"I have a proposition for you." Kacey should have run the minute those words left Seattle millionaire Jake Titus's mouth. It's been years since Kacey's seen her childhood friend Jake, but the minute Jake mentions his ill grandmother, Kacey is ready to do anything for the sweet old woman. And if that means pretending they're engaged for her sake-so be it.
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 . . .
Jake’s crazy proposition was what lured me to reading The Bet by Rachel Van Dyken. The fact that Kacey would even accept drew me into the story right away. Though right of the bat Jack was a total egotistical jerk (which felt that that was Ms. Dyken’s intention so I was willing to give him a chance, a slim one) but I really felt for Kacey giving her heart to him. It was quickly known that they had a history between them which brought the underling drama and intrigued me the most. It was clear that Jake and Kacey were best friends and that Jake hurt her in some way. So what happened between them to strain their friendship that much and why would Kacey help Jake in spite of that? With the smooth writing style and all these intriguing questions, I easily got into the story.
I enjoyed the dynamics between Jake and Kacey in the beginning even though I thought Jake was a jerk and Kacey a bit of a push over. Letting Jake pull her into that proposition the way that he did made Kacey seem a bit weak to me but as the story unfolded and their heavy past was revealed I understood where she was coming from and how feelings can make you do crazy things. Especially those coming from a long standing friendship. But things got way more interesting and juicy when Jake’s brother Travis came into the picture. At first with Travis I thought I was going to get a quite brooding older brother, who stood on the side line wanting what he couldn’t have. Then I’d be screaming in my head “Talk to her already!” but when Kacey was around Travis totally opened up and things got way more interesting building up the drama and intrigue. I really enjoyed Travis and his conflicting emotions with Kacey and Jake. The friendship between the three of them and all the history between them was both funny and tragic.
There was so much tension between Travis and Kacey and emotional tension between Kacey and Jake that I couldn’t tell what was going to happen next. I loved the building sexual tension between Travis and Kacey. They had such a connection between them and they had so much fun with each other, pulling pranks and reliving childhood memories but there was so much emotional baggage that came along with them as well. Even though they considered themselves enemies they were still close and with Jake adding the drama it was entertaining reading them try to figure out all of their issues.
The drama with the crazy family history and the wild emotions going all around between Travis, Kacey and Jake really turned this story into a page turner for me, leaving me wondering how everything would play out. Would there even be a friendship left between them when things were done? Although I’m happy to say that the ending turned out satisfying as they all figured out what they wanted and needed out of their lives.
Overall The Bet turned out to be a yummy read. It was fun, romantic, and emotional with an engaging story and characters.
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