The Wager

Wagered Hearts #1

by Calista Kyle

A Bookworm
Lily Hayward doesn't do parties, doesn't like attention, and she definitely doesn't date. This unassuming book shop owner would rather spend a night in with a good book rather than hobnob with the rich and famous.

When her best friend Mel begs her to attend a charity gala with her, Lily reluctantly agrees. All she wants is to get through the night without embarrassing herself or snapping someone's head off. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. Lily causes a bit of a stir when she berates another guest for spilling his drink on her.

...and a Billionaire
Roman Conrad is rich, bored and too handsome for his own good. He's never had a problem attracting women. When he sees Lily at a charity gala, she's already made a little name for herself as an Ice Princess. Seeing the perfect opportunity to alleviate his boredom and to get one over an acquaintance, he makes a bet that he can make Lily fall in love with him.

What he never expected was that he would be the one in danger of falling in love.

The Betrayal
After a painful past, Lily is gun-shy when it come to love and trusting her heart to anyone. She suspects Roman may be too good to be true, but against her better judgment, she can't help being drawn to him anyway.

She has no idea about the bet and Roman wants to keep it that way, but fate has other plans. After spending his whole life waiting for a woman like Lily will one careless wager ruin everything and tear them apart?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Amazon, Fiction, Ebooks

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 29, 2013

About the author

Calista Kyle started her career as a journalist and finally made the leap to writing fiction. A true romantic at heart, Calista loves not only writing but reading romances. When she's not busy thinking up and typing away at her next novel, you can find Calista swimming or kayaking by the lake near her home in Maine with her husband and dog Bo.

Reviews

[Mairi Swan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the plot and the heroine was not a doormat. It was well written but I would like a bit more seeing the hero grovel though we know for sure he was devastated.

[Kace | The Booknerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wager is my first book by the author. And I'm glad that I picked it up. I love the Cinderella-type story. I grew up watching Cinderella and hoping that someday my Prince Charming would come and sweep me off my feet. But I guess, for now, I have to settle with this.

I don't plan to discuss the plot of the story at all cause I don't want to spoil it, and besides, the blurb pretty much tells us all about it.

Roman was charming, cool, sweet, and sexy. You will just be drawn to him. And I swooned, and I felt jealous of Lily when he gave her a First Edition copy of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.



Lily is a wonderfully crafted character; she's overcome much adversity in her life that made her into a strong and independent woman. Although sometimes she still can't help but feel insecure, I can't blame her, though. I liked her character; very relatable, especially to those who also experienced what she'd been through. And before I forget, Lily also owned a book shop, and she's a book lover too. She's the type of girl I want to be best friends with!

As much as I loved both characters individually, I loved them even more together. They were a great match. I loved Lily and Roman.

The conflict, of course, the bet Roman bet his friend that he could make Lily fall in love with him in one month and what happens when Lily finds out. It was kind of predictable, but my heart still broke for Lily when she found out. It was hard for Lily to trust because of her past, but she leaned on Roman and fell in love with him. But I'm glad that Roman felt miserable without her. And groveled.

"I've been a selfish being all my life.. until I met you."

But I was a little disappointed with the ending. It was abrupt; an epilogue might be good, but overall this is an excellent book for an afternoon read.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (6/18/2019)! 🎁

[LaFleurBleue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not have very high expectations for this book, which is lucky as it was not outstanding nor anywhere near original. The story was told along chapters told through the point of view of lead characters in alternance. Stories told at the first person are not what I prefer, especially when it feels like a way to avoid delving into details of the characters psyche. Little character development to be expected, a few big clichés included and not even fully developed, like the more or less plus size of the heroine and the jaded life lived by the too rich and favored hero. I did not really buy what their relationship had that was that special and that would allow them to withstand any future hardships to come.
A few typos and grammar mistakes, not too many but enough big ones to finish turning me off.
I'll probably not look forward another book from this author, though might give a chance to another freebie.

[Shannon, ☺☻CFM☺☻ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book even made me cry.

It was a story about a damaged plus h that had been tormented in high school and didn't trust men. Then she met the H and he made her feel special. BUT he made a bet with a jackass that he could make her fall in love with him in 3o days. She overheard him calling the bet off after she fell in love with him. Then the H started begging to get her back. It was just a sappy love story.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the synopsis of this story, I was immediately intrigued and wanted to jump right in. I knew it was going to be really good, and it was. I really enjoyed the love story between Lily and Roman. It was complicated. There was a bunch overlay of tension in the background with the secret of the bet and when and where she would find out. It created that extra edge, as well had me glued to the pages. I hung by fingertips, wondering when it was going to hit the fan. I was a little fearful not gonna lie because I knew that it would ruin their bliss plus I didn't want Lily to be hurt because I knew that this was going to hurt bad. It kept me on my toes.

