The Only Game in Town by Lacie Waldon

A big thank you to @netgalley, @putnambooks, and @allaboutthat_lace for the opportunity to read this #eARC in exchange for my #honestreview! This will be published March 21 and is available for preorder now. 💕

Redford, Georgia is a small town that is big on community. Jess has called Redford home her whole life, through the good and the bad despite never fully feeling she belongs. When Carter visits Redford, it’s to attend the funeral of his beloved grandfather, Jasper, and for the reading of his will. Things take an exciting turn when, during the reading of Jasper’s will, the estate lawyer announces there will be a contest among the residents of the town and Carter to compete in pairs of two to win his fortune of $10 million. Will the town of Redford learn to work together or will the pressure be too much for these pairings? Let the games begin!

This was so good! I have to admit the premise didn’t have me fully sold immediately but Waldon did it so well! I also absolutely loved that the FMC, Jess, was an author so there were a few nods to narrative form and a kind of breaking of the fourth wall to address the conflict for the MC before the resolution. A very cute romance filled with good feels, solid pop culture references (Golden Girls, and T.Swift, and Barbie - oh my!) and a small town vibe. This is exactly what I am looking for in a closed door contemporary romance! Romcom lovers should run to this one!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 - 4.5/5

This book was cute, if a little predictable. No spoilers here, but I think the only plot point that truly surprised was a big one involving her dad, and I didn’t really get the resolution I wanted at the end of the book.

The main couple was really cute together, and I liked both of them separately and as a couple. I didn’t mind their alternating POVs. But the occasional jumps into supporting characters’ points of view were somewhat jarring and didn’t feel like they really added to the main plot. That space could have been devoted to the main characters and let that story have a bit more depth.

Oooh! This was so oddly 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘐𝘯 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘯 features the small town of Redford with its quirky residents and an eccentric millionaire who's devised the ultimate game to leave his fortune behind for his fellow Redfordians, if only they can survive their pairings from hell and reach the end unscathed.

- ~ -

"𝘐𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯?"

Redford is a somewhat idyllic small-town with wild residents and their wilder histories but it cares well for its people. There's rivalry like nothing else but they're all family at the end of the day.

Jess is a book editor who's swept up by a world of words and Carter's lost in a world of numbers, together these two opposites, on opposing sides of the game are brought closer by the chaotic competition.

I want to clarify that the synopsis might lead us to believe that the main characters are paired together but they aren't which is good because being the competition adds
another dimension of tension to the plot.

The story is told through quadruple POVs and some perspectives are more humorous than others but see...

*minor spoilers ahead*

The POVs are of Jess, Carter, Jess's father - Ross and Jess's childhood nemesis - Nikki. The Jess and Carter paring is all well and good but Nikki and Ross don't make any sense because Nikki has some strong feelings for Ross which he doesn't reciprocate and while the age gap isn't that big, it's still wierd for a father to be attracted to a girl his daughter's age but that is not the end game so that's good but I'm still confused as to why their POVs were there in the first place!
With all things said and done if Nikki would have been anyone but Jess's agemate I would've shipped the hell outta her and Ross.

But I will say though, this was definitely my favourite from the author. While I missed that this book wasn't set in some place across the globe like the author's others, I think Redford and its people warrant it's a whole universe. The fact that it's written in third person also adds more character and details to the plot which I liked.

- ~ -

Overall: A sweet concoction of unlikely friendships and alliances put up against betrayals and the temptation to do all it takes to win creates for a well developed plot that keeps the readers on their toes.

3.93 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘶𝘵𝘯𝘢𝘮 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

After the death of one of the wealthiest men in town, a small town in Georgia competes for his fortune and all of the teams were picked by him before he died. Jess and Carter are paired up much to their dismay. While this book was marketed as a romance, it was more about the community and the race. It was a fun read!

This was a charming book about a small town. While it says it is a romance, that is actually only a small part. The majority of the book is about the town and the different personalities living in it. I did enjoy the “game” part of the book as I found it to be quite unique. Overall, it was a little juvenile and a little too quirky for my taste. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to @netgalley and @putnambooks for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a sucker for small-town stories, having spent my entire life living in one, so this book sounded right up my alley. That, plus the adorable cover, drew me right in.

It started off strong; I loved the first few chapters and the banter between Carter and Jess. I didn’t even mind that the plot was a little far fetched, because the story was cute. But it quickly went off the rails for me.

It is billed as a romance, but there’s very little romance. Instead, there are multiple competing stories and characters that make this one a little chaotic. It was difficult for me to care about and get invested in so many characters, all with their own interests and agendas. I wish Waldon had just focused on Jess and Carter and let them tell the story.

In the end, it was cute but not for me. I wasn’t invested in the competition, and hated the “enemies paired together” vibe. I wish the book had kept the cute energy from the first few chapters.

I appreciated the chance to review this book, even if it didn’t end up being my cup of tea. 2.5 stars.

