Mr. Wrong Number by Lynn Painter
Prepare for two very opposing opinions on this book:
Liv has had shitty luck lately and though she lost her job, boyfriend, and apartment all in the same day, she’s not going to wallow. Instead, she’s going to wear all the clothes her parents had in storage from high school and stay with her brother and his hot roommate while she finds a job. But everything goes wrong for Liv. It always does. She’s one of those people who finds bad luck wherever they go. Despite that, she finds herself drawn to the roommate, Colin, and a mysterious wrong number she can’t ghost.
I was looking forward to something steamier from Lynn Painter after the fun Better than the Movies and though this is a heavily vaseline-on-the-lens romance, it was fine. The first chapter reminded me a lot of Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, which was fabulous and I think my enjoyment of that novel, gave this one an emotional boost. I also am a sucker for my best friend’s sibling trope. There just aren’t enough of those and I am excited to champion another one. -Ford
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I was really hoping for funny and quirky with steam and though all of those things are present, there is also a giant dose of misogyny that kept breaking me out of the “chemistry” of these characters.
She is always described as a mess and a failure, which is a funny concept as we begin the book, but becomes really detrimental to her as a capable MC as we keep reading through the pages.
Colin, on the other hand, is “perfect,” because he meets the success markers set by society, his growth and overall storyline are pretty flat. The big hurdle he overcomes is releasing his reservations about dating his best friend’s sister.
There is a physical altercation between Colin and Liv’s brother at the end of which Colin is given permission to date Liv. (In case you are unclear on my opinion here: Women are not property and are the only people who give and resend permissions regarding dating.)
I wanted to like the book, I kept reading, hoping that they will live through some major growth, but they really didn’t. Some things changed for both of them, but their lack of communication and emotional stagnation drove this one off the tracks for me. -Sky
