The only game in town is being officiated from beyond the grave by the town millionaire who has recently passed away. He has chosen the teams and set the prize winnings at TEN MILLION DOLLARS! Filled with small town charm and quirky characters, this would be a great book to take on vacation. I thought this was a cute and heartwarming story although it was a tad long in places. Thank you Netgalley, G.P. Putnam Sons Publishing and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be released on March 21, 2023

I've really enjoyed Lacie Waldon's last two books, which both had strong travel themes, so I was surprised to see that The Only Game in Town had a totally different premise. I think that the unique Clue game-like plot for this book worked out really well and make it such an enjoyable read! Not only do we get to read from the POVs of the FMC and MMC, there are occasional chapters from the POV of other characters which helps give a lot of insight and see our MCs through their eyes.

Synopsis: Jess grew up in a small town in Georgia, and after college moved back. She loves Redford for it's family-like feel and that she gets to spend her time close to her dad. The town is also home of a quirky multimillionaire who is the town benefactor, and when he passes away he leaves behind a challenge for select members of the town to participate in: in teams, they need to compete in a series of games/events for the chance to win $10 million. He has already picked the teams, pairing people together who have drama or issues with each other.

In another twist, he has his grandson Carter as one of the challenge participants. Carter isn't from Redford and only came into town for the funeral, so people are instantly suspicious that the game is rigged in his favor. But Carter secretly worked with his grandfather, running their charity, and he loves Redford through all the stories he's heard. He and Jess get along really well and she is kind to him even when others aren't, even though they aren't on the same team.

As the teams compete in the crazy series of challenges, the fact that they're paired up with their enemies causes extra drama! And when Jess receives some shocking bad news, she becomes more determined than ever to win the money, all the while getting closer to Carter.

Review: I thought the backdrop of this crazy $10 million challenge was a hilarious and fun choice for a romance book! This was such a unique premise and the different games and events that the participants had to go through were sometimes so zany, I was cackling. Having Jess paired up with her tormenter and popular mean girl was also great, and we get to see that things are not always as they seem.

The love story between Carter and Jess was also pretty cute, there wasn't a lot of spice in this one (just some insinuated/closed door scenes) but it was wholesome. People in the town like Jess but see her as a bit strange, and it felt like Carter just understood her so well.

Overall this was a fun and clever read, thank you to Lacie Waldon and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC! The Only Game is Town will be out on March 21, 2023.

Thank you NetGalley, putnam, penguin random house and the author for the #gifted ALC in exchange for my honest review. I wanted to love it and in the end only liked it. I was immediately thrown off by all the pov and wish it would have been dual instead i was also surprised how many timea fried was mentioned...

Not much changes in this small town but when the town's benefactor passes away he creates a way for the town to come together!

This was an fun, lighthearted easy read with a lot of interesting characters. I wasn't a huge fun of this story compared to her others and it read a little different for me.

I would recommend it to others but it's a unique style.

THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN - LACIE WALDON
3.75⭐

PLOT - Jess Reid a freelance editor moves back home in Redford Georgia to be closer to her dad who single-handedly raised her. The whole town is in shock when the town's richest man Jasper Wilhelm does leaving behind an opportunity of a lifetime.
Carter Barclay is Jaspers grandson is shocked to find out that his grandfathers fortune doesn't go to him but to the winner of a high stake game devised by him before his death. All the residents are paired up in a unique fashion and the winner gets the fortune for themselves.
Can this high stakes gam bring the town together or divide the small town?

MY THOUGHTS -
I hv loved Lacies past book and for this one ai really enjoyed the plot...it was unique and very heartwarming all about bringing the small town together.
There were bits and pieces which I didn't enjoy..Ross and Nikki's some weird storyline.
Ross's POV was unnecessary in my opinion as it didn't add anything to the story.
Some tasks were good some over the top .
Romance felt forced at many instances and was less so not a rom com per day.
Jess in my opinion was a perfect sunshine character esp to Carters grumpiness.
Thank you Netgalley and publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

A genial novel about a small town in Georgia thrown upend by a competition for $10 million devised by its (now deceased) wealthiest man. Carter's grandfather was always a beneficent force in Redford, providing financial assistance, scholarships and so on both quietly and anonymously- and Carter, after he found him again, helped. Jess, back from New York, is working from home as an editor of romance novels (not what she wants to be editing) and keeping an eye on her father Ross while fending off the evil Nikki, who has hated her since high school. And now Nikki and Jess have been paired in the competition. Can they find a way to work together? And can Jess and Carter find their way to each other? This is less a romance between the characters than it is with the town and its residents-the bakers, the bartender, the hair stylist, the gardener and so on. Nikki, Jess, Carter,and Ross each provide their perspective and roll out their backstories. There's a bit of serious tension (no spoilers) which is actually rather sparse on details. You'll root for them. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good read that will make you chuckle in spots.

