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.

4.0⭐

If Lynn writes it, I will definitely read it!!!

Absolutely LOVE this book❤️

You're gonna love all the pride & prejudice references in the book, I sure did<33

Happy pub week to @lynnpainterkirkle and THE LOVE WAGER! This is my first Lynn experience, and it has already cemented her as an auto-buy author for me!!

I absolutely loved Hallie and Jack’s dynamic. Their banter is 🤌, their chemistry plus friendship is fantastic, and watching them slooowly realize they were both absolutely catching feels for each other as they competed to find a soul mate was so fun!!

And can we taco ‘bout the taco content?!? (See what I did there? 🤣) Just a fair warming that you’re going to want taco makings or a good number for Mexican handy because I was craving all the tacos as I read this one.

In addition to reading this, I also had the privilege of listening to the audiobook (thank you so much @prhaudio for the gifted audiobook!) and the narrators @kdimerc and @webberesque did an incredible job bringing Hallie and Jack to life. I especially loved the dual narration and how both narrators made their way into each other’s chapters.

This hit shelves yesterday, so go out and grab a copy ASAP! Now, excuse me while I go listen to MR. WRONG NUMBER (book No. 1 in this series) because I need more of that Lynn Painter banter! FYI, even though The Love Wager is a follow-up to Mr. Wrong Number, it reads perfectly as a standalone 😍

This was the swooniest (yes, we are going to pretend that’s a word) rom com I’ve read in such a long time! The witty banter was absolutely perfect and the chemistry between the characters had me literally smiling as I read! It gave me vibes of The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez in the best way! I loved every second and flew through this story. If you’re a fan of the friends to lovers trope, look no further than your new favorite read of the year! 4.5 stars from me! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

After a one night stand at wedding, where she happened to be working, Hallie decides its time to put her life back together. But when she and her one night stand, Jack, match on a dating app, Hallie and Jack decide to make a wager about who can find love first.

What I liked most about The Love Wager was how funny Painter managed to make so many moments in the book. In other writers’ hands, it may have come off as sad or uncomfortable, but she was able to effortlessly make so many parts enjoyable.

What I disliked in the book was a pivotal scene between Jack and one of Hallie’s dates. But I can’t tell you anything because it would be a pretty decent spoiler.

I recommend this book for anyone who loves rom-coms and fake dating books! Also, if you’ve had some pretty ridiculous dates, you’ll appreciate the ones in this book.

Lynn Painter is the QUEEN of banter, and The Love Wager proves that over and over and over. Hallie and Jack were hilarious and the dry sarcasm was right up my alley.

I laughed out loud so many times. The story moved so quickly and I love how Lynn bounces between POV’s, not waiting until the start of the chapter to give us a different perspective.

And if you’re looking for tropes, this book delivers and delivers well!
• one night stand to friends to lovers
• he falls first
• fake dating
• only one bed

We also have texts on page and a whole lot of sexual tension. I’d say this one is steamier than Mr. Wrong Number, but Lynn toes the line very well and fans of closed door romances would still enjoy this one!

I am currently in my Lynn Painter era, so I was excited about the opportunity to read her newest book, The Love Wager. Former one-night-stands Jack and Hallie develop a plan to help each other in their quest to find their individual soulmates. However, they begin to find that they have more fun hanging out with each other than their respective dates. Tacos, banter, and fake dating ensue.

My biggest issue with the book was the inclusion of the third-act fake dating plot. Not every book needs to include fake dating! I love it when it furthers the plot, but in this case, it felt like it was shoved in as a way to check another trope off the list.

Overall, I found this to be a very fun rom-com with two engaging and likable characters. Highly recommend this for folks looking for a more light-hearted romance in the vein of The Unhoneymooners.

Super cute book! Texting + fake dating + friends to lovers? Sign me up. Jack and Hallie were fun, flirty, and their banter was hysterical. Miscommunication comes into play the last 1/4th of the book, but it was navigable and flowed with the story. Overall, I highly enjoyed!

Today I am sharing my thoughts on a book that I really really enjoyed. This book gave me a case of perma smile and I was rooting so hard for the two characters. I am talking about The Love Wager by Lynn Painter. It is the second book in the Mr. Wrong Number series, but it is the first book I read in the series, and I loved it!

In The Love Wager we meet our two main characters, Hallie and Jack. Jack's sister was the main character from the first book, so if you have already read her story you will really enjoy getting to see her and Colin sprinkled throughout this story. But here we have Jack who is ready to get engaged to his (kind of rude if you ask me) girlfriend, but instead of getting engaged- they break up. Enter Hallie, the wedding bartender and a lot of alcohol and Hallie and Jack have a very good time that night, only for her to flee the next morning thinking she will never see him again. When they connect on a dating app, they make a bet to see who will fall in love first. They form a friendship where they encourage each other to get out there and date, and then meet up for tacos when the dates don't go well. Watching them clearly fall for each other was so much fun. And when the fake dating aspect came into play, I was utterly charmed right alongside Jack and Hallie.

The Love Wager is super cute and completely hit the spot. I loved this book and I can't wait to read more from Lynn Painter.

Another great romcom from Lynn Painter!! She just knows how to suck you right in with a fun romcom and get you hooked.

I loved Jack and Hallie and all of the tension between them throughout the book. The one-night stand they had at the beginning of the book really helped with the tension during their friendship, and I was rooting for them to just get it over with and get together through the rest of the book. Their back-and-forth banter was to die for. I had so much fun watching them go from the one-night stand to friends to lovers.

My only complaint is that there the plot followed the miscommunication trope with resulting crisis, and I just can’t stand miscommunication lol.

Other than that, I absolutely loved this story and thought it was so fun!

Now this story is the second book in a series. I haven’t read the first book Mr. Wrong Number yet but I think I’ll pick it up soon. I’ve just fallen in love with Lynn Painter’s books, and I’ve loved every single one I’ve read so far.

I would classify this as a friends to lovers romance. Hallie and Jack are both looking for love and Hallie especially is trying to be a full on adult and making some changes. They make a wager to see who would find love first. Of course there’s a lot of bad dates and ALL.THE.BANTER between these two.
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I seriously could not stop reading this book. I love it when we get both POVs in a romance. Jack was also in Mr. Wrong Number, so I’m going to read that next. I probably should have read that first, but I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. I just want to read anything Lynn Painter writes!

This book was super cute, I loved it! Lynn Painter eats up banter every TIME! There was tension, there was just enough cheesiness, and I loved the characters. Jack…Jack man… one of my fav book boyfriends for sure. I loved Hallie’s personality and was rooting for the two of them the whole way! I finished this book in a day, definitely a fast paced read that you won’t want to put down. The only downside I’d say is that the pacing overall was good but when we got to the last 20% the ending felt a bit rushed. Like it was built up throughout the whole book and then it quickly ended to wrap everything up. I wouldn’t have minded a few more chapters. Other than that I highly recommend this book and I loved it!

Another incredible five star read from Lynn Painter! At this point, I would read her grocery list — she's that great. She creates such a loveable story with endearing characters and swoon-worthy romance that's not to be missed. Lynn has definitely has solidified her spot as my favourite contemporary romance author and I can't wait to see what she delivers next!

Honestly, Lynn's writing is candy to me. I don't normally fall for simpler plots but the way the tropes are done really work for me. Plus, sequel-romances really are my favorites building off established characters.

This was a cute read!! Not my favourite but definitely still cute. I'm a fan of Lynn's books so I will definitely keep reading titles by her! Thanks Netgalley!