Review: THE LOVE WAGER by Lynn Painter http://bit.ly/3Z7vs0T
Publication Date: March 14, 2023
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Reviewed by: Reading in Pajamas: Donna
Rated 4 Stars

I enjoyed this fast-paced witty story. Hallie and Jack were both people I identified with, and they had me grinning throughout their journey. The banter between them was easy and never felt forced for the sake of laughter. Their blossoming friendship pulled me in and kept me invested in their relationship. The sexy time was also fun and hot, making the story flow into a lovely romance. The friends and family around them added to the group camaraderie that I always enjoy in a book. The storyline was entertaining, even when some situations made my eyes roll. A fun read that still has me smiling.

*Review copy provided by Penguin in exchange for an honest review.

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Kindle https://amzn.to/42zqhtk

Hallie and Jack meet at a wedding where things go from zero to one-night-stand. The experience pushes them both to join a dating app, where surprise surprise, they match with each other. This causes them to strike up a friendship and a wager for who will find love first.

The banter between the characters was good and felt realistic. The situations didn't always seem that realistic but there is always a bit of suspended reality when reading romance novels.

I enjoyed this and blew through it pretty fast. I'd recommend it for fans of friends-to-lovers romance and for fans of Lynn Painter.

Having only read one of Lynn Painter's books before this one, I didn't completely know what to expect. I'm happy to report that it was just as amazing as her last book!

This plot reminded me a lot of Christina Lauren's "Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating," a book that I LOVE. While it didn't have as much heart or humor as Lauren's book, Lynn Painter still did a great job creating a devourable romantic comedy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was my first Lynn Painter book, and O.M.G. I am obsessed! Everything about this book just worked and I couldn’t stop smiling the entire time I read it. I haven’t read the first book in this series, Mr. Wrong Number, but you can 1000% guarantee I just stocked up my kindle with it and all of Painter’s other books.

Hallie and Jack are the greatest rom-com characters ever. I am so in love with them. I loved their banter, their personalities, their chemistry, everything. As with all good rom-coms there was some miscommunicating between Hallie and Jack, but unlike others where you just want to yell ‘just talk to each other, we moved through their ‘issues’ pretty quickly. The fake dating trope isn’t always my favorite, but Painter did such a good job of weaving it into the story in a realistic way, that I didn’t mind it.

Highly, highly recommend The Love Wager! With just the right amount of spice, this one is a fast, fun, friends to love rom-com filled with all the humor. I cannot wait to read more from Painter and I think she just became my new favorite romance writer!


The Love Wager is out now. Huge thank you to Berkley Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof.books.

After waking up in a strangers hotel bed, Hallie is determined to turn over a new leaf. She is going to get her own place, get a haircut, and finally start online dating. When the handsome stranger from the bed ends up as a match, the two make a bet on who can find love the fastest, and quickly become BFF. When Jack offers to be her fake date to her sisters wedding, well…I think we all know where this going.

Ahh, one night stand, fake dating, friends to lovers, only one bed, this book hit all the great tropes in one! I loved seeing Hallie go from truly rock bottom, so finding herself and becoming a grown up! I also really enjoyed that the book switched between Hallie and Jack’s perspectives, so we got to see both sides! Also, I now want tacos! If you enjoyed Mr. Wrong Number, you will love this one just as much!

5 When Fake Dating Becomes Real Stars!!

I was so excited when I realized we were getting Jack’s book after I finished Mr. Wrong Number. Having said this, The Love Wager can absolutely be read as a stand-alone. Jack is so much more than I thought he was and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see this side of him. I knew he was a man that didn’t take life too seriously, but having his best friend and sister find their forever love, lit a fire under him to have the same thing. Imagine having your last one-night stand be your wing-person?! And this is how the scheme of Hallie and Jack helping each other find “the one.”

