REVIEW: Betting on You by Lynn Painter

In Betting on You by Lynn Painter, The first time Bailey Mitchell met Charlie Sampson let’s just say they didn’t necessarily see eye to eye. On anything. But it certainly made the crappy flight to her new home in Omaha a memorable one. The next time they saw each other, Charlie was still just as sarcastic and outspoken, but Bailey could see a teensy bit of the nice guy he was underneath all that snark. So, present day, when she realizes they both got hired at Planet Funnn at the same time, she figures at least it will make working at the hotel theme park a bit more entertaining. Bailey just had no idea that the attraction she felt for Charlie–that she’d never admit to anyone out loud–would change their relationship over time.

“Okay. So. When I saw you at the movies last year, before you opened your mouth and reminded me of what a pain in the ass you are, I thought you were hot.”
I coughed out a laugh. “Did you seriously just say that you thought I was hot until you remembered my personality? Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

In Charlie’s (seventeen years of) experience, romantic relationships never last. It might sound cynical, but between all the failed marriages in his family and his own breakups with girlfriends, he’s pretty sure Happily Ever Afters don’t exist. Then Charlie meets Bailey. And even though she annoys the heck out of him at first, he somehow enjoys any time he gets to spend with her. She makes his shifts at the hotel/park fun. And he begins to look forward to even seeing her outside of work. But when Charlie realizes that he’s no longer thinking of Bailey as his coworker–or even as a friend–and instead sees her as so much more, the freaking out begins. He’s not built for romance. The best thing he could do for them both is walk away. But even with their friends interfering and family life making them crazy, Charlie has to admit that Bailey might be the best thing to ever happen to him.

‘I’d known that men and women couldn’t be friends. It was something I considered to be a universal truth. But somehow, with Bailey, lines got crossed.’

If you’re looking for a YA rom-com with fun banter, sigh-worthy moments, and crazy hot chemistry between the main characters, then BETTING ON YOU is a must read.

“When you’re in the room, every single cell in my body–every nerve, every muscle, every breath–is lost in you.”

Simply put, Lynn Painter’s newest YA romance, BETTING ON YOU, was a delight. She always has this wonderful knack for creating characters who feel genuinely real–flaws and all–that sneak past your defenses and find a place in your heart. Such was the case with Bailey and Charlie. Total opposites in terms of personality, they had more in common than they first thought when it came to their families and their personal lives. From their memorable first snarky meeting in an airport to them both getting a job at the same hotel theme park three years later, Charlie and Bailey squared off about, well, darn near everything. But it only made their time together that much more fun. Especially when those sparks of attraction began to fly.

Painter added tons of depth to this romantic comedy by including the struggle both Bailey and Charlie felt while watching their families get rebuilt after divorce. It seemed like a very relatable subject for most readers. As did the animosity Bailey felt when her mom–her best friend in the whole world–began seriously dating someone, leaving her to feel lonely and a bit let down. Did she deal with it in a healthy, mature way? Not so much. However, Bailey was seventeen. So, we have to give her some leeway.

Getting Charlie’s perspective on it considering he’d been through the same thing with his parents was another connection he formed with Bailey–who was supposedly just his coworker, not his friend. Because Charlie was dead sure that men and women couldn’t be platonic friends. Something that he and Bailey bickered about constantly. So over time as they grew closer, were in each other’s lives on a daily basis, and even fake dated to tick off Bailey’s mother’s boyfriend, emotions got added to the mix. And that’s where Painter shined, making both Charlie *and* Bailey sort through and eventually admit their feelings before they got their sweet HEA.

QOTD: Have you ever misjudged someone based on your first encounter with them?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: November 28th, 2023 | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers |

From the New York Times bestselling author of Better than the Movies , this swoon-worthy rom-com in the vein of She’s All That and 10 Things I Hate About You follows a teen girl who unwittingly finds herself at the center of a bet while working at a waterpark.

When seventeen-year-old Bailey starts a new job at a hotel waterpark, she is less than thrilled to see an old acquaintance is one of her coworkers. Bailey met Charlie a year ago on the long flight to Omaha, where she moved after her parents’ divorce. Charlie’s cynicism didn’t mix well with Bailey’s carefully well-behaved temperament, and his endless commentary was the irritating cherry on top of an already emotionally fraught trip.

Now, Bailey and Charlie are still polar opposites, but instead of everything about him rubbing Bailey the wrong way, she starts to look forward to hanging out and gossiping about the waterpark guests and their coworkers—particularly two who keep flirting with each other. Bailey and Charlie make a bet on whether or not the cozy pair will actually get together. Charlie insists that members of the opposite sex can’t just be friends, and Bailey is determined to prove him wrong.

Bailey and Charlie keep close track of the romantic progress of others while Charlie works to deflect the growing feelings he’s developed for Bailey. Terrified to lose her if his crush becomes known, what doesn’t help his agenda is Bailey and Charlie “fake dating” in order to disrupt the annoying pleasantries between Bailey’s mom and her mom’s new boyfriend. Soon, what Charlie was hoping to avoid becomes a reality as Bailey starts to see him as not only a friend she can rely on in the midst of family drama—but someone who makes her hands shake and heart race. But Charlie has a secret—a secret that involves Bailey and another bet Charlie may have made. Can the two make a real go of things…or has Charlie’s secret doomed them before they could start?