Fun read! Deanna and Lexi have both never trusted in love and yet they create a compatibility dating app. You can’t find love through algo, or maybe you can? Deanna being let down from all the men she has liked in the past wanting her shiny sister. River gets thrown into the mix and sometimes what you think you want is the opposite of what you need! I liked how they both helped open each other’s eyes a little for the better. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC I’m voluntarily leaving this review

The Neighbor Wager is marketed as a gender-swap Sabrina, and it does have the bones. The next door neighbor (River) pines for the gorgeous Lexi his whole life, until older sister Deanna hijacks him. Lexi and Deanna are starting up a dating app and want to prove the matching works. They can best showcase the results by Lexi's current six-month long relationship with Jake, the guy she was matched with. But Lexi is a bit of a player and she doesn't accept her fate. To regain her freedom, she takes a break from the relationship to play the field, setting River in her sites. Deanna, knowing her sister truly loves Jake, sets about keeping River out of sight, out of mind. In order to buy some time, she makes a wager with River. He gets three weeks to prove to her that love is magic, not science, and if he fails, Deanna will get out of his way with Lexi. Cue: three weeks of banter, deep conversation, philosophizing about art, love, music, science, and a whole lot of banging. This is a really quick read with a very satisfying conclusion.

Unfortunately this book really wasn't for me: despite liking the description, the premise was flimsy and I couldn't get on with the main characters at all. Their motivations seemed shallow and unrealistic, not to mention repeated again and again and... I ended up skimming through in the hope it would improve, but it was an effort.

Thank you to the author Crystal Kaswell, publishers Amara and Entangled Publishing, and NetGalley, for an advance digital copy of THE NEIGHBOR WAGER. All views are mine.

Opening Quote: It’s all there, in her blue eyes. That’s her gift, really. When she looks at you, you feel like the most important person in the world. How could anyone resist that feeling? Loc.612

Great romantic tension! I liked the main characters in this book, Lexi and Deanna, who are sisters. This also ended up making me disconnect, as I don't really like shared sister trope or sisters sharing a lover trope. I wasn't expecting this, and I kept trying to pick up the feeling of tge book again. But, it's okay, just wasn't for me!

The science of attraction is getting seriously tested…

Meet River. He used to be the nerd next door…only now he’s all grown up, got a sleeve of tattoos, and women seem to like him. A lot.

Even Lexi, the girl of River’s teenaged dreams, all bubbly sweetness—never noticed him. Until now.

There’s only one problem. They’re not meant for each other.

Now it’s up to Deanna, the super pragmatic, algorithm-fueled brains behind the new dating app Meetcute to make sure they realize it.
River might be certain he knows true love when he sees it, but Deanna knows differently, and the future of her company is riding on it. All she has to do is prove to him that what he’s feeling for Lexi isn’t love. Not even close.

…even if it means making him fall for Deanna, instead.

Challenge accepted.

– close proximity
– second chances
– why choose?

Oof this is a tough one to review. I loved the idea of the book but this one just didn't hit it for me!

I struggled with a few things about this book:
- I didn't particularly like either of the FMCs. They both had some pretty toxic traits and were generally hot messes - and not in a good way
- Oh, River. Jumping from one sister to another? Not cool bro
- Lexi dumping her first serious boyfriend just to sleep with the hot neighbour? Eeek!

I kept hoping it would gel for me but this one wasn't for me

If you loved Tessa Bailey's 'It Happened One Summer' - you'll probably love this!! Two wealthy sisters are striking out on their own to create an app that helps people find real love, but they need one thing: to show that it actually works!! In walks River.. the boy from their childhood who loved one sister and is somewhat chastised by the other.

But who's really a right fit for River? The girl he always dreamed about... or the girl that no one seems to notice when the bright blonde sister is around...?