I loved these two together. You wouldn’t think they’d work as a couple but the more text messages and phone calls and dates they setup at the same restaurant, it quickly became apparent to me that what they’re looking for is right in front of them! Their witty banter had me chuckling out loud. The further into the book I got, the more I enjoyed it. When Jack and Hallie pretend to be a couple at Hallie’s sister’s wedding is when things changed for them… realizing that maybe the person who’s become their best friend really can be their forever.

Ms. Painter has once again given me a story that is funny, swoony and steamy and I’m so glad I found her as I’m now going to be an avid reader of all her books.

When Hallie and Jack hook up after a wedding and then see each other again a few days later on a dating app, they make a bet to see who can find real love first--and certainly not with each other. Instead, the two become best friends, and fall into a habit of getting tacos together after their respective bad dates. But when Hallie needs a date to her sister's wedding, and Jack offers to play the role of boyfriend, lines get blurred and they each wonder why it can't be real between them.

OBSESSED. I'm not sure why I was surprised at just how amazing this book was--everything Lynn Painter writes is pure magic dripping in gold. But this book did just that--blow away any and all expectations. It felt like a sexy warm hug, perfect in every way possible and the best slump-breaker. I have nothing but good things to say about this book and Jack and Hallie are pure #couplegoals

Thanks to Berkely for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 10/10

I will read anything Lynn Painter writes. What a swoon-y story! Fantastic chemistry, amazing banter/dialogue, and BELIEVABLE storyline. I adored this one - will definitely recommend to romance fans.

Firstly, the theme! I liked the plot of two people making a wager on who will find love first.

I love Jack and Hallies banter. It is hilarious. The book started with a bang and I hoped that it continued so and definitely met the expectations.

I love him already. 20% in and he is ugh so good. I mean Jack. The date with Stephen was hilarious and the way he talked about stuff. You will know once you read this.

I love Jack and I cannot say this enough. This book has made me laugh at every page.

"he kissed her like he was sampling dessert, dessert he’d been denied his entire life and now he couldn’t get enough of it."

This book makes me swoon, giddy and smile throughout. My heart.... What stood out for me more is their texts! Those were brilliant.

It was my first by the author and I am definitely reading more. Friends to Lovers, forced proximity, one bed, fake dating so many tropes in one, it was hot, spicy and fun.

The writing, pacing is well done and I am glad to have received an arc of this one.

I highly recommend it (sorry for my review being more like pointers but this book gave me all the feels and had me making notes on Kindle).

Lol this book was so fun! I am definitely into reading about a bizarre situation that falls into a one night stand then a texting friends to lovers, fake dating relationship, dang loved it. I may have found my husband's phone number on fb (before we dated) and started texting him while I was drinking a L of Hofbrau at a German beer hall. These books are so highly relatable to me.
"There's a lot of wine in that smile" hehe love that line.
Also, I think that text flirting should be a thing! It is my favorite banter cause it's where you say what you aren't brave enough to say out loud. But also their banter is the best and so funny! They established this silly trusting friendship before he fell first. She held off cause she didn't think he was available or into her. So they were so comfortable around each other.
Thank you berkley romance and net galley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

the love wager review ✨🌮

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"not just in love with you, by the way. i also like you more than anyone else in the world.."

✨ MINI SYNOPSIS ✨

discouraged by the lack of prospects, jack & hallie make a wager to see who can find true love first, but when they agree to be fake dates for a weekend wedding, all bets are off. as they pretend to be a couple, lines become blurred and they both struggle to remember why the other was a bad idea to begin with.

