This book was so good. When I read the blurb I tought it was going to be about a 2nd chance relationship between the popular girl Lexi and River the guy next door who have always been in love with her. This book took another turn when years later Deanna the sister of Lexi needs to save her company, and when her hard work it's on the line she would do everything to save it, including sabotaging her sister and River. What she never expect was to create such a lovely conection between her and River.
I love how they became so close and how they helped eachother, it was kinda a slow burn but I love it.
Thank You Netgalley & Crystal Kaswell for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Thankyou NetGalley & Entangled Publishing for sending me an ARC of which I voluntarily read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a fun rom-com to celebrate the month of love! The story started off with ‘Sabrina’ vibes, boy next door River pining over his unreachable neighbour Lexi as a teenager, then fast forward to everyone having grown up a bit & for our main MMC River to realise Lexi isn’t his ideal partner but her down to earth, sassy sister Deanna who he realises he has more in common with then once thought.

Even though this trope seems like the usual setting for a sweet rom-com, the actually twist in the story is that we get to explore the relationship blooming between River & Deanna without and jealousy or 3rd act breakup or (and I absolutely hate this trope) cheating that seems the standard with the ‘boy/girl next door-actually it was you the whole time’ settings.

The Neighbor Wager is the newest book by Crystal Kaswell. This book has a bright colored cover, which draws your attention right away. Even though Crystal Kaswell has written several books, I've never read one. What will she have in store with The Neighbor Wager?

She's calculated all the risks. Exept him.

This romance book is a slow burn story, which is easy to read. The story starts of in the past where River is a shy teenage boy who likes his comics and has a huge crush on Lexi, the girl next door. Soon after the story takes a step into the present time in which River moves back in with his grandma and next to Lexi and Deanna. He has grown up and even manages to drawn attention from Lexi. He needs the help from Deanna, the mastermind behind the sisters dating app Meetcute, to see what real love is like. But what if that means making him fall for her?

Crystal Kaswell has a nice writing style. She really manages to give each of the characters their own personality. Lexi is all bubbly but also finds it hard to really love someone. Deanna hasn't found her own match yet, but is dedicated to their dating app. River just wants to find out what his crush meant and what real love is. Each of them grows during the story, making the character development a central theme in this book.

I really enjoyed reading The Neighbor Wager and am curious about the other books by Crystal Kaswell. Everything was worked out really nice. In addition this book is a good fit for all readers who love their romance. Because of the nice writing style and plot I give The Neighbor Wager a 4,5 star rating.

Magic vs. Logic...

It all about the wagering and contract negotiations between neighbors, River and Deanna. River has been in love with Deanna's sister, Lexi forever, as a teen who lived next door and as a grown up who moved to NY. River is a dreamer, an artist, a former nerd who is now a graphic artist. But his crush on Lexi has ENDURED.
Everyone can see that Lexi and River do NOT belong together. Everyone except River. He believes in magic and love. I liked that the guy was the romantic. Props.

Deanna is logic and reason. She goes so far as to wager with River about love vs. magic. I really liked that Deanna was logic and app-based. She writes algo and doesn't put her faith in magic. She is pragmatic and dependable. She has know since they were kids that River and Lexi do not belong together. But she is surprised that she and River could be a match.

I really liked River. He was sweet, artistic, and believes in magic and graphic novels and Spiderman sheets.
Recommend.

The title and cover are what pulled me in. The description had me requesting the book. But the story had me invested until the very last page. A key plot point is that River makes a wager with Deanna that there is magic to love and that there is more to a good match than logic and a good algorithm. They make other bets and wagers throughout the story. This creates a fun dynamic between the leads.
The dual point of view had me caring about both River and Deanne. There were a few times where I found the inner dialogue of both of them a little repetitive, but I think it might be because they both had similar thought processes at times, so it only felt like I was getting the same thing. I am not saying that I couldn’t differentiate between the two characters, the author did a good job of changing POVs.
The male main character, River, was a good love interest, even though, at first, his obsession with Deanna’s sister was over the top. His character moves past it after the first third (it takes Dee a little longer to see that though), so I was able to enjoy the rest of the story as he and Deanna grow closer. The chemistry between them was good. I found that they both helped each other grow as individuals. The topic of sex is approached very openly in this book throughout the thoughts of the characters and the dialogue between the main and side characters.
Other than the romance between the two main characters, there are some deeper themes that are explored. Deanna struggles with the loss of her mother (years prior) and always felt like she lived in her sister’s shadow (note: she does not resent this, her and her sister have a good relationship). River is estranged from his mother, separated from him as a kid due to her drug addiction. He was raised by his grandmother and her health is on a decline. There are some entertaining family interactions throughout the book.
This was a quick and enjoyable read for me. I would recommend this story to rom-com lovers.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Entangled for a digital arc of the book. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

This book was an okay read. It reminded me of a few contemporary romances and I think if you are looking for a slow burn about young adults growing up this might be the book for you.

