Lynn Painter is one of my favourite authors. Once again, she has nailed the cute storyline. Our two main characters Jack and Hallie had chemistry right from the start however it was easy to see their closeness increase throughout their friendship and fake dating. Steamy, swoonworthy with sweetness overload - this book has everything you want in a great romcom!

I can now understand the HYPE around Lynn Painter. After reading The Love Wager, I need more books by them. This book gave me EVERYTHING I love in a romcom. It gave funny, witty, a little spice, fun banter, and swoon worthy moments. I loved every moment of it!

I loved seeing the relationship between Jack and Hallie develop. I loved the way they would come together after a date and have tacos. It was cute the way they went from not being into each other to friends to developing feelings to then being with each other. It made it more believable and meaningful. The chemistry between them was spot on. This also gave me one bed/forced proximity and fake dating trope and I absolutely ate it up!

Listen, just pick this one up! I highly recommend. It’s worth it. I need a physical copy of this book, so I can reread and annotate it. Also the audiobook was good!

I have read a few of Lynn Painter's books and so far have really enjoyed them. The banter in The Love Wager was sooo much fun, it's always some of my favorite scenes in romances, it gives a fun vibe and overall makes the experience better. I'm complete goo for the one bed trope and fake dating trope and the fact that these were BOTH included just had my heart!!! This was just so good, my heart could barely take it!

This was a very cute, short, and sweet friends-to-lovers story. I loved seeing a relationship built on such a strong foundation of friendship, and I think the pacing and length of the book was perfect. My biggest issue with this book was the "she's not like the other girls" themes that seemed to make up most of Hal's personality. It felt like all of the quirky personality traits that she had existed only to show how different she was from the women Jack had dated before (i.e. she eats tacos! she wears knee-high socks instead of sexy lingerie! she's chill and can drink whisky instead of fruity cocktails! she's not jealous like that last hag he was with! she has red hair instead of blonde! she tells jokes!) It's not overt enough to necessarily be offensive, but this just isn't the vibe for me in 2023.

After reading Lynn Painter’s other books I find myself disappointed with the flimsiness of this one.

It's been a hot minute since I read this book, but I can still remember all the details. That should tell you how much I loved this book!

Mr.Wrong Number is one of my FAVORITE romcoms and I was so excited for this book! I was not disappointed at all!

We follow Jack and Haillie in this book who have a drunken hook up. While they don't have feelings for each other, they end up becoming really good friends and help each other out on dating sites and if a date goes bad they get the other one out.

The witty banter, the spicy scenes, the friendship.... all the stars! I absolutely loved Jack and Haillie's personalities and they just meshed together so well. There were laugh out loud moments and some slow burn spicy moments.

While this book isn't anything new in the romcom world, I still devoured it!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

This had some really cute moments. The synopsis pretty much tells the story, which can be a deal breaker, but not in this case. There are no surprises in this story. It's cute. It's predictable and it's a fun read. Sometimes that's all you need.

After a one-night stand, Hallie is determined to get her life together. When she matches with Jack (the one-night stand) on a dating app, they agree to help each other on their search for “the one” - because they are obviously not interested in each other. They make a wager to see who can find love first.

I just thought this was kinda dumb? There were just more things I didn’t like than I did like, so this is a no for me. I’ll definitely give Lynn Painter another chance - the premise and characters of this book were just not for me.

It would have snagged five stars for me if I had felt attached for either main character...but I didn't

Overall, I enjoyed this second book from Lynn Painter. Hallie was a likeable enough character and it was satisfying to see her growth throughout the story. Similarly, Jack was also generally likeable, although as more about his character was revealed, it seemed somewhat unbelievable that he was such a playboy. As with any friends-to-lovers storyline, it eventually reaches a painfully obvious point at which it so overtly obvious that it's annoying. Granted, more details are needed to complete the storyline, I wish they had both realized sooner (even if individually and kept it to themselves) that they actually liked the other person.

When a one-night stand turns into so much more, hilarity ensues. This book is hilarious. You'll be laughing & rooting for the main characters to find their 'one true love' in one another.
Whenever I read Lynn Painter's book, I look forward to the next. Her stories capture my attention, and I can't get enough.
I give this book a 5-star rating. It has a little of everything; I believe everyone will enjoy it.

I didn't like this book but I did like the author, if that makes sense? Like I didn't care for the setup or the characters but I thought the writing was fun. I gotta go back and read Mr. Wrong Number!!!

This is such a cute and adorable read. I loved the premise and enjoyed the banter between the two main characters. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC.

I haven’t enjoyed banter like this in a bit. Usually I only find it in the enemies to lovers troupe, but this story gave those a run for their money. I love how comfortable Jack and Hallie became with each other early on, their friendship was so fun and made the story that built on it believable and also enjoyable to watch develop. A lot of the favorite troupes were featured, including friends to lovers (which usually isn’t a favorite of mine, but I adored this one). The main and side characters were a blast to be around, and I would honestly love to see some of them again in their own HEA’s. This is the first Lynn Painter book I’ve read (I know, where have I been? And why haven’t I read Better Than the Movies yet?) and it most certainly won’t be my last! If you are considering picking this one up, here is your sign to grab it and a fluffy blanket and settle in.

I started and finished in one night! Couldn’t I
Put it down. I loved both the MCs and their winding road to each other! I think the mix in if dating apps into recent romance books has been a nice way to incorporate what the current realities of dating are as well. I couldn’t get enough of these two. It was one of those kicking your feet smiling adorable love stories

It was cute, had some spice, and also some cringiness - a pretty average romance for me, but it serves it's purpose. As far as sequels go, I think the Love Wager does exactly what it was supposed to for Lynn Painter's audience. There was some wit and banter, but as a fellow red head I am BEGGING authors to PLEASE create red-headed characters without that being their ENTIRE personality. 3 Stars from me!

I really liked the premise of this book and wanted to like it a little more than I did. Overall, the reason the main characters weren't together felt a little to prolonged for my tastes.

This was my first Lynn Painter book & now I completely see the hype. I loved how giddy he was when he texted her and the banter had me kicking my feet and giggling. I found it very entertaining and refreshing to have a book that wasn't 90 percent miscommunication.

This book did friends to lovers so well and it was nice to see the relationship build before my eyes. I really enjoyed watching them each discover their feelings as well and things not being immediately obvious. If you like boy obsessed books & romcom banter, this book is for you.


I definitely will be picking up some more Lynn Painter books in the future.

Thanks Penguin & Berkley Romance for the ARC

While working as a bartender at a wedding reception Hallie’s meeting with Jack went well but meeting his girlfriend didn’t go so well. Before they know what happens not only has he broken up with his girlfriend but a little too much fun leads to a night of steamy fun. Full of regrets Hallie’s only thought is to leave but when he appears on the dating app she is part of they agree to help each other find their perfect match.

Jack is looking for love however he realizes that it isn’t going to be with the woman who is now his ex. He and Hallie’s attempts to date are definitely a work in progress but at least they have each other to console themselves with. When she needs a plus one he volunteers for the job and that is when the fun really begins!

The interactions between them were humorous, the chemistry was intense, and I enjoyed seeing them realize what they were looking for had been right in front of them all along.

Truly one of the best friends-to-lovers relationships in a romance novel! So fun, peppy, and sweet, with a satisfying ending.