This book my me smile and blush.

This book follows River and Deanna and how they fall in love with each other. River is the boy next door and was head over heels for Deanna's sister. Lexi. River was the geeky, invisible dork throughout high school that knew he was out of Lexi's league. 10 years later, River is this hunk who has a tattoo sleeve and can be viewed as eye candy. River who has been living in New York comes back to California due to family matters. River and Lexi reconnect, but it isn't until River spends time with Deanna that he starts to realize he is falling for her.

Deanna has always felt like she is in Lexi's shadow. Deanna talks about how all the guys she dates tend to want Lexi instead causing her not to trust the intentions of guys who say they are interested in her. Deanna acknowledges that she is a logical person and tends to see love in a different light. She also believes that she will never find love so she puts all of her work and data from dates in the app that she is working on with her sister, Meetcute.

4/5 stars for the Neighbor Wager as it was a fun read and kept me interested throughout the whole story. 2.5/5 on the spice scale as there were a few spicey scenes in there that I would want to read again. Thank you, NetGalley, Entangled Publishing, LLC, and Crystal Kaswell for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Popular Tropes (GrumpyXSunshine, the boy next door, friends to lovers)

I don't know how I feel about this one, to be honest. I went in blind not knowing what the storyline was truly about. It started great because I thought the story was about River and Lexi. He's had a crush on her for ages, she's never noticed him, and then they meet again in the future and they end up together, etc. (At least, that is where my mind went, when I read the prologue). Then I discover there is a POV from Deanna, so I know for a fact that she is then the love interest, not Lexi. I'm not a fan of the trope where the MMC likes two sisters, so I was already skeptical about it. But then I started following the story and I liked the interactions between Deanna and River. It kinda reminded me of The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren or The One by John Marrs. The whole science match-making thing. To be honest, the story got boring around the 67% mark, and the whole dom/sub conversation was not my vibe. All in all, an okay read. 3 stars!

Deanna and Lexi are sisters who run a dating app. Lexi is a noted commitment phobe but has found a match! When their formerly nerdy neighbor (who now is a tattooed hottie) comes back in town and has always had a thing for Lexi, Deanna is determined to keep them apart to show that their app is correct. I enjoyed Deanna and River becoming closer but the depth and length of his borderline obsession with Lexi was a bit much for me to move past. Lots of sex positive talk from the couples, sister and even River’s grandma. There were some sensitive topics discussed but mainly it was just a slow burn sexy book. 3.5 stars

2 ⭐️. The synopsis hooked me, but the writing did not meet my expectations of the book. I wanted to DNF about halfway through, but I also needed to know how it ends. I was often confused with the dialogue and where it was going because majority of the sentences were short and jumped around a lot. If you’re looking for evidence of chemistry between the leads, this isn’t the book for you. Though the characters were exaggerated, but likable, they weren’t believable. They started out as neighbors making a deal and then bam- they rip each others’ clothes off and are “in love”. All in all, I wouldn’t recommend this book.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

I read this book as an ARC from Net Galley and it was a I don't believe in love trope. The girl next-door falls in love with the boy next door and they don't ever dream of being together. River returns home looking stunning and Lexi realizes how much she likes the boy nextdoor.

This was a really cute book and I really enjoyed it! Thank you, Entangled for sending me an ARC for a review!

This is one of those stories where you have a character who is highly dependent on numbers and doesn't really believe in love (Deanna) and an artistic, nerdy, hopeless romantic who is hung up on his childhood neighbor crush (River). Deanna happens to be the sister of River's childhood crush, and from the beginning tells River he needs to get over Lexi because they would never work. Years later, when River moves back next door to take care of his sick grandma, feelings start to kick up again, and Deanna has to do everything she can to keep River away from Lexi.

Deanna is techie, and has developed a new dating app that she's trying to get investors for to make even bigger. She has used numbers and algorithms to find the perfect matches for people, including her playgirl sister Lexi. She is currently in her first real, longer term relationship and Deanna doesn't want it messed with. When grown up River catches her eye, Deanna makes a bet with River. If he can convince her of the magic of falling in love, he can go after Lexi. If he can't, he has to stay away and help Deanna keep Lexi and her boyfriend together. It really isn't an issue for Deanna pretty quickly because River starts to fall for her the more they hang out and get to know each other.

