Play to Win

Extreme And Pervasive Racism Mars Otherwise Spectacular Second Chance Romance. Ok, white dude claiming racism on a book that features few white characters - none of whom are portrayed kindly, fwiw. So let me explain up front: My standard for detecting bigotry is to flip the demographics. If it would then be considered bigotry, then it is bigotry in the original form as well. Here, we have several characters both primary and secondary openly inquiring if a particular local small business is "black owned" or not, all throughout the text. Now, if a book that barely had any black characters had a bunch of white characters asking if a particular local small business was "white owned" or "straight white man" owned... there would be HELL to pay in certain segments of society. Thus, by the standard I stated above, the racism here is quite clear. As it happens frequently throughout the text - including the aforementioned extremely few white characters being portrayed as racist caricatures - it is also pervasive, though you'll either have to read the book yourself or take my word for that.

Beyond the racism though, this is truly a *spectacular* second chance tale. One that many, no matter their demographics, will deeply understand - particularly those who grew up in the lower echelons of wealth and/ or in the small town rural South, as I did. The motivations for all of our characters here... well, many of us have seen similar shit within our own families, if not directly within our own lives. So truly, kudos, Ms. Slaughter, for staying so *real* and yet also providing a few hours of solid escapism.

While others may claim that the motivations for the separation were "unclear"... no, they weren't. You just may never have been close to a similar point in your own life, and may not have felt just how close you yourself could have been to making such a boneheaded decision. Even in my professional adult life - not just my initial years in the trailer park - ... I've been closer to this than most ever realized, and I remember *that* as much as I do my trailer park years, really moreso.

Now, a word for the "sweet" and/ or "clean" crowd that wants anything beyond a peck on the cheek to be completely off screen or at least "behind closed doors"... yeah... apparently Ms. Slaughter doesn't know how to write that kind of tale, at least not based on the now two books (after Bet On It) I've read from her. Instead, as with Bet On It, this is active, in your face (literally, in the case of the characters' faces ;) ) damn near erotica level sex. So if Ron White / Wanda Sykes type comedy isn't your thing... you might want to avoid this one, as this gets *so much worse*.

Another thing to like here, and that I mentioned in Bet On It as well, is just how *normal* Ms. Slaughter shows modern Southern living to be, here including even up to casual acceptance of GSM (Gay and Sexual Minorities, a truly inclusive term that doesn't need constant modifications ever few years) / "LGBT+" people and even couples. While so many tales try to show some level of hostility or animus to such people or any other divergence from lily white WASPy types, Ms. Slaughter's small town embrace of these characters of some of their own shows the modern South I too grew up in quite realistically and quite well, and for that she is to be commended.

Finally, again, if you can get past the blatant and pervasive racism (or perhaps if you even agree with it), and if you don't mind the damn near erotica level sex scenes... this really is quite a strong tale and quite well told, given the above caveats. Very much recommended.

I just finished Play to Win by Jodie Slaughter and here are my thoughts.

Miriam is stuck in a rut. She is still working the same dead end job, in the same town, sleeping in the same bed she grew up in. Her and her mama are barely making it but that doesn't stop her mom from playing the lotto. When Miriam goes to pick up her mother's play, she decides to get one for herself. She cannot believe her luck when she finds out she is the winner of the jackpot! Only snag... she hasn't divorced the man that walked out on her 8 years ago and he could be entitled to half.

Leo never expected to hear from Miriam after that day so when she calls, begging him to come home so she can get her divorce and pay him off. Problem is, Leo doesn't want a divorce. He wants his Miriam back.

This book was funny as all heck and had me chuckling at the witty banter and silly things the characters get up to. I love Miri from the get go. She was never greedy and wanted to help everyone. I loved it. I loved that she knew who she was. She used her time away from Leo to find her inner goddess but it took winning the lotto for her to truly dig into what she wanted from life. It's amazing though how money didn't bring her happiness. It bought just as much stress.

I loved the passion that came off every page. This rom com had real pizzazz and the writing was so good. Loved the flavor and the vibe and I cannot wait to read more from this author.

4.5 stars! Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my gifted copy