I love how this one started off, having both main characters, strangers thrown together an bantering it off from the start, cue up some small town drama, a little instant attraction and we have ourselves a story.

This one was everything you would expect of a small town including, fun and full of hijinks, and in my opinion you’re better off just going in blind.

There are multiple character points of views and a happy ever after. I enjoyed it. 3.5 rounded up.

Mellis Book Breakdown
🤍Multi POV
🤍Small Town
🤍Quarky Heroine

This was such a fun book to read! Georgia Jasper Wilhem has died, and put together one last adventure for the town to get together to try and try to win $10 million.

I loved the adventure, baking rivalries, and different point of views. The romance was cute, but I wish there was more of it. Overall it was a happy, exciting book to read and easy to get through, but wasn't life changing.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book I've read but Lacie Waldon. I loved the idea behind the book, even if it was a bit far fetched.

I absolutely adored this book. It was so good I didn't want it to end.
I just reviewed The Only Game in Town by Lacie Waldon. #TheOnlyGameinTown #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the mix of characters and their personalities. The development of the relationship of the main protagonists was done very well. It was a slow process and not insta love. The stories of the secondary characters were great as well. This is a clean closed door romance book and so much more!

If you need a warm hug to comfort you about the end of Ted Lasso, this is it. Despite all of the character conflict and an unhinged game to win 10 million dollars, this book will give you the warm fuzzies. For romance fans, note that it's closed door - but the romance isn't really the key theme of the story. This is a story about Redford, with enemies reconciling and coming together for the sake of the town. But it's also mixed with a grumpy/sunshine pairing that's just so endearing, you can't help but root for them. I want to go hiking and fly down a hill in a Barbie Jeep, or eat some cupcakes from Evangeline's. Lacie Waldon, you nailed it.

*Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for an ARC and PRH Audio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review*

The Only Game in Town
By Lacie Waldon

Rating: ★★.5
Read if you like:
・ Small town
・ Multiple POV
・ Grumpy/sunshine
・ Enemies-to-lovers

The Only Game in Town is a slightly-underwhelming piece of chick lit that posits itself as a contemporary romance. Was this an enjoyable book? Yes, sort-of. Was it a romance? No, not really. I am still on the fence about how many stars to give this book, so I’ll just stick to giving my honest thoughts.

This book started off strong. The enemies-to-lovers, grumpy/sunshine tension was there, the meet-cute was there, the engaging plot was there. The minute this book began to go ary was when it switched to Jess’s Father’s POV. As cute as her father is, I did not want to hear from him during the story of his daughter’s budding romance. Similarly, I most certainly did NOT want to hear from Nikki. While I enjoyed the reconciliation between Jess and Nikki, it should have been a subplot rather than a focal point of the book. Another part of this book that turned me off was the slight sexual tension between Jess’s dad and Nikki. Gross – that is all that needs to be said. Finally, the general plot of the book was too predictable and Carter’s decision toward the end was too out of character for him to feel like a satisfactory ending as a reader.

I will say, however, that this book was unique and fun at times. I loved the town-drama, the intersting personalities, Jasper’s last letter to Carter, and the romance between Carter and Jess. I would recommend this book *if* you like this author, but I want to caution you that this is not *really* a romance and that other books might be a better use of your time.

Much thanks to the author and NetGalley for the advanced readers' copy.

I am a big Lacie Waldon fan! I really enjoyed The Layover and From the Jump, and was excited to dig into her latest. Big thanks to Putnam and Netgalley for the ARC.

While I enjoyed this one, it took me a bit to get into it and I wanted to like it more. It had so many great elements - a small town, a handsome outsider who arrives, a strong relationship between our leading lady and her father, and a townwide competition. I think where it fell a little flat to me was that it tried to do too much and I struggled to get invested in anything because I was being pulled in so many directions.

The idea of a townwide competition, where folks are paired up and the prize is $10M through a variety of quirky and wild tasks is a great one! But there were SO many side characters and conflicts to detangle, that it made it hard to really enjoy.

“She’d been foolish, approaching this like a game, focusing on enjoying herself. It wasn’t a game. It was life or death.”

