On her first day at a new job, highschooler Bailey is surprised to discover that one of her new coworkers is Charlie, a stranger whom she has shared a few negative chance encounters with. Despite being total opposites, Bailey and Charlie end up becoming friendly and, after Charlie shares his belief that people of the opposite sex can’t stay friends, make a bet about whether two of their fellow coworkers, who appear to be flirting even though one of them is already in a relationship, will be able to stay in the friend zone. Whilst trying to fight their own growing feelings towards each other, Bailey and Charlie decide to start fake dating to try to cause friction between Bailey’s mom and her mom’s new boyfriend (who happens to dislike Charlie). Bailey and Charlie, who are both familiar with divorce, must eventually decide whether to remain friendly coworkers or act on their romantic feelings towards each other and risk heartbreak.
Betting On You is a YA romantic comedy perfect for fans of books like Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han, What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter, or The Upside of Falling by Alex Light. Themes or topics present include life after divorce, dealing with change, anxiety, germaphobia, love and heartbreak, growing up, loneliness and isolation, family, and companionship. Betting On You is a cute and cozy teen/ YA romance with some light spice and quite a few swoon-worthy moments; there were even some adorably cute and swoony moments involving a rescue cat! This book was clearly written with Swifties in mind; not only was there a ton of low-key Taylor Swift references there was also a love interest that is secretly a Swiftie and an impromptu sing-along to the 10-minute version of All Too Well. The plot of Betting On You has similar vibes and many of the same tropes as Painter’s beloved YA romance Better Than the Movies including enemies to friends to lovers, fake dating, and forced proximity; so fans of Better Than the Movies should definitely pick-up a copy of Betting On You! Throughout Betting On You, the main character, Bailey, deals with a lot of anxiety as a result of current and impending big changes in her life; I thought that this was very relatable and relevant as I feel like most people, including myself, have also had anxiety about a big change happening at some point in their lives. On the downside, I wasn’t sure that all the backstory at the beginning of the novel, detailing Bailey’s first meetings with Charlie, was entirely necessary. This preamble also meant that it took longer to get to the main action of the book, which makes it harder for me to get invested in the plot. Even though both main characters were struggling with anxiety throughout the novel, it seemed like Charlie was the one who was constantly trying to ease Bailey’s anxieties while Charlie’s worries were almost ignored, which seemed unfair.
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Riley’s desire to turn her family’s gift for breaking curses into a paying business brings her to Scotland to break a long-lasting curse on Arden Castle that is preventing tourism in the surrounding area. Upon arriving, Riley instantly develops a connection with disgraced archeologist Clark Edgeware…that is, until Clark, who is also working at Arden Castle, tries to get Riley fired to aid his quest for professional redemption. Despite their animosity towards each other, including an array of hijinks from both parties aimed at driving the other away, Riley and Clark keep finding themselves drawn closer together until their growing attraction becomes impossible to deny.
Do Your Worst is a spicy contemporary romance with paranormal elements featuring the “enemies to lovers” and forced proximity tropes. I would recommend Do Your Worst to fans of books like My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine, The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling, Something Wilder by Christina Lauren, Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer, and Witcha Gonna Do? by Avery Flynn. Themes and topics present include language and communication, history and folklore, archeology, family, legacy, lies and deception, reputation, loneliness and isolation, teamwork, appearance versus reality, as well as love and sacrifice. Overall, I personally didn’t feel that the plot of Do Your Worst was very engaging. Furthermore, I’m not typically a fan of historical fiction and, even though Do Your Worst is set in the present, there were a lot of historical elements interwoven into the story including the folklore surrounding the ancient curse as well as the history of and the archeological dig at Arden Castle. Additionally, I didn’t really feel connected to the main characters and was frustrated that they almost went out of their way to try to remain in the “enemies” category, despite having obvious shared interests and mutual attraction. On the plus side, I thought that the mix of archeology and curse breaking in the plot was very unique and that the paranormal or cruse breaking elements created an almost eerie vibe, which perfectly matches the Halloween and autumn season. There was a good amount of slow burn romance and spice throughout Do Your Worst, which is perfect for fans of steamy “enemies to lovers” romances. I was also a fan of the ending of the book, as I thought it was very fitting, and I enjoyed the investigative or mystery elements that went into Riley’s curse breaking work as well as the humorous moments that arose during Riley and Clark’s prank-like antics. If you’re looking for a spicy “enemies to lovers” romance with paranormal elements to add to your autumn TBR list, you should definitely check out Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan! |
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February 2024
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