Title:- Betting on You
Author:- Lynn Painter
Date published:- November 28th 2023
No. of pages:- 432 pages
Genre:- Young Adult/ Romance
Setting:- Nevada
Rating:-
Plot:- 4/5
Writing:- 4/5
Overall rating:- 4/5
When seventeen-year-old Bailey starts a new job at a hotel waterpark, she is less than thrilled to see an old acquaintance is one of her coworkers. Bailey met Charlie a year ago on the long flight to Omaha, where she moved after her parents’ divorce. Charlie’s cynicism didn’t mix well with Bailey’s carefully well-behaved temperament, and his endless commentary was the irritating cherry on top of an already emotionally fraught trip.
Now, Bailey and Charlie are still polar opposites, but instead of everything about him rubbing Bailey the wrong way, she starts to look forward to hanging out and gossiping about the waterpark guests and their coworkers—particularly two who keep flirting with each other. Bailey and Charlie make a bet on whether or not the cozy pair will actually get together. Charlie insists that members of the opposite sex can’t just be friends, and Bailey is determined to prove him wrong.
Bailey and Charlie keep close track of the romantic progress of others while Charlie works to deflect the growing feelings he’s developed for Bailey. Terrified to lose her if his crush becomes known, what doesn’t help his agenda is Bailey and Charlie “fake dating” in order to disrupt the annoying pleasantries between Bailey’s mom and her mom’s new boyfriend. Soon, what Charlie was hoping to avoid becomes a reality as Bailey starts to see him as not only a friend she can rely on in the midst of family drama—but someone who makes her hands shake and heart race. But Charlie has a secret—a secret that involves Bailey and another bet Charlie may have made. Can the two make a real go of things…or has Charlie’s secret doomed them before they could start?
This is the second Lynn Painter’s book and I enjoyed reading Better Than Movies book and so I decided to read all her books.
Bailey and Charlie meet each other for the first time at the airport. Bailey thinks Charlie is a jerk and Charlie thinks Bailey is a nerd. The two ended up sitting next to each other on the plane and Bailey hoped that she would never meet Charlie again. Flash forward, many years later, Bailey meets Charlie again, at the workplace and they are coworkers. The two recognize each other and soon become quick friends, making bets on their friends to see if they will end up dating. But as they get connected to each other, both Bailey and Charlie started having feelings towards each other.
This is a typical young adult classic romance movie. If you are really into that genre, then I would suggest to try out all the books. Although as many of you know, I don’t usually like romance much, I did enjoy reading this book. The chemistry between Bailey and Charlie is real and as a reader, I wanted them to be together. I also like Bailey’s relationship with her mother and how she tried to get on with her future stepfather, Scott. The story is told in Bailey’s and Charlie’s POV so we get to see that both the characters have feelings towards each other. Of course, the ending in nearly every romance books is predictable and this book is no exception. Worth 4 stars.
Tropical Girl Reads 