This all worked itself out a little too well a little too immediately, but was a sweet story anyways.

The Love Wager is the second installment in Lynn Painter's Mr. Wrong Number series, and it's a delightful friends-to-lovers romance. Fans of Painter's work will undoubtedly be pleased with this latest addition to the series.

Thank you to the publishers at Berkley and Netgalley for my e-ARC of The Love Wager.

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
🤞🏻 love fake dating
🛌 enjoy the one bed trope
🌮 eat tacos every day
💕 have ever used a dating app

• 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄

After a one night stand, Hallie and Jack decide to pursue a strictly platonic relationship.

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Hallie and Jack meet during Jack’s sister’s wedding. She’s the bartender, and he’s just been dumped. After getting drunk and having a one night stand, the two find each other again on a dating app. They decide to be just friends and make a wager - whoever can find love by the end of the year gets a special gift. But Jack doesn’t expect his feelings to grow for Hallie and when they decide to fake date for Hallie’s sister’s wedding, both of their feelings will come to light.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

This was such a cute story. I loved how much chemistry Jack and Hallie had. They were truly perfect for one another and I don’t know why they didn’t see it soon enough. I liked watching their friendship grow though, as it allowed their true feelings to grow stronger for one another. I also laughed at a lot of scenes and I wanted to binge eat tacos with the two of them!

Lynn Painter is still a rom com genius. No, she’s the queen of rom com I think it’s safe to say. I giggled and swoony and got a little hot and bothered throughout The Love Wager. I loved the original idea of this plot line right from the beginning and immediately fell in love with the characters. I adore Lynn’s spunky, funny, no fear female main characters who are loved for who they are so much.

I am devastated to say though that I felt like this book was a touch too similar to Accidentally Amy, one of Painter’s previous books, that I had finished last week. Maybe it was because I just read them too close together, or I’m entering a rom com burn out, but it niggled at me that there were so many similarities. The Love Wager was also the first book by this author that I didn’t constantly laugh out loud at. While it wasn’t my favourite, I definitely recommend you check it out for a happy, feel good giggle rom com!

Friends to lovers Check. Sexual chemistry with slow burn vibes Check. Excellent banter Check. A smiling reader who enjoyed a most welcome fun read., big check. and of course tacos, also Check.

A great follow up to Mr. Wrong Number, which was one of my fun romance audiobooks last year! Thank you Berkley for the copy of Lynn Painter's The Love Wager, I can't wait to send a copy to my romcom romance reading bestie. I am so glad I could read this during the very long weeks of the shortest month of the year (how is that a thing?); I do just love banter and fake dating tropes and how can I not love the tacos?

I became a fan of this author with her first in this series, Mr. Wrong Number and I was excited to see that Jack finally gets his story! As always, this author delighted me with a fun, sweet, humorous read! I loved the characters of Jack and Hallie - they were a match. Not only was romantic, but it had so many troupes I love to fall into and get lost in!

I adored this book! It's one of those books that keeps you smiling the whole time you are reading it.

Hallie and Jack meet at his sister's wedding. Things happen, they end up drinking together and have a one night stand (even that whole thing had me laughing). She sneaks out the next morning doing the walk of shame through the hotel and thinks they will never see each other again. But they do! They both sign up for a dating app and start messaging through there. Then texting. And become best friends. Their conversations by text are hilarious!

They are both on the app to find "the one" and it isn't working out so well. They decide to make a little wager to up the game. They have their dates at the same place to give each other an out. If the date sucks, they ditch their dates and go for tacos (cheese on the bottom, of course!).

We the readers see early on that they are actually each other's "the one". But it's a long, bumpy, hilarious ride until it slaps them in the face as well.

The side characters were perfect and I'd love to see some of them have their story told (Ruthie please!)

I did not realize this was a book 2, and I will definitely go read the first. It was easily read as a standalone. This is also a new to me author, and I will be hunting down all of her prior books because I adored her writing!

Many thanks to Let's Talk About Books Promo, NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an ARC of this fun book in exchange for my honest review.

This was such an adorable romance.
I loved Hallie & Jack's chemistry a ton. Their banter was witty and whew the sexual tension was there.
I remember reading one of Lynn Painter's YA books before and really enjoyed so I'm glad to see she transitioned into into adult romance quite nicely.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙏𝙬𝙤 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙮 𝙗𝙮 𝙇𝙮𝙣𝙣 𝙋𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧.

📍 Read if you like:
• Friends To Lovers
• Fake Dating
• One Night Stands
• Sweet + Steamy

This is the second book in the Mr. Wrong Number series. I haven’t read the first one yet, but I didn’t find myself struggling with the characters.

The book starts off with a one-night stand between Hallie and Jack. They know it’s wrong to be together and it’s already awkward. Both characters decide to find “the one” with a dating app, but when everything fails they decide to make a love wager to see who finds love first.

