I liked the premise of the story. Both from bad relationships. I loved the banter and there were some funny moments. I love the small town vibes, a tight knit community.

Noah was giving me whiplash. One moment he was sweet and kind, very emotional too. Then he was in a rage?! Everyone has their moments but I felt like he was very soft and then aggressive?! He was thinking about her feelings before even getting to know her very well.

Gillian was giving him way too much of a hard time and ya know when I was 40% in, I still didn't know who her ex was and what he did that resulted in them getting a divorce.

I needed more depth.

This was kinda cute, very cheesy. I liked the audio narration, just an easy/sweet read & listen. Thank you for my copy!

I didn't find it 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

This was a great romantic comedy book, with good characters and a fun plot!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Hedging Your Bets was a sweet, closed door romance featuring an enemies to friends to lovers type storyline and a lot of gardening. It was a fine book but pretty slow paced and does rely a bit on the side characters helping to move it along. I just wanted to yell at them a bit to move it along, to talk to each other and to maybe stop gardening so much. It is not a bad book, just slow.

This book was cute, it got a little too mushy gushy and cutesy for me. And repetitive. But I could see the right reader liking this a lot. Also, it’s closed door, no spice. So if that does it for you, maybe this is the book for you!

That being said, the author writes beautifully, imaging the scenes as they unfolded was easy to follow and the characters reasonings behind decisions understandable. I just don’t think this book was for me for my taste, not because it was a badly written book. Which is a compliment in today’s fast paced book machine word!

And I very much appreciate netgalley and the publisher for the ARC copy.

After one too many awkward first dates, Gillian decides she is done with romance and is ready to commit full time to get garden. When Noah West moves right next door to Gillian, he finds himself not into her whole garden obsession, showcasing the fact that the two are polar opposites.
Except, Noah is deeply attracted to Gillian on a physical level. When a community gardening contest starts, the two neighbors of course need to compete against one another.
Hedging Your Bets is a story about two people who have been struck one too many times with love finding love in their opposite. Filled with a memorable cast of characters, I really enjoyed the uplifting and humorous spirit of this book. While it was nothing groundbreaking, I would totally recommend it to someone looking for a small town feel, opposites attract, rom-com.

I would recommend Jayne Denker's new book Hedging Your Bets. Wonderful story for everyone to enjoy. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy reading!

I can see how this book is for some people, but it is not for me. I was initially drawn to the book by the cover and the synopsis. I love to garden so I thought this theme would make the cutest romcom. However, it just wasn't there. I really struggled getting into it and forming connections with the characters. In my opinion, the main characters had poor chemistry and they both made childish decisions. There was also body positivity themes throughout that was gone about in the wrong way. It just made me dislike the book even more. I am disappointed because this book had potential.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of Hedging Your Bets in exchange for an honest review.

Okay I have been trying to get through this for a month and it just isn't happening. I think this is a "wrong person wrong time" issue, because it is exactly the type of book I usually LOVE. I'm going try this one again when I'm playing my garden in may and see if the timing is better!

I'm 60% of the way through, and it is really well written with FUN characters and a great setting, so I think readers who love "Friends to lovers" would probably really enjoy this one!

Hedging Your Bets by Jayne Denker is such a fun novel. It is a cute rom com based on gardening. This is a second chance romance and enemies to lovers format. The novel started slowly and at first I thought they were all elderly. Overall, it was an interesting read. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

Feuding neighbors during a small town gardening competition, count me in! This book has a very slow start, the back half of the book is where the action really happens. I found that Gillian went on too many terrible dates, which felt like the easiest way to paint Noah as perfect for her. I did really love the small town politics and the meddling seniors, they made the book for me. Despite the slow start this book was a cute fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC.

This was a charming, enemies to more clean romance that was such a pleasure to read. Gillian is divorced and has tried the dating scene a few times, but nothing ever worked out, so she decided to give all her attention to her beloved garden. Noah needed a fresh start after a big break up and moves in next to Gillian. They don't quite get off on the right foot when Noah accidentally ruins a part of her garden. Despite the heated rivalry between the two, sparks undoubtedly fly between them, and Noah can't keep his mind off of Gillian. As the animosity (and attraction) between them began to grow, the banter between these two was a lot of fun to read. I also enjoyed the cozy, small town atmosphere and the quirky and lovable side characters. A very sweet and charming story with lovely characters!
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Gillian is happily divorced. And she is about ready to write off dating apps after dealing with all the less than stellar matches it has provided. She instead finds enjoyment in her garden and prepping it for the annual garden competition.

