I’m a huge fan of this authors books, both adult and young adult. I’m always so excited when she comes out with a new one. I was enamored from the first chapter (it was a hooking one).

I enjoyed that it was written in dual perspective. Sophie and Max were both very lovable, relatable characters. I would definitely consider this a meet cute in the most unlikely of scenarios. The characters banter was wonderfully done and felt so real.

I love that this book had pretty short chapters, it always makes the time fly for me. Overall I’d call this another great read by Lynn Painter and I can’t wait to read more from her.

Sophie is about to say her vows…so where is he? At the last second, he objects and ends the wedding exactly like she planned. Just days before the wedding she found out her fiance cheated on her…again. Now on her own and living with two roommates because she can’t afford the apartment on her own, Sophie is hoping for a promotion she has worked her ass off for. Meanwhile Max has decided he needs her to join his team as an objector. When they realize pretending their friendship could be more could benefit them both, they start posting together more often. What happens when the feelings grow?

This book was just an absolute delight. I loved That Max was an objector and interrupted weddings for people once they found out something that meant they couldn’t get married but they were too far in to call it off without it causing a huge drama for themselves or their family. Both Sophie and Max were so cynical, and I kind of loved it to be honest. The witty banter was top notch, and Sophie’s roommates had me cracking up! I just adored every second of this one!

Honestly, I give this a grudging 4 stars because the first part of the book moved too damn slow. I liked the two leads (Sophie and Max) but with Sophie not believing in love and then the "objector" jobs they had, it felt like too much was happening at once. Big pluses though with the hot sex scenes and you could feel the sizzle and heat once that finally got started.

"Happily Never After" follows Sophie Steinbeck. Sophie finds out her fiancée is cheating on her and on her wedding day, hires a man who will "object" who will allow her to end the marriage without causing fallout with her father's job. Sophie celebrates later with the man she calls the objector who is Max.

Max finds himself intrigued by Sophie after the drunken night he spends with her and her maid of honor and then decides he needs Sophie's help with objecting. From there the two of them start a weird friendship which moves to something more.

The plot with the objecting started to wane after a while until a last minute one that I went...okay really at one point. It really slowed down the back and forth between Max and Sophie I thought. And honestly, reading about them thinking of kissing each other for pages and pages started to grate and made me go, my God just kiss or shut up. I don't want to read about it anymore. Yes, there's something to be said for the slow burn, but by the 60 percent point I was sick of them just kissing and talking about kissing. I checked to make sure I had not grabbed a Christian romance. But I know some modern romances like the fade to black sex scenes, and dear friends and followers, I DO NOT.

I did laugh out loud at times though because the dialogue Painter writes for Max and Sophie was hilarious to the point of tears here and there. They started to feel real to me, which is what I love in my romance reads.

The ending was great and also hilarious, we get a great happily ever after (HEA).

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was a really cute, fast read. The idea of there being objectors you can hire for weddings was a great storyline and there was a lot of fun scenes there.

I LOVED Max, though I was a little perturbed by a certain decision of his toward the end, so I would have to agree with Sophie on that a bit, but overall he was amazing.

I really liked Sophie to start but was having issues with her once she was obviously developing feelings but then just excused them away at every opportunity, and while I'm all for making sure you're taking care of yourself in a relationship and making sure your needs are being met, I think she kinda crossed the line into being actually selfish and had a total disregard to his feelings.

But I blew through this one and enjoyed it.

I didn’t love the plot of this one (it felt a little far fetched, to get paid that much for objecting weddings frequently??) but I loved Sophie’s roommates and Max’s ruggedness. Their relationship was adorable and the spice was top notch. It’s a fun weekend read that is easy and fast to read!

4★

This is the first Lynn Painter book I've ever read, and I think it was the perfect, short-and-sweet introduction to her writing!

The concept of this book is hilarious and very original. I was originally thinking I was going to rate it around 3.5★ because it wasn't *life changing* and there were 1 or 2 cringey moments (like him prefacing complimenting her by saying he's not trying to sound like an "a**hole misogynist"–what???!), but the 'love confession' at the end of the book bumped up my rating–IMO, that was perfect. 💕

Super cute, I'd definitely recommend.

Happily, Never After by Lynn Painter is a fantastic romantic comedy. Sophie Steinbeck finds out before she gets married that her fiancé has cheated on her again, and wants to break it off. Unfortunately, her future father-in-law is her dad’s boss. Her friend finds her a professional objector to show up and object to the marriage. Max is that objector and they become friends.

