Member Reviews
The first half of this book had me laughing out loud. Olivia is basically driving the hot mess express. It was so fun watching as Olivia tries to put her life back together. The second half wasn't quite what I expected and less humorous, but the ending topped it off delightfully.
Open door romance, some skippable, some less so with strong language.
Thank you to Berkeley Publishing for my e-arc of this book. All opinions here are my own.
Lynn Painter’s novel Better Than the Movies was one of my favorite YA reads last year, but I think she has really outdone herself with Mr. Wrong Number, her new adult rom-com.
The story follows Olivia Marshall, a young woman who has a streak of bad luck a mile long. She was cheated on and then dumped by her longtime boyfriend, she loses her job, and in a freak accident involving a bucket of burning love letters and a runaway possum, she manages to burn her apartment down and has to temporarily move in with her brother and his roommate, whom she loathes. Olivia feels like she has pretty much hit rock bottom, but then life throws an unexpected twist at her in the form of a steamy text from a random wrong number. With nothing else better to do, Olivia strikes up a conversation with Mr. Wrong Number and their exchanges form the basis of the hottest, most entertaining relationship she has ever had.
I adored Olivia. She’s hilarious, sarcastic, down to earth, and just so relatable. I love that she’s able to laugh at herself even when she’s dealt a terrible hand and that she’s even able to take her bad luck and spin it into a writing gig for herself. Her text exchanges with Mr. Wrong Number also kept me in stitches. Without even having met, the two of them obviously had major chemistry.
I also quite enjoyed the relationship between Olivia and Colin Beck, the roommate she loathes. Olivia’s hatred of him springs from a childhood of him mocking and teasing her. Olivia soon realizes that Colin isn’t that obnoxious boy anymore. He has in fact grown up into a sexy beast with abs to die for, and he’s actually quite thoughtful and kind-hearted. I loved watching the two of them realize they’re attracted to one another and then proceed to fight that attraction every step of the way. Colin, in particular, tries hard to fight his growing attraction to her because she’s his best friend’s little sister, but then everything goes off the rails for him, when to his horror, he spots Olivia’s phone one night and realizes she’s the Miss Misdial he has been sexting with for weeks! What’s he supposed to do now?!
I don’t want to give anything away but what a ride! The shenanigans, the miscommunication, it’s the perfect blend of high drama and humor as we journey to the end to see if there’s the possibility of a happy ending for Mr. Wrong Number and Miss Misdial. I loved every page of this book and devoured it in a day. I honestly can’t remember the last time I’ve laughed out loud so many times while reading a book – Mr. Wrong Number was pure joy for me and left me all the more eager to read more from Lynn Painter.
It’s random acts of kindness day and my random act of kindness is telling you to preorder Mr. Wrong Number by @lynnpainterkirkle now so you have the second it comes out on March 1.
To say I loved this book would be an understatement. To say that I longed to return to this book when I wasn’t reading it would also be an understatement. And to say I’m so, so sad that it’s over isn’t really cutting it either.
Olivia is kind of a mess. She’s back in her hometown of Ohama after sort of burning down her apartment building in an ex exorcism. She has nothing but the clothes she was wearing and a promise that she can crash in her brother’s guest room for a month while she tries to figure out how to get her life back on track. She’s contemplating how actual steps when she gets a misdial sext from a guy she dubs—you guessed it—Mr. Wrong Number. The two strike up an anonymous, super honest, super flirty, super fun friendship/maybe moreship. But her anonymous relationship might be the only thing going right. She finds out her brother’s roommate is her nemesis, gorgeous but horrible Colin Beck. She can’t find a writing job that doesn’t require her to lie about who she is. And the only clothes she has are the ones she left behind from high school. What’s a girl to do?
This book was exactly what I needed. It’s hysterical. Swoony. Steamy (definitely open door, but not graphic if that distinction matters to anyone). Witty. Full of our favorite tropes. And it left this recent insomniac dying for her very own Purple mattress to see if it really offers the magic described in the book. There’s also some slightly heavier themes about family expectations and their weight and how a change in perspective can make a huge difference in how you view people.
