3 Stars
This one was just okay but I found it underwhelming and a bit boring. I felt like the conflict in this was so unnecessary and the MCs just needed more growth and to communicate better. I usually love Lynn Painter’s books but this one was probably my least favourite.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC!

3.5/5 ⭐️’s

I loved the concept of this book, very Speak Now coded! I adore Lynn Painter, specifically her young adult books, and I was so excited to get this arc before the release date. However, I found that it didn’t meet my expectations, but it was very, very funny and cute!

Synopsis:
The objectors: people who object to stop weddings from a happy ever after, these instances occur from infidelity, or from an ex-lover who comes to lay claim on the love of their life. Our objectors are Sophie and Max, who become an unlikely team after Max objects Sophie’s wedding, where she needs to leave her cheating fiancé with less of a mess. This unlikely pair goes from wedding to wedding to help object unwanted marriages from happening, and along the way, they try not to fall in love.

From the plot and author of this book, I couldn’t wait to get started. However, I didn’t have the most engaging time reading and had to switch up my reading format, which tells me I wasn’t excited about continuing to read. Although, I will say that it could have been the time in my life in which I was reading this book, and maybe why it didn’t hit hard for me. While my mood wasn’t sold on this book halfway through, I did find the writing charming (of course, it’s Lynn Painter!) and Sophie’s outlook on romance refreshing. To the books detriment, for me, I think my idea from this book was overshadowed by my love of Lynn Painters YA contemporaries and I wished she would weave her magic of those into her adult books. There’s something about the formula of holding back the romance and creating a “well worth it” tension without physically so early on, which would have made it more meaningful to me. That way of writing, for me, is very impactful and truly more honest in the characters relationships, which I see in her YA writing. All and all, I love Lynn Painter and will continue to read her books forever.

This book was an absolute delight. I might go as far as to say it’s my favorite Lynn Painter book so far, and that’s saying a lot because I adore her books. It was full of quick-witted banter, and hilarious insults, along with plenty of swoon-worthy moments. I just loved watching the main characters grow and fall in love despite all their best efforts.

Sophie Steinbeck finds out that her fiancé has been cheating...again...right before they’re due to get married. She can’t call it off because her future father-in-law is her dad’s boss, and he’d get fired for sure. So she enlists the help of a professional ‘objector’ to put a stop to the wedding.

The more Sophie learns about Max (the Objector) the more she decides he’s a modern-day hero, saving people from wasting their lives with the wrong people. Plus, Sophie doesn’t believe love is real, so she wants in on the objection game. The two of them just want their family and friends to leave them alone because they’re absolutely not looking for a relationship, so they decide to ramp up their friendship. It’s not fake dating exactly, but if their loved ones make assumptions about their friendship that’s fine with them.

Naturally, all this time spent together leads to feelings...not that they’re going to admit that to each other.

I just loved Sophie and Max, and could have read another 300-900 pages about them, easily. 😉

This rom-com was hilarious, anti-wedding, and full of love! I fell in love with the story.
 
Sophie Steinbeck discovers her fiancé has cheated again but can't call off the wedding as Stuart is her co-worker and his father is her dad's boss. Her best friend comes to her rescue by leading her to hire a professional objector to break off weddings.
 
She learns about her hero's job, Max the Objector, which involves saving people from hurting each other on the night of her anti-wedding, and that makes sense to her.
 
Sophie and Max work together, enjoying each wedding and becoming "just friends." However, their physical chemistry is off, leading to occasional hookups, which is absolutely fine since they don't have feelings for each other and love doesn't exist.
 
Then, a groom-to-be hires Sophie to object, but his fiancée is the woman who broke Max's heart.
Max struggles to decide whether he can be a party to his ex's hurting, and Sophie realizes she may have fallen in love with her partner.
 
Lynn Painter did it again. I loved The Love Wager, and this one didn't fall behind. What a fresh and unique plot, and add fake dating to it, bam! You have a page-turner.
 
This book was fun, and I just couldn't put it down. I read it in one sitting (just had to sleep at night). The story was quick and fast-paced, with amazing dialogue and witty banter, which was chef's kiss. The writing was smooth, the characters well developed, and there was a perfect blend of comedy and romance. Also, this comes with a touch of spice.
 
Larry was my favorite. I enjoyed reading every bit of it and recommend it to all the rom-com lovers and everyone else who doesn't read romance but would like to.
 