From the beginning the story really caught my attention. I was immediately sucked into the story. I really liked the setup of the charity ball where Roman and Lily met. And what was interesting due to circumstances that Lily couldn't control, she wasn't the bell of ball, but more of "the ugly duckling", which was kind of really clever to have that reverse Cinderella thing happened. Lily didn't want to be there, but her friend pushed her into it. It was there that Roman first saw her, not being the least bit attracted to her, which prompted Roman making the bet with his adversary. The bet was that he could make Lily fall in love with him within a month and he would win the car. And he was confident that he could get it done. Nothing could go wrong right?

Then the wooing commenced. She was skeptical at first over his motives, which she had ever right to be, but he really put on the charm and won her over. Even though he wasn't doing it for the right reasons, I did think he wooed her really well. I thought he was very sweet and endearing towards her. Again that was the point, but I loved all the romance that he put into his wooing. There were some great dates and great conversations.

I knew he was going to be done for sure. And he was in very quick manner. The more he got to know her and spend time with her, the more attracted he was to her. The more he fell in love with her. It was very easy seeing them falling in love with each other. And it was sweet, but the threat of the bet lingered, and he knew could bring their love to a crashing, which created so much tension.

And when it did break then all hell broke loose and hearts broke. My heart broke for Lily because of not only what she found out but how. It gutted her. I felt so bad for her despite the fact that I knew what was going on. It still hurt me. She finally opened up and trusted someone and that same person crushed her in such a cruel way. I understood that it would take a lot for her to forgive and believe that he actually loved her. It was hard to take that leap. Again heartbreaking to watch, but they get their in the end. It was just a lot of pain before the joy. It was a delicious journey.

My one complaint about this story was that it was a little short. Not that I didn't enjoy the journey that I went on, but I just felt like there could have been more. I wanted a little more build up between them. It just seemed like Roman fell in love with Lily so quickly. I would have preferred a little more gradual build up and more of struggle within himself of not falling in love with her. Yes, there was a struggle but it was a tiny bit. I almost would have preferred him to be more calculating and more closed off and more putting on an act by using his charm. More that it was about a game to him that he played to win and not care then overtime he would began to weaken and soften towards her. It was there in the story just it happened too quickly. I wanted a more steady build up to that moment and journey in his story. Now that might have changed my opinion of him and thought he more of a prick, but I wanted to see that journey from prick to gentleman. Here, I never got prick from him. He was a nice guy despite his actions. I really anticipated not liking him so early on, but I did really like him. That's not a bad thing, but I think it would have been more satisfying to see his journey from jerk to good guy and that change would have been due to his love for Lily. It just would have given story more edge and intensity to it. Plus it would have set up a lot more angst.

Also because of the shortness of the story, I thought the love scene happened way sooner than I anticipated. Not that it was a bad scene and it was very passionate, but again I wanted to see a little bit more build up. More anticipation to them getting together as they got to know each other more and more. Also it would have been nice to see the struggle of him dealing with his feelings for her then when they do give into their passions it would have been more meaningful and satisfying. For me it just happened too quickly. I think he needed to woo her a little bit more. Just my opinion.

Otherwise I really did enjoy this story. I would read again for sure aside from the length everything was pretty spot on. I liked Lily and Roman. I thought they fit together really well and it was easy to see them fall in love with each other. The romance and the wooing was really good. I though it was really sweet and tender and very beautiful. It was nice seeing them date and get know each other. There was definitely lots pain going on from both sides but that was part of the journey that they went on together. It was hard and complicated but by the end it turned out to be beautiful. It was a really nice romance. The bet added that intensity and edge to the story that kept me on the edge of my seat. It was very easy to stay invested in the story and didn't stop being invested until the end. I wish it was longer, but otherwise it was good.

