The Love Wager

By: Lynn Painter

Narrated by: Kristen DiMercurio, Zachary Webber

Two people make a wager on who can find love first, not realizing what they should be betting on is each other, in this new romantic comedy by Lynn Painter, New York Times bestselling author of Mr. Wrong Number.

Hallie Piper is turning over a new leaf. After belly-crawling out of a hotel room (hello, rock bottom), she decides it’s time to become a full-on adult. She gets a new apartment, a new haircut, and a new wardrobe, but when she logs onto the dating app that she has determined will find her new love, she sees none other than Jack, the guy whose room she snuck out of.

After agreeing they are absolutely not interested in each other, Jack and Hallie realize they’re each other’s perfect wing-person in their searches for The One. They text each other about their dates, often scheduling them at the same restaurant so that if things don’t go well, the two of them can get tacos afterward.

Spoiler: they get a lot of tacos together.

Discouraged by the lack of prospects, Jack and Hallie make a wager to see who can find true love first, but when they agree to be fake dates for a weekend wedding, all bets are off. As they pretend to be a couple, lines become blurred and they both struggle to remember why the other was a bad idea to begin with.

Critic reviews

"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

"A fun, flirty, and timely read from Painter (Mr. Wrong Number), with likable characters to boot.”—Library Journal

“The Love Wager lives up to Painter’s hype. It’s cute, funny, and endearingly romantic."—The Review Geek

“Honestly, this book was so much fun and I can’t believe it took me this long to finally pick Lynn Painter. Her books are a hoot.”—Culturess


"I had so much fun reading The Love Wager. It has the wonderful humor I’ve come to love from Painter’s stories and I could feel the sparks fly between Jack and Hallie. It’s a terrific romcom."—All About Romance

“Lynn Painter (Mr. Wrong Number) provides the perfect rom-com escape in The Love Wager, a trope-driven romance that will remind readers, as they laugh themselves to tears, why they love the genre.”—Shelf Awareness

This is book must!

This is one of my new favorite authors! The story is very cute and there is not a lot of explicit sex. Very refreshing since love is so much more than sex.

Lynn Painter Does it Again!

Lynn Painter never fails to keep me entertained. This is one of my favorite books of the year.

Narration quirk

The story is fine. Cute, rom-com, great voices. But, my personal audio pet peeve, the narrators read in duet for texting (so the male reads the male’s texts, vice versa), but then don’t for dialogue (so the male mimics the female’s speaking voice, and vice versa). Why? What is the purpose? Why wouldn’t it be the other way? It’s so annoying.

Honestly, the story is fine, an easy listen.

Loved it!

Sassy and fun! Voice actors were wonderful! Modern and full of quick wit and charm.

Miss the characters already!

I miss the characters already. I do wish it had been about an hour longer, more time added to the end or middle of the story. Great narrators and I don’t regret spending the credit! Xoxo