This book started off strong. I was curious to see how things progressed between Jess and Carter, especially with the whole game that was put into play. But then the story went a different direction. Instead of seeing Jess and Carter together, I had to read about Nikki and Jess and their feud. I really didn't like Nikki and honestly didn't want to spend the whole book on a redemption arc for her. It also got kind of confusing with all the characters and POVs. This book really had potential but just fell flat after the first few chapters.

Jasper, the town eccentric who happened to be very rich, has just passed away. Instead of leaving his money in a traditional way, he decided that the residents of his beloved small town must compete in a series of games to "win" his money. The townspeople are paired up according to Jasper's predetermined instructions. The pairing choices come to a surprise to most people as they are a bit unexpected. Complicating matters is Jasper's grandson, Carter, who is allowed to play in the game. The residents are suspicious about Carter's participation in the games. What they don't know is that Carter and his grandfather worked together to anonymously help people using Jasper's money. Carter was unsure what to expect when he came to this small town in GA to attend his grandfather's funeral. Even more unexpected are the connections he'll make while in town.

I've also read The Layover and From the Jump by Lacie Waldon and I really enjoyed them both. The cover and plot for The Only Game in Town intrigued me right from the start. This was such a cute and unique spin on a rom-com. I loved the characters, the small town setting, and the ending. Shout out to Jess Reid - she is the best friend that every person should have in life. I can't wait to see what Waldon does next!

I loved the competition aspect of this book. And I was intrigued about the competitor to lovers trope.

The challenges were unique and fun. I wanted to keep reading to learn Jasper’s motivations and obviously the winner.

But unfortunately this book fell a little flat for me. It was dry and hard to root for the main characters. I wanted more chemistry. More details into their interactions. I honestly found Nikki and Ross’ relationship more intriguing and they were supporting characters.

It’s marketed as romance and it’s not that. Women’s fiction, maybe?

This was a heartwarming, funny, feel-good, small town romance that sees the residents of Redford, Georgia paired up to compete for a 10 million dollar bequest. The catch? They have to work together with their assigned partner and figure out a way to get along as they compete in a series of challenges.

Full of heart, this book had me smiling the whole way through and gave off great Stars Hollow vibes! If you like low steam love stories full of a quirky cast of characters this book totally delivers, with one of the most unique plots I've read in a while.

Great on audio with a full cast of excellent narrators. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for an early ALC. This was by far my favorite book by Lacie Waldon to date and I can't recommend it enough, especially for fans of Christina Lauren's Something wilder.

The Only Game in Town
Lacie Waldon
4⭐️

This was such cute and entertaining read! I have loved everything of Waldon’s thus far, and The Only Game in Town was no different. She does such a great job at setting the small-town vibe, you feel like you’re right there with all of the meddling residents.

Blurb: Nothing ever changes in Redford, Georgia. That's what freelance editor Jess Reid loves about her hometown--and part of what keeps her from leaving. Content taking care of her father, a car mechanic who singlehandedly raised her after her mom skipped out, Jess is resigned to a safe, unremarkable existence...until Jasper Wilhelm, the town's eccentric benefactor, dies suddenly and leaves behind the opportunity of a lifetime.

I enjoyed so many things; the small town, the great mix of unique characters, the multiple POV’s, and the game! The story was unique and so well written. I loved that the sweet romance wasn’t the main focus and instead it was the family & friendships of Redford. There were so many quirky relationships and I loved watching them develop and grow thoughout the competition. This one had me feeling all the feels, and laughing out loud so many times. So much great banter. 😂

What I adored;
💚 Small Town Romance
💚 Opposites Attract
💚 Found Family
💚 Closed Door

The Only Game in Town publishes 3/21/23 and you’re going to want to grab a copy!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Putnam Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Only Game in Town by Lacie Waldon is a delightfully sweet romance sure to give any Hallmark rom-com a run for its money.

Style: 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Spice: 🌶️
Story: 📚📚📚📚
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Waldon does a great job painting a picture of a homey, small town where everyone is in everyone else’s business. The Only Game in Town was a cute read that had me experiencing the gamut of feels. ❤️🥹😂🥺

Jess and Carter (along with the rest of the residents in Redford, GA) are in competition to win their share of a ten million dollars prize left to the town—or rather left to the pair who score the most points by participating in ridiculous challenges—by Jasper, a wealthy resident who recently passed away. Though not paired up, Jess and Carter find themselves in each others paths and even working together as feelings begin to blossom between them.

This novel will appeal to readers who love small town, opposites attract rom-coms that have completely closed door intimacy scenes. If it weren’t for the ages of the main characters, I would almost have thought I was reading a YA style romance. So, those that prefer a little spice may not appreciate this book as much, though it has many qualities to offer such as colorful character portrayals, redemption, minor twists, a loyal male protagonist, lots of low stakes action, humor, and quality scene building. I enjoyed this read!

While this had a fun concept, it didn’t quite hit for me. Perhaps there were too many narrators, perhaps I didn’t feel connected enough to Jasper to understand why this game even came to be, or perhaps it was the sheer amount of old men flirting with women that could be their daughters (both Ross AND Bobby…). This was quick, at least, I’ll give it that. The ending was unsatisfying, though I enjoyed the prologue.

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

I really really REALLY loved this book of quirky characters in a weird town with a millionaire calling the shots from beyond the grave. It was both funny and heart breaking, and I made myself read it slowly to savor the plot as it unfolded. Super cute story with all the small town charm you could ask for.

