The Love Wager by Lynn Painter (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Title: The Love Wager

Author: Lynn Painter

Publication: 14 March 2023

Format: Kindle eARC via NetGalley & Berkley

Amazon Description: 

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 onto the dating app that she has determined will find her new love, she sees none other than Jack, the guy whose room she snuck out of. 

After agreeing they are absolutely not interested in each other, Jack and Hallie realize they’re each other’s perfect wing-person in their 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 both struggle to remember why the other was a bad idea to begin with.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I am still largely on the "romance is bullshit" end of the spectrum and I'm actually surprisingly okay with it ... for me. Then there's Jack and Hallie and you just have to know from the description that they're destined to be together. Watching them figure that out and overcome the obstacle course of online dating other people in the process was an absolute delight -- except, of course, for the times that I thought it was going to rip my heart out.

It was nice seeing Jack's best friend and sister, Colin and Liv. I would highly recommend reading Mr. Wrong Number first to meet the family ... and because it's another phenomenal book.

And now I go back to swiping left and right just in case there's actually a Jack out there.

 

 

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader