Reviewed by Kaelin Lee, age 16
Betting on You by Lynn Painter
When Bailey first met Charlie, she couldn’t stand his obnoxious, cynical persona or the fact that she would be stuck next to him for a 10-hour flight. Little did she know they would cross paths again in a couple of years when they became coworkers. Shockingly, this time they actually enjoy talking, laughing, and even betting with each other. When they see their fellow coworkers flirting, Charlie claims members of the opposite sex can’t be just friends, and Bailey doesn’t hesitate to bet against him. However, the more they get to know each other, the more sparks begin to fly, especially when they decide to harmlessly fake a date to disrupt Bailey’s mom’s new relationship. What happens though when fake dating starts to feel a little too real?
This teenage romance book was just as cute and feel-good as I was expecting and hoping for. It had all the elements romance readers look for and love, including an enemies-to-lovers trope, callbacks to nicknames and moments specific to the love interests, and scenes full of banter. Also, I really enjoyed the book’s fast pace. The plot never stayed stagnant with there always being new factors brought up. Although, from start to finish there was a recurring theme that played a major part in Charlie and Bailey’s bonding. Both have divorced parents, so they relate to one another’s difficult experiences. I like how the book delved into this as well as Charlie’s mental health because it added more dimension and realism to their portrayals as teenagers. What I did find confusing was how the pair rationalized fake-dating to irk Bailey’s mom’s boyfriend, who Charlie made a bad first impression on. Bailey’s fears of her life-changing so rapidly made sense, but the plan to fake-date was an illogical, immature idea that felt like an excuse to segway into the book’s fake-dating plotline. However, it did lead to them going on Bailey’s family vacation in Colorado, where their road trip and cabin scenes became some of my favorite moments in the book. I wish the book ended soon after the trip instead of them having the classic 3rd act breakup because it didn’t make a lot of sense and felt a little forced. All in all, though, I still found the book to be a wonderful, light-hearted romance that I would definitely recommend to YA romance readers!
4 stars of 5 stars
Find this book in our catalog: Betting on You
Catalog Number: YA FIC PAINTER,L
425 pages