Two summers ago, I read Bet On It by Jodie Slaughter, and it stuck with me. From the plus-size main character and how mental health was treated and discussed in a relationship to an expected level of spiciness I appreciated, I often compare more recent rom-com-type stories to it. When I saw that Slaughter had a follow-up coming out this summer, this time called Play To Win, that featured one of Aja’s friends in Greenbelt, SC, I knew I had to read it!

Miriam Butler’s life is going nowhere in the slowest, most excruciating way possible. Stuck in the same barely-paying job she’s had since she was sixteen and spending every night sleeping in the spare twin bed in her mother’s house, her existence might be hilarious if it wasn’t so bleak. One trip to her favourite corner store upends everything when she finds herself the winner of a Mega Millions Lottery Jackpot. Unfortunately, not even life-altering roses come without their painful thorns. Hers just so happen to be in the form of an estranged husband who has the right to claim his share of her money.

It’s been eight years since Leo Vaughn has had a conversation with his wife. When she calls out of the blue, practically begging him to come back to Greenbelt, the last thing he expects her to tell him when he gets there is that she’s come into a whole heap of money. She offers him a life-changing proposition of his own. Take a lump sum, finally sign the divorce papers, and be done with her for good. Only a forever without her is the last thing Leo wants. So he gives a proposition of his own. One that won’t cost her nearly as many millions but will buy him the time to do the one thing he’s been hungry to do since he left—win her back.

Unfortunately, this story was a bit of a sophomore slump for me, which sucks because I love this group of friends, and I hope we get more stories about them. The dialogue was still pretty good, and I still felt immersed in the world, like I did with Bet On It, but something was missing between the MC and her love interest that wasn’t letting me connect with them.

What didn’t work for me

The second-chance romance: Coming into this, I thought it was super refreshing that we were getting a rekindled love story between a previously married (now separated, but still technically married) couple. Getting a second chance at love is super special, and I was hoping we could breeze through some of the early-days getting-to-know-you stuff that you see at the beginning of relationships—but there was no real insight into their backstory ever revealed, so I didn’t really care about the couple. I didn’t see growth from either of them (because the development happened individually before the book started), and I couldn’t see why they were drawn to each other. I didn’t feel inevitable; it just felt easier.

The lottery storyline: Winning the lottery was definitely a way to get the plot started, and I liked where we were going at the beginning where she was giving some money to her family and friends to help unburden them, but then Leo shows up, and nothing really happens with the money. Sure, there’s a throwaway line at the end, but it ended up being a non-factor in much of the story, so I felt like it wasn’t totally necessary. Or at least it didn’t need to be that big of a win.

What I liked

The world-building: Like Slaughter’s first novel, I liked the setting, the small-town life depicted and the group of friends. I loved that we also got an insight into Aja and Walker’s life. I feel like I know exactly what Greenbelt looks like.

The spice factor: Most of the way through the book, I was thinking about how sexy I thought the first story was compared to this one, but it did end up delivering. I also liked how open Miri was about her sex life—and that Leo was a virgin before they met. Sex isn’t a taboo topic, even among friends, which is refreshing.

3 STARS

“How was she supposed to go on knowing that she… that she’d… that she had apparently won the motherfucking lottery?” —Jodie Slaughter, Play To Win

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.