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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Charmed the pants off me, and how fun to set it in Omaha of all places and have the female lead be an accountant. Romance generally leans into the glamorous or goes hardcore trashy - this did neither. A 4.5 rounded up even though it lacked some depth. The banter was top drawer and it made me feel happy and that gets it all the stars.
emotional
funny
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:
Complicated
I felt a reading slump closing in on me so I picked up a book I knew would keep me out of it. Anything Lynn Painter's I've previously read has been a great time, and The Love Wager continued with the same feeling.
The characters seem very real with their multidimensional lives, even though there is some heavy reliance on tropes here (Hallie and Jack are aggressively being fun friends with each other before the trope begins to turn towards the feelings-stage of lovers). It's agonizing to read how long it takes for these two to realize their feelings, and how much longer even to communicate them, but at that point they have such strong friendship and emotional connection that I'm even more invested in the eventual confessions.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A veces una chica solo necesita leer una historia de amor y seguir adelante
“This looks promising” I said and then immediately regretted 2 chapters in.
Hallie and Jack had a ONS and met again on a dating app, only to suddenly become BFFs and now they’re off trying to find love (but not with each other because ??idk) as part of a bet.
Both Hallie and Jack aren’t interesting characters, and the third person dual POV wasn’t helping the lack of chemistry. Hallie suffers from the usual “Im not like other girls” syndrome, and Jack .. was just there, contributing to the cringiest dialogue/texts/convos I’ve ever read. They could have magically turned into toads and I simply wouldn’t have cared.
2 stars because there was technically nothing grotesquely wrong, but this was not great. I’m still a forever fan of her YA novels *chefs kiss*, but anything else is *chefs thumb down*.
Hallie and Jack had a ONS and met again on a dating app, only to suddenly become BFFs and now they’re off trying to find love (but not with each other because ??idk) as part of a bet.
Both Hallie and Jack aren’t interesting characters, and the third person dual POV wasn’t helping the lack of chemistry. Hallie suffers from the usual “Im not like other girls” syndrome, and Jack .. was just there, contributing to the cringiest dialogue/texts/convos I’ve ever read. They could have magically turned into toads and I simply wouldn’t have cared.
2 stars because there was technically nothing grotesquely wrong, but this was not great. I’m still a forever fan of her YA novels *chefs kiss*, but anything else is *chefs thumb down*.
funny
relaxing
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
I did find the two mcs somewhat insufferable but this was cute and fun nonetheless
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced