I enjoyed so many parts of this rom-com! I loved the inclusive size representation, the small town vibes, and the gnome. There are so many more things, but I don’t want to give anything away. Are you looking for a light, spring pick-me-up because you live in a winter climate that is exceptionally wintery? If so, pick this one up!

Book Review
Hedging Your Bets by Jayne Denker

Rating: I liked it!

This was a pretty medium paced read with a cute storyline with fantastic narrators! Each of the narrators did a great job at portraying these characters. I really enjoyed it!

Gillian is a strong, independent, garden loving, pharmacist who frequents the dating apps. Noah is a recently single artist that moves next door to Gillian. These enemies don’t take very long to become frienemies and they also don’t take long to become lovers from there. 😜

There were a few different conflict points in this book but none felt super substantial to me. Gillian is a great plus size rep that has struggled with men in the past because of it, but honestly she was great at being herself. So even that conflict just felt a little light.

I loved the garden competition and the group of nosey old lady neighbors. They were hilarious. Sometimes I felt like there were a bit too many characters to keep track of, but by the end it was easier. I also felt like some of the side characters had storylines introduced but not expanded on. Which is fine, but sometimes seemed irrelevant to bring up.

Read if you like
🌷 Garden competitions & Gnomes
❣️Enemies to lovers
👵🏻 Sassy old lady neighbors
🏡 Small Towns
🚪 Closed door romance

Thank you to NetGalley for this early ARC!

What a wonderful, fun, funny, and happy read! I love Jillian’s sarcastic personality, and love Noah’s easy and friendly attitude. This is the perfect spring/summer romance with the underlying gardening theme. I loved seeing the relationship “blossom” (lol) leading up to the gardening competition.

Spice: zero, this was completely closed door.

My only point of contention has nothing to do with the book itself—the female narrator has a strong Chicago/Wisconsin/midwest accent, while Jillian is from Philly (relocated to upstate NY), and the book is set in upstate New York. There was just a disconnect between the narrator and the setting of the book. The narrators did an excellent job, but being from the Midwest, this is something I’m likely oversensitive to.

Hedging Your Bets by Jayne Denker, narrated by Katelyn Levering and Nick Mondelli, is a charming audiobook that effortlessly blends humor, heart, and a touch of competition. I would gladly give it four stars!

The storyline, while a bit slow at times, is an adorable and light-hearted read. The interactions between the main characters, Noah and Gillian, are a delightful mix of grumpy and sunshine personalities, creating a perfect enemies-to-lovers dynamic. The fact that it's a relatively closed-door and sweet romance adds to its appeal, making it an excellent choice for those who enjoy love after divorce and small-town gossip.

The narrators, Katelyn Levering and Nick Mondelli deserve special commendation. Their performances breathe life into the characters, making the audiobook thoroughly enjoyable. Levering's portrayal of the characters' voices is simply amazing, adding an extra layer of enjoyment to the overall experience. The banter between Noah and Gillian is brought to life with finesse, and the innuendo-filled moments are delivered with just the right amount of charm.

The small-town setting of Willow Cove adds charm to the narrative, and the quirky side characters contribute humor and depth to the story. Including a gardening contest as a unique plot element adds a layer of competition and camaraderie to the budding romance, making it stand out in the genre.

In conclusion, Hedging Your Bets is a super cute enemies-to-lovers, small-town romantic comedy that successfully balances humor and heart. Jayne Denker's storytelling, coupled with the exceptional narration by Levering and Mondelli, creates an audiobook experience that will surely bring a smile to your face. Perfect for those who enjoy a lighthearted romance with a touch of competition and a dash of small-town charm.

I received an advance listening copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Hedging Your Bets is an enemies-to-lovers, small town, low-spice romance. I really liked the story but wish it had more spice. The romance was a bit blah and boring. There were a couple of "window" scenes that were absolutely hilarious, and I just wanted more of that as well. What I loved was that the MC Gillian was a pleasantly plump single pharmacist.
The audiobook was done really well and I enjoyed the narrator.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a cute read! It was a little slow at times, but I overall enjoyed it. The narrator made the audiobook really enjoyable. I want to visit Willow Cove now! I loved all of the characters and how the story played out. Thank you NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and the author for this audiobook ARC.

