I was a bit hesitant about reading Lynn Painter's newest book, The Love Wager. I was disappointed by her previous adult romance book, so I was kind of nervous reading this one.

The Love Wager was a bit surprising for me. I truly enjoy reading it. Did I expect it to knock my socks off? No, I did not. I kind of expected to like it or dislike it. And surprisingly, I enjoy reading it. It had the potential to be a great romance, but it fell flat. I don’t know how to explain it. But let’s talk about the cuteness of this book. 

I genuinely enjoy reading about Hallie and Jack's friendship with each other. Yes, they may have hooked up in the beginning, but they are becoming close friends with each other. May it lead to disaster when they spend more time with each other? Yes, it will. And it will be entertaining to read. Close friends always become something else, you can’t deny it.

I have been loving my rom-com's lately and Lynn Painter does such a great job of building characters and creating the TENSION. I look forward to reading her next book!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc for an honest review!!

I adored The Love Wager! The characters were so lovable and I found it to be such a quick and entertaining storyline. Looking forward to reading more Lynn Painter in the future!

Love a fake dating trope!

God I love a friends to lovers trope! Especially best friend ones!! I loved Lynn's "Mr. Wrong Number" and "The Love Wager" was no different!

Loved Mr. wrong Number and was excited for this story based off Jack. Lynn’s books are such quick reads and so hard to put down. The characters are so quirky and I absolutely loved the banter between Jack and Hallie. The banter between the characters is what makes her books so much fun to read.

I am gonna say this once and only once… Lynn painter is a YA author only. I do not like adult books and this was so exception. I couldn’t finish it. I have not connected with any characters from this series and I will not be continuing. Her YA books on the other hand- PERFECTION.

I am a Lynn Painter girly.

I love this book. I devoured it. I needed more.

The tension. The laughs. The texting. The romance.

I need more!!

Lynn Painter is officially an auto-buy author for me! This Mr Wrong Number series is awesome and I loved book 2 as much as the first!

The banter, tension, and just overall connection between the MCs made for a very enjoyable read. The ending had me on edge (it’s always the HEAs at 80% that have me nervous!), but it was so worth it! Definitely recommend this fun rom-com!

I really loved this romcom. It had me rolling from the first chapter. I loved the friendship that transpired between the 2 MCs and overall would highly recommend this one.

After hitting rock bottom, Hallie decides it’s time to become a real adult, and part of that involves using a dating app to help her find the one. But when she logs in to the dating app, one of the first faces she sees is Jack, the one-night-stand whose hotel room she snuck out of after working his sister’s wedding. Jack and Hallie start a friendship and decide to team up to help each other find the one. They take it one step further by betting on who will find their person first, but lines start to get blurred in the process of helping each other.

Lynn Painter never fails to make me laugh out loud while creating swoon-worthy love stories, and The Love Wager is no exception. The meet cute had me cracking up from the beginning and it only got better from there. I loved getting to know Hallie and Jack and their chemistry was incredible. The book was so fun to read and I fully expect it to end up being one of my favorite romances of the year!

Thanks to Berkley Publishing for the advance copy and to @berittalksbooks and @dg_reads for the buddy read!

This was a really cute, fun read! I loved the banter and the text messages between the characters were so fun and entertaining. Lynn Painter's writing is so light and fun and still totally pulls on the heartstrings. I read this in basically one sitting and it was a blast!

Lynn Painter writes such FUN romances! They are both funny and sweet with interesting plots. I love a good friends-to-lovers plot, especially one with such great tension throughout.

Hallie and Jack are a top-tier couple and had me laughing practically every chapter.

After reading Mr Wrong Number, I was really looking forward to another adult rom-com from Lynn Painter. The Love Wager has the classic trope of friends who belong together, pretending that they don't. It was wonderful to watch Hallie and Jack's relationship grow, rooting for them to come to their senses the whole time.

This book reminded me why I fell in love with reading, & it made me fall even more in love with rom-coms. It’s such an entertaining, and swoony cozy romance. Lynn has such a way with words as well as a very unique writing style. I was immediately hooked and submerged in this hilarious banter filled romance. Reading this felt like being wrapped a big warm hug. The Love Wager is not only swoony & funny, but also the right amount of sexy and spicy.

After having a one night stand with Jack, and sneaking out of his hotel room, Hallie decided it was time to get serious & find her true love. On her journey to finding the one, she matches with Jack on the dating app. Could it be a sign from the universe? Absolutely not, or so she thinks. Hallie wants to find true love and rather than accepting any attraction or feelings towards Jack, she takes him as her wing-person and vice versa. Everything seems to be going well, because there’s no way in hell he’s the one for her. That’s until they fake date each other for a weekend wedding. Oh, and they have to share one bed, you can imagine the sexual tension.

