Thank you Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for
an honest review.
I’d recommend this as a summer beach read. It’s a light gender bend retelling of Sabrina which I wasn’t familiar with when I requested it. I will say the inner monologue can make it a bit hard to follow the dialogue as some other people have said. It’s a 2.5 rounded up for me. Not my fav romcom but it will appeal to some.

I love a good rom-com and couldn't wait to dive into this book. The Neighbor Wager started well, but unfortunately, I struggled to connect with the characters and this story.

i really wanted to like this book because the premise was great and i love a good rom-com, but unfortunately this one just didn’t do it for me. i truely would have DNF’ed this if it was not provided to me as an ARC.
it could just be me - but i did not connect with the book or the characters, and that’s a very important factor when i’m reading.

I absolutely loved this novel. It was full of love, friendship, family loyalties, grief, insecurities. I was a fun quick read; I wanted to dive into the characters more and more after each page. I loved having the point of view of both characters, they were quirky and fun.

This book just wasn't for me. I just could not get into it. The female characters were too annoying. Thank you to Entangled Publishing, Red Tower Books and NetGalley for this digital galley in return for my honest review.

Ever since his mom ditched him and he moved in with his Grandmother, River has been in love with Lexi Huntington, the girl next door. But when he was younger, awkward, and nerdy, she wanted nothing to do with him, and Lexi's sister Deanna had to let him down gently. Now, twenty years later, Lexi and her sister Deanna have a big deal riding on Lexi's current picture-perfect relationship, and the only thing that could ruin it is River's return as a hot, brooding, sexy, experienced man. So River and Deanna make a deal--if he can convince Deanna of the chemistry of true love, he can freely pursue Lexi (who now wants him just as badly as he wants her). What Deanna doesn't expect is to fall for him herself.

This modern, flipped retelling of Sabrina was refreshing and addictive! It was about attraction, compatibility, romance, love, and fidelity. It explored what people want from relationships, what makes relationships last, and what doesn't. A sex-positive story, it portrayed strong, intelligent, flawed women that I couldn't help rooting for. A longing to understand and to be understood radiates from the page. Whereas in the film versions Sabrina was tricked, in this version River went willingly--I wonder if the wager element made the difference somehow? The stakes were still high, but there was less deception and more humanity. It was also about very, very horny people. I felt that once the open-door scenes ramped up, the plot got left behind a bit and the last 10% just rushed to wrap everything up. But otherwise I absolutely loved the characters, the plot, and the spice, and I am so excited to have been introduced to this author!

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc! This is my honest review. This book wasn’t for me. I found the writing style very hard to follow. I feel like the character development was rushed and there was too much inner dialogue. I don’t know what was up with using algo instead of algorithm but it drove me crazy every time I saw it. I did love that the fmc had a job as a programmer of her own app.

Thank you Netgalley and Entangled for the chance to give an honest review on The Neighbor Wager.

This isn't my typical go to story but I wanted to give it a shot. While there were a few moments I enjoyed but for the most part this book did not keep me interested and entertained as much as I had hoped. I think with a little more character development and a little less Lexi talk this could've been a bit better. In all, not a terrible read.

I didn’t love this one, but I didn’t hate it either. It was mostly just fine. I didn’t love the wager (I thought it was silly) and there were some parts that were pretty repetitive. The third act breakup felt forced but the grand gesture at the end made up for it! The chemistry between the two leads was there and their sexual tension was great.

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

I started reading this book, paused to watch ‘Sabrina’ for the first time ever as “research”, and then came back to the book to finish. I really enjoyed it (both the book and the movie, for the record), especially the second half.

Teenage River has a fantasy-level crush on the girl next door, Lexi, before leaving the California coast for New York City. When he comes back for a visit, he’s all grown up and a now-handsome man. Lexi and her sister, Deanna, are on the verge of making a deal with an investor in their start-up dating app, but the deal potentially hinges on Lexi’s relationship with her match from the app. Deanna sees River finally catching Lexi’s attention as Lexi is ready to run from the commitment of her current relationship and takes it upon herself to distract River to save their deal.

Between the prologue and the first half of the book, I wasn’t quite sure I was going to be able to get on board. River and Deanna both had a fixation on Lexi in their own way and it made me wonder if either of them could really let go to find something with each other. However, as it moved into the second half and they both became more focused on what they were building together, I felt things really excelled. River had some early minor red flags for me (emotional cheating *is* cheating and his ex calling him out on that was warranted) but I felt like his character really grew with Deanna. I enjoyed Deanna’s character and her eventual willingness to bend in the face of logic.

Overall, I ultimately enjoyed this read once things really became about the relationship between River and Deanna. It took a bit to get there, but it was worth the journey to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read The Neighbor Wager. I enjoyed the book because I really liked the characters and the love story between Deanna and River. I struggled with the dating app and their wager I never bought into the app being serious enough to be a big business for the sisters. Even when Deanna fell in love with River she still put her feelings aside for the logic of the app. Everything else about the book was great! I was thrilled about Lexi and Jake truly being in love and they really were an app match.

