Jessica Reid loves her small town. She gave up a publishing job in New York City to come back home to Redford, Georgia. She’s still working in publishing, although in a lesser role. She’s still being bullied by the same mean girls she was bullied by in high school. She loves being to eat dinner with her dad several times a week again, but she is bored.

And then Jasper Wilhelm died.

Jasper was a very wealthy man who could have lived anywhere in the world he chose. He chose Redford. And when he died, he decided to leave ten million dollars to the town.

As soon as everyone hears this, they are excited and immediately start thinking of all the improvements they could make there. So many repairs, so many upgrades. But then Novak steps in. Novak was Jasper’s attorney, and he’s there to supervise the game. Jasper didn’t just want to hand over the money to the town. That would be too easy. He wanted the townspeople to compete.

Jasper has set up a strict set of rules and a scoring system that he only shared with Novak. He even set up the teams already. He divided everyone into teams of two. Like Luanne and Sally, the two bakers in town who have been waging a war about muffins for years. Or Jess and her nemesis Nikki. Or Jess’s favorite bartender Bryce and Carter Barclay, who is not a local but is Jasper’s grandson, in town for the funeral.

The first competition is a giant scavenger hunt, where the competitors had to solve riddles and then hunt down the answers and take photos of themselves with them. It’s during this competition that Jess realizes just how serious Nikki is about winning the money, and how she will have to up her game to keep in the competition.

Jess wants to win—it would let her focus on the authors she truly believes in, and she could give back to the town. But then she finds out some devastating news, and she needs that money to keep her life from blowing up.

But Carter has a secret. He had helped his grandfather give financial boosts to families who needed it. Jasper tried to find a way to help the citizens of Redford without making it obvious, and Carter thinks that Jasper is using this contest to help him continue their work. In other words, Carter thinks that the game is rigged in his favor. Which makes it complicated, as he’s developing strong feelings for Jess, and he doesn’t want to stand in her way.

As Jess and Carter scramble to win the money, joining teams and competing against each other, flirting and getting shot at, they find themselves drawn together. But will this competition for ten million dollars bring them together, or will it push them apart?

The Only Game in Town is a sweet, charming, small-town story of hope and healing, of the small fights we get into with our neighbors and the ways we can get past them. Author Lacie Waldon imbues this town and this story with warmth and wonder, and the ending is the loveliest surprise I could imagine.

I adored The Only Game in Town. I wished I could be a part of this town and watch al this as it was going on. And, you know, try those muffins. It’s told from the perspectives of several different characters, so you get a broad view of what’s happening in the town, and getting that insider’s view to these various personalities adds so much to a plot that has fun and whimsy and twists and romance. This book is all heart, and if you’re a fan of small-town stories with pie-eating contests, rickety boats, Barbie Jeeps, and heartwarming endings, then you will definitely want to check this one out.

Egalleys for The Only Game in Town were provided by G.P. Putnam’s Sons through NetGalley, with many thanks.