REVIEW: The Love Wager by Lynn Painter

In The Love Wager by Lynn Painter, It all started with a miscommunication at Hallie’s side gig as a bartender when a handsome guy’s jealous girlfriend threw a drink in Hallie’s face. That somehow turned into a night of hot-as-hell drunken sex and a morning after that found her vowing to change her life. For the better. For reals. One dating app profile and complete makeover later, Hallie accidentally finds and then ends up talking to her one-off dude on the app. Turns out, Jack is smart, funny, and interested in friendship with her–specifically to become her wingman to his wingwoman as they each delve into the dating scene. And it’s a good thing, because they spend a lot of time bailing each other out. To make it more interesting, Jack proposes a wager between them. Hallie, always up for a challenge, accepts. I mean, what can go wrong, right?

‘Jack: Care to make a wager?
Hallie: On what?
Jack: Who finds it (love) first.
Hallie: Doesn’t that seem rather cavalier, to make a wager on something we’ve both agreed is important to us?
Jack: I don’t think so, because it’s not like a bet is going to make me behave differently to win. I still want the same thing. I just win a prize if I find it first.
Hallie: Ooh–I DO like prizes.’

Jack soon realizes his bet with Hallie might not have been a smart idea. He really treasures their friendship but if he’s being honest with himself, he has feelings of a decidedly more romantic nature when it comes to his Tiny Bartender. As they go on more individual dates, Jack isn’t sure he can stand watching Hallie have a nice time with other guys. The final straw is of his own doing, though. Jack offers to be Hallie’s fake boyfriend at a destination wedding, knowing they would make a convincing couple. But the more time he’s around the feisty redhead, the more he enjoys their shenanigans. And he finds that even when they’re all alone and don’t have to act attracted to each other, he can’t tone down his reaction to Hallie. Jack can only hope that she feels the same way as well.

‘The bottom line was that even though he had feelings for her beyond friendship, it might not be worth it to do anything about it if that meant risking everything else they had.’

I had a ridiculous amount of fun with Lynn Painter’s newest romance, The Love Wager, and just couldn’t get my fill of Hallie and Jack. Everything from the duo’s epic text threads to their incredible chemistry and the sweetness with which they treated each other was an utter delight.

‘That night had been all about hot chemistry with a stranger. Kissing Hallie in the airport security line–that was something else entirely. That was like coming home.’

Ever read a book and you want to shout to the world ‘Yes!! This!! So much this!!’? That was me with The Love Wager. While I still need to go back and read book one, Mr. Wrong Number, I already know just by how consumed I was with Hallie and Jack’s standalone story that I will be reading everything Lynn Painter writes. Seriously. In my humble opinion, she’s found the perfect sweet spot between comedy, romance, and depth. And somehow, even though I lost track of the number of tropes in this book (one-night stand, friends to lovers, only-one-bed, love triangle(ish), fake dating) it totally and completely worked. But it also meant that Jack and Hallie had a wild ride getting to their hard-won HEA–much to our entertainment.

Painter had a wonderful way with the lively conversations between all of the characters and with the quirkiness of the cast. You would expect Hallie and/or Jack to steal the show–which they did–but their friends and family stole some scenes of their own as well. They had me giggle-snorting more than once, especially with the outrageous wagers Jack and Hallie made with each other. And there were a number of steamy escapades that had me fanning my face. But it was the undeniable connection, the legit friendship that grew between Jack and Hallie that had me sighing in happiness.

Hallie was a force of nature with a heart of gold. And I love that Jack adored her for it. Hallie found Jack to be one of the most gorgeous, sexy men she’d ever met, but she truly cherished how comfortable and protected she felt with him. There wasn’t anything either of them would have changed about the other, so I think that was why Hallie and Jack were a great pair as well as why I think they have a very happy future ahead.

QOTD: Have you ever made a wager/bet with a friend or a loved one? If so, how did it turn out?

Book Info:

Publication: Published March 14, 2023 | by Berkley | Mr. Wrong Number #2

Hallie Piper is turning over a new leaf. After belly-crawling out of a hotel room (hello, rock bottom), she decides it’s time to become a full-on adult.

She gets a new apartment, a new haircut, and a new wardrobe, but when she logs into the dating app that she has determined will find her new love, she sees none other than Jack, the guy whose room she’d snuck out of.

Through the app, and after the joint agreement that they are absolutely not interested in each other, Jack and Hallie become partners in their respective searches for The One. They text each other about their dates, often scheduling them at the same restaurant so that if things don’t go well, the two of them can get tacos afterward.

Spoiler: they get a lot of tacos together.

Discouraged by the lack of prospects, Jack and Hallie make a wager to see who can find true love first, but when they agree to be fake dates for a weekend wedding, all bets are off.

As they pretend to be a couple, lines become blurred and they each struggle to remember why the other was a bad idea to begin with.