Author: Rachel Van Dyken
Series: The Bet #1
Release Date: March 26, 2013
My Rating: 3 Stars
But Kacey wasn't counting on Jake's older brother Travis still being there. She calls him "Satan" for a reason: she's never forgotten the way he teased and taunted her. Yet when they meet again, Travis's gorgeous smile is a direct hit to her heart . . . and Kacey's more confused than ever. As the days pass, only one thing starts to become alarmingly clear-she never should have accepted Jake's deal . . .
So The Bet left me with mixed feelings. I wanted to like it so much, and I did, I just didn't love it. My main problem was the chemistry between Kacey and Travis. I just couldn't feel it. I felt like most of the book was spent on Kacey trying not to give into her feelings for Jake and get past the hurt he caused her. And then suddenly, hello, she thinks Travis is attractive and they kind of fall together. Ironically, I like the Kacey and Travis I saw in The Wager (Book #2) more than I liked the view of their relationship in this book.
We start off with the jerk brother aka Jake pleading with Kacey to be his pretend fiancee to get him out of trouble with his family and his business. He needs a cleaner image and Kacey can help him with that. However, even in the end I saw no change in Jake's behavior. He seemed like a selfish prick and I wasn't even looking forward to reading his book. No worries, I read it and loved it. Rachel Van Dyken can do 180's with her characters like I've never seen before. Back to the story, while Kacey is visiting the Titus family we start to see bits of Travis' unrequited love for Kacey come up. He's very hostile toward Jake and they way he treats Kacey but, he never really does anything other than stomp off. All the while, leaving Kacey a little flabbergasted as to what just happened, because she hasn't a clue that Travis has feelings for her. The book just seemed a little mixed-matched to me. Like two stories in one. Perhaps I would have connected with it more if the whole fake engagement thing was a prequel and The Bet was more focused on Kacey and Travis. I'm not saying all books should focus on the couple solely but, in this one they just kinda agreed to be together and then that was it. The biggest shining moment in this story- Grandma Nadine. I am requesting a grandmother just like her for Christmas. She is one of the most hilarious character I have read and she got a great many laughs from me.
Overall, it was a nice, sweet story. It lacked the heat I usually prefer. I also couldn't seem to connect to the story or some of the characters. But as I have said many times, every story isn't for everybody. If you're looking for a sweet, humorous book- this is it. If you're looking for a bit more substance, angst and feeling- this may not be the book for you. It's all a matter of opinion. However, I do encourage you guys to read the second book, it had a little more meat to it, I thought.
Happy Reading!
*ARC provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review*
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