I'm quite the fan of this author and really about anything she writes I'm happy to try. This book was a lot of fun and easily finished in one sitting. There was some things I wasn't a huge fan of, but there are so many other things I enjoy about her writing style that it's easy to just take them in stride. One of the things I really enjoy is that the adults in the book handle the issues and dramas of life in stride and even though there are problems, they look to handle them. I'm not sure how to portray it, but I like that there's growth in the characters and they don't just melt down every other page, but that they try to handle the problems and not always blaming others for it. Anyway, overall the book was a fun and light read, enjoyable and well written.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I couldn't get past how odd it was that the love interests, both single, with great chemistry and clearly very into each other, inexplicably decide to try to date other people instead. It felt like I was missing a pivotal beginning to explain this weird dynamic.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters felt fresh and I liked their banter. I appreciated that their fake dating wasn’t based on nothing and they both recognized there was chemistry, so it didn’t come across as though they were both totally oblivious to the obvious.

I'm a little over the fake dating trope, so I was hesitant to read this, but I'm so glad I requested it. It was really fun. I will be looking for more books by Painter in the future.

Cute, romantic comedy, easy read filled with fun tropes! Lot so fun banter, great chemistry and a great weekend read!

3.5 stars --- this was cute. if you like previous lynn painter books, then you'll like this. it has all of the elements that her books usually have.

i do find myself wishing that painter would commit more to telling her own story and less about including tropes and then drawing attention to the fact that she's using tropes. i believe in you, lynn. i would rather read a story that HAS tropes than a story that exists to sell me a trope.

i wish this book did more bonding between hallie and jack as friends. i wish they hadn't actually hooked up at the beginning of the book (maybe they only came really close or maybe just kissed). i wish hallie was more upset about the "low hanging fruit" thing. i wish she understood jack's comments to alex better. i wish jack was less hot. idk. personally, none of the stuff that i wanted expanded upon was expanded upon. but that might be a me problem. also tigger, the badly named cat, was kind of just forgotten about except for a few lines?

this has nothing to do with the content of the book, but i wish there was a most distinct vibe between painter's young adult and adult book covers - i know illustrated cover are popular for both age ranges right now, but painter in particular is alternating between YA and adult books in a way that i don't see a lot of the authors doing right now. and it's kind of confusing which books are YA and which are for adults. i don't personally mind if i pick up a YA instead of an adult book, but a lot of people might be kinda pissed if they think they're getting an adult romance and instead it's YA.

thank you lynn painter and berkley publishing group for the arc <3

A bartender and landscape architect have a one-night stand when they hook up at his best friend’s wedding; when they reconnect on a dating app, they make a bet with a prize to whomever finds their love match first. Hallie is looking for a best friend with chemistry; Jack wants his one true love.

They make plans with other people and then meet up for tacos after to dissect their bad dates, but when Hallie meets someone and forges a connection, Jack has to fight off jealousy pangs. He confesses the wager to her sweetie, Alex, who dumps her. Hallie’s more hurt that she thought she would be. When her sister’s wedding rolls around, it’s Jack she takes as her fake date… and their passion reignites under the golden aspens of Vail.

This dual point of view novel gave me some whiplash—sections within chapters switch back and forth, with a few errors early on that have point of view from both characters simultaneously. It worked great as a device in Mr. Wrong Number and is less effective here. The messaging (first by dating app, then by text message) as part of the storytelling is excellent, however; their flirty banter is terrific, their chemistry is wonderful, and they are delightfully stupid in their not seeing the forest for the trees. In a meta moment, the characters poke fun at the just one bed trope.

Olivia and Colin make an appearance, and it’s fun to see their evolution. A sneak peak at Painter’s next romance followed the ARC, and I can’t wait to read it.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #TheLoveWager from #NetGalley

“The Love Wager” was so cute and a great follow-up to “Mr. Wrong Number”. The writing style is casual and we get both points of view, which is always a plus in my book. It really helped you get into the heads of both of the main characters. I think all romances should be dual POV. There are also a lot of text conversations so I was able to fly through the pages and finish this in one sitting. It was awesome seeing Liv and Colin again. Liv is still a loveable mess, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from her! I loved how hilarious it was while it also explored the characters' individual fears and past experiences that make them who they are and show us why they're such a perfect fit. Both Hallie and Jack came across as really well-rounded characters. Hallie and Jack have chemistry with a capital “C”. It jumped off the page. I loved the fun and flirty texts conversations that they had. It was so obvious from their interactions that they were made for each other. I enjoyed the short easy to read chapters. The story flowed very smoothly. I like her writing style, she is effortlessly hilarious. I am consistently laughing out loud while reading. Thanks to Lynn Painter, Netgalley and Berkeley. If you like one-night stand and/or best friends to lovers in a book, then you'll love this one. I can’t wait to see what Lynn Painter writes next.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one! I felt the chemistry between the characters, enjoyed the storyline, and liked the pace. I would certainly recommend this to patrons that enjoy romantic comedy books.

I have never been less interested in a Lynn Painter novel before. This was so interesting for the first half but then when the relationship finally hit that fake dating, it all went down hill and it went fast. I don’t know if it’s because I felt like the relationship would have benefited from a more organic
approach or what but this just did not work out.
I will say that as far as third act break ups go, this was organic and it made sense versus just the annoying miscommunication trope.