Another cute read from Waldon.
A ton of money is at stake for a small eccentric Georgia town.
The matchups have already been Made but who will still together.
This doesn’t often happen for me, but I liked Nikki the best. Her put downs were vile but I do if myself liking her chuff and tenacity.
For this book I was rooting more for the villain, sort of, anyway.

The Only Game In Town features Jess and Carter. Carter’s grandfather, the town eccentric, has died and left a stipulation in his will that there will be a contest. The winning pair of the contest will win his whole fortune. Much to people’s horror, he picked the teams before he died. Chaos ensues in this fun book about a small town community.
I loved Jess from go. She faces a lot of issues but she does try her hardest to stay upbeat. Carter has a very mysterious vibe about him. It is nice for this book to have a dual POV(sometimes quadruple POV) so you can get the book from different angles. The residents of Redford are brought to life. Jess’ old high school classmate and now teammate, Nikki, has her own POV. I initially disliked it because Nikki is not the nicest but it has it’s purposes.
The Only Game in Town is the first of Lacie Waldon’s books that I have read. I really loved how she brought everyone to life and really brought the reader into the story. I will be picking up her other books.
I would recommend this book if you enjoy a nice, light closed door romance that really leans on a hometown feel.
Thank you to NetGalley, Lacie Waldon, and Putnam for the e-ARC. This review is my own opinion.

📖The Only Game In Town
By Lacie Waldron

ARC REVIEW
PUBLISH DATE 3-21 ⭐️

🚣🏻‍♀️ grumpy-sunshine / friends to lovers
🚣🏻‍♀️ small town
🚣🏻‍♀️ no spice
🚣🏻‍♀️ full of competition
🚣🏻‍♀️ 4 points of view

If you are looking for a book with no spice, small town vibes and a little friendly competition- this is the book for you.

I have adored Lacie’s other two books so much- but this one fell flat for me, though I did enjoy the storyline. The characters did not pull me in at all. The mmc was blah and the fmc wasn’t exciting to follow either. I felt like The Layover & From The Jump both being 5⭐️ reads for me, that this would fill my expectations too. If this book would have had more “romance” to it I would have easily given a 4⭐️

Carter (MMC) and Jess (FMC) are in a competition with the rest of the town, in efforts to WIN 10 million from Jasper who recently passed. Carter comes from Atlanta to compete along with the rest of the residents in this small town, but he is the only one that is not a resident, which automatically set him up with a red flag.

Nikki (fmc2) gets paired with Jess in the competition, which is hard, because they have had a rough relationship of not getting along in the past. Nikki also has the hots for Jessi’s dad, Ross (mmc2) which is super awkward.

Each day, there is a new competition that the two person teams have to complete, to be able to go through to the next round. There are several L O L moments and the games Jasper chose for them to play were very cute.

Who will be the ultimate winning team to split the $10 million, and what will they do with their winnings? You must read to find out. I loved how this town came together in support for one another!

Thank you to Penguin Book Putnam @putnambooks, @netgalley & Lacie Waldron for this eArc for my honest review.

The Only Game in Town is a romance, but it's also the story of the small town of Redford, Georgia. When the town's wealthy benefactor Jasper Wilhelm dies, the people of Redford learn that he has planned a game for the town people for the chance to win a ten million dollar inheritance. The story is told from four different viewpoints: Jess, a spunky editor; Ross, her father; Nikki, the one girl in town Jess doesn't 'get along with; and Carter, the grandson of Jasper Wilhelm. The romance between Jess and Carter is fun and adorable, but the story of the town took center stage for me. It was a heartwarming and satisfying story. Closed door romance, but plenty of innuendo. Would recommend for readers who enjoy small town stories with plenty of fun and games along the way! Thank you to Putnam Books and NetGalley for the ARC; all opinions are my own.

If you're looking for something sweet, small-towny, and low-stakes to read, this is the book for you. Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different townsperson, so you really get a sense of this community. The townspeople have their regular feuds and gripes against each other. When they are forced to play on teams to win money, comedy and romance ensue. This book has a very Gilmore Girls vibe to it. You know from the moment that the two main characters meet that they are going to fall in love. You also know that the purpose of the book isn't really the scavenger hunt or who is going to win, but that the town figures out a way to rebuild their community center and find community in each other.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book.

The Only Game in Town is marketed as a romance, but rather its a story about a community. The romance is NOT the main focus of the plot. Therefore, the love story between Jess and Carter is superficial, lacking any ounce of chemistry. The hi-jinx of the race dominates the story, and its community pairings of participants.

I would've enjoyed this story if told only from Jess and Carter's POV. I have previously enjoyed Waldon's novels, and will pick-up future books penned by her. This one did not live up to the hype.

Thank you PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the complimentary copy.

I loved how Redford came together!

Nothing ever changed in small town Redford, Georgia but when secret benefactor Jasper Wilhelm died leaving $10 million to the town in a contest changing the town forever when the most unlikely people are paired for the competition in a series of challenges that will test the partner’s and the townspeople.

