This book was a perfectly cute friends-to-lovers romance but also a little boring.

Jack and Hallie meet at his sister's wedding reception (which I now know was set up in Mr. Wrong Number ) and then have a very sexy one-night stand.... except not really because they soon match on a dating app and make a bet to see who can find true love before the other. (Jack wins a signed baseball Hallie stole from her ex and Hallie wins the airfare that Jack was going to use for his honeymoon—because, yes, Jack actually first met Hallie while ring shopping for the girlfriend he broke up with before sleeping with Hallie!!!)

Anyway... the two quickly become best friends and kind of start developing feelings until Hallie needs a date to her sister's wedding (where her ex is in the bridal party because ofc!) and Jack and Hallie can finally go completely overboard with PDA and give into their sexual chemistry in order to "sell" this fake relationship. And then they get back home and are so overwhelmed by their feelings that they have to give each other the silent treatment until they talk it out and get their HEA.

It's not that this book was bad—because Jack and Hallie falling for one another and being dum-dums about it was actually quite adorable and their miscommunication panic was relatively undramatic—it was that The Love Wager was everything a romance book should be so I wasn't really surprised or engaged with the plot or the characters.

So I’m going to need everyone to stop what they are doing and preorder this book immediately!!! This book gave me butterflies, had me literally laughing out loud, and gave me that 5 star feeling the whole time I was reading.

Overall, I really loved the concept of this book! It was so fun to follow along with all of the bad dates Jack and Hallie went on and then watch the two meet up after for tacos every time. By the time the fake dating trope was introduced, I couldn’t stop smiling because I loved the story so much!

Jack and Hallie had some of the best chemistry and banter that I have ever read between two characters. They just instantly meshed together so well, it made reading their story so easy!

Lynn Painter really has the best feel good novels! I just read her previous one before this current one. I absolutely loved them both!

The Love Wager is another fun rom-com from Lynn Painter. I loved watching Hallie and Jack and found myself laughing at their shenanigans constantly. However, while the story of the actual wager Jack and Hallie make was fun, the climax seemed a little trivial for the storyline.
I also think that a lot of the character archetypes that Lynn Painter writes are repetitive. In the past 3-4 books I've read by Painter's, the female main character is always a sunshine-y, lively, clumsy character while the male main character is more stoic, logical, and composed. In The Love Wager, in particular, Jack and Hallie felt a lot like Colin and Olivia, so I hope Lynn Painter branches out more with her characters in future books.

Absolutely loved! It made my heart happy 😊
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This book is just a fabulous read. I had so much fun, I truly did not want it to end!

Painter gives us amazing characters who are such a delight to get to know. They are not only fun but they are funny together. They have the perfect start to a best friend set up and you just cannot wait until the romance starts.

From the beginning pages of this story, I fell in love with this book! I can continue to gush, but the bottom line is that The Love Wager is not your typical trope story. It is delightful, lighthearted, swoony, and super steamy too!

Just do yourself a favor and read it! Painter is truly a rockstar when it comes to her storytelling abilities. She paints us pictures in such a way, you will have to read this one over and over again! I believe you will fall in love with Hal and Jack, just like I did!

After a one night stand with Jack, Hallie realizes that she needs to get her life together. Between quitting her part time jobs and finding a new apartment, she finds time to join a dating app to get back in the dating game. As fate would have it, of course she sees Jack on the app. They become friends and support each other as they both try to find The One. Will their relationship remain platonic after Hallie needs a fake wedding date?

What I loved:
-friends to lovers
-fake dating
-hilarious meet cute
-great side characters. I need a book about Ruthie!
-the banter!!
-miscommunication BUT it’s actually reasonable (aka being afraid to tell your friend you have feelings for them)

This was a CUTE read that I absolutely never wanted to stop reading. The chemistry between Jack and Hallie made this romance so believable to me. I enjoyed this book immensely!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the advanced reading copy!

My very first read by Lynn Painter was Better Than the Movies. I loved it so much, an absolute 5 star read and in my top 10 of that year. Since then I have looked forward to every new book by Painter, both adult romance and YA, and I have been disappointed in every single one. They are all fine, some even good, but none have lived up to the first and I am starting to lose hope that they will. This book was fine just a little cheesy, with miscommunication, and a relationship that moved at different paces with physical and emotional.