Not the best one In my opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5/5 stars

Lynn Painter can do no wrong. She is back again with another amazing romance full of hilarious banter and swoonworthy characters. The Love Wager follows Jack (Olive’s brother in Mr. Wrong Number) as he stumbles into his own love story with Hallie. After a one night stand, Hallie and Jack are matched on a dating site and decide to become friends and help each other find love. They make a wager on who can find their true love first, not realizing that they may have already found it.

First off, Lynn Painter proves my theory wrong about friends to lovers romances. I always say it doesn’t work unless the couple has been friends for multiple years. However, Lynn somehow packs all that longing and banter and angst into a few months and I truly bought that these two crazy kids were best friends secretly pining for each other.

Second, Lynn Painter just writes the perfect Zoey Deutch-esque romcom leading lady. I immediately loved Hallie and rooted for her.

Third, Jack Marshall is extremely well-dressed. Random, but I just needed to express that even his clothes were swoonworthy.

And lastly…I demand you read this book. Already a 2023 favorite. Lynn Painter understands my brain.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this! Fun, sexy, great banter. Just wished they used condoms 🙂

I think romance is scared of using condoms, but condoms are hot, and I really wish the author wasn't afraid of making them wait in order to give us the hot scenes we deserve. Birth control just doesn't cut it.

The banter in this one is so fun! Lynn Painter does angst so well, I loved knowing they were meant for each other but watching it play out.

Lynn Painter is one of my favorite voices in contemporary romance, mostly because her dialogue is just so, so, so funny and sweet. Mr. Wrong Number still beats this one in my opinion, but this one gives me the same fluttery feelings I had with that one.

Lynn Painter's latest story turns several tropes on their heads with amusing results. Hallie and Jack meet at his sister's wedding where Hallie moonlights as a bartender. Through a series of events and recent breakups for both of them , they end up having a wild night of drunken sex. Shortly afterwards, their friends talk them into signing up for a dating app, and they rediscover each other, but are convinced that their one-night stand was just that and that they really don't have any feelings for each other (ha!). So they make a wager to see which of them can find their "one true love" first, while being just friends--and texting hilariously to each other in the meantime. Of course their friendship develops as they discover and appreciate the other's quirks and sterling qualities. They commiserate with each other over various awkward first dates, until Hallie discovers that her ex will be in her sister's wedding, and that she needs a boyfriend pronto. So Hallie and Jack agree to fake-date, and when they get to the wedding venue, discover there's only one bed in the room. Shenanigans and steamy chemistry ensue.
The build up of the relationship between Hallie and Jack is believable and lovely, as is the chemistry and attraction between them. The secondary characters seem to exist only to move the plot along and aren't that fully fleshed out for the most part. Overall, this is an enjoyable story, but nothing particularly exceptional..

There is a lot of back and forth in this lover-to-friend- to-lover relationship between Jack and Hallie. I just couldn't understand why they insisted on remaining "just friends," when the chemistry between them was so intense.

The trope of being a fake couple and sleeping in the same hotel room to fool friends and family works in this novel for some reason, and I didn't mind, after all, the slow build up of the attraction between the two friends/lovers. The book was well written and the story is a rom com to the nth degree.

This book was a perfectly cute friends-to-lovers romance but also a little boring.

Jack and Hallie meet at his sister's wedding reception (which I now know was set up in Mr. Wrong Number ) and then have a very sexy one-night stand.... except not really because they soon match on a dating app and make a bet to see who can find true love before the other. (Jack wins a signed baseball Hallie stole from her ex and Hallie wins the airfare that Jack was going to use for his honeymoon—because, yes, Jack actually first met Hallie while ring shopping for the girlfriend he broke up with before sleeping with Hallie!!!)

Anyway... the two quickly become best friends and kind of start developing feelings until Hallie needs a date to her sister's wedding (where her ex is in the bridal party because ofc!) and Jack and Hallie can finally go completely overboard with PDA and give into their sexual chemistry in order to "sell" this fake relationship. And then they get back home and are so overwhelmed by their feelings that they have to give each other the silent treatment until they talk it out and get their HEA.

It's not that this book was bad—because Jack and Hallie falling for one another and being dum-dums about it was actually quite adorable and their miscommunication panic was relatively undramatic—it was that The Love Wager was everything a romance book should be so I wasn't really surprised or engaged with the plot or the characters.

So I’m going to need everyone to stop what they are doing and preorder this book immediately!!! This book gave me butterflies, had me literally laughing out loud, and gave me that 5 star feeling the whole time I was reading.

Overall, I really loved the concept of this book! It was so fun to follow along with all of the bad dates Jack and Hallie went on and then watch the two meet up after for tacos every time. By the time the fake dating trope was introduced, I couldn’t stop smiling because I loved the story so much!

Jack and Hallie had some of the best chemistry and banter that I have ever read between two characters. They just instantly meshed together so well, it made reading their story so easy!

Lynn Painter really has the best feel good novels! I just read her previous one before this current one. I absolutely loved them both!

The Love Wager is another fun rom-com from Lynn Painter. I loved watching Hallie and Jack and found myself laughing at their shenanigans constantly. However, while the story of the actual wager Jack and Hallie make was fun, the climax seemed a little trivial for the storyline.
I also think that a lot of the character archetypes that Lynn Painter writes are repetitive. In the past 3-4 books I've read by Painter's, the female main character is always a sunshine-y, lively, clumsy character while the male main character is more stoic, logical, and composed. In The Love Wager, in particular, Jack and Hallie felt a lot like Colin and Olivia, so I hope Lynn Painter branches out more with her characters in future books.