Carter Barclay had returned to Redford for his beloved grandfather’s funeral and helped that his grandfather select the recipients of the money but he was surprised to be included in the competition. Editor Jess Reid was paired with Nikki Loughton, the one person who hated her.

I loved how the Redford and the townspeople came together in the completion and where so-called enemies started to learn to be real friends.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a super cute read and I really enjoyed the contest plot. This did feel more like a women's fiction than romance novel but all the same I enjoyed seeing all the characters develop. I really liked Carter and Jess and wished we got to see a little bit more of the relationship. Overall this was a fun read!

This is about Carter and Jess, but it's honestly more about a small town.

Carter comes to Redford for his grandfather's funeral. They were especially close and worked on a big project together. Carter is wondering what is he going to do now that his grandfather is gone.

He meets Jess on his first day there. He saves her from the resident mean girls who make Jess's life hell.

Jess loves books, she's turned her love into working as a copywriter. She's very close to her single dad who raised her.

I loved the small town. Jess is an expert in everyone and loves the town just like Carters grandfather did.

It was such a funny novel. And sweet, and sometimes sad. But most of the time fun.

Summary
When the local billionaire, Jasper Wilhwelm, dies, it is announced as his funeral that his will stipulates that he will give 10 million dollars to a pair of residents, selected by their performance in a town wide 'game' he set up. He paired the residents already, and left instructions with his lawyer.
Jess Reid grew up in Redford with her single dad. She came back to be a freelance editor so she could be close to him and the town she loves so much. Carter Barclay is Jasper's grandson. His first trip to Redford is for the funeral, where he learns about the game and that he was included in it. Despite being partnered up with other people, Carter and Jess keep crossing paths. And there is a lot of interest on both ends. But Carter lives in Atlanta where he has a job and a life. And after Jess gets some big news, she knows she isn't leaving Redford anytime soon. Both of them, along with the rest of the town, have big plans for the money if the win. Is there path forward to Carter and Jess?

Review
When I read a description of The Only Game in Town being a cross between The Westing Game and Sweet Home Alabama and I was immediately sold. I loved The Westing Game when I was younger and give me a Southern small town romcom any day.
One thing I really enjoyed was the multiple POVs. Most books with a romance vibe tend to be single or dual POV. Having other perspectives gave a little more depth to the story. It was still predominantly Jess and Carter's perspectives, but mixing in Nikki, Jess's partner/enemy, and Ross, Jess's dad, added some insight into the story we wouldn't have otherwise had. I will say, I don't think Ross's perspective really added a ton, but taking him away and only having Nikki's perspective would have been kinda weird. I wouldn't have minded pop ins from other town members. There were some things that I felt were left unfinished or could have used more time in the book. Specifically a situation with Jess's dad, as well as a come-uppance I would have loved to have seen with a character.
It was a fun story, not heavily focused on the romance, but still having it in there. I love small town stories with all the quirky townspeople and the Idiosyncrasies that make up the town. Redford, Georgia did not disappoint. It was an enjoyable read.

The Only Game in Town is a super cute, closed door, small town romance, with the added chaos of a “friendly” competition involving the whole town. Two of the residents will win an inheritance left by their wealthiest member, if they can team up with their rivals and make amends, make it through a series of ridiculous/hilarious tasks, and come together as a community.

Redford is such a cute town with quirky residents who behave like one big family, the good the bad and the ugly! I have quickly become a fan of Lacie Waldon! She has a way of writing the funnest, quirkiest characters, who are also so relatable and lovable! I loved the town of Redford and all of its inhabitants, from the rival bakers, to the funky hairdresser and the man who’d pined after her for years, and even vicious Nikki who may actually be the biggest softy of them all, but most of all, Jess and Carter! This book is so fun and sweet and feels like taking a deep breath of fresh air.

If you loved Something Wilder by Christina Lauren or Maggie Moves on by Lucy Score, this book is for you!

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.5⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Contemporary romance 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
I adored this book! If you love a good rom com you need to read this one!

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Cute and sweet romances
Small town
Multiple POVs
Opposites attract
Entertaining reads
Enemies to lovers
Great side characters
Second chance friendships

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
The Barbie Jeeps
Gave me Stars Hallow vibes
All the games/challenges
Such a quick and fun read

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
The romance was more of a side plot

I really loved this and Lacie Waldon is quickly becoming one of my favorite contemporary romance writers. Her writing speaks to me like an old friend. I laugh and hang on every piece of the romance. Her books are fun and always adventurous. And I think Jess and Carter are my favorite couple to date. This adorable town with all the colorful characters made for a great story. I really loved how this played out.
It’s a closed door romance and I highly recommend it. I loved everything about it.
Thanks G. P. Putnam’s Sons via NetGalley.

Rating: ❤️❤️❤️
This is a sweet light-hearted book.

Jess is from a small town called Redford. When the mayor dies, his grandson Carter visits Redford for the first time. There’s a fortune up for grabs, but to receive it residents must compete in a series of silly games.

This book was kinda silly, but it’s good if you need a lighter book!