It's pretty clear I’ll follow Lynn Painter wherever she wants to take me. I’m adding her to the list of authors I want to be when I grow up (this is a metaphorical concept as I may well be older than she is!).
Thank you so much to @berkleypublishing and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion, and thank you to the author for this laugh-out-loud book I needed in my life.
Mr. Wrong Number, the second book by Lynn Painter, was a delight! I loved the original storyline and even though Olivia’s character bothered me at parts (especially how uncourteous she was as a temporary roommate at her brother’s apartment), I still very much enjoyed it.
Olivia has always had a streak of bad luck, so when she acccidentally burns her apartment complex down after breaking up with her boyfriend, she moves in with her brother and his roommate, Colin, who happens to be one of Olivia’s least favorite people. While this is happening, Olivia is always having these flirty text exchanges with a wrong number, but little does she know that Mr Wrong Number is closer to her than she thinks.
The banter between Mr Wrong Number and Olivia was so fun, and all of Olivia’s crazy antics made me smile. The ending was satisfying, but I could have done without the epilogue. I think Better than the Movies is still my favorite Lynn Painter book, but this is still a must read for all rom com fans!
Lynn Painter’s wonderful humor comes through strong in Mr. Wrong Number. Colin is Olivia’s older brother’s best friend and he just happens to be gorgeous. He looks stunning in a suit or adorable in his tortoise shell glasses. (Hello, Ryan Gosling look-alike.) Olivia is living with her brother and Colin because of a fire she accidentally set in her apartment building. The flirty banter between Mr. Wrong Number and Miss Misdial heats up until Colin realizes that his best friend’s little sister is his mysterious text buddy. I read this light and fun story in one sitting. I enjoyed the dialogue and the dual POV. The story kept moving at a good pace. As much of a hot mess as Olivia is, she seems kind of judgy about Colin. As a reader, I was rooting for him and wanted her to see how good of a guy he is. Mr. Wrong Number is an entertaining and funny romcom!
Thank you to @BerkleyRomance and @NetGalley for a free digital ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I wanted to love Mr. Wrong Number—it had all of the makings of a story I’d love; banter, texting, you’ve got mail references, but this book spent so long setting up the relationship between the two characters, the conflict, and then it sped through the resolution. Also, other than good sex and witty banter, what did Colin and Olivia really have?
Olivia was charming at first and I loved how the book was setting up the opposites-attract dynamic between the two, especially with how carefree and spirited Olivia was. I always love a good grumpy / sunshine pairing. As the book progressed, however, Olivia's behavior became less charming and more immature and annoying. What started out as entertaining, if not kind of a little absurd, turned into frustrating. Was she lacking all common sense? It's hard to root for someone who's so ridiculous when you can't even give them the benefit of the doubt of having the best intentions--when Olivia lied to get her first job, yes, she didn't mean any harm but it was dishonest and even when it blew up in her face, she didn't seem to learn from it.
My issues with Olivia aside, this book was still fun and entertaining and I did enjoy reading it, just not as much as I had hoped to. Overall, Mr. Wrong Number is a fun, albeit undeveloped, story.
I listened to the audio of Better Than The Movies recently, in preparation for reading the ARC of Mr Wrong Number. I absolutely loved Better Than The Movies - it was such a cute YA romcom! It gave me all the feels and I rated it 5 stars (YES, it was THAT good!). So of course I had high hopes going into Mr Wrong Number....
And guess what, it was a 5 star book too! The premise was fun - a guy texts Olivia by mistake, starting up a texting friendship between the two. We get to know the identity of Mr Wrong Number early in the book and are even treated to his POV's, which I love as it is so rare to hear the male side within a romcom. This book solidifies Lynn Painter as an extremely talented author, given that this book was aimed at the adult market. I am excited to see that she already has another book coming out later this year. I've no doubt I will love that one too!
