First read from this author, will definitely look for more from her.
Delightful, bit steamy second chance romance.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for eARC

Always such a fan of Jodie Slaughter's books, and PLAY TO WIN is no exception. A great second chance romance with humor and spice!

This was a cute second-chance romance. However, I had trouble rooting for the main characters. I didn’t feel overly invested in their relationship - the reason why they split to begin with and how they got back together seemed flimsy to me. And because of that, it made it hard for me to root for them because I didn’t understand how they had gotten to where they were.

Miri and Leo have been separated for 8 years but now she's got a problem because she's won $22 million in the Lottery and because they're still married- he's due half of it. Yikes. She's made him an offer of cash in return for signing the divorce papers but Leo has other thoughts. Turns out he's still in love with Miri. Yes, it's a second chance romance. This has good characters (I was a fan of Miri's mom Patrice) and good atmospherics of a small town where everyone has an opinion. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read where you'll root for Miri to get what she really wants.

(3/5 stars) This is my second Jodie Slaughter book and I was excited to jump back into her world. The premise of this book (Miri wins the lottery, second chance romance) was appealing but I feel like it fell flat for me. I wished more of the character development had happened on the page instead of it being inferred; for example, there was a discussion of couples therapy and individual therapy but no therapy occurring in the on-page plot. The first half felt pretty slow, and while there was obvious physical chemistry between Miri and Leo, I wanted them to explore more of their emotional chemistry and actually work through their issues instead of just inferring it.

*3.5

I liked this but I wanted it to be longer. It felt like they didn't interact enough throughout the book. It's not that I don't believe they love each other, because I do, but I wanted them to talk more.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Slaughter returns to the South Carolina world of her last book, Bet on It. Written in dual POV, I very much enjoyed Slaughter’s writing and her ability to create complex characters who are also incredibly relatable. And I very loved Miri's friends and I hope Slaughter plans on returning this world as I would love to read their HEAs. Slaughter also thoughtfully portrays Miri and Leo's mental health and personal growth journeys; as there are some topics covered take care and check the CWs. Oh and if you’re looking for a steamy no holds bar book than look no further as the OPS is off the charts. If you love a great marriage-in-trouble / second-chance romance be sure to pick up this fun and fast read.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

a cute and sizzling romcom that was delightful.

thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this review copy.

Play to Win is a great marriage in trouble/second chance romance with a twist. It was a quick, easy, generally lighthearted read. Mari wins the lottery and everything seems to come together and fall apart all at once. I think Slaughter writes great tension, the longing looks, the physical attraction. It helped bring Mari and Leo together. My criticism would be that it takes us a long time to find out why they’ve been estranged, and even when we do it sort of fell flat somehow for me. The reason for them needing to be together felt a bit artificially forced instead of natural. But overall I breezed through the book and it was an enjoyable read! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

OKAYYY. I loved this book with everything in me. The way that Leo is and has always been in love with Miri, but was just not confident enough broke me. I loved the progression of the book and how they fell back in love with each other. Miri is a strong black woman with flaws. Her and her mom reminded me of my childhood. Absolutely worth 5 stars. i will be rereading and buying the book when it comes out!!!!

This was a great plot with second chance romance and I loved the characters.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I hit that request button immediately when I saw Jodie Slaughter had a new book out because I absolutely loved Bet On It. Her characters are so well-rounded (some pun intended, haha), funny, and girl knows how to write a spicy scene!
I liked it a lot but this book wasn’t as much to my taste as Bet On It - however, I think that’s just a matter of preference. I’m general I prefer new love over second chance romance because I’d rather read about the falling in love than the baggage of the past. And this one was incredibly angsty and a slow burn. It was just too heavy for me, and heavy is not what I look for in my romcoms. If that’s your jam, this is the book for you.

There is quite honestly nothing I love more than a second chance, and I loved seeing Miri and Leo working through their stuff to finally come back together. I love this small southern town and the entire cast of characters. There was so much depth and heart. There was also so much inclusive representation and I loved to see it!

