at the community center to get out of her apartment. Not surprising, she is the youngest in attendance by quite a few years. That is until her bingo friend brings along her young and very handsome grandson Walker Abbott. Walker is back in his hometown that he hates, but his grandmother needs him. He also suffers from anxiety and PTSD. His plan is to help her and then GTFO of Greenbelt, that is until he meets Aja. Together they form a fast friendship and start leaning on each other for help and companionship. Until they realize that they both want more but they each have their own demons that they need to work through in order to be with each other.

What I really liked about this story was that mental health was at the forefront of the story. The two MC’s both had anxiety and they helped each other learn to deal with and manage their stressors. As someone who has anxiety I thought that the topic was covered very well. Another topic that the book featured was positive body image. Aja was described as a thick and curvy black woman and she was proud of it, also walker could not get enough of her! It was so refreshing to read about a character who loves the way she is and is proud of her image! My reason for taking a star off is at the end of the story I felt like the back and forth, will they won’t they, was a tad monotonous. But overall I really enjoyed the book and would would recommend it.

I listened to this story via audiobook and I absolutely loved it! The narrator, Angel Pean did a wonderful job! She captured the lovely accents of this small southern town. Her back and forth between characters was flawless. I think that she was a wonderful addition to this story!

Thank you @netgalley and @Macmillanaudio for the opportunity to rate and review this book.

A small town romance with a mental health focus, this was a great steamy read. I love how Aja moved to the small town to deal with her anxieties while Walker wanted to leave as quickly as possible which created the resistance of their attraction. I adore the fun bingo setting and how the slow burn between the two. I appreciate seeing both of their journeys and how they came together. The narrator was great with doing both Aja and Walker's voices.

Thank you @netgalley for both a copy of ALC and ARC of this book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Jodie Slaughter for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC audiobook for Bet On It coming out July 12, 2022. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first time being exposed to a Jodie Slaughter book. It was a pleasant surprise. Aja Owens finds herself having a panic attack at the grocery store when she meets Walker Abbott. He helps her get through it. She meets him again at the local bingo hall when her favorite bingo partner introduces him as her grandson.

I’m really glad this book didn’t start off with a breakup! A lot of recent romances I’ve read have started out that way. Hometown romances are fun to me. I like that he was coming home and she moved there while he was away.

The pacts in romance novels are always funny to me. I’ve never experienced a pact in real life. Do people actually make deals like that? I’m not sure I even really understood all the terms of pact and it seems like they definitely blurred the lines, haha. But it was a fun trope.

I thought the mental illness background was interesting. It seems like a lot of romance novels just add a bunch of fluff to make it fun, so it was nice to see there was some serious stuff as well. Not all relationships have good times.

I wasn’t expecting so much romance and spice! Haha! Several of my recent romances have been on the clean side with the fade to black, so I wasn’t expecting that. There might need to be a warning on that. I would’ve been fine with a little less of that, which is the only reason I’m giving it 4 stars.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story. It was fun to listen to. The heavy stuff wasn’t overwhelming. I loved the ending. Aja and Walker are both extremely likable so I loved that. It was fun to root for them. Of course they have their conflicts, but they were levelheaded and didn’t overreact or go to the extreme. I was also intrigued by the interracial relationship. I thought that was handled well.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys sweet small town Southern romances with serious tones.

I was actually unable to finish this book. About 55% into the book and I was still feeling very blah about the characters and the story itself. I needed more from the female lead character she had no background story I had no idea why she was getting anxious and perhaps this was going to happen later on in the book where they would explain this but there was no clue to it. She picked up and moved across to a different state and an area she's never been before to me that would trigger a lot of anxiety. And I used to live in DC I know it sucks there especially if you have anxiety. But it just felt like there was no background there was no real connection between the two main characters I just didn't feel it.