Reviews

Bewijs het maar by Lynn Painter

desi129's review against another edition

2.75

Felt that the relationship and problems/soulutions were to childish. Not sure why this book just wasn’t for me.

annaaaab's review against another edition

5.0

Totaal niet verwacht dat ik dit boek zo leuk zou vinden!!

Bailey en charlie zijn zo leuk!! Verder is het gewoon een lekkere basic romance met zeker ook cringe stukken maar gewoon zo schattig en relatable en gewoon zo schattig love it

toffeebox's review against another edition

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.0

A YA romcom centering around custody kids. Kudos for dealing with a tougher topic, but the execution was lacking.

The book relies on making a molehill out of nothing. And when something is severe enough to care, its tossed aside carelessly.

1. The whole cry-kiss cry-kiss sequence: using of divorce issues to build up to finding solace and emotional kissesIts like cry and kiss, cry and kiss. 

2. The betting trope was an unnecessary conflict between Bailey and Charlie. Like how is the fmc so blind to see that it has nothing to do with a bet?

3. Charlie characterisation and the romance goes to shit in the last 30 pages of the book. He's described to be a soft hearted man who loves his kittens in one chapter then abandons Bailey in the next, then reconciles in the last chapter.  Absolutely unnecessary conflict -

respect the friendship over panicking over a kiss, like Bailey is literally crying over her mom getting engaged again

- even lynn recognised this as a plot hole. 

graceee_elizabeth's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.75

riahsreads's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted slow-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

librarycutie's review against another edition

3.25

୨⎯ 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒔 ⎯୧
rating: 3
plot: 3
characters: 3
writing: 3.75
romance: 3
spice: heated kissing
narration: 4

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

°•*⁀➷ the rundown 

let's be honest, this was a bit of a shitshow. i am a fan of Lynn Painter's YA romances, they're so cute and have me giggling and kicking my feet with the back and forth banter and flirting and slowly falling for each other but i just had a few too many issues with Betting on You. 

with it being a YA book, i didn't expect it to brush over cheating. even if it was the briefest moment it still happened and was still brushed over. not just once but a few times. 

although saying that, i'm really glad it dealt with divorce, divorced parents, and being in the middle of that. for a while i got irritated with how Bailey and Charlie trash talking their parents new partners because it was entirely disrespectful, but at 18 i was in the same situation though messier and i can remember those angsty "the world is out against me" feelings all too well, so i gave it another chance and ended up enjoying it (minus the cheating) 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

°•*⁀➷ the characters
𝜗𝜚 Bailey: i was conflicted with Bailey. i both liked her character and was so annoyed with her. but that's a teen girl for you i guess. 

𝜗𝜚 Charlie: i adored Charlie, of course, but that last 

10% before the epilogue he was definitely a dummy. we can all agree on that.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

ᯓ ᡣ𐭩 do i recommend? — yes, kinda

stephbetley's review against another edition

4.0

Rating: 4.0⭐️

Betting On You is a cute young adult romance novel that follows the evolving relationship between Bailey and Charlie.

Charlie holds the belief that individuals of opposite sexes cannot simply remain friends, while Bailey is determined on proving him wrong. The narrative unfolds through alternating chapters from Bailey and Charlie's perspectives, portraying an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers trope. The story navigates themes of relationships, dating, blended families, and mutual support.

While I found the book enjoyable, I found Bailey's character annoying and rigid at times (which made it difficult to get into this story). I Love Lynn Painter and would recommend this cute read!

blahlicia's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

This was a fun listen. I enjoyed both the narrators a lot. The friends to romance was very cute too. I had no issue with that. What drove me crazy was the larger plot with the parents. The teens acted like teens, Bailey took on way too much responsibility for other’s feelings and Charlie was messy and sweet. But the adults! The parents! 

So Bailey and Charlie are both children of divorce which is what they initially bond over. They’re both dealing with their parents dating new people. It’s established that Charlie’s mom is kinda absent from his life because of this. But Bailey’s mom is also doing a lot. Dating this guy and all the sudden he’s at the house all the time and she’s not setting aside time for her child. She’s letting her boyfriend talk to Bailey like he’s her dad and he’s weighing in on parenting moments when he hasn’t earned the right. Then they get ENGAGED and meanwhile she has never been to his house or met his child?! This drove me insane because the mom and her boyfriend never really like…rectify this and the mom is even like “this will be good for us” but the didn’t even set the situation up with the care and gentleness it deserved and  in the end Bailey just had ~adjust~ and also her dad was just MIA for months and didn’t call or text her until her mom told him to? It just felt like all the adults failed the kids but the narrative of the story didn’t really acknowledge that. But it’s such a huge part of the story that I couldn’t look past it. 

graceangelmama's review against another edition

4.0

This was a cute YA book. I am definitely glad I listened to the audiobook - Zachary Webber did a fantastic job bringing Charlie to life; if this book had been single POV only through Bailey’s eyes, I probably wouldn’t have liked Charlie as much as I did. But my sweet, anxious, tums eating germophobe hiding behind a mask of cynicism boy ended up being really endearing. Bless him.

Bailey was an overthinker and resistant to change- and I can relate to that. I appreciated that when she realized Charlie was having a near panic attack about certain germ infested situations, she just tried to make him comfortable- she didn’t force a conversation about it or shame him. She just calmly helped.

I also liked how they became friends first, then the tiny bit of fake dating that revealed they had feelings- my favorite trope did its job!

Given this was YA, the MCs’ reactions to their parents’ divorces and all the subsequent upheavals to their lives and families made sense. Also, they’re teenagers still figuring out who they are and how to be a grown ass person in this crazy world.

(I am the age of their parents and I wanted to have a come to Jesus with all of the adults in this. Wtaf- communicate with your 17 year old that your boyfriend is now going to be sleeping over so she doesn’t walk out to breakfast half dressed and unprepared - or, I don’t know, that you’re so in love he’s going to propose. Your child who hates change- I can guarantee she’d like a heads up about all of that. I couldn’t understand Bailey’s mom at all.)

I liked the story. It felt like it drug on a little long in the middle, but in the end, I enjoyed reading it.

svetcarobnihbesed's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0