I really enjoyed these characters and their swoony moments. The one-night stand was so funny to read about and I found myself relating to both characters at times.

I felt like this was such a comforting romance story. I haven’t read anything by Lynn Painter before this one, but I definitely want to pick more up in the future.

I really enjoyed this book and the route it took. These characters were adorable and fun to read about. I can’t deny that this author is such a talented storyteller and character development writer.

I can’t wait to read more from this author in the future. I’ll also be going back and reading the first, I would highly recommend this one!

Unfortunately, I don't have a single kind thing to say about this book.

The banter was so forced and cringey, I was physically rolling my eyes and audibly scoffing. The fmc has some of the worst internalized misogyny/white feminism I've read in a book in a very long time (and of course the mmc goes along with it). Beyond that, she is just completely and totally unlikeable, obstinate, and contrarian, and he is not much better. The book is dual POV, which usually I like, but in this case, we are flipping back and forth multiple times in the same chapter, sometimes after only a couple paragraphs, which is extremely disorienting and lazy.

In terms of stylistic prose, I have read worse, which is the only thing saving it from being one-star.

I didn't like Mr. Wrong Number (thought it was weak and a bit creepy), but I thought I'd give Lynn Painter's adult novels another try. Not again. Her YA is leagues beyond this.

Short synopsis: A one night stand turned friends to lovers? Hallie and Jack both go through a bad breakup, and make a bet of who can find love faster on a dating app.

My thoughts: After reading The Do-Over a couple months ago I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Lynn Painter’s newest novel. It is technically a spin off from Mr. Wrong Number (which I haven’t read yet, but have every intention of picking up asap!) but i feel like it can totally be read as a stand alone.

Friends to lovers is my jam! The banter is amazing, and flirty while they just fake like there aren’t real feelings. I adored Jack, great book boyfriend material. And Hallie was cute and quirky and fun!

There were lots of laugh out loud moments, the cleaning closet to name one. And I especially love the cat name puns, I laughed out loud at Mr. Meowgi.

Also, I did a mix of audio and reading this and you have to know the audio is amazing! The dual narrators knocked that signed Cubs ball out of the park!

Read if you love:
* Fake dating
* Friends to lovers
* Finding love on an app
* Cats
* French Fries in bed
* Betting on love

Thank you so much Berkley and PRH Audio for the copies of this book. Pub date is March 7, 2023

Wow! This book is everything I want in a rom-com! Hallie and Jack are the most fun book couple ever. The witty banter had me grinning ear to ear the entire time. I just LOVED they're relationship.

Hal and Jack meet in a chance encounter at a wedding. One thing leads to another and.... they wind up on the same dating app making a little love wager. Who can find someone first?

I'm not normally one to search out a friends to lovers book but this one was so different. Hal and Jack are new friends so it almost felt like a classic relationship progression more than your typical drawn out friends to lovers storyline. It was a great twist on a classic trope.

Read if you like:
🌮 NEW friends to lovers
🌮 Fake dating
🌮 Only one bed
🌮 Witty banter
🌮 Strong female personality
🌮 Cats
🌮 Slow burn
🌮 Tacos (cheese on the bottom, obvs)

This book had so many relatable moments and quotable lines (I've never highlighted so much in a book before). It actually reminded me of my husband and I which was just an extra cherry on top.

Its a slow burn but once you get there, the steam is frequent (but mild) open door.

Gah. I could gush all day about this one! Its just so cute and super, super fun. Did I mention the banter?!

I think I've officially entered my Lynn Painter era.

I adore Lynn Painter’s writing. Mr. Wrong Number and Accidentally Amy were both 5 star reads for me so I’m absolutely not surprised to find out Love Wager is fantastic too.

Jack and Hallie are both very likable characters and they are so easy to root for through out this story. The novel is full of quick and witty banter both in person and via text. I’ll be honest I’m a sucker for text message banter in books. Their banter made their chemistry palpable and made this 300+ page novel fly because I just couldn’t put Jack and Hallie down.

I definitely recommend this to all my romcom lovers!

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hallie decides to clean up her life but finds that Jack, the one night stand that made her realize she needed to change, might be her best friend. OR is he her true love? They agree to date others, eat tacos together, and so forth and then....Jack agrees to be her date at her sister's wedding. All the tropes, all the feels with this one. It's the second in a series but works perfectly well as a standalone. It's funny and sweet (and spicy too). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A fast entertaining read.

Lynn Painter did it again. I will read anything she writes no questions asked. I just had a good time reading this. It was funny and easy to read!

Thank you to PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook. Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is such a fun story. I didn't know it was part of the Mr. Wrong Number universe when I started it. Somehow, I missed that. (LOL) I loved Mr. Wrong Number, so I knew I would love this as soon as I started. Jack and Hallie were so cute together, too. They started out as a one-night stand and soon turned into best friends. Both are looking for love, so they make a wager on who can find love first, but it's obvious that they are perfect for each other. Their journey in their love quest was fun and included lots of tacos!