I found it hard to get into the story and connect with the characters. They all felt extreme. River is extremely obsessed with Lexi and Lexi is extremely against commitment. Everyone warns River to get over Lexi and I never could determine if Lexi was really that bad or if River was really that obsessive. This threw me because at first River’s crush seemed so cute and I was rooting for him and Lexi.

I did like seeing how River and Deanna came together on such a deep level. It did seem as though Deanna liked River since they were teenagers and she just couldn’t face her real feelings. This made her attempts to keep River and Lexi apart feel self-serving to me. All in all this is a good book, I just think that some of the characters were not what I expected, but the story is sweet and I did like the ending!

I’ve enjoyed the few Crystal Kaswell books I’ve read, and The Neighbor Wager is another sweet read. It’s the shy boy next door who’s had an unrequited crush on the girl who is popular and barely noticed him, and the older sister who warned him away.

When the boy comes back home 10 years later with a successful career, had a glow-up, and the sisters have created a very successful dating app, things kick into high gear! It’s a love triangle that never really becomes one when the older sister befriends him again, and the really interesting storyline truly begins.

It’s certainly a unique plot and without giving up the entire plot, the twists centered around the dating app and sisters who don’t like to commit to relationships and the boy next door in the middle is a really interesting read - one I think everyone will enjoy! Certainly a great twist on the boy next door, friends to lovers trope!

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Entangled Amara, and this is my honest feedback.

The Neighbor Wager by Crystal Kaswell is a delightful rom com that I really ENJOYED!

I will admit, I normally don't like stories with love triangles, but this author pulls it off in such a wonderful way that I really liked.

THE NEIGHBOR WAGER is a retelling of Sabrina and perfectly executed.


I really like Deanna who is trying to get investments for her dating app. Lexi, Denna's sister is also a great character. In enters River, who used to be their neighbor and who used to be geeky neighbor, now much hotter than geeky.

This has hilarious consequence for the two sisters.

I really enjoyed the references to Sabrina but with such a fun twist. Great characters, wonderful romance, and lots of laughs.

I absolutely loved River, Deanna, Lexi and all the other beautifully funny and realistically written characters of the Neighbor Wager. The premise of Deanna fake dating to keep River from ultimately, unknowingly sabotaging funding for Lexi and Deanna's dating app Meetcute was a great one.
River, the nerd next door, only ever had eyes for next door neighbor Lexi, who never really gave him the time of day. Well, now he's all grown up and sporting a bit of a darker side that makes women pay attention in a whole new way. The wager that Deanna proposes to River in order to protect the funding for she and her sister's new dating app fueled heartfelt and funny moments throughout.
This was a hard one to put down.

The Neighbor Wager has really well-written sexual tension and steamy scenes. I enjoyed watching Deanna and River figure out they were attracted to each other.

I appreciated the contrast between Lexie and Deanna and how they each were judged in some circumstances for how they chose to present themselves. I liked Deanna's passion for her company and I thought the dating app sounded fun.

What didn't fully work for me was the romance. I could buy that River decided he was attracted to Deanna but how quickly the switch happened felt a little weird. I also felt the data app plot didn't fully work. I would have liked it to be more consistent.

🌶️🌶️🌶️ - This book includes several open-door steamy scenes as well as a lot of sexual tension and discussion of BDSM.

OH MY GOODNESS! This was SUCH a cute book! It was my first Crystal Kaswell book, and I was not disappointed. I loved the pining since childhood aspect, and I thought that using the dating app was a fresh story line. Watching River and Lexi fall in love made my heart SO happy. I just loved it!

This novel was a good feel book. A retelling with a gender-reverse twist take on the classic Sabrina with a STEM twist.

