Jodie Slaughter

This gives a new meaning to "BINGO." Aja has moved from DC to a small town in South Carolina. We first meet Aja as she's having a panic attack in a grocery store and is comforted by Walker. Walker hates this small town in SC based on his childhood growing up in a small town and just wants grandma to get better so he can back to his life in Charleston. This is a story where both Aja and Walker have issues and open up to each other, but can their game of bingo and each other help them overcome all the troubles and worries of the small town. I really enjoyed this book and liked that the characters embraced their backgrounds and were open with current struggles. It wasn't just a cookie-cutter movie-like book, which is a great thing.

Thanks to Netgalley, author and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.… (més)

Sex, anxiety, and bingo! This novel has it all! Aja Owens suffers from panic attacks and has recently relocated to the small town of Greenbelt, South Carolina hoping a quieter existence will help her deal with her anxiety. Walker Abbott suffers from PSTD due to his troubled childhood and has only returned to Greenbelt to help is grandmother when she is injured. Aja and Walker meet at a bingo game and form a connection. But with Aja needing to stay in Greenbelt while Walker has an equal desire to return to the big city once his Gram is well, there's no time for a long-term relationship.

They strike a deal that they will only act on their mutual desires when one of them wins a game a bingo. This helps build the tension for the steamier aspects of this novel. But there's a lot more going on in this story. First, it offers great insight into mental health issues and how people adapt to them. Second, Aja and Walker are really good about talking about their feelings and getting consent. Finally, while not an overt theme, the book deals with interracial relationships in the contemporary South.… (més)