Thank you to the author Crystal, Entangled Publishing, Amara and Netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and reviews are mine.

This book has so much potential but unfortunately it just did not hit the spot for me. I also didn't see this book as being advertised as a Why Choose book, and I'm not into that trope at all. Thats a big reason why this story didn't hit for me. The whole sisters sharing the same love interest wasn't it. I did enjoy the second chance and the forced proximity though, those tropes never let me down. Also the two main characters, Lexi and Deanna, where written perfectly. I loved those two and their sister banter that they presented.

I know this is a "romance" book but most of it did feel forced at time. The whole family drama though did feel real and you related to it a lot. I also didn't like the "love plot". River being so totally in love to the point of stalked with Deanna, and Lexi in a grown up relationship, willing to dump him, just so she can get some with River was just a little strange and out there.

I will say after the 50% mark it did get better. I was able to push and fly through till the ending, but the work up there was a struggle, There was a lot of awkwardness and uncomfortable situations in the beginning. The book does have alot of potential and its not terrible, it just wasn't the book for me.

This was a new author for me and I absolutely adored this romance!! I loved how romantic the MMC was! And how the MFC wasn’t into romance. They were the perfect balance for each other! I enjoyed how they were neighbors growing up and how River always thought he was meant to be with Deanna’s sister but of course he ends up falling for Deanna! I loved the steam and how they fell for one another! River really made Deanna feel all the things! Super sweet romance! Highly recommend!

3.5 stars

I really took a chance on Crystal Kaswell’s The Neighbor Wager. I really liked the cover but was a little unsure because it’s a Sabrina (film) retelling, and I’ve never enjoyed Sabrina even after trying to rewatch it a number of times. I’m sad about it because that’s one of my mom’s favorite movies. Either way, I thought I would give it a shot because the synopsis intrigued me, and it was also a genderswapped retelling (which I’m a fan of when it’s done well).

Regardless, please keep in mind that I’m not a fan of Sabrina while reading this review, as it may have very likely affected my experience. The first thing I noticed when I started reading The Neighbor Wager was that the writing took me some work to get into. Something in my brain just didn’t quite click with the storytelling style or the transitions between scenes.

I did have a fondness for the two main characters, so I continued reading for them. There was definitely chemistry there! And I found myself rooting for them. But I didn’t feel the deepest passion in my desire for them to get together and have their HEA. This is why it took me nearly a month to get from start to finish, unfortunately.

I did generally like the story overall, and I would give Crystal Kaswell another shot because like I said, my feelings toward Sabrina might have affected how I went into The Neighbor Wager to begin with. And please don’t let my experience change your mind if you were planning on reading this book, as you might end up loving it!

I thought I sent my review sooner. I truly thought I had I submitted it sooner since I did a review on my tiktok. I enjoyed the book and enjoyed the premise.

I was excited for this story based on the scientific love app plot, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. I personally think Deonna deserved more. River was great if you could avoid the obsessive love her felt for her sister, the author made sure to really send home that he was madly in love with Lexi. We are then asked to believe after handing out with D one - two times, he is no longer infatuated? Also I felt we were being told that D is the multifaceted character but that did not translate in the story.
Overall I liked this book but was not in love. I would check out more by this author.

This book just wasn't enjoyable for me. DNF 80% of the way through. Towards the end it is mostly smut if that's your thing you may enjoy this one!

Dual POV, Spicy, Neighbors, Childhood Crush, Family Dynamics, FMC doubtful of Love, He Falls First, Kink Exploration

Deanna and River has know each other most of their lives as they are neighbors. Deanna having a sister, Lexi, whom all the men in her life seem to gravitate to has given up on finding love for herself and has focused her attention on her career, (making an app for dating). This book provides hilarious banter and dynamics between family members. Reading about the way Lexi and Deanna perceive each other and how they support each other and how River is so sweet to his grandmother is heartwarming. That being said I found the romance between Deanna and River to be lacking, while the reader gets a clear sense of River's wants and desires, that isn't the same for Deanna.

The Neighbor Wager is a quick and easy summer romcom read. I enjoyed it! It was a little slow and repetitive at parts (which is hard to avoid with a contemporary romcom. To be honest) but overall it made me laugh and swoon at parts so that’s a bonus!

DNF @34%

Premise is interesting, but I just can't with the characters. I don't know, I just find them unlikable, and this is something I don't like to read.

Slow Burn
Young Adult
Contemporary Romance

This book was okay, It wasn't anything new. But that's not a bad thing!
It was an easy and fun read!

This book focuses on three people. First, there’s River- former nerd turned total hunk that all the ladies love. He grew up next door to Lexi and Deanna. Lexi just so happens to the girl next door/childhood crush/girl of River’s dreams… or so he thinks. River currently lives in New York, but travels home to California to visit his amazing grandmother. He finally catches the attention of Lexi but everyone around him is quite literally begging him to move on. Deanna, Lexi’s sister, decides to prove to River that he and Lexi are not meant to be by using her startup app called MeetCute. Will River decide he’s still in love with Lexi or will he miss the amazing woman that is right in front if him? This book is funny, steamy and an easy read. You’ll instantly love the characters and want to know more and more about them.

This book is difficult to describe, but up front: I loved it!