[Reading Fanatic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. The story is written in the first person from both Lily and Roman's perspective, alternating back and forth between them with each chapter. I don't particularly care for first person account stories...honestly, I avoid them as much as possible. But getting the perspective from both protagonists wasn't bad--although I do admit that I personally would have enjoyed the story more had it been told in good old-fashioned third person. Sigh. Nevertheless, the story was interesting and Ms. Kyle does an amazing job turning a man who would wager on making a woman fall in love with him--all for a car!--into a worthy hero. Lily and Roman are great together, and it was nice to see how quickly Roman fell for the ordinary, girl next door, although she was not his usual type. Lily is a wonderfully crafted character; she's overcome a lot of adversity in during her lifetime, to become a strong, independent woman. Due to her earlier experiences with the opposite sex, Lily is leery around men.

The story starts with Lily's best friend, Melanie, all but forcing her to attend a charity event. Lily agrees to accompany Mel, but to say that she is less than pleased would be an understatement. LOL FYI, Melanie is the h in second book in the series, [[ASIN:B00JATDAAO The Risk: A Billionaire Romance (Wagered Hearts Series Book 2)]]. Lily doesn't expect to have a good time; and the night actually turns out to be worse than she expects. I winced in sympathy when she described how she'd broken out in zits and developed an eye infection, forcing her to wear her ugly glasses with the thick frames, instead of her contact lenses, all while wearing an ill-fitting dress. LOL This is the night that Roman and Lily meet--ouch! Circumstances bring Lily to Roman's attention and the next thing he knows he's entering a bet that he can make Lily fall in love with him within a month. The stakes?...a classic car worth $40 million! Needless to say this is not Roman's best moment, but very quickly, once he starts his pursuit of Lily, he finds himself developing real feelings for her.

I admit that when I read reviews for this book, I almost didn't get it. There is nothing I hate more than a doormat heroine, and some reviews I read made it seem like Lily just very quickly and easily forgave Roman, once she discovered the wager. I confess that if the book hadn't been free I wouldn't have bothered to get it, because why would I set myself up to read a book that would most likely prove to be a frustrating read for me? OMG! I'm glad I took a chance and downloaded a copy. I'm one of those "end readers", by which I mean, I usually read the ending of my romance books before delving into the story. I do that in order to avoid books that have horrible endings, or cliff-hangers, and the like. I thought I was weird and the only one who indulges in this practice, but have discovered through Amazon that there are many others who share with quirky trait with me. LOL Anyhow, when I got the book, the first thing I did was check out the end, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there was absolutely nothing quick about Lily's forgiveness of Roman!

**SPOILER ALERT**

Lily, of course, eventually finds out about Roman's wager to make her fall in love with him. That's no surprise; of course I expected her to find out about it. But OMG!...the way she found out about it made it that much more cruel. Lily is devastated and immediately withdraws from Roman. She then refuses to have anything to with him...for weeks! When she and Roman finally do get back together, the poor man had been through hell--appropriately so. I'm one of those people who believe wholeheartedly in vengeance in my reading material (LOL). I typically feel that heroines in the books I read are too quick to forgive and forget; and heroes never do enough groveling to satisfy my vindictive streak. In this instance, I was more than satisfied; and that's saying something. Another thing I really like about the book is that as soon as Roman and Lily are intimate (which IMO happened a little too soon) he calls off the bet. This doesn't prevent it from coming back to bite him in the butt later, but at least he tried.

**END OF SPOILER**

So, there you have it. A nice read, and one that I recommend. FYI, this is not a clean romance. There are a couple of love scenes, which are fairly graphic, although not overly so when when compared to what is written in other (non-erotic) books that I've read. Furthermore, no crude language is used in the story. I have to say though, that IMO Lily is the perfect contemporary heroine to be a virgin. I was actually surprised that she wasn't one. When you read about her past--the horrible years in school--and how withdrawn and suspicious of men she was; not willing to let them close, always suspecting that they were up to no good, etc. I had to wonder which man was able to get close enough to her that she'd sleep with him. Couple that with the fact that her personality didn't strike me as the type that was into casual sex, and I was quite surprise--even though, like I said before, I thought she slept with Roman too quickly...but at least they had a great connection. Anyhow, this didn't impact one way or the other on my enjoyment of the story.

[Shonnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Totally a waste of my time

I just couldn't get past the juvenile language. Not just conversations with others but the inner dialogue.

*%*& Troll thinks she's hot sh^t now," Pauline said to Todd. "I'm going to remind you what a worthless little piece of sh^t you really are when I kick your a$(.

Really, what person in their late 20's speak in this manner? From this point, I was done reading.