So I didn’t really know what to expect going into this, since it was described as a gender bent version of Sabrina, and I (sadly, admittedly) have not seen that classic film. However, after reading this I think I definitely want to give it a watch because I really enjoyed this book.
I did find it funny that River was essentially horny for Deanna like 70% of the book, but it’s okay because she definitely felt the same way and they did build a deep connection. I loved that Deanna learned that there’s nothing wrong with being picky, and there’s nothing wrong with her. She has high standards, she is a certain type, and not everyone is meant for her. But when the right one comes along, she won’t have to change for anything. River learned that a teenage crush is sometimes just that— and that something better might have been in front of you all along.

Quick summary, River has had a crush on Deanna’s sister, Lexi, since they were teens. Now that he’s older and hotter, he feels he finally has a chance with Lexi. He didn’t come back to town for Lexi, but it is a perk. However, a curveball is thrown his way when Deanna is sent to “distract” him, and he realizes how attracted he is to her in all the ways— physically, emotionally, mentally. They had been friends before, but it feels different now. Suddenly Lexi is in the rear view mirror, and Deanna and River try to figure out how to navigate their budding relationship. They’re friends with benefits but can they be more than that? River is going to back home to New York soon, and he doesn’t fit into Deanna’s mental algorithm. Also is he her perfect match on the app she invented? The algorithm is supposed to be really successful in predicting successful relationships. What if they’re not meant to be? Or worse… what if he and Lexi are the better match instead?

Thank you Entangled and NetGalley for the early copy of this one!

This should have been a fantastic romantic comedy about falling for somebody unexpected... But that was ruined by how truly awful River, the male main character, was. Both Lexi and Deanna deserved better, and I spent most of the book hoping that the next twist would be River getting out of their lives forever.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

This is one of those stories that should have been five stars, I so nearly gave it five, but I’m gonna have to go with four. It has great characters and a plot you can get behind, but it flails about a bit and just needed a little more touching up. I adored River and his grandmother and their relationship, you could tell how close they were and the insecurities he has and understand them as well. It had a flow, but it felt like that flow drifted off on another path at times, and you were pulled along with it. Lexi irritated me a little, I suspect she was written that way to feel more for Deanna, but it didn’t for me. I am so sure that so many people will love this, and I am being overly critical, As I do like this author and other things they have written I would have expected that quality.

I have to start this by saying that the MMC is absolutely insufferable. He’s so an artist who skips meeting a Marvel artist because of his obsession with a girl who wouldn’t give him the time of day in the past. Some of his thoughts in the beginning of the book lean into stalker/creepy behavior that makes me more scared of him than anything else. Throughout the story he says things that are so strange and out of pocket (like justifying cheating on his past girlfriends because he wasn’t physically cheating on them, just emotionally…which is arguably worse).

Justice for my girl Deanna, the only well developed character here.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled for the ARC!

I was instantly drawn to this book from the title and the cover. Thank you to the publisher for providing me this ARC.

This one is a tougher one for me to review. I'd give it around 3 stars. This book had a promising plot, perfect for a rom com, but execution fell short.

The tone/language of the writing just felt off. At the beginning River gives off very creepy vibes. His infatuation was questionable at times. As the story progresses, a love triangle dynamic is introduced. I'm not a big fan of that but was relieved to get past River's initial fixation. The switch of focus brought some relief and some cute moments, but the dialogue and writing still was off. The story dragged quite a bit and book was longer than I would have anticipated for this plot. I did not connect with the characters and did not find them very likeable.

This one is a pass for me but overall, an average book. Not bad, just not great.

At the 40% mark, the book became a melodramatic internal monologue focused entirely on sex. There was very little depth to the conversations. The plot elements and “twists” to follow felt contrived. I found myself extremely disappointed overall.

The writing flows well (although a round of line editing wouldn't hurt), the premise is amusing, and that cover has me swooning.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled for the ARC.

River is obssessed with the girl next door. She's rich, popular, beautiful, and has no idea who he is. His grandma suggestes he move for a while to get her out of her system and he moves from CA to NYC for ten years before his grandma gets sick and he feels the need to return. Upon his arrival, he discoveres that she and her sister are still living there, but moved to the attached apartment. Meanwhile the sisters have a startup buisness they are trying to get funded and River will be a distraction to their end goal, so his obssession's sister decides to distract him and her sister so they don't start dating.
I enjoyed this book, but wasn't draw in enough to need to finish it right away. The characters are cute and I really liked the ending. I spent the beginning of the book wondering which sister he would be drawn to as an adult. Overall, it is a cute romcom.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me this arc.
2.5 stars

I am so confused on my feelings with this book. I feel like the epilogue ruined the ending. The epilogue shouldn't even exist. The romance was so cute even though it was quite predictable. The female characters in this book are annoying. Not a great read at all.

Sisters Deanna & Lexi are on the brink of making their dating app a massive success with the help of a new investor. The problem is that the new investor wants to meet Lexi and her perfect match that she made on the app, which sends Lexi into a tailspin as she has never done a long-term relationship before. Former neighbor, Rivers comes back to town and Lexi wants to use him to prove a theory about her relationship & her sister Deanna does NOT want that to happen. Lots of scheming, forced proximity, and unlikely relationships make this romcom enjoyable to read. I loved the dual perspectives that allow us to be further involved in the story and leave us rooting for happily ever after!