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Calling Your Bluff

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Harley White likes control. He has spent years building a life on his own terms, despite…everything. Owning the town’s favorite bar means knowing everyone’s business, keeping the peace, and ensuring that smug, entitled guys like Derek don't step too far out of line. What he doesn’t have time for? Flighty city girls who don’t belong—who breeze in with their big dreams and even bigger attitudes, only to leave just as fast.

Hailey Thompson didn’t move to a small town to live out a Hallmark movie and put down roots. She came for her sister, determined to help her start over, and then she was gone. No distractions, no attachments. Especially not in the form of a slow-burning, infuriating tension with a bartender who—annoyingly—saw right through her carefully built walls. She should be focused on her next escape, not the way Harley’s sharp gaze lingered or how every interaction between them felt like an unspoken challenge she refused to back down from.

They’re opposites in every way. She’s not looking to stay. He’s not looking to let anyone in. But in a town this small, avoiding each other isn’t an option. And when their stubborn standoffs turn into something neither of them saw coming, the lines they’ve drawn begin to blur.

The stakes are higher than either of them are willing to admit. And when push comes to shove, will they be brave enough to call each other’s bluff?

393 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 28, 2025

8 people are currently reading
88 people want to read

About the author

Britt Bartilson

2 books23 followers

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5 stars
17 (30%)
4 stars
27 (49%)
3 stars
9 (16%)
2 stars
2 (3%)
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0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
Profile Image for Rombookfanlove.
340 reviews16 followers
April 24, 2025
This was a nice book, good story, and written well. I enjoyed reading it. Harley and Hailey were both likeable characters. I always enjoy a bar dude for some reason, so that added to Harley’s appeal.

There wasn’t anything that particularly gripped me about it or had me highly interested, it was more of a usual/typical romance with typical characters. There were times I couldn’t quite bring myself to care about what was going on with them just because it was on the blander side for me. Not bad by any means but just a middle of the road pleasant read. There’s *definitely* the possibility for other readers to find it even more enjoyable than I did so if it seems like one you’d like, I would encourage you to read it!

Overall a solid read, it was definitely a pleasant one to pick up and get into with nice heart and some heat.

I received an advance copy of the book and have left my honest, influence-free review
Profile Image for Jazzy.
142 reviews
April 27, 2025
my ARC review

If you are in the mood for a quick and fun rom com, I definitely recommend this one. I really enjoyed the banter between Harley and Hailey. It is a slow burn but there are plenty of sparks flying between them.
The only thing I wish is that I could have connected a little more with Hailey. I felt a lot of emotion from Harley but not quite as much from her side. Still, the writing was wonderful and the storyline was absolutely adorable. I am excited to read more of Britt’s books in the future!
Profile Image for Jen.
334 reviews
April 28, 2025
4.5 ⭐️
📕: Calling Your Bluff by Britt Bartilson
Why you’ll love this book!!
Small Town
Banter( Tons of it)
Found Family
Spice
Funcle


I love this book it was an easy read after being in a book hangover this book is my first by Author Britt Bartilson and it was amazing .. I loved all the banter it had me cracking up!! Hailey is in town to help her sister with running a bakery and Harley has lived there his whole life and owns a bar and if you know how you can always run into people you don’t want to in a small town that’s what these two keep doing..This is a fun and sweet read I loved all the main characters they are amazing..
Profile Image for Katrina.
9 reviews
April 29, 2025
The book was a cute well written small town romance. An easy read that was by no means boring. I particularly enjoyed reading Harley’s chapters as I could relate to a lot of his emotions more readily than Hailey’s. Every small town has a Derek but man did I wish they all had a Harley too! Looking forward to other books in the future from Britt!
1 review
April 23, 2025
I loved the book. It felt like I dived into a hallmark dream. It felt like I was living my dream. Hailey was kinda annoying me but overall an amazing book. I highly recommend. It’s an easy read and fast paced.
Profile Image for thesparklinglibrary.
93 reviews15 followers
March 12, 2025
She's in town for a short visit, but could something persuade her to stay longer?

