Aja Owens had decided she needed to move out of Washington, DC. The noise and chaos of the city was amping up her anxiety, and that was the last thing she needed. When she looked up quiet cities, she discovered Greenbelt, South Carolina, so she moved there. But the quiet small town wasn’t enough to prevent her from having a panic attack in the freezer section of the Piggly Wiggly.
But when she did, a man, a stranger to her, stood there with her while she fought the anxiety. He didn’t try to fix anything. He didn’t ask her a lot of questions. He was just there, in case she needed something. When Aja was finally able to get moving, she checked out quickly and went home. She wasn’t able to thank the man or even look him in the eye.
Aja is feeling better later in the week and heads to her weekly bingo night. Being new in town, she had wanted to find ways to be social without getting too anxious, so she had tried bingo. Now she goes every week and sits next to Ms. May Abbott. Aja enjoys her bingo nights, even though she tends to be the youngest one in the room. But this Wednesday, Ms. May is not alone. And she’s not fine. The casts on both of her arms tell Aja that. And when she introduces Aja to her grandson, who had come from Charleston to help her out while she’s injured, Aja knows immediately that he is the man who witnessed her panic attack right in front of the Hot Pockets.
Walker Abbott had promised himself that he would never go back to Greenbelt. It had been bad enough when his father had been arrested right in front of him and his grandmother had to pick him up and take over raising him. It just got worse for Walker when so many in the town had bullied him or gossiped about him. He had gotten out of town, gone to college, gotten a job reporting on sports. He has also gotten some therapy for his complex PTSD, but he still feels a lot of anger towards the citizens of Greenbelt. But he recognizes Aja from her panic attack at the store, and he understood what she was going through. And meeting her here, in the light of the bingo parlor, he sees just how beautiful she is.
As the weeks slip by, Aja tries to get out of her comfort zone more, to make some friends. She gets a manicure and connects with the artist who created her beautiful marble mails. She talks to her therapist. And she finds herself thinking about Walker. He had been so understanding and compassionate about her panic attack. And when she bumped into him and he offered her some peach cobbler, she felt a strong attraction to him.
As a way to spend more time together, they decide to try another night of bingo. It will help Walker get more experience, so his grandmother won’t yell at him so much to keep up with the numbers, and it gives Aja a chance to get out and spend time with a friend. But Walker feels like more than just a friend. And when the flirting ramps up to kissing and . . . other things, Aja is happy for the connection. But she knows she also has to be careful because Walker has made it very clear that he has no intentions to stay in town once his grandmother is better. Will Aja be able to put her anxiety aside and enjoy her time with Walker, or will she panic and hide? And will Walker be able to trust Aja long enough to form a true connection, or will his old trauma get in the way of his being vulnerable enough to be in a relationship?
Bet on It is Jodie Slaughter’s latest romance, blending the drama of healing from emotional and mental illness with finding a good partner and opening up to love. The characters are complicated and intense, and the storyline of bingo adds some playful texture to the story. At first, a lot of the attraction is in the character’s heads, but once they speak up and tell each other how they feel, it goes from flirting to very steamy scenes in an instant.
I really wanted to like this story more than I did. I love that Aja isn’t a small woman. She is full-figured, plus-sized, curvy—however you want to say it—and she does not apologize for that. I loved that. And I appreciated that both of the main characters were struggling with mental illnesses and getting therapy for that. I thought that worked well in the story. But I also felt that there were some troublesome scenes, particularly the sex scenes. These characters who seemed educated and mature turned crude and embarrassing. And I realize that some readers will be just fine with that, but it wasn’t my cup of tea.
Egalleys for Bet on It were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.