✨ MY THOUGHTS ✨

if you love when harry met sally, cats, dating apps, tacos, friend to lovers romantic comedies with a dash of fake dating, pride & prejudice references, dual povs, lots of witty banter, laugh out loud moments & a little hint of spice this book might be for you...💕🥰

alexa play friends don't by maddie and tae 🎶

🌟 RATING: ★★★★★
🥵🔥 spice scale: 🌶️🌶️

unpopular opinion, but i'm not a super huge fan of the friends to lovers trope, but this book was quite literally perfection!! jack & hallie are so fun, flirty, and gave me all of the warm fluffy feels. i loved watching their friendship blossom and turn into something more. their banter was hilarious, i was constantly laughing out loud. their chemistry was off the charts 💕📈 ugh plus, i'm a sucker for pride and prejudice references so jack's love confession in the rain will forever have my heart. please do yourself a favor and read this book as soon as possible..

thank you @berkleyromance for the free book. 💕

✨ Review ✨

A big thank you to @berkleypub @netgalley for this #gifted copy of #TheLoveWager !!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 The Love Wager by Lynn Painter

A one night stand leads to a flirty friendship and a bet on who can find love first.

What is has to offer:

💋 Romance
👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 Fake Dating
💨 Quick Read
🌱 Growth

Quick thoughts:

✨ Witty banter.
✨ A lot of text messages to read.
✨ Tons of chemistry.
✨ Likable characters.

A cute, quick read.

Overall thoughts:

📝 The writing was filled with skillfully executed witty banter. The story moved at a nice pace, really picking up in the second half.

💋 There were a lot of romance tropes explored here, including: insta-attraction, one night stand, flirty friends, fake dating, friends with benefits, one bed hotel room, and friends to lovers. It felt like this story had a little bit of everything but it all worked together.

🌶️ This one is mildly spicy. Not a ton of details are given but there’s enough to get your imagination going.

👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 I’m singling out the fake dating trope bc it was my favorite one. 😂 It was definitely the climax of the story for me. The tension between the characters was intense.

💨 I read this one pretty quickly. I think reading through all the texts speed things up and then once you hit the mid way point the story really went by fast.

🌱 Character growth was a cornerstone of this story which was awesome. However, I don’t think it had a lot of depth to it. Even though ideas such as “wintering” and “hitting rock bottom” were brought up, I feel like they were an odd contrast to the lightheartedness of the story overall. They just didn’t fit.

💔 One thing I wish was different was the format of the texts in the story. They’re just piled on top of each other. It would have been nice to have them displayed in an unique way. I read the e-arc version so maybe it will be different in print.

💜 Like I mentioned above, my favorite part was the fake dating! Their chemistry at that point was just off the charts. I couldn’t get enough.

📚 This is a companion novel to Mr. Wrong Number so both novels have characters in the same world that overlap in each story but they can be read independently.

If you’re looking for a cute romcom then pick this one up!

While I wasn't the right match for this book, I can definitely see the appeal! It's fun, humorous, spicy, and includes many of my favorite tropes: forced proximity, fake dating, friends to lovers. And my personal favorite is third-person dual POV.

On paper, I should have loved this, and I'm super sad I didn't. 🥺 Perhaps it's because I read it on the heels of another Berkley Romance, Jane and Edward (which became an instant favorite) that it's possible I just wasn't able to appreciate The Love Wager without comparison.

Either way, we won't all love the same books and that's ok! I'm clearly the outlier here as this one has fabulous ratings and reviews. Lynn Painter is very loved by many so chances are you'll love it too! 💓

Thank you Berkley Romance for the gifted finished copy and eARC.

Top Pick! - 4.5 Stars ⭐️

“He didn’t know how it’d happened, but she’d completely taken over his brain. Every morning when he went for a run,she was what he was thinking about. And he spent way too much time every day trying to figure out what the hell to do about it. Because the bottom line was that even though he had feelings for her beyond friendship, it might not be worth it to do anything about it if that meant risking everything else they had.”

Hallie Piper’s life went down the drain when her ex-boyfriend dumped her, and after a one-night stand, she decides it is time to get her life together. She quits her part-time jobs, moves into her own apartment, and joins a dating app to find Mr. Perfect.

Jack Marshall can’t believe he finds Hallie Piper on a dating app after their one-night stand, but they strike up a friendship and make a bet. Whoever finds love first on the dating app gets something from the other. When neither finds a date in time for Hallie’s sister’s wedding, she and Jack pretend to be a couple, but things don’t feel pretend between them for long.

