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NetGalley Review of The Odds of Getting Even

Posted on July 8, 2025July 7, 2025 by caritagardiner
Screenshot 2025-05-25 at 9.22.51 AM

title: The Odds of Getting Even

author: Amanda Sellet

publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

publication date: July 15, 2025

pages: 320

peppers: 3 (on this scale)

warnings: none

summary: Working her job at a Hawaiian resort, Jean brings extra towels to awkward Charlie, who's staying at one of the private cabins. Though they spark an immediate connection that grows stronger every day he stays, it turns out that he has a big secret that leads him back to North Dakota without a farewell and makes her want to track him down for revenge.

tropes:

  • nerdy, inexperienced man
  • speaks-what's-on-her-mind woman
  • secret identity
  • family business drama
  • vacation fling

what I liked:

  • great banter
  • his quirkiness
  • extra characters
  • lots of threads weave together

what I didn’t like: maybe a little predictable

overall rating: 4 (of 5 stars)

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WHAT I DO

I serve as a class dean and teach English to high schoolers at a boarding school in Connecticut. I’ve earned a Bachelor of Arts (Amherst College), an Education Master in Learning and Teaching (Harvard University Graduate School of Education), a Master of Arts in English (Bread Loaf School of English), and most recently a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a certificate in the online teaching of writing (Southern New Hampshire University).

As a writer, I hope to capture the complexity and joy of life in the New England boarding school world. On this site, I share what I know about trying to write fiction while deaning, teaching English, coaching, and doing the other tasks associated with helping to raise over six hundred other people’s children.

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