I love a good romance, and this one was wonderful! It had witty banter, and lovable characters. I was rooting for them the whole way through!

“Hedging Your Bets” is a rom-com by Jayne Denker. I must ask - how adorable is that cover? (The answer is very!). This is the second book in the Willow Cove series, but can be read as a stand-alone book. This book has two neighbors who go from enemies to lovers in a small town. This was an enjoyable read - a bit predictable and not earth shattering, but enjoyable.

Gillian as worked hard to achieve her goals of winning the local gardening competition. Noah is new to town and ruining all her plans. What starts as a feud between neighbors blurs into a relationship of mutual help respect and love. This is a closed door romance with a charming happily ever after in an even more charming town.

Hedging your bets is a cute rom-com featuring a smart, independent, plus- size pharmacist (Gillian) and her moody neighbor (Noah) who end up going head to head in the city's gardening competition.

The cover is what originally drew me in and overall the book was an enjoyable, quick read. The conflict that caused the main characters to be enemies was a little far-reaching and easily resolved, but allowed for some decent banter/tension throughout. My favorite characters in the book were easily the neighborhood grannies. The way they interacted together and with Gillian and Noah were hilarious and had me wishing they had more scenes.

"Just great--stealth grannies"

"Gillian Pritchard," Arnette said in her scoldy voice, which was no less effective at a reduced volume, "I want you to take a good look at those shoulders. And if you don't go over and introduce yourself right now, there's no hope for you."

-Enemies-to-lovers
-Dual POV
-Found family
-Small-town

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this book's reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts!

This was an enjoyable quick, beach type read. Parts were predictable but it was a nice change from some of the heavier things I’ve read recently.. i absolutely loved the old lady neighbor mob and the hanging gnome but could have done without implications re: body type, etc.

This was a really cute and sweet read, and you definitely didn't miss the spice in this one with how entertaining the back and forth between the main couple is. The gnome bit they did was particularly entertaining. I also really liked the supporting cast of characters and the small town vibes. I recommend this if you're looking for a quick and cute read.
The Inner Bette Gillian had was really the only part that threw me. I could have done without that as it did not really fit the rest of the book. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Pressfor the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Opposites attract in this small town, enemies to lovers romantic comedy. Gillian and Noah’s relationship was so fun to follow. I loved Gillian’s confidence and Noah’s sweet shyness. Readers get to follow their journey to love and witness all the challenges they overcome on the way. I also fell hard for the side characters and their big personalities- they were by far my favorite characters and a perfect addition to this story!

3.5 stars for well-developed characters and a good plot line.

Hedging Your Bets was a cute romcom, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. It is a cute enemies to lovers with a garden competition intertwined. The characters are lovable, even with a beginning of grumpy/sunshine which turns out to not be so grumpy; however, all the side characters are equally lovable. There is character growth and development, and the characters are extremely well rounded.

It is a closed door romance, so those looking for spice beware, but the tension is high. It is a great story between Gillian and Noah and shows their growth. There is diversity and shows the highs and lows of online dating and dating in general.

This was cute! I enjoyed the banter between Gillian and Noah and their growth together. There definitely was room for more exploration of their relationship (a good bit of time was spent on others) but overall I enjoyed this book (though I could’ve done without the Inner Bette).

Hedging Your Bets was such an enjoyable book that was a great read to round out my summer reading!

The book offers dual POV following two neighbors, Noah and Gillian. Gillian is a local to an idyllic upstate New York town and Noah is a returning "summerer" who is now making Willow Cove his full-time residence seeking redemption after a heartbreak. When Noah's hope at redemption turns out to be a financial liability he is extorted by a too-big-for-her britches city government official to enter the town's annual garden contest - in which Gillian is a top competitor!

What made this book standout to me was how natural the progression from enemies to lovers seemed. The transition felt organic and realistic and not rushed at all. I loved the banter between the two characters and the commentary from the cast of supporting characters who knew all along that these two belonged together. This progression also featured a really great redemptive character arc for the main male character. Additionally, for Gillian, you witness her fall in love with someone who appreciates her for who she is and is not looking to change her appearance - as she's experienced with men in the past.

This book was an easy read and I flew through it. I rated four stars as I thought it was a very well-done romance! One thing I would've enjoyed to see in the book was a more descriptive timeline - at times I was confused on how long time had passed or where we were in the relation to the summer.

Loved this book! It was such an easy and quick read! I’m a sucker for small town romance AND enemies to lovers and this one didn’t miss the mark! Also, love the body positivity! We need more of that!

