Bet On It

Bet on It is a sweet, sweet, sweet story. And it is also a spicy, spicy, spicy story. In fact, it’s the perfect blend of the two.

Aja Owens is doing pretty well, if you accept that her entire social life consists of hanging out at bingo with elderly people qualifies as pretty well. She’s left the city for this small town where she can mostly just hide out. When she has a panic attack in the grocery store a voice behind her talks to her and just stays with her until she calms down. She was so grateful, felt like he got it, didn’t push, just waited for her to get through it. She didn’t expect to ever see him again and knew if she did it would be humiliating. Just like so much of her life has been about humiliation because she show more can’t control her emotions, can’t help being anxious.

So surprise – and not in a good way - when that mostly disembodied voice in Piggly Wiggly turns out to be the grandson of one of her few new bingo friends, Ms. May Abbott, a feisty old character who has broken both arms. Her grandson Wally (Walker when he has the choice) has come down from the city to help her. Aja is waiting for Walker to say something, something humiliating, and when he doesn’t, and when she gets a good look at that face and that body, well, whoa, just whoa. Can you say instant – like lightning fast – attraction?

Walker Abbot is in town temporarily, only because his Gram had an accident and broke her arms and needs his help. But he hates, loathes, despises this little town and pretty much everyone in it and hanging around is not on his to-do list. When he helped Aja in the store it was because he recognized another lost soul having a terrible time in a public place who needed help. But now, at bingo of all places, here she is again. And when their eyes meet, well, he’s lost from that moment on. We know it, most of the people they know see it, but you have to give Walker and Aja credit, they valiantly fight it because they know from all their past experiences there is no hope for long-term relationships.

The way they fight it is silly and sexy and sweet. A goofy bet about winning at bingo? A “little exception” here and there? You want them to just face it and get together already, except that you are laughing so hard at their antics and the predicaments they get themselves into you want more of this fun stuff. That is when you are not wiping your eyes over how heart-stoppingly sweet these two are together – or when you are not catching your breath because the fire between these two is pretty darn hot!

This is a story you just must read, and a new-to-me author that I must read again. Yep, it’s that good. Funny, sexy, sweet, sometimes sad – and joyous. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing an advance copy of Bet on It via NetGalley for my reading pleasure and honest review. Author Jodie Slaughter has not only written a funny, sweet, sexy, satisfying book; it is also a brave book. It tackles head-on PTSD and anxiety and puts right in our face that these are not just trivial little emotional episodes we can suck up and get over. They take hard work to control, hard work we have to do over and over when they pop up again and again, and cause upheaval to all our best-laid plans. And reading pleasure bonus, through the eyes of our lovable, wacky main characters Bet on It deals with issues like race and weight the way we all should: they just aren’t there. Walker is long, lean and blond; Aja is short, stout and Black but those facts are just part of the story, like having blue eyes or big feet. That’s not to say there aren’t others in the story who don’t behave as they should, but we see Aja and Walker through each other’s (sometimes pretty steamed up) eyes and they are beautiful. As is this story. I recommend Bet on It without hesitation and am off to find more by this fabulous author. All opinions are my own.
#BetonItNovel #JodieSlaughter #SMPRomance show less

Gen Z Mental Health Dang Near Erotica... Romantic Comedy? Up front, there was nothing technically wrong about this story - hence the five stars here. There is nothing for me to hang a star deduction on as objectively wrong here, and indeed there are several things to actively like. Such as the interracial romance in the South, where neither character tries to bring in bygone eras that were dead long before either of them were alive. As a Xennial / elder Millenial Southerner, this was genuinely refreshing to see in novel form, since so many try to depict the South as some racial tension hotbed that isn't actually present in reality. Or at least that's not what the *entire* South is, nor any that I've ever experienced in a lifetime of show more living here. So for fellow Southerners tired of so many novels looking down on us and trying to force depictions of us that aren't always accurate... give this one a try, I think you'll like it. :)

Now, onto the stuff that those same fellow Southerners might actually have more of an issue with.

For one, if you don't like hot and heavy, dang near erotica level sex in a book... this one isn't for you, no matter where you're from. If you prefer "sweet" / "clean" romances where the couple barely kisses or where anything beyond maybe heavy kissing is "behind closed doors"... this book isn't going to be something you enjoy. There are two sex acts performed essentially in public - one in a car in a parking lot, the other inside the Mayor's Mansion during a town festival (and on a couch in a room, rather than in some closet!). Along these lines, there was much talk of condoms and STI testing (at least at first), and again, these are some issues that I know some will LOVE being included but others will wish had not been, so either way you now know to expect them and can proceed according to your own attitudes on the subject. :)

For another, and this is absolutely one where your mileage may vary depending on any number of factors, there is a LOT of talk about mental health here, to the level of being fairly preachy at times - particularly in espousing a more Gen Z view of the field. Both of our leads suffer from anxiety, and at times it feels the focus of the book is on these issues rather than anything remotely romantic or even comedic. While it is absolutely refreshing to see these issues discussed so openly, and I absolutely love that a book featuring this is on the market, I also realize that it won't be everyone's cup of tea. So hey, better to skip the book because I warned you than to read it and leave a 1 star review complaining about all the "pansy ass whiny bullcrap" or some such that I know several people personally would absolutely complain about. :)