I mostly listened to this. I wasn't sure of the female narrator, at first, but soon was won over by her quirkiness. The male narrator was wonderful, as usual. Always a treat to listen to his voice.

The Love Wager is a ton of fun from the first chapter. From the time Jack and Hallie first meet at his sister’s wedding, they have an instant connection based on silly banter and some sexual chemistry. Despite that latter quality, though, they decide that they need to look elsewhere for love. Instead, they put their one-night-stand behind them and quickly develop a close friendship.

It only gets sweeter as the two decide to bring mutual motivation on their respective searches for The One. Hallie and Jack each go on blind dates with people they meet on a dating app (and even try speed dating once!), but they’re always ready to hang out afterwards and go over the pros and cons of their respective dates. It seems like supportive friendship, but they both look forward more to their post-date activities than to the dates themselves. Can neither one of them see what’s really going on here?!

Unlike some romances, which can get into some rather heavy topics, The Love Wager mostly keeps things light. Yes, Jack is sad about losing his favorite uncle and his recent breakup. Yes, Hallie went through a bad breakup a year ago that gave her some doubts about her worth. But neither of those background elements ever grows too central here. Jack and Hallie have their pasts, but in general they’re each lighthearted and full of life.

Things move from best-friends-helping-each-other-date-others to the famed fake dating trope. There’s also the only-one-bed trope, which is discussed by the characters in a delightfully meta manner. The biggest issue is how Jack and Hallie can pursue a romantic relationship without destroying their friendship. Of course, they both think that’s impossible.

I love the recurring theme of Pride and Prejudice (the 2005 movie version, yay!), the presence of cats (hello, Mr. Meowgi and Tigger), and the utter randomness of Hallie’s roommate Ruthie. Those who have read Mr. Wrong Number will also enjoy seeing Olivia and Colin here, both giving Jack some unwanted opinions and conflicting advice.

It could be argued that this book largely depends on the dreaded miscommunication trope, and yet here, it makes sense. Who hasn’t been afraid to unveil their deepest feelings and most vulnerable self? And in any case, Hallie and Jack are a ton of fun, from their constant texting to his nickname for her: Tiny Bartender, TB for short. They’re breezy and fit perfectly together, even through the ups and downs they encounter between his sister’s wedding and her sister’s wedding.

The Love Wager is an adorable and funny romance. It’s my first time reading Lynn Painter, but I will absolutely continue this series—starting with Mr. Wrong Number (yes, I failed to read the first book before reading the second, oops!) before her next one, The Objectors, comes out in 2024.

If you like the friends-to-lovers trope this book delivers. After Hallie hooks up with a guy at a wedding she was bartending at, she decides it is time to be a real adult. She gets a new apartment and a wardrobe and decides it's time to start looking for love. She logs onto a dating site only to discover the profile of the guy she hooked up with at the wedding! His name is Jack and after they both agree that they are not interested in each other they decided to help each other in their respective searches for the one. They even schedule respective dates at the same restaurant so if they go bad they can ditch and get tacos together. They end up eating a lot of tacos. They too even make a wager on who will find love first. However, Hallie has a wedding to attend and when her date backs out and Jack agrees to be her plus one and pretend to be her boyfriend the lines start to blur and they struggle to remember why they agreed not to be together in the first place.

i think the communication in this was pretty good and they had some chemistry but too many parts fell flat for me to throughouly enjoy

Thank you so much for an advanced copy of The Love Wager. I loved Mr. Wrong Number, so I was excited to get my hands on this book early.

First, I love Lynn Painter's writing style. I found myself lol'ing several times during this book either from the ridiculous banter between Hallie and Jack, the movie references, and just the general silliness of their relationship. Their banter gave me vibes similar to The Unhoneymooners, and I loved it. Plus, doesn't a book with a Blayne/Pretty in Pink references automatically get a good rating? I think it does!

Second, Jack and Hallie were so funny. Their personalities were similar enough that they had instant chemistry, but not so similar that it was boring reading about them. I also thought it was cool how they were both so open about what their love goals were (except with each other, of course!), and their "pact" about bad dates that always ended in tacos was hilarious.

Third, this book read QUICK. I finished it one sitting, and I wanted more from these characters. The story had a wonderful balance of sweet and spicy, and some of the spicy scenes really had me 🥵. Lynn Painter does a really good job of balancing open door spice versus closed door sweet in this book. There are a couple of fade to black scenes for the less-inclined reader, but I was there for those full open door scenes! Might as well have popped me some popcorn and stretched out my legs because I was not leaving Hallie and Jack alone in any room together. 😂

Just FYI, this story does sort of just drop you right into the middle of it; there's not a lot of build-up or character development...the story just kind of starts, which I was fine with, but I can see where some people might not like that.

Overall, this was a fun, sexy rom-com with a lot of laughable moments. This is definitely a bingeable book!

Rating: 4⭐️