But when Noah moves in next door and doesn't see eye to eye with Gillian about how their gardens border one another, they get into some serious clashes around the garden competition.

Both Gillian and Noah feel a magnetism towards one another that is at odds with their garden war. With they both be able to bury the hurts of their pasts to be about to allow a relationship to flourish?
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I was excited about the premise of this one. I like a neighbor enemies to lovers romance. But this one was just okay. I feel like the build up to them getting together was much better than once they got together. Once they were together, their relationship lost any sparkle the banter of their pre relationship flirting had.
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This is a closed door romance. There is implied intimacy and language.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the book that I read along with the library audio.

This was a fun, whitty bantered, slow burn enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy. Gillian is this amazingly kick-butt strong woman who happens to go toe-to-toe with her grumpyish, good looking, new neighbor in the town's garden competition. The more he gets to know her, the more Noah realizes how fantastic she truly is and finds himself feeling guilty for needing to win the garden competition, his future depends on it. This is a fun read with supporting characters who are as whitty as the main characters - and a few that a reader may recognize if they had read The Rom-Com Agenda.

Gillian works as a pharmacist but loves gardening in her free time. She's been trying to win the town gardening contest for years, but the mean neighbor always beats her. When Noah moves in next door and messes with her hedges, they become enemies.

The story is about their slow journey from enemies to lovers, set in a charming small town. I liked the meddling neighborhood grannies who try to help. The romance took too long to develop for me, and some parts felt unrealistic. Still, it's a fun, easy read with a quick pace.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read Hedging Your Bets.

This was a cute closed door, enemies to lovers novel. I loved the neighbors in a gardening competition. The main character had some body issues that I didn’t love. It was a okay audiobook, but it wasn’t particularly memorable.

Thank you St Martins Press for my gifted copy.

Jayne Denker kicks off 2024 with the release of her newest romcom, Hedging Your Bets. What was my first read of the new year ended up being just what I needed to start 2024 off right!

I really related to Gillian’s struggle with online dating and her desire for a real connection with someone (although unfortunately for me, I do *not* have a hot new neighbor that I can pine over lol) but I loved how Denker shows the realities of the modern dating world in a humorous, but also sobering light.

Denker also does a good job of giving a snippet of what it’s like to end a relationship when there’s a child involved. It’s not gone into great detail, but even the little bits of Noah grappling with missing Aiden shows more realities when dating.

I also really enjoyed the small-town trope mixed in with enemies-to-lovers! It’s a classic, but not overdone, story aspect that I will never get enough of!

If you’re a fan of fade-to-black romances then I highly recommend this book enough!

*I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest opinion.

There is nothing I love more than a closed-door, truly funny, rom-com, and Hedging Your Bets by Jayne Denker completely delivered. I loved the various characters in the book, especially Gillian's 3 older neighbors Carol, Arnette, and Judy. These women were hilarious and delivered lots of comic relief to the storyline, not that anything ever got *too* serious. The viewpoints alternate between Gillian and her neighbor Noah, and this story was perfection on audiobook! Katelyn Levering narrates our FMC while Nick Mondelli narrates our MMC, and together they really brought these characters to life for me.

I kinda loved that the rivalry between the two characters is based on a gardening competition, and sometimes the way Noah acted was just so eye roll inducing, that he seemed like a kid acting out. Especially when he pulls out a bunch of bushes and so ensues the love/hate feud between himself and Gillian. I could have done without some of that, but overall, I still generally enjoyed him as a character, and they definitely made for a cute pairing in the end. I would have loved some more characterization and depth to the story, but overall Hedging Your Bets was sweet and fun, and I would give it a read if you are in the mood for something light.

The language on this book felt really complicated for no reason, and even though the story had potential, it felt wasted and really dull for me.