This was certainly a refreshing romance, and it did not disappoint! I wasn't sure how her adult romance would compare to her YA books, but I think I liked this even more than the other books I read by her! I really liked both of the main characters and found the premise to be the perfect balance of predictable and original. Obviously with a romcom, you typically know how it's gonna end up, and while that holds true with this book as well, it was a really fun journey from beginning to end. With romance books that include third act conflicts, I usually find those to be both boring and unnecessary. However, with Hallie and Jack, I thought their conflict made sense and was within reason. Additionally, I liked how the conflict was resolved quickly, and that the book itself ended quickly without 40+ pages of needless information. I cannot wait to recommend this book to friends and customers.

Hi my name is Natalie and I have an unhealthy obsession with Lynn Painter's books.

This woman could write three sentences on how to turn on your TV and it would leave you both belly laughing and giddy. There’s a playful tone to this author's writing. The dialogue is witty and sarcastic, without being overdone, and mixed with sincere and genuine conversation. There’s enough spice to not make it a close door romance, but a vague rough description where it’s not an explicit play by play. She knows how to write the perfect romance book that will leave you wishing the book would never end.

Jack the fun loving, terrified of all monkey-like creatures, is the perfect book boyfriend. He’s the guy that wears his heart on his sleeve while being able to make you swoon with his sexy grin. His sarcasm not only made me laugh, but also made me fall for him. Hallie is the epitome of the girl you want to be your friend. She has your back and will be the girl not bailing you out, but sitting next to you recapping your epic night. She’s relatable with fears that everyone has endured and an amusing inner monologue that will make you laugh.

This book is one delightful read and if I had to pick one thing I didn’t enjoy, it would be that the end was a bit of a mess. There were certain scenes that were so obvious to the point that the characters refused to acknowledge them. But overall this book was a fantastic read.

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC

So, so good! All the feels! Great banter, hilarious, steamy and smart! Loving this author! If you've read her other books and liked them, then you'll definitely enjoy this one too. Her writing is just so fun and light-hearted. I always get some laughs from her stories and this was one was no different.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

When it comes to authors, I hate to play favorites.... fine. You caught me. I'm not fooling anyone. LYNN FREAKING PAINTER IS MY FAVORITE. There. I admitted it. Happy now?

Seriously, this book is pure joy. It's sunshine and rainbows and puppies and unicorns wrapped up with a *very* sexy bow. My face hurts from smiling so much. Even looking at the cover after reading it gives me feels. Also, The Love Wager is so perfect and cute, I kinda want to puke a little.

Was that last bit too much? Probably, but I don't care because I want to marry this hilarious, delightful, adorable (and did I mention sexy?) book!

I'm quite the fan of this author and really about anything she writes I'm happy to try. This book was a lot of fun and easily finished in one sitting. There was some things I wasn't a huge fan of, but there are so many other things I enjoy about her writing style that it's easy to just take them in stride. One of the things I really enjoy is that the adults in the book handle the issues and dramas of life in stride and even though there are problems, they look to handle them. I'm not sure how to portray it, but I like that there's growth in the characters and they don't just melt down every other page, but that they try to handle the problems and not always blaming others for it. Anyway, overall the book was a fun and light read, enjoyable and well written.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I couldn't get past how odd it was that the love interests, both single, with great chemistry and clearly very into each other, inexplicably decide to try to date other people instead. It felt like I was missing a pivotal beginning to explain this weird dynamic.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters felt fresh and I liked their banter. I appreciated that their fake dating wasn’t based on nothing and they both recognized there was chemistry, so it didn’t come across as though they were both totally oblivious to the obvious.

I'm a little over the fake dating trope, so I was hesitant to read this, but I'm so glad I requested it. It was really fun. I will be looking for more books by Painter in the future.

Cute, romantic comedy, easy read filled with fun tropes! Lot so fun banter, great chemistry and a great weekend read!

3.5 stars --- this was cute. if you like previous lynn painter books, then you'll like this. it has all of the elements that her books usually have.

i do find myself wishing that painter would commit more to telling her own story and less about including tropes and then drawing attention to the fact that she's using tropes. i believe in you, lynn. i would rather read a story that HAS tropes than a story that exists to sell me a trope.

i wish this book did more bonding between hallie and jack as friends. i wish they hadn't actually hooked up at the beginning of the book (maybe they only came really close or maybe just kissed). i wish hallie was more upset about the "low hanging fruit" thing. i wish she understood jack's comments to alex better. i wish jack was less hot. idk. personally, none of the stuff that i wanted expanded upon was expanded upon. but that might be a me problem. also tigger, the badly named cat, was kind of just forgotten about except for a few lines?

this has nothing to do with the content of the book, but i wish there was a most distinct vibe between painter's young adult and adult book covers - i know illustrated cover are popular for both age ranges right now, but painter in particular is alternating between YA and adult books in a way that i don't see a lot of the authors doing right now. and it's kind of confusing which books are YA and which are for adults. i don't personally mind if i pick up a YA instead of an adult book, but a lot of people might be kinda pissed if they think they're getting an adult romance and instead it's YA.

thank you lynn painter and berkley publishing group for the arc <3

A bartender and landscape architect have a one-night stand when they hook up at his best friend’s wedding; when they reconnect on a dating app, they make a bet with a prize to whomever finds their love match first. Hallie is looking for a best friend with chemistry; Jack wants his one true love.

