Betting on You

⭐️ 5 stars

its lynn painter. if its not 5 stars its not her.

tropes:
> fake dating
> enemies to friends to (half) lovers to enemies to lovers (confusing, right?)
> enemies to lovers
> forced proximity

mr nothing (charlie) and glasses (bailey) meet on a flight 3 years ago. charlie deems bailey a rule-follower, while bailey deems charlie to be an annoying prick.
its been 3 years and.. theyre both trainees at a job training, working in the same unit. sparks fly between them, so will they become friends.. or something more?
so, this book was really fast paced, but also kinda slow burn. this book has the MOST SWOON WORTHY MOMENTS, like this love between them is something that could never happen to me, not even in my wildest dreams 😭
when bailey had the internal 'you are in love' moment and was screaming and going crazy, i was just screaming GET TOGETHER ALREADY!
it reminded me of a 'gold rush' by taylor swift kinda theme. they both like each other but dont know.. idk how to explain. but yeah thats what was in my head for some time.
also this also had some realism in it, which i enjoyed. i liked seeing how bailey and charlies lives became different as both their parents split, and they bonded over it.

i loved scott as well. he was so nice and caring.. and my heart melted when he proposed to emily. i was so happy for emily and how understanding bailey became in the end when she realised that scott wasn't all that bad. well, he wasnt all too well either.. but.. all's well that ends well, right?
and for charlie, all he was thinking (probably) was today was a fairytale.

i have a confession. i didnt like three things in this book. I KNOW, I KNOW! its lynn painter. but its only three things.
first: bailey kept 'tucking her hair behind her ears'. i swear in the first 45% it was every page, and then after that, it was less frequent, but nevertheless it was still recurring a lot.
second, AND DONT FREAK OUT!, but.. too MANY taylor references. i know, i know.. but there actually is something as too many.
third: they kept saying 'Ohmigawd' instead of oh my god, and that shouldnt have been annoying but.. it was

speaking of.. time for the taylor swift references! most of these were direct, but some were subtle hints to her.

Karma was supposed to be a cat, dammit, not this.

Maybe karma was a girl in glasses.

The Man?"

still couldn't listen to the Taylor Swift album that'd been popular at the time because it made me cry.

Charlie: At least I got custody of Scarf.
I climbed back onto my bed and texted: Please tell me you didn't pull a Gyllenhaal.
Charlie: She tried pulling a Jake on ME, but I went over and reclaimed it. Not gonna have her being reminded of innocence and thinking it smells like me.
I sat straight up. Holy shit, Chuckles⎯are you a Swiftie?
Charlie: Settle your ass down. I just thought the Red rerelease was really good.
Me: I'm speechless. Christmas and Taylor Swift. You're an enigma, Charlie.

'All Too Well.' The ten-minute version."

You almost ran the red 'cause you were looking over at me.

"Fuck the patriarchy" keychain on the ground,

singing along to "All Too Well"

"You just missed 'All Too Well,'"

invisible string

She was wearing her I'm the problem T-shirt, the one she'd bought the day after Midnights came out.

I am packing my Evermore shirt and Docs as we speak.

cardigan

Swear to God I heard Taylor Swift's voice say, "Are you ready for it?".
Let the games begin.

Lover?

There was a whole Taylor Swift vibe to the way she dressed,

happiness,

mean

ME,

epiphany

gorgeous,"

"The Last Time,"

The entire Red rerelease reminded me of Charlie,



see.. too many now?


and finally, some bonus things that are so me:

And by "prefer lighter reading", she meant that she read five or six romance novels. A week.

Lksjflskjfksljfklsdjfklsd, I thought,


so, this was a sweet, fun rom-com/romance read! for me, it was a four to five hour read, so only a day or two of reading. plus it was the weekend so.. extra time to read😻!
highly recommend if you love lynn painter and just want to have a fun, cute read!

this book has:
- enemies (lowkey) to friends/co-workers to lovers
- fake dating
- dual pov
- mmc falls first
- forced proximity
- taylor swift & new girl references

bailey & charlie have a history of running into one another over the years & become co-workers once they start a new job at a waterpark. as kids of divorced parents, they quickly connect & form a friendship, despite charlie insisting that they are only co-workers. they grow closer as they make a bet about their other co-workers & bailey enlists charlie to help her annoy her mom's boyfriend.

lynn painter books always have that perfect late 90s/early 00s romcom feel to them & this one was no exception. this book delves into the experiences of children with divorced parents & how that affects them. i rarely read YA romances but lynn painter's ones never miss! i always love the taylor swift references & this one also had new girl references which made it even better. the only thing i wish is that they would've been a little more grovelling at the end.

tw: divorce & strained family relationships

thank you to netgalley and the author for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was just such an enjoyable read! In my personal opinion it gives Better Than The Movies a run for its money. Bailey and Charlie are such interesting characters and are so fun to read about.

AND THE CHEMISTRY. Good lord. No words.
The conflict, while being perhaps a little unrealistic, was still so fun and you can understand where each character is coming from in their response.

Would definitely recommend a read, this is one you won’t want to miss!

This book was really adorable. By page nine, I was already laughing aloud and stomping my feet in the air. I am now a Lynn Painter lover, Her books are incredibly light, enjoyable, and quick to read. the ideal rom-com for summer.
This book is jam-packed with puns, jokes, and some sweet love. Charlie and Bailey's first meeting was, shall we say, amusing to say the least—not quite a meet-cute. Over the course of three years, they only sometimes ran into one another before eventually landing jobs at the same waterpark. they are placing a wager on something as events unfold.

Thank you to Net Galley, Simon & Schuster and Lynn Painter for this ARC copy to review.

I absolutely devoured this book - I read this in an afternoon. I had such a good time.

This is such a fun, sweet YA romance. The hasty and sometimes not great decisions the characters made were so relable - I could feel my teenage angst coming back!

Charlie and Bailey's relationship develops in a really great way - they have such a strong friendship as their foundation (even after a not amazing first impression of each other).

I highly recommend this beautiful story - you'll have such a great time and it will take you back to your teenage years. And if you're a teenager, you'll be feeling this one. This is a really gorgeous read, another great one by Lynn Painter.

What a fabulous rom-com meet cute novel. It would be the sweetest thing if this was made into a tv movie 💝 …. Ummm hello Hallmark Movies!!!

Absolutely loved the transition of the Bailey and Charlie, the way they work through their lives, and their feelings and how they navigate the world of being a teenager. I loved the fact that this novel was full of real world issues, drama and life lessons.

If you are looking for a change of pace, a light hearted novel and some teenage angst, this is definitely for you. Right from their first meeting, you get the sense that these two characters were made for this story.

It’s not a perfect world for them, with both having their own family issues, but the bond that they have, and the foundational friendship they create is a really solid base for a real relationship. Well done to Lynn, a truly delightful book.

Perfect light YA rom com reading, not only was Charlie & Baileys journey just enchanting but the realness of ‘life’ that surrounded them both while dealing with their respective parents & home lives changing, but having each other to help them through, just took the story to another level.