In this highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling Better than the Movies, Wes and Liz struggle to balance their feelings for each other with the growing pains of being a college student.
For a few beautiful months, Wes had his dream girl: strong-willed girl-next-door Liz. But right as the two were about to set off to UCLA to start their freshman year together, tragedy struck. Wes was left dealing with the fallout, which ultimately meant losing Liz in the process.
Flash forward months and months later and Wes and Liz find themselves in college, together. In a healthier place now, Wes knows he broke Liz’s heart when he ended things, but he is determined to make her fall back in love with him.
Wes knows Liz better than anyone, and he has a foolproof plan to win her back with the rom-com worthy big gestures she loves. Only…Liz will have none of it. Wes has to scheme like a rom-com hero to figure out how to see her. Even worse, Liz has a new friend…a guy friend.
Still, Wes won’t give up, adapting his clever plans and going hard to get Liz’s attention and win back her affection. But after his best efforts get him nowhere, Wes is left wondering if their relationship is really over for good.
Title: Nothing Like the Movies (Better Than the Movies #2)
Author: Lynn Painter
Publisher:
Expected Publication Date: October 1, 2024
Review:
Thank you to Edelweiss and Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers for providing me with a copy of this egalley to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I really love Lynn Painter but I especially love this little series. The first book was so much fun. Enemies to friends to lovers, lots of romance, and just an all around good feeling book.
What I was not expecting was the heartache that came with this one. I had zero idea Painter was going to take it where she did and then make is a second chance romance. And, while I was praying for a wonderful HEA, I honestly wasn't sure I was going to even get it, even when I was nearing the end of the book! But Painter always comes through with her stories (love her adult fiction, as well) and I was graced with an ending that truly did this couple justice.
Wes has to be one of my favorite YA book boyfriends. I love his sense of humor. I love his commitment to family and friends, and I especially love his heart. His story for this book really got to me. His guilt over the tragedy that struck his family. His willingness to let it all go in order to support them. He carried such a burden in this book. You could feel it weighing him down, even after he kind of got things together and was giving himself a chance to grow.
Liz was very different in this book, definitely not the same girl we knew in book #1. Her thoughts on love and being a lover of love were totally different from the Liz we saw in the first book. She's totally jaded and has done a 180 in terms of where she stands with this. I know this was from dealing with the loss of Wes and what they had built together in high school but I wasn't expecting it to be such a tremendous turn around. She went from believing in romance to kicking it to the curb. Her turn around made me angry and very sad for her. There were times in the book I wanted to really give her a little smack upside the head and say "snap out of it!" I was very happy when she opened her heart to the potential of a second chance.
The pacing on this one was just as great as the first. I wanted to climb into the book and experience it from all sides and never put it down. I felt torn between the need to get to the ending as quickly as possible to see what happens and wanting to experience each scene and interaction with the the MMC and FMC in slow motion so it would not end.
The plot is definitely a figure out who you are, grow a little, and then go after what you really want type of flow. I had one plot hole that really was annoying to me. I don't want to spoil anything but I felt like the fake dating trope that was introduced was truly unnecessary and didn't really lend anything to the plot. Plus, it was never truly revealed to all in the long run so I'm not sure why it was even included.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. Painter continues to be on my list of must read authors whenever she publishes something. The characters are more mature, with bigger problems than high school kids, yet it was still kept on a level that YA lovers will understand and appreciate. I laughed, I cried, I held my breath, and I sighed. It took me through all the emotions and definitely had me shedding some tears at times. I've done Painter's books in both print and audio for all of them and I cannot wait to listen to this one when it's released. Definitely a read it again book for me!
Author:
Lynn Painter is the international bestselling author of Better Than The Movies. She writes romantic comedies for both teens and adults, and when she isn't reading or writing, odds are good she’s guzzling energy drinks and watching rom-coms.
Obscure facts that might make her sound interesting (but probably don't):
*She is the step-aunt to one of the actors on Riverdale, even though she's technically only met him once and he likely wouldn't remember her. Hint: He starred in a movie with Yara Shahidi. And another one with Will Smith. His name rhymes with Barles Gelton.
*She can fit an entire cupcake in her mouth. BOOM.
*She threw up all over herself on the first day of 2nd grade.
*She once saw Kelsey Grammar hailing a taxi in Manhattan, so she's pretty much an NYC native who is best friends with celebrities.
*She has a one-inch vertical.
*Her love for spaghetti is brighter than the sun, stronger than The Rock.
*If you see her doing anything crafty, it isn't her; she has literally set things on fire with a hot glue gun and has the motor skills of a preschooler. No offense, preschoolers.
*Her 4th grade teacher moved her desk out into the hallway because she wouldn't shut up. Like, ever.
*She held the record at her elementary school for finding the most bats (vampire, not baseball) in a single year. The little dork located - and alerted authorities to - four potentially-rabid bats.*
So technically, if you think about it, she might've saved hundreds of lives with her nerditude. #hero
*She was the only one to ever find any bats because everyone else had better things to do at recess.
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