Miri won the lottery and now she has to have her estranged husband come back to down so they can get a divorce so she doesn’t run the risk of him eventually asking for half of her winning. I really liked that this wasn’t a story of someone winning the lottery and then going buck wild and spending it willy nilly. Miri took it so seriously, because she had to! She needed the money for actual real life things and that’s what she intended to use it for. And she really struggled with getting the money and NOT having all of her problems instantly solved and that is real life and it was written so well.

I loved Miri and Leo. They loved each other SO MUCH. They has so much history and so much love for each other. But they had so much tension and her feelings between them, and that had just been sitting for eight years. I really struggled with the fact that he just left and now he’s back and wants to just FIX everything and thought Miri would just be in. I didn’t necessarily hate the reason he left?? He felt like he wasn’t enough, and that he was failing Miri. But Miri was so understanding?? So why couldn’t they have just TALKED?? And not to mention that hurt hai family when he left too. That HURT. Because they not only lost Leo when he left, but Miri felt as though she had no right to his family, even though she was close to them as well.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

What a fun romance! What to expect:
- second chance romance
- fun side characters
- people who deserve it win the lottery!

Recommended!

This novel read more like a women's fiction to me. Because Miriam had so much to work through which I really enjoyed how it was represented throughout the book. The author does a really good job with minority representation which is why I keep going back to her time and time again. I'm just not a huge fan of her writing I feel like.

Also I really enjoyed the education of generational poverty and how it affected Miriam winning the lottery and coming into money all at once. And how poverty reduces the ability to regulate their emotions. I loved the therapy representation she included in the book and how it was done properly. How Miriam made them both do it together and separately. That's why it felt like a women's fiction more than a second chance romance. Overall, this is a fantastic summer read/ vacation read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review as always, all words are my own.

This book has heart in it. Miri is hardly able to ends meet when she plays a lottery not expecting for anything to come out of it. It her surprise m, she wins. Her financial advisor advises to find a her estranged husband and get a divorce. She finds him. He agrees to give her divorce on a condition…will he win her back before the condition is met? Can she risk her heart?

The tone of this book feels more of women's fiction almost literary fiction with romantic elements. That aside I think what sticks out to me is that having money doesn't erase the hurt. Mari has the money to take care of her mother and her loved ones but she still feels the abandonment and guilt of now having. The back half of the book leans into the to the romance. Leo had a lot to make up for and one of his biggest hurdles was his ego.

The description of this book sounded so good. A little spicy second chance romance um yes! Sign me up! I was lucky enough to receive an E-ARC and Audio ARC. I decided to listen to the audiobook and I must say the narration made me love this book even more. All the character voices the narrator used help bring this story to life. This was such a good read. It had several laugh out loud moments. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I recommend listening to this book when it releases.

Book Releases July 11, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the E-ARC and to Macmillan Audio for the Audiobook ARC.

All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

Play to Win was an entertaining second chance romance with estranged married couple Miriam and Leo. After Miriam wins the lottery - she finally has the chance to stop struggling with money, give back to people she cares about, and finally get a divorce from her estranged first love. But calling her husband back to the small town of Greenbelt and having him close by again has her starting to question if their love story is really over. And Leo is not about to give up the chance to get her to change her mind, throw away the divorce papers, and give their marriage another chance. The novel was a little slow to start but Miriam and Leo have crazy chemistry and all of the side small town characters of family and friends added a lot of humor and drama to the novel. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel.

I’m not sure how I felt about this one to be honest. I usually love a good second chance at Love but I think it’s because I didn’t feel like Leo deserved to even shoot his shot with Miri again!
For the most part I liked both Miri and Leo, however they had their faults, the biggest of which is that they are both stubborn and can’t make up their minds.
Overall, Play To Win was kind of cute, I loved Mama Patrice and Thea (and everyone else who had to have a come to Jesus talk with Miri and Leo), but I felt that this fell a little flat for me in the end.

Thank you to St Martins Press for sending me an advanced digital copy via NetGalley in exchange for review.