Gillian and Noah are neighbors who can’t stand one another. Noah is new to town and unknowingly ruined Gillian’s garden. The pair go head to head in a garden competition. This is a cute enemies to lovers, closed door romance.

Thank you for the ALC for my honest review.

Let me just start off by saying the narrators for this one did a freaking FANTASTIC job! So a big round of applause to Katelyn Levering and Nick Mondelli; their voices truly made this such a quick listen and kept me engaged the whole way through. They are a perfect fit for Gillian and Noah. The book itself is also great! I actually had to pause the audio for a minute to look up the author because I could swear I'd read her before and I was right. Jayne Denker also wrote The Rom-Com Agenda about Leah and Eli who are side characters/close friends of the FMC, so it was fun to see a lot of familiar characters from the first story. Now I'm hoping Delia and Gray are next!

Hedging Your Bets flows so well, the pacing is perfect, the dialogue is entertaining, and the side characters are hilarious. I love the "old lady" gang that meddles in Gillian's love life and I think Jayne did a great job approaching topics like body image and some misogyny throughout the novel. The romance is closed-door but still just as appealing to me as a spicy romance novel. It's wholesome and funny and still has scenes that make you go "oooh" while also smiling and laughing. This is a very light-hearted romance with some drama and rivalry set in a small town with very involved neighbors/friends/townsfolk.

*Forced Proximity
*Rivals to Lovers
*Closed Door Romance
*Extortion
*Gardening
*Small Town Romance

I voluntarily listened to and reviewed an advanced digital copy from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Charming and escapist. This is a recommended purchase for collections where contemporary romance is popular.

This was a cute small town, enemies to lovers romance! The book gave off a cute and cozy vibe throughout which is always nice!

This book had the predictability of a romance but unraveled like a comedy but had some serious discussions about dating, dating as a plus sized person, attitudes about varying body types, and embracing you who are despite people who try to force you into a specific box. I loved Gillian and her ability to let certain things go, stand strong for herself when necessary, and change her perspective to get a win against the true bad guy.

#arc
#netgalley
#hedgingyourbets

I both read and listed to this and enjoyed it quite a bit. The audio was really well done and added a lot to this story. I will check out more books by this author and narrator.

Rom Com Audiobook
Hedging Your Bets
by: Jayne Denker
narrated by: Katelyn Levering; Nick Mondelli
Dreamscape Media

Set in the charming lake community of Willow Cove in New York State, Hedging Your Bets is a delightful romantic comedy. Gillian and Noah's story was a perfect first listen for the New Year 2024. Having read and loved Denker's The Rom-Com Agenda in January 2023, I did not hesitate to choose her new book start my year 2024 with humor, romance, and the fun of a small-town gardening contest.

I enjoyed the community of Willow Cove that Denker has created, where everyone knows everybody and all of their business. Female lead Gillian is a divorcee who is a pharmacist by career, with a hobby as a master gardener.
She clashes and competes with her new neighbor, Noah, who moves back to the community where he spent childhood summers.

Set amid the atmosphere of neighborhood, local hang-outs and restaurants, and the beautiful lake, I was completely entertained and enthralled with every moment in this audiobook. Narrator Levering deftly covered Gillian's point of view. Mondelli was amazing with Noah's perspective.

Thank you to Net Galley and Dreamscape Media for an advance reader's copy. My review is my own.

I enjoyed listening to the audio. However, I did feel like the female narrator’s voice was a bit to young and chirpy sounding for Gillian’s character. Otherwise it was an enjoyable listen! Thanks for the opportunity!

This was a really cute book like a fast beach or vacation read. I liked the plot even though it was a little predictable. Boy moves to town next to single girl, hijinks ensue and they hate each other until they fall in love. It was nice and perfect to read over Christmas break. I love a feel-good story.

Recently out of a long term relationship, Noah moves east to start over in the town he vacationed each summer as a child. Happily divorced Gillian is trying her hand at dating again finally, but not having much luck. Sight unseen, Noah buys the house next to Gillian and when he messes with her garden, sparks fly and not in the good way. Hedging Your Bets is a cute, funny romantic comedy set in a small town with a grumpy/sunshine troupe that I liked quite a bit. It’s the second installment of this series, which I didn’t know when I started reading. Luckily, I’d read the first one, but other than a few continuing background characters, there wasn’t anything I needed to know to fully enjoy this new book. I love the fact Gillian loves herself the way she is and isn’t looking to change or improve herself, but rather just for someone who loves her they way she deserves. I’ll definitely recommend this one!