This book was such a fun read, the whole time I was waiting to see what happened between her and me wrong number. There were so many moments where I was sat there laughing from the things said and the sarcasm throughout the book. The relationship was really sweet and made me smile. I really enjoyed the writing and I would definitely pick up more by this author. Also the main characters bad luck and clumsiness reminded me so much of myself. I would definitely recommend this book if you want a fast sweet funny romance.
I received an arc from Penguin Random House International and I’m leaving my honest review
I decided to start Mr. Wrong Number because I wanted something fun and fast and I was in the beginning of a romamce readathon especially for February. And so I thought this was the perfect book to pick. And I was absolutely RIGHT! This book was everything I needed at the moment. It was fun, light, hilarious and just… a delight to read. I found myself laughing during the book multiple times and the scenarios in which Olivia found herself in still make me giggle just thinking about!
From the moment I picked it up, I couldn’t stop reading it! It hooked me right in. From Brother’s best friends, hate to love, grump x sunshine and hidden identities… it had some of my favorite tropes and it executed them so well! The pacing was great and I was consistently entertained throughout the entire book.
Another thing I really appreciated with this book, was how fresh it felt. It didn’t feel like I’ve already read something similar before. For example: although the characters have known each other for forever, there wasn’t a “it’s always been you” trope to it. It just felt so refreshingly sweet and different from the cliches that are so often found in contemporary rom-coms. It wasn’t too sweet or too cheesy.
The female main character, Olivia, was a train wreck, and it was hilarious to read about. I loved her and Colin’s banter and dynamic. I loved the little tidbits of feminism and just the utter power in Olivia actually calling out such behaviour. It wasn’t anything super prevalent in the book, but there were a couple instances. I really did love those moments and their subtlety.
As for what I didn’t like… well, there wasn’t all that much that I didn’t like. I did think the epilogue was not necessary and slightly cringey (though to be fair it’s about a page or two, so worry not!!). But the last chapter was the perfect ending for the book in my opinion. It wrapped everything up nicely without dragging or leaving me feeling second-hand embarrassment…
I enjoyed reading Mr. Wrong Number immensely. It’s not one that will go down in my book as an absolute favorite- but definitely one I’m eager to recommend!! It’s just such a great choice for rom-com lovers and so sweet and cute! I definitely suggest you pick it up if you love adult romance books!
I would like to also point out that this is not a very descriptive and “smutty” adult romance. There’s a sex scene but it’s very mild. I think this book would be PERFECT for people that want to transition from YA to Adult… or just in general for folks who enjoy rom-coms and don’t need those under the sheets scenes (wink).
I LOVED this one. My romantic heart was so happy with it. Perfect for this month of February!
Olivia Marshall has a reputation. She finds herself in weird situations like the last one that has ended her up without a home. She was burning the love letters from her ex-boyfriend when her apartment went up in smoke. Not having a place to live, she moves into her brother's condo.
Her brother shares a room with his best friend Colin Beck, Olivia's nemesis. Olivia had a HUGE crush on Colin since she first met him as a teenager but after a while, it turned into hate. In her mind, he has nothing but behaved as douche to her over the years. Yes, he is still sexy or maybe even better looking now but who is looking at his abs? To her shock, she starts noticing nice things about him when he is not teasing her any longer.
But Olivia is in a conundrum. She is starting to like Colin as a person but she has created this friendship over text with a stranger, Mr. Wrong Number. Their textship begins when he sends her a text meant for someone else. Over the next few weeks, they are happy to interact this way. Olivia starts relying on Mr. Wrong Number while they bounced back ideas about life and plans for the future.
Who would Olivia pick? Colin or Mr. Wrong Number???
Did I crush on Colin?
Absolutely!!
In truth, I loved both characters. Oliva's "luck" was cringe-worthy and I felt sorry for her. I also was laughing while reading Mr. Wrong Number many many times. I thought it was delightful! I read the book in one sitting and the pages just flew away.
I also recommend not reading the blurb which in my opinion gives way too much information. I didn't read it, so I was extra happy.