This small-town romance will have you swooning over a broody, tattooed bartender and wishing you could also partake in strip poker (HR violation be damned). Calling Your Bluff is packed with the perfect mix of tension, angst, and slow burn, ugh, your honor I love them. The character growth, dynamic, banter is everything and I’m completely obsessed. Def a top 2025 read for me
Profile Image for Hannah Soileau.
243 reviews14 followers
April 27, 2025
Hailey is determined to help her sister with a major life change that happens to be in the town Harley has lived his whole life and owns his own bar. They can’t stand each other but can’t stop running into one another in the small town. These two had some great tension and the story was full of banter but it is a slowwww burn 🔥 I loved Harley’s past and present catching up to him and Hailey is the ultimate sister. It was a fun, sweet, and spicy read that will have you guessing at the same time.

⋆ Thank you Brit for this advanced reader’s copy!
Profile Image for Dayton.
497 reviews5 followers
May 1, 2025
This was a nice easy read!

Small town romance, with banter. He’s a possessive MMC and she’s a sassy FMC!

Great characters! Decent plot, she’s in town to help her sister, but after a while, is there something that could make her change her mind and stay?

I loved that we got to know each MC before they became a couple.

This was a cute light read! Different from my norm and I enjoyed it!
Profile Image for Nazeefah Ziya Monia.
97 reviews1 follower
April 28, 2025
♡ 1 of My ARC Reads ♡....
GOsh Its Such an AdorabLe Read♡ RomCom Vibes. . . I kept Smiling ....It is filled with Sweetness....I love the Main Characters The Banter Between them ♡ ....I think it was Well Written ♡ an I Really Enjoyed it♡
Profile Image for Ali U.
40 reviews
May 6, 2025
love love love this book ! 🙌
Profile Image for Allyson Escobar.
8 reviews
May 6, 2025
this was a cute small town romance slow burn book. definitely an easy read. the banter between the FMC and MMC was cute and the tension was there. would recommend
Profile Image for Marley  Dean.
10 reviews
May 28, 2025
What a great read!! i’m typically a slow burn gal but this one did it for me. If you love slow burn, angst, and banter- GO READ. This book will not disappoint you! Make sure you also check out An Obvious Tell!
Profile Image for LiteraryMary95.
432 reviews16 followers
August 28, 2025
This book was pretty decent. It kept me reading. The characters were believable and it felt like a good book to just relax and read to rather than keep you on the edge of your seat.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
33 reviews
April 24, 2025
Possible spoilers despite trying to be vague.

Pros: easy to follow, not dense, overall a light book, no major grammar errors/typos.

Per Goodreads' star rating, this book has earned 2- it was ok.
It started out strong- first few pages had me convinced I was going to like this book a lot- but as characters developed, they became less likeable.
By 25% of the way through, it became clear the cast of characters was going to be homogenous.
The characters are flawed to the point they become unlikeable. Many of the traits the MMC dislikes about another guy in the story's town are the same traits he then himself displays. The FMC comes across as having a martyr complex towards her sister and yet also self-involved enough to be myopic to her own needs and the wants/needs of others.
It's a rivals-to-lovers trope so the main characters predictably get together- no problem there. But the "banter" missed the mark. I didn't feel tension building between them so much as "y'all need therapy."
And, in my opinion, it drags. The plot is sluggish despite jumping months at a time, the characters "slow burn" feels forced, and we're supposed to believe a town cassanova would be that persistent? Good news if you like your spice scenes to last for a solid chunk, they do, but my buy in for the book was low enough I found myself skimming to just get it over with by that point.

I think part of the framing of my experience with this book is that I am over 40. If I were in my 20s, some of the characters' behavior wouldn't be such an ick to me. But looking at this through my life's lens, it's not for me.

There are a few other things with which I take umbrage, but by this point, it's clear this book is not my cup of tea.

I believe this book has an audience, so take my review with a gain of salt.

Thank you to the author for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Paige Robinson.
82 reviews5 followers
May 27, 2025
Reviewed by Paige on behalf of The Plot Thickens Book Club, ARC provided for an honest review.

