The Love Wager by Lynn Painter
You (mostly) can’t go wrong with a Lynn Painter book. Her standalones are so much fun and this is my favourite one. The chemistry between Hallie and Jack is instant and the fake dating is *chef’s kiss*. It’s not the whole concept of the book but the fake dating weekend is definitely the best part of the whole book.
The will-they-won’t-they does get a little frustrating after a while but if you soldier through it, it’s definitely worth it. Lynn Painter is great at writing likeable characters you actually root for. Let’s all try to forget how she ruined Liz in Nothing Like the Movies.
Synopsis: 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.
The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams
I’ve just realised that both books in today’s post include fake dating but not as the central plot. The Cheat Sheet has a slight twist on the typical trope as the idea doesn’t come from either of the main characters. Instead it’s a publicity stunt, which is really interesting.
I adore best friends to lovers, but only if it’s actually done well. You can’t just tell me they should be together just because they’re friends, I need real romantic chemistry, which is what you get here. Bree and Nathan are constantly flirting with each other but it’s a little awkward, which I find cute.
Synopsis: Is it ever too late to leave the friend-zone?
Hi, my name is Bree Camden, and I’m hopelessly in love with my best friend and star quarterback Nathan Donelson (so is half of America, judging by the tabloids and how much the guy dates). The first step is admitting, right? Except, I can never admit it to him because he clearly doesn’t see me that way, and the last thing I want is for things to get weird between us.
Nothing but good old-fashioned, no-touching-the-sexiest-man-alive, platonic friendship for us! Everything is exactly how I like it! Yes. Good. (I’m not crying, I’m just peeling an onion.)
Our friendship is going swimmingly until I accidentally spill my beans to a reporter over too much tequila, and now the world seems to think me and Nathan belong together. Oh, and did I mention we have to date publicly for three weeks until after the Super Bowl because we signed a contract with…oops, forgot I can’t tell anyone about that!
Bottom line is, now my best friend is smudging all the lines and acting very un-platonic, and I’m just trying to keep my body from bursting into flames every time he touches me.
How am I going to make it through three weeks of fake dating Nathan without anything changing between us? Especially when it almost-sort-a-kinda seems like he’s fighting for a completely different outcome?
Send help.
XO Bree
Check out Young Creative Press on all socials
You can also check out my StoryGraph here
Like this post? Why not read this one too: The Best Of: Standalones #26
[…] Like this post? Why not read this one too: The Best Of: Friends to Lovers Books #7 […]