I LOVED Mr. Wrong Number so seeing that I was given an ARC of this one? I just about lost it. I could not wait to dive into this one head first! And Lynn blew my freaking mind once again. I loved this story. Hallie and Jack had the best banter of any characters I have read recently. If there is anything I love in a rom com, it's good banter-- and Lynn knocked it out of the park! I love a fake dating and one bed trope and this book gave it all to us! I could not love this book more and I can't wait till her next one is published!

this book was good- one night stand to bffs to lovers. lots of tension which was nice, but literally the whole premise is them denying their feelings for each other and trying to date other people which is not a trope i am very fond of. it does incorporate fake dating and one bed trope which is FAB. my other complaint is the way they TEXTED it was so unrealistic and made me cringe.... but overall a good mindless romance

o True Rom-Com
o One Night Stand
o Friends to Lovers
o Epistolary Element
o Fake Dating / relationship

This was truly a perfect romcom read for me – it hit all the right notes and was fun, light, and happy with good banter and a couple you are rooting for. I honestly loved every minute of this one, I picked it up and devoured it in a day – it was just giving me all the feels and I honestly just wanted to escape into this world.

I could swear this book was designed for me – it had so many tropes / elements I love and the main couple reminded me so much of my husband and I. Their banter was funny, snarky and sweet (just how I like it) -- and just had me laughing out loud.

I really loved both mains, Jack and Hallie, I loved enjoyed everything about them – from their ‘meet cute’, to their awkward night, and then their slowly evolving friendship to more. I liked both of them from the start and loved seeing how their friendship came together and how it changed over time. The epistolary element via their text exchanges was just **chef’s kiss** for me. I. Loved. It.

This book gave me all the feels. I laughed, I cried, and I was smiling so wide through the entire read. Honestly, I am totally a Lynn Painter fan-girl. I have read each of her adult romances and her YA reads too and she can do no wrong for me – for sure an auto-buy, pre-order author for me!

Thank you to Lynn Painter, Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book! Cannot wait to add a physical copy to my shelf. All thoughts and opinions are my own and freely offered.

Lynn Painter can do no wrong!!! I’m obsessed with her and everything she writes and this was no different.

This book was super cute! I really enjoyed reading it. It was cute, witty, romantic, and that slow burn almost killed me!

The Love Wager is one of the best rom-coms I’ve read in a while!

This book follows Hallie and Jack, who meet at Jack’s sister’s wedding and have a one-night stand. Afterwards, they both join a dating app, Hallie sends Jack a message as a joke, and a friendship forms where they make a wager to see who finds true love on the app first. They text each other about their dates, even planning them at the same restaurant at the same time so that if the dates go badly, they can go get tacos after (a regular occurrence). But things become a lot more complicated when they attend a wedding together as a fake couple...

This book kept me hooked from start to finish! The friends-to-lovers and fake dating tropes were so well done. I laughed out loud multiple times and loved how Jack and Hallie’s relationship developed from friends to more. I just wish the last few chapters were a little less rushed and that there was less miscommunication, which is why I didn’t give this book 5 stars.

Overall, this book was so cute and I would definitely recommend it if you like rom-coms, especially the friends-to-lovers trope!

4.5 stars

This was such a cute read for me! Like I finished this book QUICK <3

The book focuses on Hallie Piper and Jack Marshall who meet each other at Jack’s sister’s wedding and they have a one night stand. They eventually become friends when they stumble upon each other’s profiles on a dating app. With both characters looking for true love, they form a bet on who could find it first on the dating app.

From the taco dates to the funny texts, Hallie Piper and Jack Marshall were meant to be. I loved both of them and their personalities as the book progressed and it was short and sweet which was just what I needed!

I seriously loved the bet/wager that Hallie and Jack made. This is what drew me to the book even though I knew they were going to fall in love with each other. Either way, I loved it and I enjoyed seeing their relationship evolve from friends to lovers. Another thing I loved was that I literally could not put this book down and finished it before the other two books I was reading and started earlier. The chapters were quick and engaging!

However, the things that are keeping me from giving this five stars is the third person perspective and how the ending felt rushed. While I normally do like third person perspectives, I sometimes found it difficult to follow when the perspective changed from Hallie to Jack or the other way around. I think it would’ve read better if it was in first person with the dual POVS. Additionally, the ending felt too hasty and the conflict seemed to be resolved rather quickly.

But overall, this was cute and pulled me out of a mini reading slump. This is also my first Lynn Painter book and I can’t wait to read more of her books. She’s definitely going on my favorite authors list!

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! This review can also be found on my Goodreads and on Instagram (@goodreadswithviv) if you want to see a cute picture with it <3

I could not wait for The Love Wager to release after reading Mr. Wrong Number. Jack was a side character in the latter and the preview at the end had me excited for his book. I knew it was going to be a great story and it was! I LOVED IT!! It had me from the very beginning and I was highly entertained throughout the entire book. 