This was such a cutesy, light read! I enjoyed the interactions between the main characters, the fact that it was a relatively closed door and sweet romance, and that it was lighthearted.

Perfect if you like: grumpy/sunshine, love after divorce, small town gossip, and low spice closed door romance/rom com.

Thank you to Jane Denker, the publisher, and NetGalley for this eARC!

Very cute romcom! An enemies to lovers story with fun, memorable characters that I wanted to hang out with in real life. I especially loved the setting, since I once lived in the same area. Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to and review Hedging Your Bets.

This was cute, its not like a change your life or blow your mind type read, but for a cute little palate cleanser, I enjoyed it. It was a firmly closed doors, enemies to lovers small town read. Can’t see myself owning or re-reading but totally recommend to someone who wants something nice and light with melding old lady neighbors.

I just finished Hedging your Bets by Jayne Denker and this is my review - audio.

Gillian is bright sunshine. She loves her garden. She loves her divorced life but she is dipping her toe into the dating app world. Problem is none of them hold any luster.

Noah has just moved to willow cove. He ran away from a break up. Buying a house and a business without doing his due diligence. The only highlight is his beautiful neighbor until they clash and the dueling only gets worse when Noah enters the gardening competition.

Can they keep themselves from acting on their growing attraction and keep it just about the gardening?

This is my very first audio book and I was apprehensive about how much of the book I would retain. Turns out, the narrators were quite excellent and I enjoyed hearing the story play out.

I loved Gillian from the first second and her older neighbors… what a scream! I need that kind of friend group. Noah is the surly grump to her sunshine and I loved their witty banter. I loved Gillian wasn’t a slim woman and the problems she had with her ex making her feel bad about food. So
Glad that was covered.

I'm not much for gardening but I really enjoyed the premise of the gardening competition and love Gillian had for her garden. It made me wish I had a green thumb. This book was charming, well written, cute and funny! I am so grateful that this was my first audio experience and it was an excellent one.

You need to add this cute romance to your tbr!

4.5 stars

Thank you @dreamscapedia for my gifted copy

#hedgingyourbets #jaynedecker #romancereader #romancebook #bookreview #audioreview #audiobook #womensfiction #bookstagrammer #booksta #readers #reading

Unfortunately I DNFd this book at a little more than 50% through.

This story was not my cup of tea. The interactions felt forced and shallow the conflict felt like it came out of a kids cartoon, and overall I just could not have cared less about the characters.

I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrators did a good job with the story they were given. They conveyed the silliness of the plot with sincerity and each had a good range.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Aaack! First of all, the narration was amazing! I loved the voices! So many great moments. The banter was perfect and the innuendo was fun! A bit more than I am used to, but not excessive. I only had a problem with the language and if that doesn’t bother you, then listen to this beautiful story. The characters help each other SEE one another and I loved that! It came through so clearly! Enjoy!

Thanks to NetGalley for this story! All opinions are my own!

3 ⭐️

This book was kind of bland. There were a lot of side stories that were brought up that I would have thought would be explored but never were. For instance, what was the point of bringing up Noah’s ex-girlfriend's son if he is only going to be talked about for a paragraph or two and has no impact on the plot? When things like this were brought into the story you can tell it was the author trying to stir up drama, but the drama falls short every time.

If you are looking for a cute romance that spends too much time talking about the main character's weight and not enough time on character development, this is the book for you.

I love a good rom-com and this one definitely fit the bill. It was cute, witty, and made me laugh at several parts. I really liked the ladies of the neighborhood who played such an impactful role. The romance was cute and I loved that it included some gardening too. Not a lot of romance books about gardening.

🌀Synopsis
Gillian has a horrible dating life. All of her online dating has been terrible but she’s determined to keep trying. She’s divorced and happy with the rest of her life and she knows what she’s looking for in a relationship so all the crappy prospects is frustrating to her.
To top it off, she’s now dealing with a grumpy neighbor Noah. Noah is post-breakup and looking for a fresh start. He knows no one in town but loved visiting so he’s determined to make it here.
They immediately get off on the wrong foot but when the neighborhood intervenes things start to get better. Gillian starts teaching Noah about gardening even though he’s secretly trying to beat her in their town’s competition.
The two find a way to each other’s hearts through failed dates and a shared gnome.