[Debbie "Buried in Her TBR Pile" · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a quick read. The description sounded good. I did not feel a connection; characters had little depth. Opportunities for some great angst fell short. 2 stars.

[Dawn Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story...Lily has a hard time trusting people due to things that happened in the past. However, she falls for Roman and fails her by making a wager/bet with friend. He never meant or thought he would fall for her and needless to say they fall for each other. But trust is a great thing until it is conflicted and ruined. True love always finds a way.

[Aditi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was good but the book went way too fast...the H called off the bet in first half of the book and he even starts falling for her suddenly. So I felt no chemistry, it was like they just met yesterday.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

So-so novel, nothing wrong with it at all, just totally predictable.

Homebody book shop owner Lily gets dragged to a glitzy do by her best friend. As so often happens to me at such times, Lily comes out in a rash of pimples and gets an eye infection - meaning she has to wear her ugly glasses instead of contacts. Standing at the bar a drunk asshole spills his drink on Lily's dress making her evening just about as far from perfect as its possible to get. As she stands there fuming and glowering at all and sundry she is the object of other people's attention because the drunk asshole she told off is also a rich and well-known figure.

Roman (ugh!) is a wealthy entitled guy, he meets another similar guy who recently outbid him for a ridiculously expensive car. In a fit of macho piggishness the two guys make a bet. Roman bets a $100 million dollar Cezanne against the $50 million Bugatti that he can make Lily fall in love with him in a month.

Do I even need to say what happens next? There was nothing new or different about this to make it stand out from all the other tellings of this story. OF course Lily loses the ugly glasses and changes her dress and she is suddenly beautiful!

Also there are a few grammatical/spelling issues: the reign instead of rein and something about in her parent's eyes (which made me wonder, which parent?).

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enchanting read...an ugly duckling turns into a swan when meeting her soulmate and an selfish playboy turns into real man when he finds love.....such a heartwrenching tale that brought tears to my eyes.....well written and so full of emotion, couldn't put it down.

[Aimz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I've always been a sucker for short sweet billionaire douche bags! Haha Lily is sweet shy and cynical. Roman was a dashing rake with a wager to win. Love is so unexpected sometimes.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice, sweet romance. Kind of predictable, but very nice to read when you are in the mood for something sort of light and quick.

[Jen_C · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Bookformymood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le-se. Previsivel mas engracado.

[Cíoor · Rating 1 out of 5]

HORRIBLE. No character development at all, no plot, no chemistry, no fun, it felt like reading a really bad fanfic written by some 12 y/o kid and I swear at some point I read you're instead of your.
The story is told through the point of view of the lead characters but you can't even tell the difference because it feels like the same person is narrating everything. Of course I knew it was going to be a cliché story, but I decided to read it anyways because I actually do love clichés and the synopsis really got to me but that's it, the synopsis it's the only good thing about this book. All the characters are lowkey misogynistic idiots and the sex scenes are poorly written, Lily was all crazy in love with him after the first time they had sex and I was like girl whaaat? you get all crazy for that? lmfao, no wonder you have low self-esteem.

Here are some quotes that made me go 🙄😒🤮:

“I'm not one of those people”

“There aren't many women like you who'd say that. They'd never pass up an opportunity to be seen. At least, not anyone that I know.”

“I held a breath I didn't know I was holding until she began to speak.” 🙄😒

“Lily wasn't like the other women I knew. She was different and had a little more depth to her.”

“She had no idea how gorgeous and radiant she really was. It wasn't the type of beauty that was shallow and obvious...” What the hell is that supposed to mean, lol.

Anyways, I blame only myself for reading this.✌️

[Alonna Irizarry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on the title and the synopsis, you know what to expect going into this book. Duel POV/ reformed playboy/ bet/ he falls first

I will say it felt like when it was Roman’s POV, it mentioned more than once that he was not initially attracted to Lily. I’m not interested in reading about how she became more attractive to him because of her personality and how she “wasn’t like other girls.” Ick.

I know that this is probably nitpicking and maybe I’ve read too many millionaire romances but it felt weird that once Roman started inviting Lily to all of these black tie affairs, she had to find her own dresses…? Thankfully she had her BFF to help her but still. It was just one more thing that Lily had to worry about. Again maybe that’s me being weird and reading too many books about the millionaire sending his love interest an outfit for the ball/special occasion but that threw me off.

