I knew I was in for a treat when I found myself laughing at the dedication page. Lynn Painter is a wordsmith and a banter extraordinaire. I fell in love with her writing with Mr. Wrong Number and was so happy to rekindle that feeling with her follow-up: The Love Wager. To be transparent, I had no idea this was a sequel as it is presented as its own story. While it is a stand-alone about Olivia’s brother, Jack – it does continue the story from Mr. Wrong Number so unless you are a fan of spoilers, I would read that one first!
“Hot Mess”. Not the words Hallie Piper would use to describe herself but after running into an old high school friend while bartending a wedding reception, those words keep echoing in her mind. It didn’t help that she was still recovering from being dumped by the man she thought she would marry, still lived with a roommate, and worked two part time jobs along with her full time to save money. This was her winter and she had a plan. What that plan didn’t include was getting sloppy drunk and hooking up with one of the groomsman at said wedding! Belly crawling out of the hotel room the next morning, Hallie decided her spring needed to start now (or she would die trying!) New haircut, new wardrobe, an apartment search later – Hallie felt like she was finally getting her life in order. Now she just needed to find that special someone to spend it with. At her good friend’s (who happens to be her second cousin) encouragement, Hallie signs up for a dating app. Playing the swipe game, Hallie can’t believe her eyes when she stumbles upon her hotel hook-up. Deciding she had nothing to lose, she sends him a message just to get a rise out of him. That quick poke of fun turns into a friendly competition of who can find love first. Fast forward through speed dates, first date disasters, and lots of tacos and Jack and Hallie find they are becoming the best of friends. The friendship is put to the ultimate challenge when Hallie needs a last minute date to her sister’s wedding. Having just told her family she had a boyfriend, Jack comes to her rescue as the fake boyfriend of her dreams. As the weekend progresses, Hallie is finding it harder and harder to not want that dream to become a reality.
While my reviews have a tendency to have spoilers, I try to refrain from quoting directly from the book; HOWEVER, there is one line in this book that caught me off guard and I laughed so hard, I couldn’t keep reading. I still find myself laughing when I think about it. It just goes to show how talented Lynn is and the quick wit and delivery she bestows on her characters. Moving on, this book was a trope buffet! I even love how they make fun that their situation was something out of a romance book.
I thought I loved Olivia and Colin together but Jack and Hallie are my new favorite duo. The way they playoff each other, one up each other, challenge each other – it is constant fun. I also love how quickly they have each other’s back and look out for one another.
The almost moments – you could feel that chemistry coming off the pages! Lynn is more humor than heat so the super spicy, steamy scenes are glossed over but those almost moments, the close proximity, the possibilities – those are so good you don’t care about anything else!
I wanted to read The Love Wager from the moment I heard about it and I can definitely say it lived up to the hype. Lynn is in true form – keeping the smile on your face, the burn from laughing too hard in your belly, and a great big dose of the feels in your heart.