I love a good second chance book. The boy-next-door returns home.

This was my first book by Crystal Kaswell - her writing style perhaps does not mesh with my taste but I could not admire the characters or story very much. I found the love triangle between sisters a bit much. The dialogue was slight cringe.

Overall the ending though was sweet.

Read this if you like

Second chances
Force Proximity
Love Triangle

This was such a good read for February! It had all the great pieces that make romance so enjoyable to read. It had unrequited love, glow-ups, and friends-to-lovers. It very much had a little 27 dresses feel with the two sisters, without all the weddings. I couldn't put it down until I finished it. The characters were relatable, realistic, and their chemistry/relationships with each other was so great. I really loved the relationship between Deanna & Lexi...sisterly love for the win!! Also, that a person is more than what's on the outside or what they may portray.

I enjoyed this book. It had some really good stuff. Second chances. Good writing. Fun storyline. This is my first book by this author. There were times were this book dragged some through the middle. I thought it had good conflict and developed characters. All in all an enjoyable read. I'd likely pick up another book by this author again. Thanks to Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Thank you to Entangled Amara for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

The Neighbor Wager features Deanna, an incredibly smart woman in tech who has created a new dating app that highlights a compatability algorithm. She hopes to showcase her sister Lexi as the model example of how well the algorithm works. But Lexi doesn't want to commit to her match and is now keen to get to know the newly returned next door neighbor. River is all grown up and has transitioned from the awkward ners to the tattoed bad boy.

I found the love triangle element with two sisters a bit overdone. And there was also too much backstory. We were more than 25% of the way through the book before River and Deanna started interacting in the contemporary timeline. And when they did, it all moved much faster than I found believable.

I also found it tough to relate to any of the characters. They all lived in multimillion dollar mansions in Orange County, CA. But they regularly complained about their money woes.

The sister, Lexi, was regularly annoyed that people treated her as nothing but a Barbie stereotype who always dressed in pink. But her character was also written as precisely that stereotype. Generally, I found the characters too one-dimensional and the plot couldn't keep me engaged with its irregular pacing.

2.5 stars rounded up

I liked this one it was kind of crazy how this one starts I was a bit confused at first because of the romance.
When we get to the end of the first chapter I was hesitant, wondering if this book would be for me, because of the cover and the name of the book I thought the story was different, which surprised me in a good way.
Something I was surprised was the spicy scenes and the felt real, and raw. I liked the relationship between the sisters and the love interest. What I felt was missing was, the epilogue a little bit more of information because it is the last time we get to see the characters so we need to know a little more of their lifes in the future, or maybe the author could set the epilogue further into the future.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this book.

3.5 ⭐️

Okay, this was definitely something… Um, I may have mixed feelings?

This book is a retelling, gender-reversed take on the classic movie Sabrina with a STEM twist. In which a set of sisters create a dating app. However, their venture is put at risk when the boy-next-door returns home to put their algorithm to test.

I don’t think the writing style was for me— it felt to heavy and made it difficult to follow the storyline. They even fell in love way too fast when he was supposedly down bad for her sister.

And the way they talked about Lexi all the time was weird as if she was some sort of real-life goddess… Gave me the ick, I’m sorry.

But, anyway, I really liked the end —it was sweet.

Read if you like:
📲 neighbours.
📲 forced proximity.
📲 love triangles.

Thank you to the author, Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. The Neighbor Wager by Crystal Kaswell will be coming out on February 20th.

This was cute. I wanted to like it more, but it just wasn't doing it for me. Deanna is built on logic and reasoning while River is classically romantic. What started as a way to keep her sister honest and out of trouble became a whirlwind romance for herself. The beginning was sort of misleading in that it seemed like it was going to be River and Lexi instead of Deanna, and he just turned around really quickly on that and it seemed a little bit weird. Overall it was a nice romance.

enjoyed this book. I liked the tension and build up between Deanna and River throughout the book and the spice was good.

I struggled to connect to either of the main characters and found some of the storyline a bit slow.

Overall I enjoyed the neighbours/forced proximity story line.

Thank you to entangled publishing for providing me with an E-ARC!

There were moments where I was kicking my little feet but also moments where I wanted to throw it and stop reading. But overall I think the storyline is very sweet. I love the story between River and Deanna. Certain tropes in this book are what made me rate it lower but it is a very easy read!