The Neighbor Wager by Crystal Kaswell (ARC Review)

Title: The Neighbor Wager
Author: Crystal Kaswell
Type: Fiction
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Date published: February 20, 2024

A complimentary digital copy of this book was kindly provided by Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

The science of attraction is getting seriously tested…

Meet River. He used to be the nerd next door…only now he’s all grown up, got a sleeve of tattoos, and women seem to like him. A lot.

Even Lexi, the girl of River’s teenaged dreams, all bubbly sweetness—never noticed him. Until now.

There’s only one problem. They’re not meant for each other.

Now it’s up to Deanna, the super pragmatic, algorithm-fueled brains behind the new dating app Meetcute to make sure they realize it.
River might be certain he knows true love when he sees it, but Deanna knows differently, and the future of her company is riding on it. All she has to do is prove to him that what he’s feeling for Lexi isn’t love. Not even close.

…even if it means making him fall for Deanna, instead.

Challenge accepted.

⤖ My Review ⬻

I really took a chance on Crystal Kaswell’s The Neighbor Wager. I really liked the cover but was a little unsure because it’s a Sabrina (film) retelling, and I’ve never enjoyed Sabrina even after trying to rewatch it a number of times. I’m sad about it because that’s one of my mom’s favorite movies. Either way, I thought I would give it a shot because the synopsis intrigued me, and it was also a genderswapped retelling (which I’m a fan of when it’s done well).

Regardless, please keep in mind that I’m not a fan of Sabrina while reading this review, as it may have very likely affected my experience. The first thing I noticed when I started reading The Neighbor Wager was that the writing took me some work to get into. Something in my brain just didn’t quite click with the storytelling style or the transitions between scenes.

I did have a fondness for the two main characters, so I continued reading for them. There was definitely chemistry there! And I found myself rooting for them. But I didn’t feel the deepest passion in my desire for them to get together and have their HEA. This is why it took me nearly a month to get from start to finish, unfortunately.

I did generally like the story overall, and I would give Crystal Kaswell another shot because like I said, my feelings toward Sabrina might have affected how I went into The Neighbor Wager to begin with. And please don’t let my experience change your mind if you were planning on reading this book, as you might end up loving it!