Title: Calling your bluff
Author: Britt Bartilson
Rating: 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Calling your bluff is book 2 in the series but can be read as a standalone. I really enjoyed Harley and Hailey’s story and on the back of it, I’m off to read book 1 and sign up for the rest of the series.
Hailey, a woman who always has one foot out the door, torn between helping her family and her deep rooted desire to travel, moves to a small town to help her sister and nephew start a new life. There she meets Harley, a man who is a hometown boy at heart who values family over everything else, who struggled for everything he’s achieved but doesn’t let that stop him. Between running his bar and helping his sister care for his niece Harley has a pretty busy life, no time for dating and relationships. Until Hailey. They are inexplicably drawn to each other in a banter fuelled standoff that builds the sexual tension, they have a love/hate kind of thing going on… until they don’t. It’s such a lovely read, nothing too deep but has the potential to develop into so much more. I can’t wait to see what’s next. Great read, really enjoyed this one, looking forward to reading more from Britt Bartilson.
Profile Image for The Plot Thickens Book Club.
139 reviews7 followers
June 10, 2025
Reviewed by Paige on behalf of The Plot Thickens Book Club, ARC provided for an honest review.
Title: Calling your bluff
Author: Britt Bartilson
Rating: 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Calling your bluff is book 2 in the series but can be read as a standalone. I really enjoyed Harley and Hailey’s story and on the back of it, I’m off to read book 1 and sign up for the rest of the series.
Hailey, a woman who always has one foot out the door, torn between helping her family and her deep rooted desire to travel, moves to a small town to help her sister and nephew start a new life. There she meets Harley, a man who is a hometown boy at heart who values family over everything else, who struggled for everything he’s achieved but doesn’t let that stop him. Between running his bar and helping his sister care for his niece Harley has a pretty busy life, no time for dating and relationships. Until Hailey. They are inexplicably drawn to each other in a banter fuelled standoff that builds the sexual tension, they have a love/hate kind of thing going on… until they don’t. It’s such a lovely read, nothing too deep but has the potential to develop into so much more. I can’t wait to see what’s next. Great read, really enjoyed this one, looking forward to reading more from Britt Bartilson.
Profile Image for Kmy's KindleChaos | Reads Romantasy & Smut.
125 reviews6 followers
April 27, 2025
🌶🌶

✨️Enemies to lovers
✨️Poker
✨️Bar owner vs. Fotographer
✨️Small Town
✨️Possessive MMC
✨️Sassy FMC

Sweet story, full of banter and personal challenges.
This is the story between Harley and Hailey

Hailey is in town to help her sister, "temporary."
He is the town's broody tattooed borderline terrifying bar owner

The first 50% of the book is about them separately. You get to really get to know them both. and it sounds like a year goes by..
He looks totally scary, but is this sweet uncle and gives his all for her sister and nice. She is just living a day at the time, there for her sister and nephew.
They run into each other, but you won't get any romantic interaction.. Its Kind of a prelude of their story together.

The romance starts at about 63%. It's really sweet and lovely! but you need to push through that first 50%. Talk about slow burn! Not for ppl without patience 😅.
Now, if you do it past that prelude, you are in for a treat! They are 🔥 together, and the Epilogue is 🫦.



Thanks, Britt, for this ARC Copy📚
Profile Image for Michelle C.
44 reviews2 followers
May 25, 2025
I was sent this book as an ARC. I signed up due to the description of the story, yet I had not read this author. The story sounded interesting, and it did not disappoint.

I realized it was a stand-alone, part of a series, which I personally love. I ran and devoured the first book "An Obvious Tell." Having some back story to the main character in this book helped but was definitely not needed.

I really enjoyed the smart-ass banter between the MMC and the FMC. The storyline was a little drawn out but also needed to build that tension. The author did an amazing job of making you want these characters to get it right. Not only did she make you love them, but Soph?! one of the best parts of the book. I can't wait to see what she releases next.
47 reviews
May 12, 2025
Slow paced, but good! The love interests had fleeting moments of banter between expanses of self-doubt in a charming small-town setting. This was pleasant, no crazy miscommunication tropes or dramatic third act break up. Just two emotionally unavailable people being horny for each other from a distance for an extended period of time before finally getting drunk and doin’ it (they kiss for the first time while drunk, actual sex is had while both parties are sober and consenting).
The side characters brought a lot to this story. Sophie, Harley’s precocious niece, stole every scene she was in. Sunny, who runs the town’s only diner, lives up to her name despite her ironically grumpy moments.
Profile Image for Kendra’s Library.
73 reviews6 followers
May 2, 2025
This book started off quite slow for me and never really held my attention. I wasn’t feeling the need to continue reading, but I did because the story was easy to read.