Rating ~ 4.5✨

Putting aside the extremely implausible meet-cute (could there truly be THAT many weddings to break up at the altar?), this was a sweet rom-com. I enjoyed Max and Sophie’s relationship and especially liked the fun addition of Sophie’s silly elderly roommates. The spice level was HIGH but managed to be descriptive without being graphic. It struck a good balance.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🔥🔥

Quick Breakdown

Strangers to Friends to Lovers
Fake Dating
It’s Just a Hookup
Last Names as Nicknames
LOL Banter
Elderly BFFs
Dual POV
Open Door - Mild to Moderate

Take a look at my new favorite Lynn Painter 👆🏻

Sophie learns her fiancé is cheating on her right before her wedding. Afraid to call it off since her would be father-in-law is her father’s boss, the maid of honor hires Max a professional objector to stop the wedding for her. Max ends up spending the would be wedding night with the bridal party celebrating the lack of nuptials and mutually hating on love.

Months later, he calls on Sophie to help him object at another wedding. They quickly become the closest friends, learning that they can stretch this friendship into something mutually beneficial. Since her ex fiancé is still her coworker, if she can appear to have moved on, she’s a shoe in for a big promotion. If it looks like Max has a significant other, his parents would be more comfortable finally retiring. Spending time together is no hardship though. How long can these two commitment phobic individuals deny their insane chemistry?

I am BLOWN away by this one. Between the hilarious banter, insane chemistry & perfectly delivered audiobook performances it’s no surprise I binged this one as quickly as I did. I couldn’t stop listening! It’s paced perfectly with short chapters & dual POV leaving me engaged with the characters & completely addicted. felt engaged & there were countless moments I had to suffer strange looks from my family after fits of cackling out loud.

I love Lynn Painter! Her books are so fun and this one is no different. I really enjoyed Sophie and Max and their story. The book was just a good time and I read it super quickly in one sitting! Definitely would recommend if you need a good romcom!

Sophie Steinbeck and Max Parks have sworn off love. In fact, these two cynics are co-objectors in their side gig which allows them to spare other brides and grooms the embarrassment of cancelling or calling off a wedding. They soon realize that spending even more time together might just help get them to the next phase of their life. But as they double down on their fake relationship, the chemistry between the two is undeniable. Can these two cynics come to terms with falling for their fellow cynic?

Lynn Painter books always leave a major small on my face and my heart happy. This book didn’t disappoint when it came to the warm fuzzies. I adored the friendship, banter, and chemistry between Max and Sophie. I routed for them all the way through the book, but honestly their Friendship is what really endeared them to me.

This wasn’t my favorite of Painter’s books. I don’t have any big negatives, but The Love Wager is still my favorite. With quirky wit, some open-door romance, and the absolute best side characters (if we don’t get a book with more of Sophie’s roommates, I’ll be so upset!), this story will be sure to charm you!


Happily Never After comes out April 9, 2024! Huge thank you to Berkley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof.books or on Tiktok @speakingof.books

Happily Never After by @lynnpainterbooks is an absolutely hilarious and incredibly entertaining rom com. One of the only authors who can make me actually laugh out loud with her characters’ witty banter.

Max has a side gig as a wedding objector for hire. When he breaks up Sophie’s wedding, they end up joining forces as a wedding objector team. Sparks fly along with some hilarious wedding shenanigans. One of my favorite parts of the book though was the side characters- Sophie’s elderly roommates Rose and Larry. Please give Rose and Larry their own book, ok Lynn? Pretty please!

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I can always count on Lynn Painter for snappy, forthright dialogue and interesting concepts. In this case, having an objector at the wedding when one of the party is a cheater. It makes it feel more like it is not the non-cheater's fault, as though they are an innocent victim rather than an accuser. I did find it a little unbelievable that the non-cheater would just go through with the marriage otherwise. But there is a lot of pressure around weddings.

Our main couple here, are a bride Sophie, who was a non-cheater and Max, the objector, since her potential groom was cheating. There are other dynamics since Sophie works at the same company as the cheater. Sophie just plain doesn't believe in one true love. Max believes but hasn't found her.

Together they end up fake dating. Sophie has a way to prove to her boss she has a personal life beyond work. Max can hold off the dates and pressure from his family to settle down. They end up doing objections together, since they are proponents of objections. Sophie and Max also find they have other hobbies and interests in common.

You can guess how this will end up as they just become more and more real in their fake dating. I enjoyed this enough to finish it in one day!

The premise of this book sounded super fun and intriguing but ultimately I was left underwhelmed.

I was hoping for more of a Wedding Crashers vibe, but it ended up being pretty meh.

Thank you Berkley & NetGalley for the advance review copy! All opinions are my own.

Lynn writes such happy, funny books that run on banter and snappy dialogue and HAPPILY NEVER AFTER was no exception. Max and Sophie had delightful repartee and made me laugh consistently. Anyone looking for a feel-good romance, this is your book!

it's been a while since I have finished reading a book and wanted to immediately read it again because I loved it so much.

