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litwithleigh's review against another edition
3.0
Writing: avg | Plot: IT COULD'VE BEEN GREAT!!!!!!!! | Ending: so abrupt it gave me a lil whiplash
SYNOPSIS
After a one night stand, Hallie and Jack decide they're better off friends and make a wager on who will find true love first. But when they agree to fake date for a wedding, all bets are off (HAR HAR HAR)
MY OPINION
AFONAFKANFKANFKNKNGKNKGJFDJDJDJDJ!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's been a couple days since I finished this one and I STILL don't know how to rate it. The best way to sum up my feelings about this book is: it's like dating a guy who's a total wildcard. You want to bring him around your friends, but you don't know what version is gonna show up.
I wanted to like this book SO badly because—at times—it was legit funny. And—at times—it was cute. And—at times—the bants were bantering. But then at other times I wanted to yeet myself off a bridge tied to both Jack and Hallie. This book was playing so many games with me it honestly felt like a personal attack. JUST LET ME LOVE YOU!!!!!
It's usually easier to blame things on men but in this case, they were both insufferable. The first time we're forced to suffer through Jack's POV, he makes MULTIPLE remarks about what a teeny tiny smol bean Hallie is. He even nicknames her Tiny Bartender (and continues to call her this even when she quits so she can be a tax accountant FT. Tbh Tiny Tax Accountant sounds better to me). Instead of telling Hallie he wants to scalp her and wear her hair like a wig (aka he likes her), he decides to cancel her date with another man and throw a fit. Nice. Also, what was that whole deal with his Uncle Mack aka modern day Great Gatsby? Talk about an unresolved storyline.
And lastly—when Josh says going up to randos at a bar is so stupid because you're initiating a convo based on looks and he would rather approach someone on the basis of their intelligence I nearly screamed in my dog's face at point blank range. In this fictional hellscape are people going around with their college transcripts and IQ score stapled to their forehead? How exactly will you know if someone's intelligent IF YOU DON'T APPROACH THEM??????? And of course Hallie was aroused by this "feminist" outlook. I must be blind because I didn't see it.
Hallie's POV doesn't start off much better: she gets mad at Jack for asking her manager if she can work a bar in the back and accuses him of being blatantly sexist. Ummm... I'm sorry that your manager happened to be a man??? Like if you wanna be mad about sexism I can point out 2149094 things Jack did that you could legit be mad about.
Honestly it felt like Hallie had her own wager going on for how frustratingly inconsistent she could be. I don't think I'll ever recover from the following scene: Hallie's man du jour recommends the lamb and risotto (it's an immediate yes from me) which Hallie balks at because she's a picky eater who only enjoys burgers and chicken nuggies. That's fine, but tell me why the very next page she thinks "the lamb isn't actually that bad... if she didn't think of fluffy, little lambs jumping around." WHAT??? You eat BURGERS and CHICKEN NUGGIES??? How is this any different? This would've made sense if Hallie was a vegan, but since she had no qualms about deep throating a "chicken" nugget (I would guesstimate there's about 2% of actual chicken in all nuggies), why the fk is she pressed over some lamb????
Anyways. My last complaint is how these two numb nuts were always banging on about being besties and not wanting to date when: 1) you've legit known each other for two moon cycles. Relax. and 2) it was never really explained WHY they didn't want to date. Well I guess Josh said he doesn't want to date a one-night stand (????????????).
Ugh. Whatever. I need to stop but I'll just say one last thing: the ending was so abrupt I literally thought I had a misprint. Turns out I didn't. I guess Lynn Painter had enough. And if you made it to this part of the review, you may be surprised by what I say next. YES, I would read another book by her. I think when she's funny, she's legit funny. Maybe this was just a bad one FOR ME. Maybe she's got other bangers out there. I see the vision. Stay tuned.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: funny (AT TIMES), cute (AT TIMES), great banter (AT TIMES), solid premise (iffy on the execution), short, fast paced
Cons: painfully inconsistent characters, the feminist/boss babe behaviour felt forced and misguided, ending was so abrupt like her subscription to Microsoft Word ended and she had to call it a day
SYNOPSIS
After a one night stand, Hallie and Jack decide they're better off friends and make a wager on who will find true love first. But when they agree to fake date for a wedding, all bets are off (HAR HAR HAR)
MY OPINION
AFONAFKANFKANFKNKNGKNKGJFDJDJDJDJ!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's been a couple days since I finished this one and I STILL don't know how to rate it. The best way to sum up my feelings about this book is: it's like dating a guy who's a total wildcard. You want to bring him around your friends, but you don't know what version is gonna show up.