Honestly, this was a little too cheesy for my tastes, but it was still a good listen! It was a little predictable, but it had me laughing too. If you want a quick and cute listen, give this a shot!

Hedging your bets is a light hearted and warm romcom with the sweetest HEA. It is in a 3rd personl dual POV (not my favorite) but both narrators performed wonderfully. While it didn't dwell on the subject to heavily and just enough to bring it to light, the heroine of our story is not model thin but has a little extra padding. And she has previous trauma from an ex and insenstive new suitors along the way. Noah sees nothing but beauty, kindness and grace.

This is not fade to black, but absolute closed door which is not what I normally read but the book was sweet and full of heart, found family and humor.

Well worth the read (or listen) should you need something light and airy to brighten your day.

A very cute and sweet title from Jayne Denker - I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who like the “enemies to lovers” romances. This book is a closed door, fairly clean with just a touch of spice.

An excellent rivalry of neighbors who eventually come to an understanding and before long, actually enjoy each other’s company. But as time passes and fiery banter is exchanged between the two characters, sparks fly as well.

I enjoyed the unique addition of the gardening contest, giving a layer of competition and camaraderie to the story’s budding romance.

I would certainly recommend to all, especially the auto version narrated by Katelyn Levering and Nick Mondelli. They did a very good job bringing the characters to life.

I received an advance read and listen copy from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press (St. Martin's Griffin), and Dreamscape Media, and this is my honest feedback.

Another very cute and sweet title from Jayne Denker - I really enjoyed The Rom-Com Agenda last year and would definitely highly recommend anyone who also enjoyed that to pick up this one as well! Anyone unsure, this is one to not miss out on.

An excellent rivalry of neighbors who are hate at first meeting because of a total misunderstanding, but come to an eventual understanding and before long, actually enjoy each other’s company. That is… until they get pitted against each other in the local gardening competition, amongst other things happening around the neighborhood…

A good time had and I would certainly recommend to all, but to get the audio version - narrated by Katelyn Levering and Nick Mondelli who I wasn’t familiar with but liked their voices. They did a very good job.

I received an advance read and listen copy from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press (St. Martin's Griffin), and Dreamscape Media, and this is my honest feedback.

Gillian, who is divorced, has been trying dating apps to no avail. She has lots of curves and most of the guys these days seem to want a size 2. She is also a successful pharmacist and an avid gardener. When Noah moves in next door, the first thing he does is cut down his own hedges, not realizing he is ruining her design for the annual garden contest. And that's just the first misunderstanding.

This is an enjoyable "enemies to lovers" romance. It is fairly clean with just a little spice. The biggest conflict in the book is that the men Gillian meets on the dating app and some of the people in the town judge her for her size. There is also a townsperson who has it out for her, and the reason is a little farfetched. As a plus-sized woman, I appreciated the fact that Gillian wasn't another skinny protagonist. However, the author went a bit over the top with the fat shaming. The conflicts boil down to misunderstandings and Gillian's size. I wish it was a little more complex than that. However, I liked most of the characters and it was a light and fun read. My rating is 3..5 stars, rounded up to four on sites with no half star option.

I listened to the audiobook, and the narration was well done by Katelyn Levering and Nick Mondelli. However, I think two narrators were not needed for a light romance, and either one of them could have narrated the book well on their own.

I received a free copy of the audiobook from Dreamscape Media. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

I enjoyed the concept of this enemies to lovers, next door neighbors, closed door romance, but I had a hard time getting into it. I truly appreciated the body positivity the book addressed, especially the hiking scene where Gillian is completely in her zone and Noah is the one who is out of breath and needs a break. I applaud the author for addressing that not all bigger women are “unfit” or “unhealthy”.
I got a little lost in the side stories of the book at times; such as their friend’s kids, Noah’s ex and Betty. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the group neighborhood old bitties that were integral and comical throughout the story. I enjoyed the narrators and feel they both infused life into the main characters and the multiple side characters throughout the book.
Overall I would say it is definitely worth the bet :)