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A review by abbier_14
Betting On You by Lynn Painter
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A little bit disappointing after reading Better than the movies :( Maybe i should have had a break in between them but I was too excited that i had to start after reading immediately after the sample at the back of the book.
Not horrific but also lacking stuff that BTTM had, so i think its worth 3 stars but that doesnt mean its bad.
- I didnt connect to Bailey or Charlie as much as I did to Libby and Wes. Both B and C felt hollow after L and W. Like Libby was soo quirky she had so many hobbies and qualities that made her herself that Bailey just felt bland. Charlie was even worse in that regard we had some scenes like where he would offer to give people lifts home that were meant to show he had a softer side but it was eh. His teasing also wasnt as charming as Wes's and didnt add much to the chemistry or dynamic.
- The story line also wasnt as good as BTTM even though they were very similar. This is why i should have not read them back to back. BTTM had fake dating to get with someone, which is what BOY had but this time both MCs were hung up on exes.
I think it was because BTTM felt more realistic (as realistic as a fake dating trope can be), whereas Charlie and Bailey were rarely around their exes when they were fake dating so it didnt make as much sense.
And then the betting thing. I get thats how they started talking and everything but idk also doesnt help with the realism. IK IK i shouldnt have picked up a book literally called betting on you if i dont like betting tropes in books but i trusted Lynn to make it good.
However what i will say is that the third act breakup was actually set up well in this book unlike BTTM. Charlies history of divorce which makes him untrusting of relationships and the whole bet thing making Bailey feel like their relationship was fake was perfect grounds for a breakup tbh. It was just ashame that we didnt get many pages after they made up so we barely got to see when they were actually together, but thats fine it may be setting up for a sequel.
Ok so the whole divorce trauma thing. At first I wasnt really vibing with that side of the plot because i didnt connect to it like the grief in BTTM, but I think it was alright in the end? Bailey made peace with Scott and got over her fear of change, and I guess Charlie trusts relationships again. I think it was dealt with with a touch of a heavy hand though, as the characters would go on and on about divorce and that wasnt something i was really prepared for. But then i guess I just dont really understand how much being a child of divorce becomes part of your identity.
- I think the story building was also lacking. I was reallyyy struggling with the timeline. So at first I thought that the were working their summer job, but then they had prom at the end. IDK how prom works in Nebraska but i thought it would be just before summer break actually starts. Additionally i thought Bailey was a junior, but then Charlie was saying something about his senior prom. So unless he is a year older than her, and I know they go to different schools so its a possibility but I was just a little confused at that.
Also I think the setting was not established throughout the book. We had a really cool description of a fun hotel to work in, but then it was kinda placed on a back burner and we werent ever really in the hotel again. I thought that was gonna be more central and where most of the interaction would take place, like flirting while controlling the slides, but no water park was mentioned at all.
Additionally, I dont even see the point of mentioning that Bailey had online friends because they were only mentioned about 3 times in the book and were never relevant apart from a throwaway comment.
So a lot of what was put in the description to make them seem important actually werent which was weird.
However after saying all of this it was a cute light romance book which you can't go wrong with.
Not horrific but also lacking stuff that BTTM had, so i think its worth 3 stars but that doesnt mean its bad.
- I didnt connect to Bailey or Charlie as much as I did to Libby and Wes. Both B and C felt hollow after L and W. Like Libby was soo quirky she had so many hobbies and qualities that made her herself that Bailey just felt bland. Charlie was even worse in that regard we had some scenes like where he would offer to give people lifts home that were meant to show he had a softer side but it was eh. His teasing also wasnt as charming as Wes's and didnt add much to the chemistry or dynamic.
- The story line also wasnt as good as BTTM even though they were very similar. This is why i should have not read them back to back. BTTM had fake dating to get with someone, which is what BOY had but this time both MCs were hung up on exes.
I think it was because BTTM felt more realistic (as realistic as a fake dating trope can be), whereas Charlie and Bailey were rarely around their exes when they were fake dating so it didnt make as much sense.
And then the betting thing. I get thats how they started talking and everything but idk also doesnt help with the realism. IK IK i shouldnt have picked up a book literally called betting on you if i dont like betting tropes in books but i trusted Lynn to make it good.
However what i will say is that the third act breakup was actually set up well in this book unlike BTTM. Charlies history of divorce which makes him untrusting of relationships and the whole bet thing making Bailey feel like their relationship was fake was perfect grounds for a breakup tbh. It was just ashame that we didnt get many pages after they made up so we barely got to see when they were actually together, but thats fine it may be setting up for a sequel.
Ok so the whole divorce trauma thing. At first I wasnt really vibing with that side of the plot because i didnt connect to it like the grief in BTTM, but I think it was alright in the end? Bailey made peace with Scott and got over her fear of change, and I guess Charlie trusts relationships again. I think it was dealt with with a touch of a heavy hand though, as the characters would go on and on about divorce and that wasnt something i was really prepared for. But then i guess I just dont really understand how much being a child of divorce becomes part of your identity.
- I think the story building was also lacking. I was reallyyy struggling with the timeline. So at first I thought that the were working their summer job, but then they had prom at the end. IDK how prom works in Nebraska but i thought it would be just before summer break actually starts. Additionally i thought Bailey was a junior, but then Charlie was saying something about his senior prom. So unless he is a year older than her, and I know they go to different schools so its a possibility but I was just a little confused at that.
Also I think the setting was not established throughout the book. We had a really cool description of a fun hotel to work in, but then it was kinda placed on a back burner and we werent ever really in the hotel again. I thought that was gonna be more central and where most of the interaction would take place, like flirting while controlling the slides, but no water park was mentioned at all.
Additionally, I dont even see the point of mentioning that Bailey had online friends because they were only mentioned about 3 times in the book and were never relevant apart from a throwaway comment.
So a lot of what was put in the description to make them seem important actually werent which was weird.
However after saying all of this it was a cute light romance book which you can't go wrong with.