I had a lot of fun reading this, especially when it's the woman who is in the tech industry and is the powerhouse in the relationship. She's smart and intimidating, and River is all for it. There is a lot of really great banter and some really great humor from a grandma who writes smutty romance novels ;)

Spice:🌶🌶.5

Thank you to Crystal Kaswell, Entangled: Amara, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I had so much hope for this book. But unfortunately, it wasn't for me. I did not like the 2 main characters. River was kind of off-putting at times. His obsession was a lot and he was creepy.

There were also times when it was hard to decipher who was talking.

River is a boy completely mesmerized by Lexi, his neighbor. Lexi on the other hand is the perfect California girl, blond, curvy and gorgeous. We all know how this perfect girl ignores that one guy who’s silent and awkward and in River’s case he’s also an artist . An artist who believes in fate and true love.

Lexi has an elder sister, Deanna. Deanna is smart, intelligent and beautiful in her own way. While Lexi doesn’t take things seriously, Deanna is calculating and logical. They together build Meetcute which is a dating app. Deanna has a lot of faith in it and believes that it’s very accurate. To Lexi’s surprise, she matches with a guy on the app who might be the one for her. But what happens when they need to prove that they are the actual thing to their financial funder? Lexi gets cold feet. Adding to the trouble, River suddenly appears and he’s no longer the awkward boy. He’s now the tattooed and gorgeous man that women fall for. Does Lexi notice him now? Of course she does. But the business relies on Lexi being successful with her match on the app so Deanna makes a plan to stop Lexi and River meeting. But what happens when Deanna herself starts falling for River? What happens when River’s world turns upside down when Lexi isn’t what he wants anymore?

The book starts really well. I couldn’t stop reading for the first couple of chapters and there were some internal monologues of River that were beautifully written. The plot had promise and the character depictions were really great too. But by midpoint, the plot starts to get fickle. The characters felt fickle. Deanna and River both take decisions that don’t sit well with their character arcs. Writing is confusing at some places and I couldn’t recognize who’s saying what. It was enjoyable to an extent but the plot could have been more entertaining and dialogues need more clarity. I don’t mind spice in books but in this, it seemed over used to fill in blanks. The story started great initially but fell flat in the end.

Thank you Entangled Publishing for my ARC. All opinions are of my own.

This one has a Sabrinas' vibe. Only in this case River is Sabrina.
But it takes a 180 turn very quickly.
River changed his mind and his love focus so fast, for the person who pined for Lexi for years.
Yes, I get it he never knew Lexi, but in a week he was in love with D.
It was a cute read. I love the conversations that they had, but I just didn't feel this book. I needed a little more from MC. It was a solid read.
It is cute and spicy, I know people will love it.

For me 3.5 stars

The Neighbor Wager is my first book from this author, and I must admit I enjoy it. The writing was quite good and while the story was a bit slow, I felt connected with the characters and their felling throughout the book.

This book had a good plot and really sounded like it would be a rom com, which I always like, but I felt like it was missing something to it. The book has a dual POV, one for each of the main characters of the story and I felt it had a darker side since it touches a few topics that are portraited in a real-life perspective. I did, however, liked the fact that the author went a bit deeper than the regular romance stories.

Overall, it was a good read and I recommend it to anyone that enjoys the boy next door kind of romance, just keep in mind that this story is a slow burn with a proximity with reality.

Thank you, NetGalley & the publisher, for approving me to read this arc and write this review.

I typically don’t enjoy books where the main character is so against love that it’s their whole personality trait, but I did enjoy this book. I did find the beginning to be a bit slow, but once you get over that hump of world and character building, I found the book to be entertaining and enjoyable. It was great to see River and Deanna slowly realize that they are each other’s person and to see the character growth that River has, where he realizes that Lexi has always just been a fantasy for him, but it was never what he really wanted. I will say that for as many times as the author mentions that she wants Lexi to be seen as someone who is smart despite the fact that she is seen as this “perfect” blonde California girl who likes to wear pink, the fact that she kept mentioning everytime Lexi wore pink really took the fight out of that argument. Overall, this book would be good for someone who likes the boy Nextdoor slow burn romances.

This book was amazing! I love the setting and the characters! I would definitely recommend this book to another romance lover.

This book was one of those you tell yourself "I can't finish this", but then you find yourself still reading it. Some of the parts were really good (don't want to give spoilers) and I loved the connection with Dee and River. Other parts just seemed to drag on and could have been shorter or not in the book at all.

The Neighbor Wager by Crystal Kaswell is beautifully written and I am looking forward to reading more books by her. While this one has some character development that was not my favorite, this book is sweet and entertaining.

I'm going to start off by saying that I adore Crystal Kaswell and her writing.