I wanted to give this a shot. It was an interesting premise and the multiple POVs was fun. It was nice to see everyone in the town, I was interested to see how it all played out. A lot of other reviews said it was a good book.

But Jess’s dad is young, and sick. And I just don’t want to read that.

DNF at 36%

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

This was unfortunately not for me. I'm not a fan of Jess and the beginning of the story felt so over written. Like the author want Jess to be sooo charming and funny but instead I get irritated. I didn't finish it :(

Three books in and I'm a super fan of Lacie Waldon! Her third novel is a bit different in that it's more of a women's fiction/romance crossover with four different POVs than a romance. It was impossible not to fall in love with sunshine Jess and the townspeople of Redford as they competed for a 10 million dollar inheritance from one of their dearly departed neighbors, Jasper. The romance between Jess and Jasper's grandson Carter was adorable, but I think my favorite character was actually Nikki, the mean girl who is really not all that mean. The development of her relationship with Jess/Ross was one of my favorite parts of the book.

This took me a minute to get into, but once I did… I grew to love:

The sweet small town.
The funny, unique characters.
The competition.
The friendly banter.
The romantic moments.
The found family!!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the chance to review this advance copy.

Lacie Waldon did a great job at creating a small town community in The Only Game in Town. She was able to bring in multiple points-of-views to incorporate the main characters and side characters in her story development. This was such a unique structure as usually we only get two POVs. Although we did see the connection of the small town, I did feel like the romance in the novel wasn't as prominent as I expected. We got to see more of the game itself than the building of a relationship which was great, but also left me wanting more for Carter and Jess. It was so heartwarming to see unity in a group of people, it is so refreshing to see that in books. Overall, I really enjoyed The Only Game in Town and cannot wait to see what Lacie has in store for the future!!

Thank you @putnambooks for a copy of this book. I DNF this at 30%. I was expecting this to be a game with romance but this felt more like game focused and I wasn't getting the romance between Jess and Carter. The game wasn't grabbing my attention to keep reading.

The Only Game in Town by Lacie Waldon follows several people from the town of Redford as they compete in several games after the death of a local townsperson who has left his $10 million fortune to be given to the winner.

While this story is marketed as a romance, the romance really took a backseat in the plotline. I would bill this book more as a community focused book that centers around bringing together the whole town. Unfortunately, I felt like this book tried to do too much. I wish it focused on a particular relationship or aspect of the story's plot instead of trying to do four POVs on top of keeping track of all the relationships of the townspeople. While I enjoyed some of the characters, I didn't feel like I was all that connected to any of them.

The romance was cute, but again, it was not the major focus of the book.

Overall, I enjoyed the story for what it was, but I don't think it will be particularly memorable.

OK this was cute. The story was fresh. The concept of the competition was quirky but worked.

But WHY so many POVs?! I couldn’t keep anything straight.

A mostly enjoyable book. I feel it would have been better from one characters point of view, the way it was written was a bit messy and hard to digest. The idea of the contest was fun but the specific rounds made no sense. Due to the multiple points of view the reader is left wondering about a lot of things.

Thank you so much to Lacie Waldron, PG Putnam, and NetGalley for an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review!

The Only Game In Town is based in the small town of Redford, GA. When a local, Jasper, passes away he leaves a fortune of 10 million to two lucky residents of the town. The only catch is the towns people have to compete against each other in order to win. While there is a cast of characters and multiple points of view throughout the book, its main focus is on an exuberant local named Jess, and Jaspers straight laced grandson, Carter, who arrives from out of town to join the competition. As the competition heats up, so do the laughs and love!

What a cute book! Admittedly, after reading Waldron’s last two books I expected this to be a bit more romance focused than this was. While there is surely a romantic theme, I wouldn’t say that it’s the main draw. With that being said, I still very much enjoyed this book! If you’re a fan of small town casts of unique and funny characters you will enjoy this. The love they all had for each other and their town was very heartwarming. I personally really enjoyed seeing the juxtaposition of how each character was seen by others, vs how their inner thoughts worked in their chapters. I took off one star as I do feel like the ending was a bit rushed, but overall I thought it was a fun read!

Can’t wait for Waldon’s next book!

ARC FOR THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN

3 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley, SMPRomance and Lacie Waldon for the gifted copy!

To start, I want to say that I LOVE Lacie Waldon. Her first two books I was a huge fan of, and From the Jump was one of my favs of 2022. I had high hopes for this book- and while I liked the end a bit more than I thought, I spent 3/4s of the book waiting for it to be over because I thought it was weird and I didn't like the characters. I almost DNF'd but the last 30% of the book got better and I really enjoyed the ending.

I have absolutely adored Lacie Waldon's other novels, but 'The Only Game in Town' was a bit of a let down. I enjoyed it well enough, but it lacked the charm that I felt her other books had.

3.5 stars, rounded up

The Good
- The romance is cute. I'll give them that - I enjoyed
- The competition was, while weird in concept, well-executed; the tasks were fun and brought out the characters personalities

The Meh
- I felt like there were just too many POVs to really feel connected to any character
- This concept just felt way too far fetched, and made this book steer from a contemporary romance into Hallmark Movie territory with cheesiness

Overall, this is a cute story, and perfect for a lakeside read. It's not my favorite of Waldon's novels, but it's still enjoyable.

Thank you to Lacie Waldon, GP Putnam's Sons, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.