Betting on You

Lynn Painter is a well-known author in the contemporary romance and romantic comedy genres. She has had massive success across multiple demographics, writing for middle grade, young adult, and adult audiences. Her published or to-be-published works include Better Than the Movies (2021), Mr. Wrong Number (2022), The Do-Over (2022), Accidentally Amy (2022), The Love Wager (2023), Betting on You (2023), Nothing Like the Movies (2024), Happily Never After (2024), The Wish Switch (2025), Maid for Each Other (2025), and Fake Skating (2025).

Painter lives in Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband and five children. Notably, Betting on You is set in Omaha, pulling from her real-life knowledge of the area to set the scenes in the novel. Painter’s lucrative career in writing romantic comedies began with her whirlwind success with Better Than the Movies, which went viral on social media in 2021 and made her a #1 New York Times best-selling author.

Some of Painter’s most commonly used tropes in her romantic comedies are a mix between the enemies-to-lovers and friends-to-lovers dynamics. Her novels often particularly transition enemies into friends first before turning them into something romantic, lengthening the slow-burn romance at her novels’ cores by integrating the two tropes. Her novels often focus on the concept of two people having preconceived notions about each other and then growing to see each other in a different light. Her novels also often use the fake-dating trope as another way to create internal conflict and external tension.

When talking about writing Better Than the Movies, Painter mentioned how she’s a “love lover,” saying, “I am 100% guilty of refusing to look at the true realities of dating because I want it to be like the movies” (Bhatt, Jinal. “‘Nothing Like the Movies’ Author Lynn Painter on Breaking Up the Most Green-Flag Couple Ever.” The Mary Sue, 15 Oct. 2024). Given that this is her preference when approaching love, Betting on You marks a departure with its decidedly realistic viewpoint on love. More ironically is Painter’s assertion that Charlie, in particular, was one of the easier characters for her to write; she said, “Charlie’s voice has been really loud for me since the day I started outlining the project” (“YEM Author Interview: Lynn Painter Opens Up About Her New Book ‘Betting on You’ and What Makes Her Characters Tick.” YEM Magazine, 4 Dec. 2023). His chapters flowed quickly and easily as she was writing. Painter’s own penchant for movies became apparent in Better Than the Movies, which makes it no surprise that Betting on You was inspired by When Harry Met Sally (Alexander, Cindy. “Review: Author Lynn Painter Pays Homage to Her Favorite Rom Com With Hit Release ‘Betting on You.’” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 30 Dec. 2023). Just as Harry and Sally struggle to maintain their friendship in the face of growing attraction, Charlie and Bailey’s romantic arc moves slowly from enemies to friends and, finally, to lovers.