The Neighbor Wager is a romcom, with an artistic MMC who believes in the magic of love and a cynical FMC who strictly believes in logic and data and who believes that love simply isn't in the cards for her.
It is a romcom, with a boss babe FMC and slight enemies to lovers vibes. They're not strictly enemies to begin with and even though they've known each other since childhood they're quite far from being friends as well. What's clear though is that they're definitely working against each other in the beginning of the story.
The book is not a clean romance and even though it does have explicit scenes, I wouldn't describe it as a spicy romance either. It gives a vibe that I haven't experiences often in books so far. It's almost... sensual.
The way these two characters think about each other, the style in which certain scenes are written. It feels like a tease, definitely a slow burn energy that puts you at the edge of your seat, never tipping over, always wanting more of the chemistry that is between these two characters.
Even though The Neighbor Wager doesn't reinvent the wheel in the romcom world, it is this vibe that made the book special for me.

Can recommend!🥰

I enjoyed the romance between River and Lexi and the characters.
This was an easy and fast read I wasn’t expecting it But this was a spicy one which fine just wanted to let you know.

This is my first time reading something by this author and I really enjoyed it. River was the nerdy kid that grew up living next door to Lexi and Deanna and had a major crush on Lexii. Now, he's all grown up and that nerdy kid is long gone, replaced by a more mature, confident, and handsome man. Deanna is the brains behind the creation of a new dating app, Meetcute, and she wants to use it to prove that what River feels for Lexi is merely a crush, not real love. River, in turn, is poised to convince Deanna that love isn't all about algorithms, and that there's a certain magic that also plays a part. They agree on a wager in which if he wins, Deanna lets him have a shot with Lexi, but if Deanna wins, River will help Deanna in keeping Lexi and her current boyfriend Jake, who were both matched through Meetcute, together. What they don't plan on though, is falling for each other.
A very cute and charming read that kept my interest from start to finish. The story was fast-paced and fun and I had a lovely time reading it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for providing a complimentary copy. This is my honest review.

I loved Deanna and River!! This was an amazing romance and one that I will not forget! It was so good and I highly enjoyed it. I absolutely love the person next door crush all grown up and is hot and they get together theme. Great banter and just enough spice. It was absolutely perfect.
I just reviewed The Neighbor Wager by Crystal Kaswell. #TheNeighborWager #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

When I saw this was supposed to be a gender swapped 'Sabrina' I was excited. The original inspiration is one of my favorite movies and I was curious to see how it was adapted. I wanted the 'desirable' sister to be like the brother in the original, genuinely a good guy but isn't a good fit. Instead she feels childish in a way I didn't vibe with. Also the male lead went down his 'rebirth' arc off screen and I found that boring. All the fun from the original source material is seeing the down trodden person bettering themselves so they're in a place to fall in love. Instead it happens off screen. I suspect if you like contemporary fantasy it might work better, but with it not matching the source material as much as I wanted I had to skim through to the end.

I received an eARC of this book via NetGalley from Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3⭐️

Deanna Huntington loves her facts. She finds her peace in buried in spreadsheets and knowledge. With her new dating app, MeetCute, made in partnership with her sister who has never had a serious relationship, Deanna believes she can find people’s perfect match with science and algorithms. But can love really be explained by science or is it more than that?

River Beau grew up basking in the sunlight of Lexi Huntington. His crush inspired many of his illustrations growing up, helping to find his career. River always dreamed of a romantic life with Lexi and the day she’d finally be his. When he comes back from New York, Lexi finally seems to be showing interest. One thing stands in the way though; Deanna. Deanna wants Lexi to stay with Jake, the guy she met on MeetCute, as a proof the app works and because Lexi is so happy with Jake. River wants a shot with Lexi.

What’s two adults to do in this situation? Make a bet of course! River believes he can make Deanna see that love isn’t just about facts. There’s something more magical to it; something algorithms can’t explain. Deanna believes she can prove that the algorithms work. Nothing can go wrong, right?

I did enjoy this book a majority of the time. Some of the dialogue between the characters did not seem to flow as well as it could have. It felt like there were pieces missing at times. Also the love story between River and Deanna was a bit of a struggle for me at first. I still don’t understand how they ended up together or even started dating. It was just a like whoa what just happened? The writing style also took away from the story a bit too. It seemed to be more jumpy, like I mentioned with the dialogue.

What I did enjoy was the spicy scenes. I will say this about this author, they can write some spicy scenes. The angst, the tipping into BDSM and Domme, everything. It was so good! And the character development was believable and the change in both of the characters thoughts on love was so good. Overall I would recommend this book. I would love to see a little bit of editing to make it flow and more flushing out with the beginning of their relationship but otherwise it was good.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted e-copy.

The premise of this book had me excited, but sadly it just didn't work for me. The writing was just okay and I hated all of the characters.

River spent his entire teen years in love with the girl next door, but she barely knew who he was. Years later he's home visiting and *SURPRISE* he's hot now, and guess who notices him? Except Lexi has a boyfriend (who she promptly breaks up with because she wants to bang River), and her sister is like "oh noooo, not a good idea! because my app says you need to be with the boyfriend!" So Deanna (the sister) tries to keep them separated, but somehow River decides now he's into Deanna and they start sleeping together.

How does he go from YEARS of loving Lexi to all of a sudden thinking "oh Deanna is hot, I love her now"?

Also, the book is supposed to be about a wager between River and Deanna, yet it's barely mentioned.

I do think this author has a lot of potential, but the execution needs to be better.

An interesting story that delves into the science of attraction. However, I wanted more depth in the characters, more emotion..Overall the book was lighthearted and engaging.
Many thanks to Entangled and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgally for this ARC, all opinions are my own. This book really let me down. I was so looking forward to it, but it just lacked so much. I just really didn't feel anything for the characters or their relationship. There wasn't really any true connection between them. I'm just so sad about this one.