I wanted to like this book SO badly because—at times—it was legit funny. And—at times—it was cute. And—at times—the bants were bantering. But then at other times I wanted to yeet myself off a bridge tied to both Jack and Hallie. This book was playing so many games with me it honestly felt like a personal attack. JUST LET ME LOVE YOU!!!!!
It's usually easier to blame things on men but in this case, they were both insufferable. The first time we're forced to suffer through Jack's POV, he makes MULTIPLE remarks about what a teeny tiny smol bean Hallie is. He even nicknames her Tiny Bartender (and continues to call her this even when she quits so she can be a tax accountant FT. Tbh Tiny Tax Accountant sounds better to me). Instead of telling Hallie he wants to scalp her and wear her hair like a wig (aka he likes her), he decides to cancel her date with another man and throw a fit. Nice. Also, what was that whole deal with his Uncle Mack aka modern day Great Gatsby? Talk about an unresolved storyline.
And lastly—when Josh says going up to randos at a bar is so stupid because you're initiating a convo based on looks and he would rather approach someone on the basis of their intelligence I nearly screamed in my dog's face at point blank range. In this fictional hellscape are people going around with their college transcripts and IQ score stapled to their forehead? How exactly will you know if someone's intelligent IF YOU DON'T APPROACH THEM??????? And of course Hallie was aroused by this "feminist" outlook. I must be blind because I didn't see it.
Hallie's POV doesn't start off much better: she gets mad at Jack for asking her manager if she can work a bar in the back and accuses him of being blatantly sexist. Ummm... I'm sorry that your manager happened to be a man??? Like if you wanna be mad about sexism I can point out 2149094 things Jack did that you could legit be mad about.
Honestly it felt like Hallie had her own wager going on for how frustratingly inconsistent she could be. I don't think I'll ever recover from the following scene: Hallie's man du jour recommends the lamb and risotto (it's an immediate yes from me) which Hallie balks at because she's a picky eater who only enjoys burgers and chicken nuggies. That's fine, but tell me why the very next page she thinks "the lamb isn't actually that bad... if she didn't think of fluffy, little lambs jumping around." WHAT??? You eat BURGERS and CHICKEN NUGGIES??? How is this any different? This would've made sense if Hallie was a vegan, but since she had no qualms about deep throating a "chicken" nugget (I would guesstimate there's about 2% of actual chicken in all nuggies), why the fk is she pressed over some lamb????
Anyways. My last complaint is how these two numb nuts were always banging on about being besties and not wanting to date when: 1) you've legit known each other for two moon cycles. Relax. and 2) it was never really explained WHY they didn't want to date. Well I guess Josh said he doesn't want to date a one-night stand (????????????).
Ugh. Whatever. I need to stop but I'll just say one last thing: the ending was so abrupt I literally thought I had a misprint. Turns out I didn't. I guess Lynn Painter had enough. And if you made it to this part of the review, you may be surprised by what I say next. YES, I would read another book by her. I think when she's funny, she's legit funny. Maybe this was just a bad one FOR ME. Maybe she's got other bangers out there. I see the vision. Stay tuned.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: funny (AT TIMES), cute (AT TIMES), great banter (AT TIMES), solid premise (iffy on the execution), short, fast paced
Cons: painfully inconsistent characters, the feminist/boss babe behaviour felt forced and misguided, ending was so abrupt like her subscription to Microsoft Word ended and she had to call it a day
katydavis's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lemon_y's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
aclifshitz's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
whateves99's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Well I liked the plot and I like Lynn Painters writing but this was just not it for me it was like there was a narrator but u are also in the persons mine but idk maybe it was just a me thing over all I enjoyed the book but would have wanted to hear more about jacks job
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cursing and Vomit
profpetitfours's review
5.0
Lovers to friends to lovers? Fake dating? One bed trope? Excellent banter? Why hasn't this book gotten more love on Booktok and Bookstagram?
I remember enjoying Mr. Wrong Number, but it not being a five-star read, so the Love Wager was a pleasant surprise. It can, however, be read as a complete standalone.
I remember enjoying Mr. Wrong Number, but it not being a five-star read, so the Love Wager was a pleasant surprise. It can, however, be read as a complete standalone.
alexasdraft's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0