Jess Reid is happy with her life. She enjoys her job as a freelance editor, she loves being able to spend so much time her beloved father, and she lives in the best town in the world: Redford, Georgia. She’s content with the way the rest of her life will play out, but everything changes when Redford’s eccentric benefactor, Jasper Wilhelm, dies and leaves behind a high-stakes challenge for the town’s residents to win his fortune. Jess is thrilled to have a chance to win millions of dollars, but not so thrilled when she finds out who her partner is: the woman who’s been bullying her since high school. Things only start looking up when Jess begins a friendship with Jasper’s grandson Carter, a financial advisor who’s always been too busy to visit his grandfather’s town. But when Jess makes an agonizing discovery about her family, it becomes more than just money on the line. Now Jess, Carter, and their teammates will have to figure out how to work together and get through the whimsical challenges if they want to emerge from this game successful. Yet is it really the only game in town? Or will the feelings developing between Jess and Carter jeopardize their chance to change their lives?

This is the first book of Lacie Waldon’s that I’ve read, and I absolutely loved it. The plotting is simply masterful, and the characters are phenomenal. It’s so hard for me to pick a favorite character because Waldon develops each of them with such dedication. Even the ones you think you’ll dislike at the beginning of the book become your favorites by the end. And don’t even get me started on how Waldon manages to capture the exact feeling of life in a small town! By the time I turned the last page, I felt like I had a full understanding of who each and every person in Redford is, who they like and don’t like, and the extents to which they’d go to for one another. Plus, the romance between Jess and Carter is superb—especially thanks to the dual narration—and there is a fantastic mix of love, humor, and adventure. Overall, there’s really nothing else I can say except hats off to Lacie Waldon!

Content Warnings: Death of a loved one, bullying, absent parent, alcoholism, cancer, sexual references

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

The Only Game in Town by Lacie Waldon
Rating: 4 stars
Steam: Closed Door
Pub Date: 3/21

The Only Game in Town is a sweet, lighthearted blend of romance and women’s fiction set in a small town. I found myself thinking about it whenever I had to put it down, which is always a sign of a good read.

Redford, Georgia, is a small, quiet town where nothing ever happens. Jess is a freelance writer who returned to town after college because she missed her father and friends. But things get very exciting when Redford’s eccentric benefactor, Jasper Wilhelm, dies. Wilhelm leaves behind a $10 million fortune that will be given to the winner of an elaborate game he created before his death. The catch is that everyone playing the game must compete with a partner, and each person is paired up with someone they don't get along with.

Carter is Jasper Wilhelm’s grandson, and his first time visiting Redford is for his grandfather’s funeral. When he meets Jess, they have an instant connection, and even though they’re paired up with different people for the game, they always find ways to spend time together both during and after the events. The pace at which they got to know each other and developed a relationship felt natural. I loved the time they spent opening up about their complicated family relationships, hopes, and fears. Best of all, there’s no third-act breakup! There’s a slight misunderstanding toward the end, but for the most part, it’s low angst and doesn’t last long.

I loved all the quirky townspeople, the nosy neighbors, and the peek into small-town life. Jess is paired up Nikki, her worst enemy, during the games, and she might be my favorite character. She’s complex and relatable, and watching her and Jess grudgingly become friends was entertaining.

This heartwarming, cozy rom-com was a lot of fun, and I’m so grateful to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the chance to read it early! Preorder your copy of The Only Game in Town before it hits shelves on 3/21!

I wasn't able to get into this because of the formatting seeming like it was one big paragraph. Will get library book instead maybe, also didn't feel that connection.

This was a fun adventure! It was a unique idea and so much fun. A wealthy man dies in Redford, Georgia and instead of having a "normal" will, his is a contest for the whole town to take a part in to win his $10 million inheritance.

The various parts of the game were so unique and fun. I had a blast reading about it all. The romance is more of a sub-plot so if you were going into this thinking it was 100% romance, set your expectations. The romance was maybe 25%-50% but the townsfolk and the relationships amongst the town were so fun. I did enjoy the romance but it wasn't a huge part of this book. There were multiple POVs which I thought really added to the story. The town sort of reminded me of Gilmore Girls and I could see this being a fun tv show or movie. 4.5 rounded up.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own.

Small Town, quirky neighbors. I totally envisioned the town like the TV show Hart of Dixie. Lemon as Nikki the gorgeous bully tormenting the townspeople. I seriously devoured this book today. I couldn't put it down. Loved this book. So much. I cried and laughed many times. I quite agree that this book is a warm hug.

A great fast paced read. Jess and Carter are on opposing team trying to win the fortune that Carter's grandfather has left for one team to win. An enjoyable read and I liked how it is told from both points of view.