THOUGHTS:
- I'm not a huge fan of either female main character in this book. I feel like both sisters have toxic personality traits, and they both have feelings for a guy they definitely shouldn't. Not to mention, they both seem really vapid. Even the 'smart' sister seems just to be a hot mess.
- Also.. the justification for why the one sister doesn't want a committed relationship just seems really off. Losing a parent doesn't seem to be a reason to want to cut everyone off.
- The guy River... idk. How do you jump from one sister to another...?
- The premise of the story is really cute, but overall - I'm not a fan of the poor little rich girl vibes. Again, though, if you're okay with that? You'll be hooked for a quick and easy read.

NOTES:
- Friends/enemies to lovers
- 🌶️/5

**Thank you to Entangled & NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

Thanks Entangled for giving me an ARC copy of this book to read and review. All comments are my own.

Honestly at this point I’m not sure what to say. I loved the idea of this book and thought it would be fun but there was just a lot wrong.

The whole plot of the book was a wager and the book literally mentioned the wager once and that was it. The book literally had nothing to do with the wager.

This book also was kind of icky. For Lexi to dump the guy she’s been with 6 months just to sleep with the hot neighbor was just gross in my opinion. Also Deena setting aside her sister’s feelings and try to make her be with someone all so her app will get invested was gross too. Don’t get me started on River. He was literally obsessed with Lexi and then all of a sudden sleeping with her sister???

Idk, I don’t think this book was for me. Maybe others will enjoy it.

Finding characters that resonate with my own experiences and offer valuable lessons is a treasured aspect of reading for me. This connection unfolded beautifully in this book, particularly with the striking similarities between Deanna and myself. Reading her story felt like a reflection of my own, albeit without the California backdrop I once yearned for in my younger years.

River's attempts to guide Deanna away from overly relying on logic resonated with me. Witnessing Deanna's growth and self-awareness towards the end instilled a sense of hope, even if it was through a fictional character. The book's unexpected spice level added a delightful surprise, striking a perfect balance. While thoroughly enjoyable, I suggest a clearer indication of time passage in the Epilogue to enhance the book's conclusion.

This book was a 3.5 star read for me. The premise was great-the boy next door falls in love with the curvy, bubbly, popular blonde girl while her pessimistic combat boot wearing sister warns him away saying the sister just isn’t right for him (with no further explanation). After years of being invisible to her, he returns to visit home from the big city—bigger, older, tattooed, leather jacket wearing and irresistible. Suddenly Lexi, the bubbly blonde, notices him and decides she’s going to “take a break” from her first ever serious boyfriend just to sleep with River and then dump him-exactly why combat boot sister Deanna had warned him away from Lexi all those years ago. River is convinced he and Lexi belong together so he makes a bet, a wager, with Deanna…I’m sure you can see where this going to end up.

This book was a pleasant read for me-nothing ground breaking or mind blowing, but enjoyable all the same. However, the character of Lexi was deeply unlikeable for me. She was so shallow and flighty I had a very hard time finding any sort of connection or understanding with her. The fact that her boyfriends as willing to give her a two week break just so she could sleep around and then take her back was just unbelievable-plus the fact that the reason he wouldn’t sleep with her was just because he was TOO GOOD at sex??? I snorted so loud at that part my husband asked me what was wrong. River never has any sort of real conversation or connection with Lexi but remains convinced that they belong together while totally disregarding his budding feelings for Deanna as having gone too long without sex. Deanna is convinced love isn’t real, can be explained by an algorithm and everyone has their perfect match that she can find using the code on her app, all while pretending not to notice herself falling for River. There were some funny moments in this story, and Deanna and River make a cute couple, but my favorite character is Ida, River’s smut book author grandmother. I’d read a book about her.

This was a dnf for me. I kept going hoping it would get better or the characters would click for me but they just didn't. The sheer obsession River had with Lexi just didn't gel with me. And the fact she was going to use him for sex and had gone on a break with a genuinely nice seeming guy just to do so because she was bored just gave me the ick.

I want to start by thanking Entangled and Netgalley for this ARC.