Boring and quite cringy. Also hate the third person narrative. I could see how some people would enjoy it.

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 audio ARC!!!

Hedging Your Bets by Jayne Denker
Narrators: Katelyn Levering; Nick Mondelli
Rating: 3.5 stars
Steam: Closed-door
Pub date: 1/9/24

Noah and Gillian get off on the wrong foot when Noah first moves in next door and accidentally destroys a part of Gillian’s prize garden. Somehow, the animosity between them keeps getting worse instead of better, and it doesn’t help that these two run into each other everywhere in the small town of Willow Cove.

This is a super cute enemies-to-lovers, small-town, romantic comedy that’s full of humor and heart. Gillian and Noah are relatable, and their banter is a lot of fun. The small-town atmosphere adds charm to the story, and the quirky side characters are hilarious.

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

Overall, a light, quick, heartwarming rom-com that I really enjoyed on audio. The narrators did an amazing job bringing all of the characters to life.

If you’re a fan of low-spice romance, then you should definitely give this one a chance.
Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press for my early copy and Dreamscape Media for my complimentary ALC.

This book felt a little lack luster to me. I thought the main characters were honestly a little obnoxious and the plot was convoluted. It had cute moments but overall fell flat in my opinion. I didn’t really believe the rivalry or relationship. The side characters and gnome banter were fun though.

If you like dual pov romances with main characters that are in their mid thirties and have been through it and both a bit broken hearted I think this one could be for you!

Our MMC is a new transplant to the area after getting out of a relationship with a woman with a child he no longer has contact with as the ex that wasn’t a dad.

Our FMC is an independent & curvy divorcee that hasn’t had good luck with dating after her divorce and is now the neighbor of the new guy in town who becomes her instant enemy when he rips out shrubs that she had used as part of her design for her own yard on the property line.

If you like the forced proximity and enemies to lovers vibes with neighbors that both have some baggage I recommend this one!

Thank you so much to Macmillan audio for my ALc!

Enemies to lovers meets garden rivalry. As Gillian is getting back into the dating world post-divorce, she’s also focused on her prize winning garden. But when Noah moves next door to her in their small town and starts wrecking her masterpiece, it’s going to take a lot to win her forgiveness. She’s big into florals and he goes for a minimalist vibe, so naturally everything with them is opposite and a clash, but that doesn’t stop the sparks from flying.
I enjoyed this as a quick read and the narrators did great.
Thank you to Dreamscape Media for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Cute but not particularly memorable, I don't read a ton of contemporary romance anymore because I find it very trope heavy as of late making it more predictable but if you are looking for something easy reading this would work

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I've been following a girl on TikTok that bought a house sight-unseen so the idea of it in this book really tickled me. That coupled with my love for gardening. i just adored the premise of this book. It was just so freaking sweet!

After enjoying The Rom-Com Agenda, I couldn't wait to get my hands on Hedging Your Bets. However, this installment of the Willow Cove romance series fell flat for me.

What Worked For Me
Once the story got started, I found I liked the couple. The banter was great. I also liked that the couple communicated like adults.

The small-town atmosphere was fantastic. Willow Cove is fantastic. I loved this about The Rom-Com Agenda, too. The elderly, nosy neighbors were perfectly meddling. They up'd the comedy level quite a bit. The other side characters are also great. Exactly what I expect of a small-town romance.

What Didn't Work For Me
The story took too long to get going. There is a whole "dating montage" that the female main character goes through. Each date is terrible. The men are terrible. They do and say terrible things. I did not find it enjoyable at all. It felt unnecessary to make them all fat-shaming jerks.

I found the reason for the couple being enemies unbelievable.

The male main character has some super cringy monologues.

I enjoyed the dual narration. I always find dual narration to be best for a dual-POV book. Both narrators did a great job.

Perfect for fans of:
Dual POV, Dual Narration
Small Town Romance
Closed Door, Low Spice
Enemies to Lovers
Competition
Cute, Nosy Elderly Neighbors
Gardening/Nature

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, St. Martin's Press, and St. Martin's Griffin for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I will not be giving feedback or posting a review until the Boycott of SMP ends and they give an adequate response to the demands.