Thank you, Berkley and NetGalley, for my free copy in exchange for my honest review.
Cliffhanger: No
5/5 Fangs
Olivia Marshall's life is a whole heap of bad luck. After her live-in boyfriend cheats on her and she then accidentally burns down her apartment building when she was burning his love letters Olivia has to move back home. Olivia moves in with her brother Jack and his best friend Colin Beck. Olivia and Colin have always had a love/hate relationship and it is obvious that he has always thought of her as "Jack's little sister".
When Olivia receives a sexy text from a random number, her life starts to look up. Her real life may be in the toilet, but this pretend life is lots of fun and soon Olivia and Mr. Wrong Number are texting each other daily. With Olivia now living in their apartment, Colin starts to see her in a different light. Imagine his surprise when he realizes that Miss Misdial is actually Olivia! The chemistry between Olivia and Colin really starts to sizzle and these two finally take their relationship to another level. Just when it looks like things are going perfect, truths come out and everything blows up. It will take a drastic move to bring these two back together, but it will be done in a spectacular fashion and Olivia and Colin will finally get their perfect ending.
I just adored this brother's best friend love story. Olivia was such a fun, entertaining character. Her wit was 100% on point! I really loved Colin too! He was such a straight arrow and it was fun watching him interact with Olivia's chaos! This story had some of the best humor I have read in a long time while also adding a little heat. There is also a sneak peak of Jack's story and I will definitely be reading that!
If you enjoy romantic comedies with witty banter and sexy characters, this book is for you. After an unlucky turn of events, Olivia moves in with her brother and his roommate, Colin, while she tries to get her life in order. One night she gets a risque text from a wrong number and begins a flirtatious text relationship. This is a great book for fans of Christina Lauren.
What an absolute treasure of a romance. Funny, swoony, and with nods to my favorites: Pride and Prejudice & You've Got Mail. Totally delivered on the promises in the blurb - a true enemies to lovers, forced proximity, mistaken identity, brother's best friend, and a delightfully klutzy heroine (but not pointlessly zany). And I LOVE how Colin grows to understand and love her. My one complaint is how quickly it was over!
Thank you to Berkley, Netgalley, and the author for an eARC in exchange for my review.
I was lucky to be gifted an eARC of this book to review. This book follows Oliva who gets a text from a wrong number, and it sparks a flirty anonymous friendship. But when a real life romance comes in the mix, everything changes.
This was honestly one of the best books I’ve read in a while. I absolutely loved every second of my time reading it, and I was so sad when it was over. I became so attached to Olivia and Colin I didn’t want to say goodbye. I loved watching the romance bloom between our main couple. They are so different, but exactly what each other needed. My only issue was there was one loose thread at the end of the book that was never addressed. I can assume what happened, but the book did kinda just end without addressing it which felt abrupt.
Overall I fell head over heels in love with this story and Painter’s writing. I laughed out loud multiple times during reading and it was generally a super sweet story. I HIGHLY recommend this to all rom-com lovers out there.
If you thought the perfect rom com didn’t exist you would be wrong. I found it y’all!! And @lynnpainterkirkle wrote it and it’s perfection.
Go preorder this now if you like any of the following:
💗Sarcastic and witty banter that will make you snort laugh
💗Brothers best friend
💗A klutzy, hilarious and relatable heroine in Olivia
💗An incredibly swoon worthy hero in Colin. Ugh his abs are so disgusting 🥵
💗Forced proximity that leads to some interesting situations
💗Did I mention this is funny? I’m telling you it’s hilarious
I’ll stop there but I already know this will be one of my favorite reads this year, it’s that charming and delightful. If you like romance this is a must! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks @lynnpainterkirkle for my copy 🥰
Thank you PRH International for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review!
I couldn't put down this book, I found it so hilarious and entertaining from the very first chapter until the last! The banter between the characters and their wit made it so hard to put this book down.