I loved the first book, and I loved this one too. There was great banter between Jack and Hallie, and we got to watch them go from strangers to best friends to lovers. The progression of their relationship felt like the most natural thing in the world. I was able to watch them develop feeling for each other and felt their wariness at acting on them because of their fear of losing each other when things didn’t work out. As Jack and Hallie figure out, love is worth the risk when that person is perfect for you. This series has been extremely entertaining and endearing. I can’t wait for it to continue and to dig into Lynn Painter’s backlist.

If you’re a fan of Meghan Quinn or Ilsa Madden-Mills, then give this series a try. I don’t think you would regret picking it up.

~ Michelle

This was such a cute and lighthearted romcom! A one night stand turned friends to lovers romance, and it was so fun! The “who can find love first” bet made it super entertaining, while also making you want to shake the characters and say look right in front of you!!! The banter was hilarious and I loved all the texts in the book, they always add so much for me personally. There was a lot of lack of communication towards the end, but it didn’t ruin the book or take away too much from the story for me. Overall just so fun and witty and would totally recommend.

The Love Wager by Lynn Painter
Romantic Comedy. 2nd in a series but completely stands alone.
ARC Received from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This post contains affiliate links.
4.75 Stars

When I chose The Love Wager by Lynn Painter from Net Galley, I didn’t realize that it was 2nd in a series. In fact, I never even realized until after I read the book and added it to Goodreads. So obviously, The Love Wager stands alone just fine. But let me tell you, I will be grabbing the first book in this series, Mr. Wrong Number, very soon, because if it’s anywhere near as good as The Love Wager, I will love it.

I adore books with texting, letters, e-mails, etc (aka epistolary novels). It is by far one of my favorite storytelling techniques and The Love Wager had lots of it. I think it would even be better in audio! I loved Hallie and Jack’s meet-cute. Hallie has a few jobs, one is selling jewelry, and she happened to sell Jack an engagement ring. That night, Hallie is bartending at a wedding and sees Jack and mentions that she remembers him—he quickly shushes her, but not before his psycho girlfriend comes over and accuses him of cheating with Hallie.

Well it was a self-fulfilling prophecy because after he dumps her, he ends up doing exactly that. Hallie sneaking out the next morning made me laugh-out-loud, and from that moment on, I was hooked. I loved how she was so real, funny, and kind of a hot mess. The whole situation made her decide to get her shit together and change her life. Part of that is going on dating apps to try and meet ‘the one’. When she opens her app, who is the first person she sees? Jack. So they start messaging.

They decide they are better off friends, but they both want to find love, so they bet on who will find a good match first. They each go on a lot of dates, and whenever they don’t work out, they meet each other for tacos. You can bet there are lots of tacos! But when Hallie needs a fake date, the lines between them begin to blur again.

In most friends-to-lovers stories, the couple is already friends when you begin the book. Sometimes I really miss that meet-cute. But in The Love Wager, we get to see them become friends, then become more. I loved their banter, their texting, and their chemistry! It was just a great feel-good romance.

Likes:
•The banter made me literally laugh out loud.
•All the messages back and forth, even when they were right next to each other.
•That we got to see them become friends first.
•All the names for a barf bag (lol).
•My notes are all “they are so much fun”, “I can’t stop smiling”, “I love this”.

Dislikes:
•It was a little predictable in its format.
•I never really understood why they didn’t want to date each other after they already had great sex.

The Down & Dirty:
This was my first Lynn Painter book, and it will absolutely not be my last! The Love Wager had everything I love in a book. I loved both the hero and heroine and their whole friend crew, they made me laugh out loud, and it just made me feel good overall. I couldn’t ask for more in a book, and I can't wait to explore her older books.