The wager Roman made was obviously horrible. Should Lily have found out the way she did? No. Do I feel like he could have groveled more? Absolutely. Do I feel like they both have a bit more growing to do as people? For sure. Am I rooting for this couple in the long run? Meh

Also major bummer that her dad randomly died in a horrific accident.

[☽ Rhiannon ✭ Mistwalker ☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Lily is supposed to be a BBW, but her general appearance is more the focus, so she's going on the plain bookshelf. This is one of my absolute favorite premises: hero makes a bet that comes back to bite him in the ass, and he has to grovel and prove his love for the heroine. I particularly adore the heroine overhearing the hero disparage her, leading to a Big Misunderstanding that the hero regrets and he chases her. . And the heroine being bullied as a kid about her looks, making her insecure and standoffish as an adult... so many of my favorite themes! I did realize that I am not a huge fan of the dueling first-person perspectives, though. It's a personal preference - I think I just prefer third-person narration. There is more showing and less telling that way. (Also, I think this book could use a round on the editor's desk, there are a few mistakes in grammar and typos and the like throughout.)

[Dolores · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that one was able to get a perspective from both sides of the coin through the main characters, however, I would have liked to delve more into the characters. The lack of any real development of Roman's family dynamics made it a bit tough to immerse oneself into his character. Also, the glossing over of a few lies and character flaws were a bit off-putting because he gets a pass for lying on more than one occasion (about the book, the wager, and a few other times) and he even admits to himself "another lie" but no consequences to those or owning up to them to Lily. It was an enjoyable read and I can see that pursuing Mel's future could be another evening's entertainment in the near future.
It was good to see Lily grow but I felt there was some regression near the end when she was working out her feelings and future plans regarding Roman.
I received this book as an ARC and willingly provide my review.

[Loz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't get into this freebie. Our hero is an egotistical dick who makes a bet that he can get our heroine to love him within a month, if so he gets a car that another egotistical dick out-bid him on. Lily owns a bookstore and although she has some sass, neither of them are particularly likable characters. The story-line is okay, but could have been executed better. Juvenile writing and a lack of character growth just left me feeling meh.
I cringed and groaned so many times . I like giving Amazon freebies a shot - sometimes you find a diamond in the rough, others.... at least it was free, right?

[Stephanie Bolen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but expected

Nothing really unique in the plot except the books as dating gifts--which totally needs to be a thing. You'd think that a book store owner and billionaire would have interesting conversations, but no they sat in comfortable silence. I have funny obscure geeked out conversations with my friends and lover that would make inside jokes and treasured memories--like the rest of the world. Why those type of conversations never happen in books is beyond me.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

If your looking for a sweet short romance this book is for you!

The wager delivered everything that I expected and left me very satisfied to read.

Though I did say this was a great story it was maybe too predictable. As you read you see it is exactly how it was described in the summary and nothing really is added on or any unexpected surprise to add to the pot line as I expected it would be.

I recommend this book to anybody who really wants a free easy-going romance book.

[Katja · Rating 2 out of 5]

He romances her because he made a bet that he could. They fall in love. She finds out about the bet and is angry. They make up again. It's not a bad book but the plot is familiar and the hero annoyed me for some reason. He gives her a first edition of Pride and Prejudice pretending that he just happened to have one handy. Of course he is a billionaire. No book heroine ever falls in love with a broke guy.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh....ugh! There’s a lot I could say but I’ll keep it short. I did like the premise and the writing style was new for me, it took a bit of getting used to but I managed, still odd but I managed. There were something’s I could have done with out but I guess that’s just a me thing. It wasn’t a bad book, it was okay. I sorta liked it if I take out the stuff I didn’t like about it lol
3 stars for okay/acceptable I guess.

[Jacy Buchholz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it for a summer read, but pretty predictable. If this were reality, Roman would have been a write off. What a pompous jerk wagering that he could make someone fall in love with him in one month, then what... Guess I liked it most, because it was so predictable and a quick read for the beach or on those days where you just want to escape for a few hours.

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unoriginal. Undeveloped characters. Themes from Pretty Woman and You've Got Mail to just name a couple. Glad I didn't pay for this book, no wonder they are giving it away for free. I won't be reading any more books by this author unless they are much better than this one. MEH!!

[Rony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice story but a bit dry. Characters could have had more depth. A bit cheesy and predictable. I was expecting the heroine to be more sassy but she didn't deliver which is a shame. Overall mediocre book

[H. Amirian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huh...It was nice. I wish reality was like that...