Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
Ugh. Whatever. I need to stop but I'll just say one last thing: the ending was so abrupt I literally thought I had a misprint. Turns out I didn't. I guess Lynn Painter had enough. And if you made it to this part of the review, you may be surprised by what I say next. YES, I would read another book by her. I think when she's funny, she's legit funny. Maybe this was just a bad one FOR ME. Maybe she's got other bangers out there. I see the vision. Stay tuned. The Love Wager by Lynn Painter is the second book in her Mr. Wrong Number series. It’s a delightful, laugh-out-loud, romantic comedy that I enjoyed very much. Because they took any potential relationship off the table from the get-go, it seemed like they were able to just be themselves with each other which was so refreshing and which really built the foundation of their friendship and connection. Fans of alternating points of view, slow-burn romances, fake dating, and witty banter will enjoy Lynn Painter’s latest. The Love Wager , Painter’s follow-up to Mr. Wrong Number , employs all of these for a charming friends-to-lovers romantic comedy.
Lynn Painter never fails to make the best romcoms and this was no different! This had EVERYTHING - fake dating, only one bed, jealous love interest - I loved every SECOND!' 5* READER REVIEW Yes, that makes TWO weddings in this book but it worked and their forced proximity situation finally got them to get over their initial hesitations and just bang again 😊. Painter follows up Mr. Wrong Number with an equally cute friends to lovers romance…Their equally filthy sense of humor makes their connection feel real and their game of constant one-upmanship is a lot of fun. Painter’s fans won’t be disappointed.”— Publishers Weekly he objectifies. he harasses. he doesn't take no for an answer. he repeatedly deliberately sabotages a relationship his so-called best friend is really excited about, via childish antics and blind entitlement. I still enjoy their banters. I laughed aloud. It reminds me of Colin and Olivia’s banters from first book!regardless, this was immediately girl hatey, in an insane, like, 2000s level, toward not one but two women! the only other two women, in fact, who exist in the first chapter at all and aren't our protagonist. and i know i didn't say it the right way, but i am so in love with you. and not just in love with you, by the way. i also like you more than anyone else in the world. you're funny and smart, and beautiful, and whenever anything happens to me, funny, awful, or wonderful, you're the first person i want to tell.’” the love wager was by far the worst book i have read in 2023 and i will live by that statement until i die– i would highly recommend staying the HELL away from this book (and if you truly want to endure a lifetime of pain and suffering, get a copy from the library.)
on top of that, while there were moments when this was funny and even charming, it wasn't ever close to enough to overcome the terrible beginning or how unlikable our main characters are. The banter was so forced and cringey, I was physically rolling my eyes and audibly scoffing. The FMC has some of the worst internalized misogyny/white feminism I've read in a book in a very long time, and of course the MMC goes along with it and spouts his fair share of "she's not like other girls." Beyond that, FMC is just completely and totally unlikeable, obstinate, and contrarian, and MMC is not much better. There's no depth to either one of them. she attracts the attention of a straight-up nightmare monster. but sadly this not descend into a gory horror bloodbath. she lives happily ever after with the gruesome figment we meet in chapter one. Because as they pretend to be a couple, they struggle to remember why dating for real was a bad idea to begin with . . .I loved this! I’ve been waiting for the audiobook to be released all week, and once I hit play I basically didn’t stop listening for 6 hours straight 😂 After steamy one night stand later, Hallie performs crawl of shame ( she literally crawls to run away from his hotel room)
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