Betting On You

This was my first Lynn Painter book, but wow, it won't be my last! Not only is the main plot fun and interesting, the fake dating premise was done in a fresh way, and made this story unputdownable. Although at the very beginning of the story both main characters were not likable to me right away, they both grew on me, and it didn't take long for me to root for them, not only for their romance, but for their own personal growth as well.
I really loved watching them both navigate life in a divorced parent family, only because Lynn Painter did all of those conflicting feelings realistic justice through both Bailey and Charlie's narrative. And the chemistry between Charlie and Bailey?!? Chef's kiss
If you need a good binge read, you just found it!

I was recommended this book because I asked for “hot kissing scenes but no sex” and it partially delivered. There wasn't sex. But there was definitely a lot of talk about it.

When I first started this book I was worried they were going to turn Bailey's quirks into some flaw that needed to be changed. I was gonna rage and then DNF this so hard! Luckily they didn't go that route, so I'm happy to say I finished until the end.

The story has promise but I feel like it was too long and had too many side stories that didn't go anywhere. There are so many things we could have explored more like Charlie's OCD/anxiety about germs. And unfortunately I feel like we spent too much time on the whole divorced parent thing. Look, I'm a kid of divorce, but you want your mom to be happy but you don't want her to be happy? And then we find out her soon-to-be-husband was also a child of divorce but didn't think twice before proposing infront of Bailey's mom, but also doesn't apologize for it?. Are we even trying?

This would have been a 4 stars if the ending was solid, but it wasn't. It felt rushed and unearned. If you're gonna give me a 3rd act breakup, Charlie doesn't get to just show up at prom with a cat and it's okay. I also feel like the characters wasted too much time on this fake-dating thing. Surprisingly, though, I didn't care about all the Taylor Swift references. But to fair I probably missed half of them.

So, it was okay. The kissing scenes could have been hotter and the ending could have been better. I don't think I'd re-read this again, and I'd be hesitant to recommend it to someone else, so just under 4 for me.

I would enjoy this more if I were a few years younger. The main characters are just too childish sometimes (They are technically children though, with lots of kissing...). I just don't get the chemistry & the angst between the 2 mcs. Maybe I got tired of the misunderstanding/miscommunication trope.
But, this book proves one thing: Boys and girls can never be close friends. And I firmly stand by this belief.