The Neighbor Wager is filled with her intensely descriptive and melodic almost poetic writing style. It's the a writing style that I feel is almost unique to her and while it could be viewed as a bit stilted to some I personally have always enjoyed it. While this book is supposed to be a modern take on Sabrina (honestly though I have never seen it so I cannot really make the comparison) Crystal still manages to infuse her usual broody artist vibes and those real life traumas and issues that add so much depth.

As far as the story itself- it was enjoyable. Is this book my absolute favorite from Crystal? Unfortunately no but I still appreciated the overall journey of Deanna and River. The story has this intensity and sexiness to it, and while there is some humor but not necessarily what most would consider a rom-com which I think is some of the disconnect for some readers. I loved how they seemed to fit so well in some aspects but were completely different in others. She was the cynic that didn't really do love or relationships- not to the extent of her sister but Dee followed logic over instinct. River on the other hand was a romantic, a true artist that led with his heart and feelings. For me personally I had a little trouble getting connected with River and Deanna. Like I finished the book and of course was rooting for them to find that middle ground that resulted in their happiness but I also wasn't as invested in them as I have felt with some other characters in the past.

I remember watching both versions of Sabrina when I was younger and loving it. The idea that infatuation when one is young can be quite different when one gets older is an intriguing prospect. The idea that your perfect person can be someone you have known for a long time but never really saw appealed to me then as much as it does now.

This book puts a modern twist to the timeless story. Deanna and Lexi are wealthy sisters who adore each other but are completely different. Lexi is the sun, bright and all consuming; Deanna is the moon, glowing and mysterious. Their erstwhile neighbour, River, who nursed an all-consuming crush on Lexi is back in town to visit his grandmother (who is her own force of nature) and encounters them both while they are managing a start-up dating app that focuses on logical algorithms as a foundation. They are both drawn to him in different ways and he, although still nursing his infatuation with Lexi, starts to see Deanna in a different light.

River is a wonderful character - he's romantic, artistic and wears his heart on his tattooed sleeve. I adored seeing his evolution. Deanna also transforms in an interesting way, despite herself, through her interactions with River. I also liked the way that Lexi wasn't demonised to make the love story work between River and Deanna - she's just different.

There's all sorts of discussions in this book about the nature of love, and lots of different examples of it. River's love for his grandmother and his cousins/sisters really stood out for me. Deanna and Lexi's relationship is depicted as complex but completely loving as well.

The only issue I had with this book is the amount of dialogue. At times I had to read over the same paragraph over and over before I could figure out who was talking and what they were responding to. I found it a bit confusing. It was almost script-like. In saying that, perhaps seeing this book adapted for the screen would iron out those issues.

I debated whether this was a 3 or 4 star read - I loved the story and the chemistry between River and Deanna is immediate and potent. But I also found myself wondering where it was going at times.

I've settled on 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. A good romance with an interesting premise and message, but one that could perhaps do with another round of editing.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Entangled Publishing. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

💖 I went into this knowing full well that I was about to fall for the stunning (and now grown up) gorgeous dark-haired and tattooed neighbour next door, and you know what? I absolutely LOVED reading about River and Deanna and them working together…and eventually falling for one another 🥰

💖 River has always had a crush on Deanna’s sister, Lexi, a gorgeous blonde Cali-girl, so when he comes back home all those years later, that crush is still there. But, on the other hand, Deanna has created a new dating app that relies on logic and stats to pair you with your perfect match…and Lexi has found her match, but both women are not for falling into the magic of love. River makes a deal with Deanna to PROVE that there is magic in love and oh boy do we find out that there is.

💖 Oh, and let’s mention that this book is 🌶spicy🌶 in the best way possible. All of the characters fully consent and explore one another kinks, which is such a fun difference from all the other books that I have read. I mean, River (who lives with his Grandmother, who is a super well-known erotica author) is fully open to any and all conversations on the topic, and he fully uses that knowledge 🥵

💖 overall, I really enjoyed this one. If you are looking for a fun romance that dives into the magic of love while still presenting the logical aspects of finding “the one”, then this should definitely be on your TBR!

I loved the characters and plot line was well knitted. The writing was smooth and easy narration helped me to finish this in one sitting only. I had a great time reading this.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me an ARC copy.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I personally loved this romcom. It was full of love, friendship, family loyalties, grief, insecurities. I was a fun, quick read. I loved the storyline. I liked the main characters. They were fun and “different” than the popular kids. I loved having the point of view of both characters.