2.5 stars.

Hedging Your Bets has a cute premise, and a promising set of lead characters. After all, who doesn't stan a competent, plus-size heroine? Not me, pinky promise.

However, for me, it was a bit of a let down. I think that plenty of readers will find Denker's book charming; she has a breezy writing style and has clearly put a lot of thought into the town of Willow Cove. It certainly felt like a small town with very close friends and neighbors. However, for my first foray with her, this was not my cup of tea. Or bed of flowers. Whatever metaphor you prefer. I don't know Denker. I am not out to villainize her as a writer. This is just my honest review.

First, the "enemies to lovers" part....oh boy. Noah and Gillian are "enemies" because they're both jerks to each other at the beginning. And not even in an interesting or charming way, in my opinion. Just...jerks with no good reason to be jerks. It felt unearned and, frankly, juvenile. And then the "lovers" half of that statement. There is zero spice in this book. I THINK there's a kiss on-page, but it isn't described in any sort of memorable way. I am fine with closed-door romances if I can believe that the main characters are having sex. But I cannot believe these characters are. The chemistry never worked for me between Noah and Gillian. The side characters also never landed for me. I've not read the other Willow Cove books, so the friend group just came off as cloying and, frankly, annoying. The group of old ladies, similarly so. I had hoped to find acerbic comic relief with them, but no. They're just....there. Lastly, I know that people in the real world are fat-phobic. I know that dating, especially, is hard when you're fat/plus sized. BUT. So much of this book hinged on people being over the top hateful because of Gillian's size (Like, an entire conspiracy against her because she is fat. Nearly every man she goes on a date with is an asshole about her size.), when, in my experience, it's usually far more sly and insidious once you get to be an adult. The fat-phobia that Denker attempts to write about again, comes off very juvenile.

The book isn't all bad, of course. Again, Denker has a very readable writing style that propels the plot along nicely. I appreciated Gillian for being good at her job, good in the garden, and for having a never-give-up attitude. I did like that the main characters talked out their problems and were honest, rather than lying to each other for the sake of the plot. Unfortunately, however, it wasn't enough to sway me in the end. I don't really anticipate that I will return to Willow Cove, but I wish those that do all the happiest romance reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

People who judge people are cruel. He just broke up with her ex moving cross county for change insecurity. She's a divorce who a pharmacist and trying out the dating apps which aren't going well. She's a garden master till her neighbor accidentally.... A quick small town romance. 3 Stars.


**************************I received an ARC for my honest opinion from NetGalley.******************************

I wish so much of the plot of Hedging Your Bets did not rely on fat phobia being the catalyst for why things happen and why people acted a certain way. I expected some with the heroine being plus size, because it's so rare that a FMC can just exist without negative comments about her body either from herself or other. But my gosh it was so much in this book. The fact that the book would have no plot without the fat phobia is pretty disappointing and not what I expected when I picked up a book about a gardener and a man starting over. I'm not sure if it even deserved 4 stars, but I really did enjoy the other aspects of Hedging Your Bets.

Gillian is an interesting character. I'm not positive but I think she's in her early 30's, which is refreshing to read as someone also in my early 30's. She's an avid gardener, as am I, although not nearly as good as Gillian is. She has a great friend group of girls and guys that are more than invested in her online dating (which has its own, often, hilarious consequences). There's also the group of nosy old women that live in her neighborhood and get up to all sorts of antics, and honestly they might be the best part of the book.
Then there's Noah, the grumpy next door neighbor, who turns out to not be quite as grumpy as he first seemed, although definitely as impulsive as he first comes off. And I fully agree with his stance on boxwoods.
It is a closed door romance and about as spicy as a glass of water, none of which bothered me.
I liked that it took a turn away from normal romance plot lines.
I also really enjoyed the writing style.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

I couldn't stop reading this one! I had to force myself to go to bed, it could easily have been a one day read for me. The main characters were interesting, but not complete oddballs. The side characters, like Judy, Carol, and Arnette cracked me up. For me, it had the right amount of 3rd act conflict. I did not read any other Willow Cove books, so I went in blind and really enjoyed it. I will be looking for other books by this author.

After a bad breakup, Noah West sells his art gallery, buys a marine sight unseen that he worked in as a teenager, and moves across the country. He ends up next door to Gillian Pritchard - a curvy, strong-willed, pharmacist divorcee - and unintentionally ruins a part of the garden she'd been working on for the local gardening competition. The sparks fly and we all know that it's tough avoiding anyone in a small town like Willow Cove.

This was my first work by Jayne Denker and I thought it was a cozy romance (like a cozy mystery) - sex occurs off stage/behind closed doors in a small town where everyone somehow gets involved. I love the enemies to lovers trope and really enjoyed the plot of this book. However, I know nothing of gardening and kept trying to calculate the ages of the characters (I don't think their ages are given in the book - but I think they are mid 30s). Honestly, this book is just so cozy and a perfect read for someone wanting low spice.

Thank you to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This is a cute opposites attract romcom and second to the author's The RomCom Agenda. The banter between the two main characters is fun, but by the halfway mark, I was ready for some progress. You get to see some of the characters appear from the first novel, but this can be read as a stand-alone without any trouble. All in all , if you enjoy romcoms, you'll enjoy this one. 3.5 stars

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for the ARC, and the opportunity to provide an honest review.

Hedging Your Bets is a fun, enemies to lovers book with relatable characters. When new neighbors get off on the wrong foot, a garden competition adds extra tension. I thoroughly enjoyed the nosey, elderly neighbors and envy the gardening skills of Gillian. I could have done without the 'Inner Bette' component, but all in all it was a heartwarming read.

