gnome place like a home garden

Gillian likes her life. She’s a successful pharmacist, taking care of her neighbors in the small town of Willow Cove. Divorced and finally ready to find a new relationship, she tries the dating apps, only to find multi-level marketers, doomsday preppers, and men who can’t be bothered to include her in their conversations. But she thinks the guy is out there, and she believes she’ll find him. In the meantime, she has her backyard garden. It won third place in last year’s garden competition, and after lots of planning, Gillian is planning on winning this year with her English garden.

Noah just moved to Willow Cove, and he quickly upset his new neighbor by ripping out the hedge that separated their property. Immediately, his new neighbor Gillian came out of her house and yelled at him for ripping out his own shrubs. They were on his property, after all. He does notice that she’s gorgeous, but she is way too attached to those boring hedges, so he doesn’t understand why she went so crazy about them. Until he went into town. Everyone he talked to took Gillian’s side, knowing how much her garden means to her. So Noah decides to apologize to her, complete with a cute garden gnome to give her garden a little interest.

Needless to say, the gnome didn’t go over well.

Meanwhile, Noah takes a closer look at the books for the marina he bought. He hadn’t taken the time to go through everything closely before he signed the papers. He had just wanted to create a new life for himself. After his girlfriend in California asked him to move out, he packed up and moved across the country, to the place where he spent his summers with his uncle Manny. Noah bought a house and bought the marina, looking to build a future far away from his heartbreak.

It turns out that he owes the town a lot in back taxes. Like, a lot of money. Far more than he has to offer them. He goes to the town treasurer to try to talk to her, try to work out a payment plan or something, but he hits a brick wall. Louise March is the treasurer and also the head of the gardening club. She is the lead judge for the gardening competition, and she will do anything she can to keep Gillian from winning. Including offer Noah a chance to “win” the competition, in exchange for some lenience in paying the back taxes.

Noah can’t help but feel an attraction towards his neighbor. But she is also completely infuriating. And this is business. If the town tries to collect on his tax debt before he has the money together, he loses the marina and his livelihood. So, putting in a garden is it. He starts clearing out the weeds in his backyard and chooses new plants to go in the beds. But will it be enough to win?

Gillian watches as her cute neighbor works in his garden. He clearly has no affinity for gardening, as he puts sun plants in the share and shady plaints in the sun and protects weeks like they are valuable. She isn’t worried about his winning, as she’s been working on her garden for five years now. But she can also tell that he’s up to something. Can she figure out what’s going on in time to win the competition as she planned, or will she figure out a way to change the game?

Hedging Your Bets is the latest rom com from Jayne Denker, whose The Rom-Com Agenda introduced readers to the charming town of Willow Cove. Now it’s Gillian’s turn to be the friend who finds love there, and this story of enemies-to-lovers is even more charming than the first. Maybe I think that because I’m a big fan of the gardening story line, but these characters are so charming.

I really loved this book. Gillian’s sunny personality meets Noah’s grumpy one, and neither one is the same from the start. There is a sweetness to their courtship, even when it looks like they are just fighting. Gillian and her friends keep the action moving along, as the pages seem to to turn all on their own. Reading this was fun and delightful and lovely, and it made for perfect reading in below freezing temperatures, so I could dream about warmer days with beautiful flowers outside. If you are into gardening or just love a good rom com, then you will want to start Hedging Your Bets as soon as you can.

Egalleys for Hedging Your Bets were provided by St. Martin’s Griffin through NetGalley, with many thanks.