THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN

Residents of a small Georgia town compete for $10 million.

Waldon’s third romantic comedy is the first that doesn’t hinge on travel—the author works as a flight attendant—but it’s full of other popular rom-com tropes. There's a plucky small-town girl: Jessica Reid, a freelance book editor who gave up New York City to stay close to her dad in tiny Redford, Georgia. She meets a handsome stranger from the big city: Carter Barclay, a financial wizard in Atlanta. A mutual attraction threatens their carefully constructed lives: Should they get together when they don’t live in the same place? The story begins with the death of Jasper Wilhelm, Carter’s grandfather, a beloved but eccentric philanthropist, whose funeral has lured Carter to Redford. Jasper has concocted a unique solution to the question of who will inherit his millions: His will stipulates the entire town will be split into pairs to compete in a series of challenges, and whichever team earns the most points will win a life-changing $10 million. Sounds easy, but Jasper himself has paired everyone off, and almost no one is happy with their partner. Jess finds herself paired with her sworn enemy, Nikki Loughton, who is still mad that Jess kissed her boyfriend in high school. Carter is sure he’s being set up to win, but Jess has other plans, no matter how sexy he is. Waldon has a solid sense of humor, and her characters are engaging; even Nikki turns out to have unexpected depth. Jess and Carter’s will-they, won’t -they romance is never in doubt (their magical night in a leaky rowboat is a romantic and comedic highlight). A ham-handed side plot in which Jess’ dad suddenly announces he’s sick and may be dying feels unnecessary, but despite that puzzling misstep, romance fans should enjoy playing this game to the end.

A lighthearted romp for fans of romantic comedy about the benefits of working together for a community.