I did finish this book in it entirety though I honestly can't say I would read it again. In the beginning, the main MMC is supposed to be I believe 18 and reads like a love-sick 13-year-old. Fast forward to the now and it felt forced when they grew into adults who still read like they have the minds of teenagers but the whole logical pov and algorithm made it hard to really connect to any of the characters let alone their "love" for each other. While I didn't fully enjoy this book it was decent writing and I could see where the specific Audience would absolutely love the story so I am giving it a 3 star.

One of favorite things about books and there characters is when I can see parts of myself in them, and then learn from them. This is exactly what happened as I read this book. Deanna and I have so many similarities, at one point I thought I was reading about myself, with the exception of the fact that I am not a California girl (even though I did want that in my younger years).

I loved that River tried to get Deanna past her need for logic to rule all. And I loved the growth of Deanna at the end when she saw the flaw in her ways. I'm haven't gotten there just yet, but seeing that it is possible did give me hope, even it was a fictional character.

I also loved the spice level of this book. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was 100% perfect. The only thing that I would say could have been done better was that I wasn't sure how much time had passed once we got to the Epilogue. Making that clearer would have helped the book to have a more fitting ending in my opinion.

River grew next door to the sister. He has been in love with Lexi since he first saw her. He moved to NY and has recently moved back to be close to his grandma, while she is sick. All of those feelings come back the moment he sees her again.

Deanna and Lexi are two sisters, as different from each other, as you can be. Lexi is blond, bubbly, full of life and desperately afraid of commitment. Deanna is dark, serious, driven and eager to prove herself. They made a dating app together and need investors. Lexi found her perfect match through it but is afraid that it to become serious. Deanna needs that relationship to work, so she can prove that love can predicated by the algorithm. She also needs to keep River away from her sister, so they make a wager, but the more time they spend together, the more sparks fly between them. But this time love is not based on fairytale, but on reality.

Every guy she even liked, fell for Lexi sooner or later. And River has spent literary years in love with her, so it will take something bit to convince Deanne to give their love a chance.

It is a slow-paced story, we get to know characters before they start to really interact. It's not the style I usually like, but it works well for the story.

A dating app, a hilarious grandma, the boy next door, and a sabrina re-telling with a twist. Are you ready to find out what happens when you attempt to play matchmaker and someone else decides you should find a match first?

In order to secure their dream with MeetCute Lexi and Jake will discover that a wager is no match for love. If they are able to put someone else before their own needs then love may find a way to get through the front door.

This two person POV has spicy chemistry with a slow burn and a meddling grandma that is not what you expect.

A fun read for a sweet bookcation!

I give this book 4 1/2⭐️ I really enjoyed this whole book the banter ,the spice , and it was just a fun lose yourself and forget your reading kinda book

This was a DNF for me.

I found the book way too slow and the love triangle and dismissal of characters’ feelings really rubbed me the wrong way.

Deanna made no sense. She has an app for love but is so flip floppy. I had to reread paragraphs to make sure I didn’t miss anything because some of it made very little sense/flow was off. Lexi was an archetype with very little depth.

This book was a fun romp with some interesting characters but the plot definitely felt like I'd read it before and the premise was a little shaky for me. It was a quick read and had some good LOL moments.

Ratings: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶 🌶 🌶 /5
The Neighbor Wager by Crystal Kaswell is a boy-next-door romance following River Beau and sisters Deanna and Lexi. Growing up, River has a crush on bubbly blonde Lexi, having unrealistic fantasies and “love at first sight” expectations, and exemplifies the definition of a childhood crush. When River grows up and comes back home to help with his grandmother ,and prime caretaker’s, declining health, Lexi finally notices him. Lexi, however, does not have the purest of intentions, and Deanna has an ulterior motive in keeping Lexi in love with her current boyfriend. In the process and through conversation about the “magic” of love, Deanna strikes up a deal with River: he has to prove to her that love is magical with no logic or she has to prove that love is solely science and algorithms. If River can prove his point, he gets his shot with Lexi without Deanna’s interference. But what happens when River begins falling for the other sister?