Definitely a cute, low-spice rom-com. A bit slow and definitely a closed-door romance, but still enjoyable!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book has what it needs to be a 3-4 star read for many people, it just wasn't for me. I struggled to connect with the characters and was easily frustrated by both of them. I also found some of the storyline surrounding taxes and the gardening competition to be a little over the top,

Both of our MCs had a lot of redeeming qualities, but their constant self-sabotage and our FMCs constant focus on her size just became repetitive. I also felt like somehow this book chose to make every man that our FMC came in contact with sexist and a walking red flag. I would have liked some potential competition or a realistic love interest to up the tension between our main characters.

The side characters, especially our old lady gang was a hoot, and I enjoyed the appearances they made. Overall, I think this book will be super enjoyable for some, especially is you enjoy a light hearted, enemies to lovers-esque romcom.

I really enjoyed this story! Gillian is such a firecracker of a character, who clearly has captured the hearts of everyone in her town-- the way every single person made sure to tell Noah how amazing she was really spoke to her character. I loved her dedication to her town and the people she loves. And Noah is sweetheart who starts on the wrong foot in town, pulling up Gillian's beloved hedges and making an enemy out of her, and thus essentially the town. I loved how dedicated he was, though, to making Willow Cove his home after suddenly deciding to move there. Noah and Gillian start on the wrong foot, then become kinda friends, then rivals in the local garden competition, which makes their connection even more fun and tension-filled.
I really felt for Gillian and her awful luck in love, especially relating to her exasperation over the way internet men feel entitled to comment on someones weight (newsflash, no one has that right!!!). So I loved how Noah was able to be kind and loving with those twice-burned parts of Gillian, while also being a contentious foe at the beginning and during their rivalry.
Overall, very cute story with low spice and big build-up! Very fun, cute, and sweet. Thank you for the ARC!!!

Lighthearted romance about two lost souls looking for love in a small town filled with quirky characters. I wanted to like this book more but felt the characters needed to be developed more so I could actually care about and root for them.

Mein Leseerlebnis

Das schöne Buchcover und der sich frisch anhörende Klappentext sprachen mich gleich an, daher bin ich mit Freude und Zuversicht ans Lessen herangegangen. Doch beim Lesen musste ich leider schnell feststellen, dass die Chemie zwischen mir und der Liebesgeschichte nicht stimmte.

Das lag vor allem an den Dialogen, diese hörten sich für mich nicht besonders natürlich an und konnten mein Interesse daher nicht halten. Auch konnte ich mir die Hauptcharaktere nicht als richtige Personen vorstellen.

Zudem gibt es in der romance ein besonderes Element, mit dem ich wenig anfangen konnte. Und auch das Kleinstadtleben war dieses Mal nicht so ganz mein Fall.

- keine Bewertung, da abgebrochen -

Für wen?

Wer ruhige Liebesromane mit Kleinstadtgefühl mag, sollte sich das Buch näher anschauen.

Mein Fall war die Liebesgeschichte zwar nicht, aber ich kann mir gut vorstellen, dass die romance andere Leser:innen gut unterhalten könnte.

A fun return to the same small town (and group of friends) as Denver’s Rom-Com Agenda. This is another cozy story, low stakes but engaging. I had a great time checking back in with this group of family and friends, rooting for this enemies-to-lovers pair to get past their obstacles and into one another’s arms!

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of Hedging Your Bets by Jayne Denker.

Solid 3 stars. Fade-to-black, so if you prefer no spice this one's great. Lot's of tension which had you rooting for the characters. Pleasantly surprised by the amount of communication between characters. Love me some good plus-sized rep. Not a huge fan of her "inner Bette" especially at the very end; seemed unnecessary to me

The first bit of the book was sort of putzing around. Nothing really came together until a little over halfway it felt. I was still thoroughly invested in this slow burn, enemies to lovers, hate to love conglomerate.

I could not figure out how they were going to come to a conclusion without a third act breakup (as there typically is one in many romances), but I was happy to see how it all shook out in the end.

Would recommend for slow burn romances lovers who like a dollop of hate to love and a sprinkle of tension in their books.

Cute romance! Enjoyed the banter and the progression of the relationship. Thanks to the publisher for the arc. All opinions are my own.

This was a cute romcom, I enjoyed it as a good time, and the banter was quite fun to read.
If you like a light enemies to lovers, gardening and east coast living vibes and are looking for an easy read, definitely pick this up.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.