Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - Betting On You

This book and its characters really grew on me by the end. At the beginning, I struggled with the cynicism of MMC Charlie and the whininess of FMC Bailey, but their character development and friendship over time was lovely. I felt very sorry for Bailey as

a child of divorce who had two selfish (in different ways) parents

- some of that, especially with the subplot relating to her mother, was handwaved away. This book kept a lighthearted tone despite some of the serious subject matter, and the wide variety of side characters worked well. I didn’t like it as much as the last Lynn Painter book I read, but I still enjoyed it.

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_rubydodge's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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thebankofbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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sunshinekmp's review

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This is concerned Teen Fiction-but I wouldn’t let my younger (14yo) teen read it. I know she’s heard the language before but she doesn’t need to read so much of it.

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tamsterdam_reads's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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iheartaimen's review

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emotional funny informative relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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velsbooknook's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted

5.0

This was absolutely perfect! I read the two other young adult novels by Lynn Painter before and I loved them but Betting On You hit differently.
First of all I loved Bailey and Charlie. I loved the banter, the tension, their insecurities. The strangers to friends to lovers - absolute perfection. Both of them have to navigate life after the divorce of their parents and I enjoyed to see them getting through it together. The story has 2 POVs and Bailey's and Charlie's thoughts and actions were very relatable and they also dealt with the typical teenager problems. I also very much enjoyed the relationships between Bailey and her mom and seeing their bond strengthened even though Bailey sometines was a real pain in the ass.
This novel was also filled with sooooo many Taylor Swift, Netflix, The Office and bookstagram references it was right up my ally. I honestly enjoyed every second of this book. I listened to the audiobook and I knew I had to grab a physical copy because this book just screams reread. The day I finished it I went to town and picked up my physical copy. If that is not convincing enough for you to pick it up I don't know what else to say. Definitely one of my all time favourite reads and a new comfort read of mine for sure!

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beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I wanted to read this book because I love Lynn Painter’s work and when this was announced, I knew I would want to read it as soon as possible.

This book has two points of view. The first is Bailey. She has started a new job at a hotel waterpark and she is less than thrilled to see an old acquaintance is one of her co-workers. Bailey met Charlie a year ago on a 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 co-workers – particularly the 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. The second point of view is Charlie, he is determined to deflect the growing feelings he’s developed for Bailey. He is terrified to lose her if his crush becomes known. What doesn’t help is his agenda is Bailey and Charlie’s “fake dating” in order to disrupt the annoying pleasantries between Bailey’s mum and her 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 which involved Bailey and another bet Charlie might have made. Can the two make a real go of things or will Charlie betrayal too much for Bailey?

This book was so fluffy and fun. I love the aspect of fake dating and the whole young adult one bed stuff was great. I loved Charlie’s POV and I wish we had more of Charlie’s POV. This book was such an easy read and the dual POV made it a quicker read. I like the progression of the friends-to-lovers as it seems more realistic than books I've read in the past – both of them denying that they couldn’t have feelings for each other, ignoring them, and then getting over it and accepting it, to admitting their feels. As a kid of divorced parents and have stepparents, I loved the rep though now I appreciate the fact that my parents lived close to each other because I couldn’t think about doing a flight on my own under the age of 15. I loved that Scott was honest and open towards the end.

I wanted more. I would have loved more light being shed on Charlie’s overthinking/TUMS bit – I felt like it got mentioned with his mum, Bailey didn’t question it and then that was it. I would have liked to see more from Charlie’s household because we didn’t see much expect that he doesn’t like to be home. I get it was mainly focused on Bailey, but sometimes I felt like Charlie’s POV was just needed to move the story alone rather than a more depth of a character.

I will always read Lynn Painter, but I think I will always prefer her new adult books rather than young adult books because I felt like the bet bit of it was just unnecessary – not the bet with Bailey and Charlie but the bet between Theo and Charlie – the She’s All That reference of a bet. Plus these kids were giving me a headache sometimes.

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