In the end though, this *was* a mostly fun, relatively light (particularly given its subject matter) romantic comedy, and it *does* work within that genre, just far from your typical entry there. As someone who constantly seeks new wrinkles I hadn't seen before, I enjoyed it from that side in particular. Very much recommended. show less

Sex, anxiety, and bingo! This novel has it all! Aja Owens suffers from panic attacks and has recently relocated to the small town of Greenbelt, South Carolina hoping a quieter existence will help her deal with her anxiety. Walker Abbott suffers from PSTD due to his troubled childhood and has only returned to Greenbelt to help is grandmother when she is injured. Aja and Walker meet at a bingo game and form a connection. But with Aja needing to stay in Greenbelt while Walker has an equal desire to return to the big city once his Gram is well, there's no time for a long-term relationship.

They strike a deal that they will only act on their mutual desires when one of them wins a game a bingo. This helps build the tension for the steamier show more aspects of this novel. But there's a lot more going on in this story. First, it offers great insight into mental health issues and how people adapt to them. Second, Aja and Walker are really good about talking about their feelings and getting consent. Finally, while not an overt theme, the book deals with interracial relationships in the contemporary South. show less

“Bet On It” deals with a paralyzing form of mental illness. Aja Owens doesn’t “feel like she was a Black woman Rising. She felt like she was falling into an ocean of fear and doubt”. Scoping out a calmer place to live she chooses to move to Greenbelt, SC, away from her noisy and busy life in DC. Walker Abbott is a kindred spirit. Abandoned by his parents as a youth, after therapy and medication, he is trying to become untangled from his panic attacks and having some success until he returns to his hometown of Greenbelt, SC. Their existences feel “precarious, like they were always hanging off a ledge by a thread.”

Remembering “the nature of their mental illness meant it was next to impossible to enjoy lives free of show more complications” gives you some semblance of the problems that people with PTSD face. Walker Abbott intones “sexual tension was more poetic when it was unresolved.” I agree and think the whole issue would have been better dealt with a little less steam. But hey, who am I to dump on a sweet rom com.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy. show less

Aja is a young woman who navigates anxiety. To make a fresh start she relocates from her hometown of Washington DC to the sleepy town of Greenbelt, SC. She finds an unlikely activity going to Bingo night, mostly frequented by the town’s older residents. When her Bingo table mate needs help recovering from an injury her grandson, Walker, returns to Greenbelt to help her. Walker has his own past trauma and sufferers from PTSD complicating his relationship with the town and his grandmother.
I applaud authors for bringing awareness to mental health. Slaughter tackles several mental health issues, gives representation to normal/healthy sized women, and interracial dating. This all flows without much fanfare, in a ‘this is real life’ show more way. I appreciate this approach! The small town setting was fantastic, but also used so well. It was a conscious choice for Aja, but had bad memories for Walker. The attraction between Aja and Walker is raw, elemental, and immediate. For me, the abrupt jump didn’t give me time to buy into these two as a couple before there were open door sex scenes. It felt an odd juxtaposition against their their mental health struggles. Although a few elements didn’t work for me I think there’s a great audience for this, especially those that read new adult romance.
I received a review copy from St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley. show less

Title Bet On It
Author: Jodie Slaughter
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Bet On It" by"Jodie Slaughter

My Assessment:

"Bet on It" was a good romance read that discussed some important things that go on in people's lives, and the mental health issue for both that was anxiety [panic attacks] and PTSD, as it was for Aja and Walker [Wally].

This author did an excellent job with these severe topics as she gave the reader something to think about long after the read. In addition, the friendship with Walker's grandmother and Aja's three friends added so much to this read, keeping the reader turning the pages till the end.

The story was cute in how this author brings out how love was being show more built not only 'on anxiety, pie, and bingo forgiveness, and oh yes, some love.' To get the whole story, one will have to pick up 'Bet on It' and see how this story comes out. It will be a good read in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc, for my honest opinion. show less

Aja and Walker meet when she is in the middle of a panic attack at the Piggly Wiggly. Little does she know, but Walker suffers from PTSD and knows a lot about what she's going through. They run into each other again at the Bingo Hall where Aja has been sitting next to Walker's Grandma ever since she started playing Bingo. Aja and Walker have a connection, but it has a time limit. Walker is just staying long enough to help his grandma while she heals from an accident. He has no intention to stay. Will they be able to resist the attraction they feel? Will they be able to abide by the rules they set for their time together? Let's Bet on It!

This romance was different from many. I liked both characters and how they pushed themselves to get show more through the tough moments they faced every day. I especially loved Aja's determination to change her life for the better. The whole Bingo setting was definitely unique and fun. Both Walker and Aja grow through the course of the book, and I loved that. Walker had to do a little groveling at the end. It was satisfying and sweet. There is some steam, but I really didn't care about that. The story would have held its own without it. 4 Stars.

My sincere thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my unbiased opinion of it. show less