The MCs are both very flawed, and it was annoying to see them circle each other and hurt one another in the process. I did love how much they both loved their siblings and nephews, and that was one of the redeeming parts of this book for me.

It’s an easy small town/enemies to lovers read, but it unfortunately wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Britt for the ARC!
Profile Image for Courtney Gittins.
77 reviews2 followers
May 29, 2025
This was a cute, easy, low-stakes, read. If you like small town romance, good banter and a slow burn, then you will enjoy this book.

Harley and Hailey were well written characters and there was good backgrounds given for each of them. Harley was easier to connect with as a character and Hailey was a little frustrating at time, however they were a good match.

I would be keen for more books by this author in the future.

I received an advanced reader copy and am leaving this review voluntarily.
49 reviews2 followers
June 18, 2025
Another great book by Britt Bartilson! This time we get to dive deeper into the lives of supporting characters from the first book - Hailey and Harley. The two of them seem like oil and water when they first meet, and seem to enjoy antagonizing each other. They both have secrets, some more serious than others, and they take a while to get around to finding each other. There were moments I didn’t love, but it was because of very believable choices the characters made, so it was pretty true to life. In the end, they do (of course) get their happily ever after, and we continue to see the strong bonds formed among all of the ‘Dads Only’ crew. Really enjoyed this book, and ready for more!

I was lucky enough to be sent an advance copy of this book, although I ended up reading it via KU. All opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Rubi Muller.
2 reviews
April 25, 2025
If you are looking for a quick, rom com then will definitely recommend this! I loved the banter between Harley and Hailey, quite a slow burn but a lot of sparks. The only thing is that I felt a lot of emotion from Harley but not much from Hailey, there were times I did not connect with her on a deeper level but overall, the writing is great, and the storyline was so adorable :) looking forward to reading more of Britt's books :)
Profile Image for psych0_4books.
161 reviews1 follower
April 29, 2025
Calling Your Bluff is a good rom-com that had me laughing out loud. I immediately loved Harley. The gruff bar owner who was actually a protective teddy bear for his woman. Hailey swoops into the small town to help her sister and refuses to get caught up in one of those "small-town romances". Funny how Fate works because the main characters had an opposites attract and slow burn type of relationship. The tension and banter was great.

*Thanks to Britt for the ARC
534 reviews4 followers
April 25, 2025
Rating: 3.5 rounded to 4 stars

City girl comes to a small town due to a kind of family emergency (sort of) - sounds like a Hallmark movie, doesn't it? And this book does feel like it. But with a bit more angst, more pronounced hate (not 100%, but they did get off on the wrong foot) to love, some more drama and spice.
But I definitely recommend reading the first book in the series prior to this one, as it provides some context and backstory.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.
4 reviews
May 9, 2025
I enjoyed reading parts of this book. I love a slow burn and appreciate the build up of this one. I do feel like Harley was very likeable and well developed. I didn't love Hailey's character and spent parts of the book wondering why she did certain things because I didn't feel like I got to know her well. Overall the plot was okay. this is also probably just me but having the main character names close together was a little confusing at times.
Profile Image for Rose Dinsmore.
168 reviews5 followers
May 9, 2025
Once again, late to the party. This book is the second in the Dads Only series. I’m definitely going back to read the first one! I really liked this book, but I’ll be honest and say my favorite part was the MMC Harley. He is a walking, talking green flag and that’s what I’m looking for in a book boyfriend!

4 💜’s.
Profile Image for Rebecca Watson.
25 reviews1 follower
April 28, 2025
Wow, this book had me in my feelings by chapter two! The banter in this book is off the charts. Story line was sweet, and the characters are written beautifully. Definitely a must read if you’re in the mood for a good rom com.
3/5 on the 🌶️ 🌶️🌶️
Profile Image for Florencia Candela.
65 reviews
May 29, 2025
✨ARC Review✨
This one felt a little slow for me, Hailey didn't do it for me, I found myself annoyed with her but it was an nice read to relax. I really enjoyed Harley's character way more and I could really connect with his emotions.
Profile Image for Andrea Lawson.
11 reviews
September 8, 2025
The author has grown and developed in this book. The first book was tough to get through the beginning of but was good. You can see the author has grown in this book and I love the story of Hails and Harley. Looking forward to reading more from Brit. Maybe a story on Taylor, Dom or Chase.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews

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