Thank you very much to the publishers and Netgalley for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
After yet another disastrous date, Hallie Piper decides it’s time to grow up.
She gets a new apartment, a new haircut, and a new wardrobe. But when she logs into an app to find new love, she matches with none other than Jack: the guy the wrong kind of sparks had flown with just weeks earlier.
Agreeing that they are absolutely not interested in each other, Jack and Hallie realise that they’re each other’s perfect wing-person – and join forces in their searches for The One. They even place a wager on who can find romance first.
But when they agree to be fake dates for a wedding, all bets are off.
Because as they pretend to be a couple, they struggle to remember why dating for real was a bad idea to begin with . . .
After reading all of Lynn Painter’s YA romance novels, I was excited to give one of her adult romance novels a read. The Love Wager seemed like the perfect place to give them a try. Although it is a companion novel to Mr. Wrong Number, you can definitely read this one on its own, which is what I did. I loved this book and its characters for so many reasons!
Hallie is turning over a new leaf. After belly-crawling out of a hotel room, she decides to become a full-on adult. With a new apartment, new wardrobe and new haircut, she downloads a dating app determined to find her new love. That is where she sees none other than Jack, the guy whose room she’d snuck out of. Discouraged by the lack of dating prospects, they make a wager to see who can find true love first but lines start to blur and how long will it be before all bets are off.
The Love Wager is told from dual POVs which is one of my favourite ways for a romance story to be told. It allows the reader to see both main characters, their thoughts and feelings and brings a new level of excitement to the book for me. It also has a few of my favourite tropes, friends-to-lovers, guy falls first and fake dating to name a couple! These tropes are used excellently and they helped make me love this book even more.
Jack and Hallie are wonderful main characters. I adored watching them become fast friends and then seeing how their relationship developed from there. Hallie is hilarious and certainly keeps Jack on his feet. Jack is caring and protective of Hallie throughout the whole book and it is so wholesome. The chemistry between the pair is extraordinary and undeniable. I loved watching them navigate their feelings and thoughts and I was so invested in the pair.
There is one thing I wasn’t a big fan of in this book, it was the plot following the miscommunication trope. I’m never really a fan of this trope especially when it is quite predictable what is going to happen. It didn’t take away from the overall enjoyment of the book though.
Lynn Painter is an author I will certainly be reading more books by in the future. I cannot wait to pick up Mr. Wrong Number very soon.
Overall, I would definitely recommend giving The Love Wager a read. Especially if you are looking for a fun rom-com with excellent humour throughout and if you are looking for a light enjoyable read!
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