You can expect:

* Friends to Lovers (With some benefits)
* Fake Dating
* Laugh Out Loud Romcom
* Only One Bed
* Steamy/Open Door Romance
* Dual POV
* Forced Proximity
* Taco Dates
* Mild Miscommunication
* Witty Banter
* Spicy Chemistry

The Love Wager by Lynn Painter is a delightful and humorous romance novel that will keep readers entertained from start to finish. Hallie Piper, after hitting rock bottom, decides to start her journey of self-improvement. She downloads a dating app and to her surprise, finds Jack, the guy she snuck out of his hotel room. They both agree that they are not interested in each other but become partners in their search for true love.

As they go on dates and get tacos together, they become closer, but they are determined to stick to their agreement and find someone else. However, when they agree to be fake dates for a wedding, their pretense becomes a little too real, and lines begin to blur.

Painter does an excellent job of developing the chemistry between Hallie and Jack, and their witty banter is both hilarious and heartwarming. The book also features a great cast of supporting characters, including Hallie's best friend, who adds some extra laughs to the story.

Overall, The Love Wager is a fun and enjoyable read that will appeal to fans of contemporary romance and chick lit. It's perfect for anyone looking for a light-hearted escape from reality and a guaranteed happily-ever-after.

A cute and quirky romance!

This being my first "friends with benefits" to lovers romance, it was a pleasant surprise! The characters having that initial chemistry before starting up a relationship was done really well, in my opinion. While I wished to see a little more development after the two characters got together, I thought it ultimately wrapped up nicely and cutely, as Lynn Painter can do effortlessly.

4.5 stars. This was my first book by Lynn Painter and I can see why she has such a buzz around her work. Her writing is quick and witty, and the story moved at a fast pace without feeling overly rushed. It was a very easy read, and that's not a bad thing! This story is technically a second in series but can be read as a standalone, with MMC Jack being the brother of Olivia, the FMC in Mr. Wrong Number. If you don't mind a huge spoiler for that book, you can dive into this one first like I did, but honestly all rom-coms end that way anyway so is it ✨ really ✨ a spoiler? But I digress.

Hallie is a bartender at a wedding where Jack is in attendance (no spoilers lol), and his jealous girlfriend thinks he's flirting with her and pitches a fit. Little did the girlfriend know he was planning on proposing to her, but after this scene, they break up instead. Because, men, he seeks solace in Hallie, and they have a wild night together. Hallie makes a quick exit the next morning, but to her surprise, finds Jack on a dating app later that week. She decides to message him to mess with him, and they quickly fall into a friendly banter and decide to just be friends. After some time, they decide to place a wager that whoever finds love first on the app will either win the others airline miles or signed World Series baseball. They each go on to find dates that don't pan out, whole being each other's emergency safety calls to get out of a bad date. This goes on until Hallie does find a suitable guy, which is when Jack realizes the extent of his true feelings for her. He manages to behind the scenes break them up, leaving her dateless for her sister's wedding, and he is all to happy to step in as the fake boyfriend. Some miscommunication and third act breakup right at the end but quickly resolved for a Pride and Prejudice inspired reunion that was adorable.

I had the best time reading this romance. I love when a romance series continues with the secondary characters from the first book.

This book is about Livy's brother Jack from book one. Hallie minds her business as the bartender when she runs into Jack, whom she meets at her other second job. However, his date is jealous, so Hallie gets a drink thrown in her face.

These two then decide to help each other in their search for love - they will plan dates on the same date and debrief together afterward

They create a solid friendship together and although they are both having feelings they want to ruin the friendship. and of course, what happens when one of them meets someone else.

I laughed so much because the banter was just so good. I enjoyed this romance!

While I like the writing and banter, the whole premise was weak IMO. Hailey and Jack were obviously very into each other, they had a steamy one-night stand, but then she needs to turn her life around, be a grown-up and find someone else on a dating app? Why? Didn’t understand why they didn’t just get together in the first place, especially when they continue texting, talking and commiserating over all the bad dates they go on.

The Love Wager by Lynn Painter is such a cute read. This is exactly the type of read I have been looking for lately. Hallie Piper i thinks it is time she grows up. She wants to be more settled in life and still not having one night stands. She thinks a new haircut, a new apartment and a dating site will set her on the right track. Yet the first person she sees on the dating app, is her last one night stand. Although it was a great night, doesn’t she want more than this? Hallie and Jack connect but not to date. They think they can be friends and they can help each other find each others partner. They will make good decisions, be a good set of eyes and a good ear.. to help make this next relationship work. But how well can this work? How can they deny their connection? A wager is made to see who can find true love first and each thinks they will win. Add a wedding they have to attend and the fact that they pretend to be a couple and all the shenanigans start. This was a four star read for me. Such a fun, easy read. I read it in a few days and enjoyed it the whole time. I want to thank Netgalley & the author for my copy for an honest review. It was my pleasure to read & review this book. I hope you like it as much as I did.