Olivia "Liv" is our main heroine, who is such a clumsy human being and just draws trouble to her but I love how positive her attitude was. I honestly love how Colin described her: "She was less shitshow and mor about living in high-definition, wide-awake, full-on 5k color... It was in everything she did, and it was why everyone was drawn to her the way they were"
And that is why I really love Colin, he always saw how clumsy Liv was but he never saw it as a problem or a flaw, he saw it in such a beautiful way and wouldn't have her any other way. I would say Colin did the most in their romance here, he was really patient and supportive with Liv. And despite Liv rejecting him and being quite rude to her sometimes, it never stopped him from loving her.
I really loved this book because it was a light and easy read over the weekend. It's definitely something I would read whenever I need to cheer myself up. If you want something similar to You've Got Mail, enemies to lovers, best friend's sister, and grumpy/sunshine trope, you would enjoy this!
This was a cute story. With many romcom books they are predictable. This one was fun and a great beach read.
Dear Authors,
Messing up someone else’s home is not quirky. Please stop writing roommate romances where the heroine has zero respect for the hero’s space, home, and personal items. That shit ain’t cute. It’s annoying, inconsiderate, and disrespectful.
The only good thing this book’s got going for itself is the epistolary plotline. The banter is at its best when Liv and Colin are unknowingly texting each other as Mr. Wrong Number and Miss Misdial. Liv and Colin have more chemistry as Mr. Wrong Number and Ms. Misdial than they do in person as Olivia and Colin. The witty and flirty banter via text is why I continued reading even though I felt nothing for Liv and Colin.
The author does have some good timing. For instance, I think she picked the perfect moment to bring in the hero’s POV, which added a bit more excitement to the plot.
The sexting between Miss Misdial and Mr. Wrong Number really built up my expectations, but when it came down to showing all of that on page…well, let’s just say the payoff was disappointing. The sexting was a lot more fun and steamier, in my opinion.
Liv makes some poor decisions throughout this book and while she does reap the consequences, it didn’t feel as if she was truly apologetic for the shit she pulled. It felt like she was only apologetic because she got caught.
As for Colin, he feels like a superficial character with very little depth. Colin has the most basic daddy issues, which, by the way, are mostly told to us through a conversation between Colin and his sister. We do get one scene between Colin and his father toward the end, but it wasn’t enough to deepen Colin’s characterization. That scene was a bit pointless because it just reiterated everything that was told to us in the beginning. It didn’t change anything. There was no character growth. I finished the book thinking that the HEA was rushed and incomplete.
I wonder if I’m being overly harsh in my criticisms, but it’s how I feel about this book and I’m not going to sugarcoat things.
Overall Impression: I really really enjoyed reading this book. I was laughing from the moment I started it (actually from the dedication) all the way through the acknowledgment.
📖Synopsis: Olivia has always has unbelievably bad luck, but when a sudden breakup leads to her accidentally burning down her whole building, she is forced to move into her brothers apartment with his roommate.
💭Thoughts: This book was so great and here’s why…
1) Olivia is a mess but also super endearing in her attempts to get her life together. She seems a bit immature but she’s also 25 so it works. Her spunk and ability to say what she means is something that both gets her in trouble, but also makes her great.
2) Colin is a great book boyfriend. He’s also her brother best friend 😬. Smart, rich, down to earth, and wears sexy glasses. (Apparently he’s also pretty gifted in bed, of course 😂). I love seeing how his views of Olivia change throughout the story.
3) This is an opposites attract but in a way that actually works. They both bring out the strengths in each other.
4) This book is super sexy but in an almost closed door way.
5) DUAL PERSPECTIVES!!!
This was such an easy, cute and fun read. I absolutely loved the banter between Miss Misdial and Mr. Wrong Number, it was such a delightful idea with the wrong number. I understood their animosity and really enjoyed the energy between them and their journey to self descovery. While I am not a fan of rom-coms, this was really amusing to read and I might actually reread it someday. Loved the main characters and the supporting cast too, would have loved to read more about them, maybe in another book? Mr. Wrong Number & Miss Misdial's family adventures.