Lynn Painter does a fantastic job at writing romantic comedies. There were so many funny moments. The banter between awkward one-night stand turned best friends Hallie and Jack was hilarious. Their text messages were especially funny, but so were their interactions in real life. I loved how they got each other and all of their taco nights after trying to date other people. Things got even better between the two of them when Jack became Hallie's fake wedding weekend date.

This book made me swoon so hard! It was a true rom-com when so many touted as such these days are fakers. I would highly recommend it. This review doesn't do it justice because I was so into the romance, I didn't make one note! I just devoured it. That's high praise.

4.5 stars! Back to back great reads from Painter, she’s turning into a romance author I’ll come back to again and again.

The premise of this was great and it DELIVERED. Dual POV romance books remain supreme. Painter is so effortlessly hilarious; I speed through these books because I’m just constantly cackling and having a grand ol time. Hallie and Jack were adorable and this hit all the perfect fake dating notes.

Even though overall I enjoyed it, the miscommunication is HEAVY and I’m truly so tired of the third act breakup. I know it’s a hallmark of a romance story but I’m BEGGING for some new kind of conflict. Other than my frustration over those bits, this was so much fun!

Typical plot.. Two people make a bet on who will find love first., not realizing that they should be betting on each other. Jack and Hallie agreed to fake date each other for a weekend wedding. When they pretend to be a couple, things change and they forget why they had the wager.

What a lovely frolic of a romance! Lynn Painter's "The Love Wager." The development of the relationship between the two protagonists is bumpy enough to keep someone reading and sweet enough to make them sigh. I highly recommend this delightful romance.

Yes! It’s amazing to return back to Mr. Wrong Number universe which opens at Olivia and Colin’s wedding! But this brand new book is about Olivia’s brother Jack and tiny bartender/ tax accountant Hallie Piper!

They meet at the wedding where Hallie works as bartender and Jack is best man. Quick correction: they met a day before where Hallie works as saleswoman at jewelry story ( yes, she works at two part time jobs, taking a break from corporate taxes which can be understandable!) recommending him the best ring to him to buy for his future wife.

When Hallie tells Jack how they met ,the jealous girlfriend appears out of nowhere,steals the scene, accusing them having an affair. She even throws Chardonnay at poor Hallie’s face who still tries to explain she didn’t bang Jack! But at the end of the night she banged him as a consultation for dumping his girlfriend/ possible future wife!

After steamy one night stand later, Hallie performs crawl of shame ( she literally crawls to run away from his hotel room)

That hitting the rock bottom moment makes her realize: she has to make urgent changes in her life to look like hot mess sh*t show!
She plans to move from the apartment she shares with eccentric roommate, quitting part time jobs to return back tax accounting full time ( poor girl), having a new haircut helps her look like more adult!

She also decides to give a chance to the dating sites. But when she begins to scroll, one of the first names appears on her screen is Jack: her steamy one night stand.

She sends a teasing message to him and he immediately writes him back . They finally find an interesting way to motivate each other to find the right person. They start a bet: the first one who finds his/ her significant other will win! During this dating process, they will be each other’s wing-person, arranging the dates at the same place. If their date doesn’t work as they planned, they will meet at Taco Hut and eat their sorrows! As you can imagine they keep eating lots of tacos!

When Hallie’s sister wedding approaches, she quickly starts to look for a plus one! Jack volunteers to be his fake date. The sparks already fly between them after their own taco dates and now forced proximity may push them each other like magnets. Could they survey from this and save their friendship!

Well, I have to admit, I loved Mr. Wrong Number a little more! Friends to lovers is also great trope but I prefer enemies to lovers a little more!
I think the quick one night stand between characters killed my excitement because they already had passionate night and moved on!
The other thing bugged me was Jack’s fast move from proposing a woman he lived with and having one night stand, searching for dates at online apps! He made his own explanation about why he is desperate to find his soul mate but I found this reason a little weak. I wish their one night stand would be a little later after the wedding scene!

I still enjoy their banters. I laughed aloud. It reminds me of Colin and Olivia’s banters from first book!

The high chemistry between them was still explosive!

It was short, entertaining, cuddling, funny, unputdownable! I’m giving my four friends to lovers/ fake dating , chicken tacos with cheese stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this enjoyable digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

I don't think I've ever finished a book so quickly before. I actually could not put this book down and was so sad when it was finished. I absolutely loved it. I'd give it 6 out of 5 stars if I could. I was laughing out loud at multiple points, swooning, and eating up this one-night-stand-to-friends-to-lovers trope novel. It was fun, sweet, and I couldn't get enough. This was my first book from this author and I already cannot wait to read more. Highly recommend to anyone.