This book was so good! My perfect romantic comedy. I absolutely LOVED the banter, it was top-tier banter. The use of last name *squeals* ahh it is one of my favourite tropes.

This was sort of a friends-to-lovers/workplace romance. Sophie & Max became friends after he stood up an objected to her wedding (saving her from a HUGE mistake). After that they became friends and teamed up to be the objectors at other weddings, all while vowing never to fall in love.

The spicy was so well done and the tension made my heart beat fast. It was one of those books that distracts you all day at work, just thinking about when you can read more of it.

Full 5 stars from me! Thank you so much to Berkley Romance & Netgalley for this arc.

Sophie finds out her fiancé is cheating on her. To get out of the relationship she hires a professional wedding objector, a person who “objects” during the wedding ceremony. The wedding objector is Max and after he objected at Sophie’s wedding, they become friends and join forces to save other people from marrying the wrong person. But the more time they spend together the closer they get.

This was such an entertaining and sweet read! I loved both Sophie and Max and their banter, and I thought being a “objector” was unique. There were some fun side characters, especially Sophie’s geriatric roommates, and it had the perfect amount of steam. I loved every minute of it!

Sophie is hours away from saying “I do” when she finds out her fiance has cheated… again. She wants to call the wedding off, but is nervous because her fiance’s father is her dad’s boss and she’s worried about her dad’s job. Sophie’s best friend tells her she has things handled and not to worry, as she has found The Objector. Who is The Objector? Well, he’s the person who says he has an issue with two people getting married at that point of their ceremony.

This was a super cute book! It’s light and easy to read while giving you enough details that will have you guessing what’s going to happen next without totally giving it away. Both Sophie and Max believe marriage is a waste of time and have no desire to ever get married. However, once Sophie and Max realize they might have a thing going on between them, their chemistry is great together. Sophie’s roommates, Larry and Rose, were a great addition to the story, especially at the end! This is my first Lynn Painter book, and I’m looking forward to checking out her other books.

Shout out to fellow Cubs fan Max!

A big thank you to Berkley Romance and the author for letting me review this advanced copy! All thoughts are my own.

THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU IF: You are looking for an easy read, light on the spicy, and with fun characters.

Thank you to @berkelypub @prhaudio @letstalkbookspromo for the #gifted copy.

Lynn Painter has quickly become an auto buy author of mine. I listened on audio and enjoyed the narration. The author just has a way of making me laugh out loud and this is why I look forward to reading every one of her books. Sophie and Max’s story was no different and I just love the idea of a a job as a wedding objector. Sign me up!!

Lynn Painter is an auto-buy author for me, if she writes it, I’ll read it. But sadly this book was a swing and a miss for me. The blurb is really interesting, it’s like a fun take on wedding crashers.

When I pick up a Lynn Painter book, I can always count on fun banter; the characters are always so quirky and funny. I think where this book lost me was the pacing. Things had to move quickly because this book is on the shorter side. I just didn’t feel a connection to the characters and shockingly I didn’t feel the chemistry between the two love interests.

Sophie and Max meet the night of her would-be wedding night...except her best friend hired Max to be an objector during the ceremony so Sophie doesn't make the terrible mistake of marrying a cheating, lying, partner. They cross paths a few months later when Max reaches out to get Sophie's help at an objection and she's hooked. They have a lucrative side-hustle objecting at weddings to keep them from happening. It is a hilarious premise with a lot of steamy scenes between the two main characters who've decided that they're never going to be in relationships again. A quick, lighthearted romance with a lot of humor.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

“Speak now or forever hold your peace” a moment in every wedding where you can hear a pin drop, but Max is used to seizing these moments. Max is a professional “wedding objector” who steps in to interrupt weddings for people who have no way out and can prove their significant other has wronged them.

Sophie finds out right before her wedding that her fiancé cheated on her yet again, so she gets in touch with Max to interrupt the wedding, and that’s where their story begins…

Pick this one up if you’re looking for:
🤭Fake dating
💘MC doesn’t believe in love
🗣️Witty banter
👫Friends with benefits
🌶️Little bit of spice

For me, HAPPILY NEVER AFTER started off strong in the beginning but lost a little momentum in the middle/end. Overall enjoyed it, but wish there was more tension/more to the plot in the middle and end.

This was a super cute romcom that had me grinning from ear to ear. The story just flowed and I loved the characters and how freaking adorable they were! I’m not one for fake dating but this one sort of had a twist to it so it worked for me. Also, the supporting characters were a hoot.