The Love Bet is a steamy OwnVoices romance about former high school sweethearts Luz and Evan. I loved that the novel’s main characters were (mostly) level headed and very mature. They clearly have baggage, both from their time together and their years apart. Reading their romance was like finishing the last helping of a delicious pie - satisfying and sweet. 

Luz’s background is also heavily influenced by her experience as a Black Dominican woman. I like that the authors included all of the ways in which anti-Blackness and colorism affects her life both inside and outside her community, as well as her relationship with Evan. Evan was also so sweet and willing to learn Though I felt some parts of her family dynamic were told rather than shown, I thought it brought depth to the story and was very interesting to read as an African American woman. I appreciated that Luz was so aware of colorism within her community and worked hard to call it out when she saw it in her life, but also talked about the danger of internalizing that kind of rhetoric. Self-love for the win!

Additionally, this story is told in dual timelines: there’s the timeline when they were high school sweethearts and the present day. I was surprised to be equally invested in both timelines. Usually I find myself more interested in one timeline, but I think there’s a freshness to both. You can definitely see how these characters have changed over time and it bleeds into the writing. I thought it was really well done. However, I do think that structure-wise, I would have rather have the first half be Luz and Evan’s time in HS and then the second half is the present. Because most of what happens in their past is spoiled early into the book, when we finally get to that part it lacks emotional punch. Regardless, I did still like it and loved the sex positive bits (in both timelines!).

The Love Bet is steam when it needs to be, smart all the time, and delightfully engaging. A second chance romance I rooted for from the very beginning!