Rating: 4.75 Stars, 4 Heat

“𝖧𝗈𝗐 𝗂𝗌 𝗂𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖨 𝗅𝗂𝗏𝖾𝖽 𝗆𝗒 𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗋𝖾 𝗅𝗂𝖿𝖾 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗁𝗂𝗆, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗇𝗈𝗐, 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍, 𝖨 𝖼𝖺𝗇’𝗍 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇 𝗋𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗆𝖻𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝖿𝗈𝗋𝖾. 𝖣𝗈𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗌𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽 𝖼𝗋𝖺𝗓𝗒, 𝗍𝗈 𝖻𝖾 𝖺𝗍𝗍𝖺𝖼𝗁𝖾𝖽 𝗌𝗈 𝖿𝖺𝗌𝗍?”
“𝖭𝗈, 𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝖺𝗂𝖽, 𝗌𝗂𝗍𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖽𝗈𝗐𝗇 𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝖽. “𝖨𝗍 𝖽𝗈𝖾𝗌𝗇’𝗍 𝗌𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽 𝖼𝗋𝖺𝗓𝗒 𝖺𝗍 𝖺𝗅𝗅.”

When jaded bartender Hallie meets the charming groomsman, Jack at at a wedding, sparks (and drinks) fly. But after a passionate one night stand, the two go their separate ways. After all, mere hours earlier Jack was nearly engaged.

But the chance meeting actually ends up being the deciding factor in Hallie getting her life back on track. So she quits the dead end job, makes plans to move out on her own, and even reluctantly signs up for a dating app. However, you can imagine Hallie’s surprise when she runs into Jack on the app, the very same one night stand she ran away from.

Hallie and Jack openly acknowledge their chemistry, but mutually agree they are better off as friends. Serving as each other’s sounding board, they go on many dates and consume a lot of tacos- all in the pursuit of true love. See, in lieu of a love match, they hatched a love wager- who will find true love first?

The Love Wager doesn’t cover any new ground that hasn’t been covered in romance novels before. It’s got the popular tropes of friends to lovers and forced proximity, as well as sarcastic, but flirtatious banter. AND YET…this book STILL manages to be completely engaging despite all of this. I’m not sure how Lynn Painter pulled it off, but I fell in love with the two people who were falling for each other. Sometimes you read a book and wish you could be friends with the author. This is one of those times. Amazingly I had never read any of Painter’s stuff before this, something I plan to rectify soon.

In a world of palatable romances, The Love Wager raises the stakes.

Jack and Hallie meet at a wedding where Hallie is the bartender and Jack is the best man. A one night stand quickly turns them into “wingmen” for each other to find their true loves.

What a delightful couple! I loved Hallie and Jack so much. I truly enjoyed how, though they had already slept together, their friendship developed organically and became so strong that neither one wanted to ruin it with romantic feelings. I loved their “fake dating” and witty banter. Their chemistry flew off the pages and I definitely will be having a book hangover now that their story is over.

Well, this was a super fun meet cute and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this one! Hallie and Jack were amazing and all the tacos. I love how they went through dating apps and speed dating and still didn't realize they were the ones for each other.

A fun read and great audio!

⭐️4.5
🌶️ Open Door, Mild Details

💕 Romantic Comedy
💕 Strangers to Friends to Lovers
💕 Slow Burn
💕 Fake Dating
💕 Only One Bed

I am convinced that Lynn Painter just can't disappoint me.

The Love Wager follows Jack and Hallie - this couple is so much fun in this book! After a one-night stand full of chemistry, these two become fast friends and end up betting on who can find 'true love' the fastest. Little do they know that 'the one' is right in front of them. After a turn of events, they end up fake dating at a destination wedding and sparks fly. ✨

I am so glad that this book had dual POVs because I LOVE mutual pining - like these two are trying so hard to resist their feelings for one another and it was everything. The fake dating trope and only one bed immediately had me hooked, but I honestly loved the way their relationship developed throughout the book!

Definitely recommend THE LOVE WAGER if you're looking for laughs, love tacos and cats, or need a feel-good read. 🫶