I had the absolute pleasure of reading hedging your bets. it is the classic goodness of an enemies to lovers romance. It is not super steamy but it's definitely worth a read.

Love this group of characters! A love hate relationship that may just tip all the way over into love! Neighbours competing in a gardening contest! Enjoy the tension

Spice: N/A
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Hedging Your Bets is a slow burn (closed-door romance), an enemies-to-lovers novel set in a small town. It was super cute secondary characters. The witty banter between Gillian and Noah was fun to read. I look forward to reading next Jayne Denker's book. :)

Thank you, St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy.

A lovely, small-town, closed door romance with a simple enemies-to-lovers plot!

This was my first work by Jayne Denker (who apparently specializes in low-spice romcoms) and I found it to be a cute and entertaining read. Our protagonists start off on the wrong foot when new house owner, Noah West moves next door to the strong-willed and opinionated Gillian Pritchard and (unintentionally) ruins a part of the garden she'd been working on for the local gardening competition. But as time passes and fiery banter is exchanged between the two characters, sparks fly as well. And well, it's tough avoiding anyone in a small, quaint town like Willow Cove.

There were a lot of colorful side characters introduced throughout the book. From Gillian's big group of friends, to the small coup of old, nosy ladies heavily interested in the characters' love lives, to Gillian's many, many online dates. I believe some of those characters were introduced in Jayne's earlier work "The Rom-Com Agenda" so I'd recommend reading that first to not get overwhelmed with the sudden influx of people (like I was).

While being delightful, I didn't find 'Hedging Your Bets' to be exceptional or unique in most ways. The hatred the two characters seemed to have had for each other felt a bit far-fetched and a lot of the story-line was spent on the two being in denial over their feelings for each other. Still, it was an enjoyable read for anyone looking for a sweet rom-com!

Thank you to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy.

Gillian is a pharmacist but in her spare time she gardens. She's been trying to win the town gardening competition for years but has been cheated out of the prize by the town grump. When Noah moves in next door and rips out some hedges, she makes a new enemy.

This is a slow burn, enemies to loves book with some fun small town charm. I enjoyed the neighborhood gossip grannies especially because they actually meddled to save the day. The romance was too slow for me. I also found some aspects to be too far fetched or unbelievable. Still a fun and quick read!

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Overall 4/5 star for me this rom com style book! While it was a slow start for me, once I got hooked I was hooked. I enjoyed the silly plot and the characters nonchalant ways. I will say the book does discuss some more serious topics like the social view of being female. I enjoyed our main characters journey through enemies to lovers and was satisfied with the HEA. I loved the gossiping old ladies and the hint of whimsical with our ghosty. Overall had a good time reading!

4/5 stars
0 chili peppers (closed door romance)

3.5 stars.

Heding Your Bets was a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance, emphasis on the slow. Coming off a bad breakup, Noah sells his business and moves across the country to start over. He buys the property next door to Gillian. They butt heads over the hedge dividing their properties. I liked Gillian. She is extremely comfortable in her own skin and manages to bounce back quickly from a string of bad online/app dates. Noah, too, was easy to like once you ignore his growly entrance into the story. I wish they’d gotten together a bit sooner as I adored the book once they finally did. Denker does an amazing job showing the couple fall for one another. I found it particularly refreshing that Noah comes clean about why he entered the gardening competition and how maturely Gillian handled it all.

***Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Griffin and Jayne Denker. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own.***

Don't they say that usually when people really like each other they usually antagonize each other a lot first? I enjoyed seeing Noah and Gillian come together and work on their gardens. I loved the blue haired neighbor ladies and all their "help!" This was just a fun read!

This was my first official ARC! I did not read The Rom-Com Agenda prior to this, but now I need to. It is set in the same universe/ group of friends.
Enemies/ rivals to lovers where tbh HE falls first. Dual POV - which is my fave, I love seeing both sides of relationships and falling in love lol. I really enjoyed this! Loved the banter and female main character so much. The representation of plus sized women is always my fave. Also the gardening rivalry was HILARIOUS to me. Small town, closed door romance with rivals to lovers and a sprinkle of found family.

"Hedging Your Bets" is an adorable enemies-to-lovers romcom.

Closed door romances are normally not my favorite, but the banter between new neighbors, Noah and Gillian, as they battle and bond, over an annual small town gardening competition, is great.

I enjoyed Gillian's journey of being a plus size FMC navigating the dating scene. The trio of older neighborly women was also endearing.

Overall, this was a quick, fun, lighthearted read. It would make for a great Hallmark movie! 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for the banter.

Spice: 🌶️
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you St. Martin's Press & Netgalley for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest, and unbiased, review.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This was an adorable quick read. I loved the banter between Gillian and Noah (the name of all good book boyfriends!) This was a typical enemies to lovers without real spice. I usually miss it but not in this book. I can’t wait to come back to Willow Cove

If you’ve ever experienced the horrors of using a dating app this book will make you chuckle! The heroine was a strong lead. Having Bette Davis in your ear through times of self doubt help. I liked Gillian she definitely took the bad dates in stride but kept trying, Noah moving to town for a new start helped him through his struggles as well. It’s tough being the friendless new kid on the block. Their love/ hate was fun to watch play out.

It was a really cute read. Something I would expect from a enemies to lovers romance. The banter was cute. I LOVED Inner Bette I thought that was a nice spin. Something I don’t see too often in books. Well, not the ones usually read.

I would like to see this as a Hallmark movie. I think it touches off the bases those types of story’s have. There’s a gardening competition, the handsome rival, a past incident, some insecurities, a head strong female, and a great community.