‘Hedging Your Bets’ by Jayne Denker
Published: January 9, 2024
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Genre: Romance, Romantic Comedy
Format: e-book
Spice Level: None
Stars:
Synopsis
When small-town neighbors go head-to-head, better start Hedging Your Bets.
Gillian has been happily divorced for several years and, after trying a few dating apps, prefers to stay that way. Navigating her way through dates with fat shamers and lackluster men has left her with no desire to do anything other than work in her garden in her spare time. Who needs rude comments and awkward first-date conversation when soft roses and vibrant tulips are so much better?
Noah West has just moved to Willow Cove. After a rough breakup that leaves him looking to get far away, he relocates to the same small town he spent summers in as a teen—and moves right next door to Gillian. A big believer in minimalist design and that the best kind of plants are non-flowering, he knows as soon as he meets his neighbor that they are going to clash on just about everything. Now if only he could keep his eyes off her too. That might be helpful.
When a gardening contest brings out the competition in Gillian and Noah, dueling plant arrangements and fiery banter ensues. But is it possible that beneath all their differences, they might just be perfect for each other?
My Thoughts
Jayne Denker makes gardening a blast with her latest release ‘Hedging Your Bets’. I never thought I would say that gardening was a joy until I read this book, and it made me wish I had my own garden. The backstories that these characters had were great and building up each character was nicely done. The side characters around town were also done exactly right so they were not too much and really added to the character of the town. What was also nice to see was the lead female in this story being a plus-size woman. There are not a lot of books that have that and those that do and do it well are even more rare. Jayne was able to make Gillian strong and someone to be relatable.
‘Hedging Your Bets’ is really the best Romantic Comedy book that is out right now and is an enjoyable book to get you over the post-holiday season feeling. This book had me laughing and smiling throughout the book and the best part of the book is that there is no third act breakup! In fact, Gillian and Noah got even closer in the third act and it was so great to read.
Jayne has written a Rom-Com that needs to be on your TBR. ‘Hedging Your Bets’ gets a solid 4 ½ stars. Even if you are not into gardening you will love this book. The sizzle rating isn’t there but there is a spark to start something. This all adds up to a great book and if it was a movie it would be a PG-13 rating. ‘Hedging Your Bets’ is out now and available where you get your books.
**I would like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Jayne Denker for the ARC copy of this book. Getting the ARC Copy did not influence my thoughts on the book as they are all my own.**
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