Overall this book was a cute comfy read with a decent pace and some excellent spice. Crystal writes her smut with ease and gives us a dual POV to understand what each character is feeling and how their relationship develops. Towards the end, it got a little cheesy in my opinion. I felt like there was a lack in their relationship chemistry. They’re in love and it only took a couple of weeks, which isn’t uncommon, but what I felt was lacking was the scenes in which we get to see them grow as a couple and in their intimacy. We get the spice and smut, but we skip over them spending time together and their thoughts towards their developing feelings besides some post-sex breakfast a couple of times. However, this book does get more points in the comfort read department because the lack of anxiety the climax left me after their small-scale third act breakup. It immediately resolved itself and gave way to an HEA. The ending felt a little rushed, however, this was a cute, quick read packed with some excellent spice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled for an ARC copy of this great book!

I was thrilled to read this take on Sabrina. If you haven’t seen the Harrison Ford movie adaptation it’s a recommend from me. Loving the movie like I do, I knew I had to read this. Plus, as I talked about earlier this week-I’m such a sucker for a cute cover!!! This is a super cute cover!

It opens as our MC River is getting ready to deliver a hand made card to Lexi on her 16th bday. She is the dream girl who lives next door. The girl who is oblivious to who he is. When he gets there Lexi doesn’t even notice him. Her sister Deanna does and says she will pass his card along. Basically he is portrayed as super nerdy at this time and Lexi is out of his league. Fast forward 10 years and the sisters are trying to get their start-up going. They created a dating app with a unique algorithm that matches by personality traits only and zero pictures .

River now ten years older is visiting home from NYC taking care of his grandmother. He runs into the girls at another party. Lexi is instantly attracted to him. She had no idea he was the nerdy boy that lived next door. Thats because River has basically had a major glow-up. Muscles, tattoos, all the things that make them both stop in their tracks. Lexi may not have known who he was, but Deanna sure did. The very moment she saw him she knew. Does River still want Lexi or will Deanna steal his heart? Does their dating app deliver?

I will say what I love is the sisterly connection. They weren’t rivals and the sisterly bond wasn’t severed. The hardest part for me was the beginning of the book. I wasn’t sure I would be able to get into it. It just felt a bit forced and not really a story I wanted to delve into. I stuck with it and halfway through it really picked up.
Honestly I adored the last half of the book and I wish the first half had the same feel, pacing, and heart The ending was so good but you gotta stick with it to get there. The dialogue was beautiful in the last chapters and everyone needs a man who loves like River!!! 3.5/5⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Overall, this was a fun, quick romance. But if it wasn’t an ARC, I probably would’ve DNF’d it - but i’m really glad i didn’t.

The story focuses on Deanna and her sister Lexi who are business partners developing a new dating app. They reconnect with River, the nerdy, scrawny next-door neighbour who after a few tattoos and hours in the gym, is now a major babe. Problem is, River has always fantasized about a future with Lexi. In order to make the app appeal to a potential investor, and prevent Lexi from dumping her long term partner (that she met on the app), Deanna bets River that he can’t make her believe in love…. and well the rest is pretty self-explanatory.

The first ~30% was not it. the dialogue felt so unnatural and stilted and the whole plot line of Lexi breaking up with her long term boyfriend so she can fuck the hot neighbour was gross. like wtf.

Further to that, Lexi’s character didn’t feel fully fleshed out - she’s supposed to be the superficial blonde barbie with depth, but we don’t get any of that in the book. We only hear about her intelligence and hard work through Dee telling other people - it never actually happens on page.

After River gets over his borderline unhinged obsession with Lexi, the book gets pretty good. The development of the main relationship between River and Deanna was fun - i think they had great chemistry and the sex scenes were 😮‍💨🤌🏻

I thought the open discussions of kink on page were refreshing and something i hadn’t read before in a more contemporary romance/outside of the “dark romance” genre.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Entangled for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.