Review: Bet on It

I may have requested Jodie Slaughter’s novel Bet on It because I needed an audiobook to read but I thought it sounded like a really lovely romance. As a white woman who does not have diagnosed anxiety, I enjoyed the different perspective the novel gave me. As an avid romance reader? Well, I didn’t particularly care about the rest of the story.

Here’s the book’s description:

The first time Aja Owens encounters the man of her dreams, she’s having a panic attack in the frozen foods section of the Piggly Wiggly. The second time, he’s being introduced to her as her favorite bingo buddy’s semi-estranged grandson. From there, all it takes is one game for her to realize that he’s definitely going to be a problem. And if there’s anything she already has a surplus of, it’s problems.
In Walker Abbott’s mind, there are only two worthwhile things in Greenbelt, South Carolina. The peach cobbler at his old favorite diner and his ailing grandmother. Dragging himself back after more than a decade away, he’s counting down the days until Gram heals and he can get back to his real life. Far away from the trauma inside of those city limits. Just when he thinks his plan is solid, enter Aja to shake everything up.
A hastily made bingo-based sex pact is supposed to keep this…thing between them from getting out of hand. Especially when submitting to their feelings means disrupting their carefully balanced lives. But emotions are just like bingo callers—they refuse to be ignored.

I didn’t really understand the bingo bet Aja and Walker made. It seemed like they were children trying to use bribes to get what they wanted but also stop them from having too much of what they wanted (sex, I mean sex)? They’re adults and I found the whole “bet” thing immature (and confusing). Of course I knew they’d end up falling for each other and using the bet as an excuse to keep themselves from getting hurt but I also knew it wouldn’t help and they’d end up together in a Happily Ever After moment. Usually, I don’t mind knowing the way a romance is going to go but I have to care about the journey to that HEA. I didn’t care here and it was unfortunate.

I also just didn’t quite get the chemistry between the two of them. Maybe I missed something important, but it just sort of seemed like there was some physical attraction and that was that. There was an emotional-ish connection as they both had mental health challenges (I want to say anxiety and panic attacks, and maybe depression and also PTSD but I didn’t make notes and don’t have a copy to check). I appreciated that part of the story but it felt separate to everything else somehow. It kind of felt like I was reading about the diagnoses, not human characters.

Also, I’d love to never have a woman’s thighs be mentioned so much ever again in any novel I read. I got it the first time Slaughter mentioned Aja’s legs. She wasn’t a teeny thing (and I loved that). But there was no need to bring it up non-stop, especially by Walker.

The novel was narrated by Angel Pean and I felt she did a good job (but, honestly, I could be wrong - I've put this book out of my mind quite a bit). But from what I remember, she helped me be as immersed as I could be with this story and I’ll definitely keep my eyes out for other books she narrates.

Bet on It should have been a fun romance with great representation from under-written points of view. Jodie Slaughter nailed the rep but the rest of the story? Not so much. Maybe I’ll read another from her, maybe I won’t. Life’s too short for “fine” books!

*An advanced listening copy (ALC) was provided by the publisher, Macmillan Audio, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*