They make plans with other people and then meet up for tacos after to dissect their bad dates, but when Hallie meets someone and forges a connection, Jack has to fight off jealousy pangs. He confesses the wager to her sweetie, Alex, who dumps her. Hallie’s more hurt that she thought she would be. When her sister’s wedding rolls around, it’s Jack she takes as her fake date… and their passion reignites under the golden aspens of Vail.

This dual point of view novel gave me some whiplash—sections within chapters switch back and forth, with a few errors early on that have point of view from both characters simultaneously. It worked great as a device in Mr. Wrong Number and is less effective here. The messaging (first by dating app, then by text message) as part of the storytelling is excellent, however; their flirty banter is terrific, their chemistry is wonderful, and they are delightfully stupid in their not seeing the forest for the trees. In a meta moment, the characters poke fun at the just one bed trope.

Olivia and Colin make an appearance, and it’s fun to see their evolution. A sneak peak at Painter’s next romance followed the ARC, and I can’t wait to read it.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #TheLoveWager from #NetGalley

“The Love Wager” was so cute and a great follow-up to “Mr. Wrong Number”. The writing style is casual and we get both points of view, which is always a plus in my book. It really helped you get into the heads of both of the main characters. I think all romances should be dual POV. There are also a lot of text conversations so I was able to fly through the pages and finish this in one sitting. It was awesome seeing Liv and Colin again. Liv is still a loveable mess, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from her! I loved how hilarious it was while it also explored the characters' individual fears and past experiences that make them who they are and show us why they're such a perfect fit. Both Hallie and Jack came across as really well-rounded characters. Hallie and Jack have chemistry with a capital “C”. It jumped off the page. I loved the fun and flirty texts conversations that they had. It was so obvious from their interactions that they were made for each other. I enjoyed the short easy to read chapters. The story flowed very smoothly. I like her writing style, she is effortlessly hilarious. I am consistently laughing out loud while reading. Thanks to Lynn Painter, Netgalley and Berkeley. If you like one-night stand and/or best friends to lovers in a book, then you'll love this one. I can’t wait to see what Lynn Painter writes next.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one! I felt the chemistry between the characters, enjoyed the storyline, and liked the pace. I would certainly recommend this to patrons that enjoy romantic comedy books.

I have never been less interested in a Lynn Painter novel before. This was so interesting for the first half but then when the relationship finally hit that fake dating, it all went down hill and it went fast. I don’t know if it’s because I felt like the relationship would have benefited from a more organic
approach or what but this just did not work out.
I will say that as far as third act break ups go, this was organic and it made sense versus just the annoying miscommunication trope.

Not the best one In my opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5/5 stars

Lynn Painter can do no wrong. She is back again with another amazing romance full of hilarious banter and swoonworthy characters. The Love Wager follows Jack (Olive’s brother in Mr. Wrong Number) as he stumbles into his own love story with Hallie. After a one night stand, Hallie and Jack are matched on a dating site and decide to become friends and help each other find love. They make a wager on who can find their true love first, not realizing that they may have already found it.

First off, Lynn Painter proves my theory wrong about friends to lovers romances. I always say it doesn’t work unless the couple has been friends for multiple years. However, Lynn somehow packs all that longing and banter and angst into a few months and I truly bought that these two crazy kids were best friends secretly pining for each other.

Second, Lynn Painter just writes the perfect Zoey Deutch-esque romcom leading lady. I immediately loved Hallie and rooted for her.

Third, Jack Marshall is extremely well-dressed. Random, but I just needed to express that even his clothes were swoonworthy.

And lastly…I demand you read this book. Already a 2023 favorite. Lynn Painter understands my brain.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this! Fun, sexy, great banter. Just wished they used condoms 🙂

I think romance is scared of using condoms, but condoms are hot, and I really wish the author wasn't afraid of making them wait in order to give us the hot scenes we deserve. Birth control just doesn't cut it.

The banter in this one is so fun! Lynn Painter does angst so well, I loved knowing they were meant for each other but watching it play out.

Lynn Painter is one of my favorite voices in contemporary romance, mostly because her dialogue is just so, so, so funny and sweet. Mr. Wrong Number still beats this one in my opinion, but this one gives me the same fluttery feelings I had with that one.

Lynn Painter's latest story turns several tropes on their heads with amusing results. Hallie and Jack meet at his sister's wedding where Hallie moonlights as a bartender. Through a series of events and recent breakups for both of them , they end up having a wild night of drunken sex. Shortly afterwards, their friends talk them into signing up for a dating app, and they rediscover each other, but are convinced that their one-night stand was just that and that they really don't have any feelings for each other (ha!). So they make a wager to see which of them can find their "one true love" first, while being just friends--and texting hilariously to each other in the meantime. Of course their friendship develops as they discover and appreciate the other's quirks and sterling qualities. They commiserate with each other over various awkward first dates, until Hallie discovers that her ex will be in her sister's wedding, and that she needs a boyfriend pronto. So Hallie and Jack agree to fake-date, and when they get to the wedding venue, discover there's only one bed in the room. Shenanigans and steamy chemistry ensue.
The build up of the relationship between Hallie and Jack is believable and lovely, as is the chemistry and attraction between them. The secondary characters seem to exist only to move the plot along and aren't that fully fleshed out for the most part. Overall, this is an enjoyable story, but nothing particularly exceptional..

There is a lot of back and forth in this lover-to-friend- to-lover relationship between Jack and Hallie. I just couldn't understand why they insisted on remaining "just friends," when the chemistry between them was so intense.

The trope of being a fake couple and sleeping in the same hotel room to fool friends and family works in this novel for some reason, and I didn't mind, after all, the slow build up of the attraction between the two friends/lovers. The book was well written and the story is a rom com to the nth degree.