The premise of this story was so interesting. I was a big fan of #teamsophiemax with their chemistry, banter, and cynical attitudes. I enjoyed watching them transform, become less cynical, and enjoy each other’s company. There were so many laugh out loud scenes for me including wedding scenes,outings, and their interactions with friends and family. I had a wonderful time reading this story

Happily, Never After by Lynn Painter is a great romantic comedy with great banter, chemistry and laugh out loud moments. It was a quick entertaining read that I recommend!

CW: Open Door, language

I was given a copy by the publisher and not required to write a positive review.

Happily Never After was a super fun, quick read but ultimately very shallow with one-dimensionsal characters. I recommend this if you just want a fun, low stakes palate cleanser.

This was so so good! I was laughing out loud throughout the story, and I really enjoyed it. The characters were amazing and very quirky, which was perfect. The ending had me swooning, and I loved how it got back at the rest of the story. Can highly recommend this!

I have yet to read a Painter book I haven’t loved. And this audiobook and ecopy were the perfect tandem way to read it.

I was literally smiling the entire time.
Or laughing at scenes like the grocery store randomness (grapes anyone?!)

The objectors really are the lovebirds even if they fight it the whole way there.

This author’s writing is so much fun. I really loved the creativity of the premise of this story and enjoyed seeing where it took me. Sunshine and sunshine is one of my FAVORITE tropes along with strangers to friends to lovers - which has it’s own vibes compared to a traditional friends to lovers. Surprisingly, it’s hard to find a straight-forward strangers to friends to lovers, and this was refreshing.

The main reason that I took away one star was because their relationship turned very physically-focused vs. emotionally-focused which is more of my preference. I think lots of readers will love it and I recommend adding it to your TBR!

Perfect for you if you like:
Dual POV
Sunshine/sunshine
Strangers to friends to lovers
Laugh out loud funny

I love Lynn’s books and this new one was no exception. I devoured this and I think it helped get me out of a bookish slump. I liked the concept and thought the execution was well done. The development of the relationship was top notch and the banter was fun. I can’t wait for what Lynn writes next!

Happily Never After is a delightful opposites attract, fake-dating comedic romp.

It all begins when Max attends Sophie's wedding as a hired objector. And then? You guessed it: shenanigans and sparks. The chemistry and the banter between swoon-worthy Max and doesn't-believe-in-love Sophie is satisfying and fun, and the plot is unique enough that even its predictability doesn't come across as same old, same old. Had the act three crisis been stronger this would have been an easy five-star read for me.

A note on side characters: I loved Sophie's roommates, Rose and Larry, but I was disappointed at how little development there was for Sophie's maid of honor. She was present in the opening wedding scene but is pretty much gone for the rest of the book. For as close of friends as they seemed to be when the novel began, this felt like a grievous oversight by the author. Still, the novel comes in with pretty high rating for me, so I clearly made my peace with this pretty quickly.

Happily Never After is a delightful romantic comedy that follows the story of professional wedding objectors. Fans of romantic comedies will surely enjoy this charming tale.

I'm convinced I read a different book from everyone else because, unfortunately for me, I didn't enjoy Happily Never After at all. The book follows Sophie and Max's friendship-that-turns-romance after she hires Max to object to her wedding. While the premise is unique, the execution leaves much to desire. I know Lynn Painter is HUGE in the YA romance world and I personally think she should stick to that genre because for an adult romance, this read very juvenile. The entire time I read the book, I kept thinking about how many books I read similar to this back in my Wattpad days in 2014. The story was rushed, the dialogue was cringe-worthy, and the characters just didn't feel their age. I can see why others would love this book (and love that for everyone), but it wasn't for me.

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Lynn Painter is the queen of the rom-com. I really enjoyed this one - great banter and chemistry. I would've liked more of them actually "together" romantically as a couple but their friendship was equally great.

Sophie finds out her fiance, Stuart, has cheated but she can’t call off the wedding because his father is her father’s boss. So instead her friend enlists a professional objector to chime in before the vows.
After her wedding is called off, Sophie then spends the evening drinking with her objector, Max, and he later asks her to object to another couple’s union at another wedding. She finds she has a knack for it but their anti-love stance is about to be challenged.
The idea of a professional wedding objector was a unique concept and I would have loved a bit more of that, and a bit less of the predictable romance, told from the alternating perspectives of Sophie and Max. If you like light, witty and steamy, then you won’t object to this rom-com.

While not appropriate for my high school library (we don't stock adult romance), this is a super cute book! I'd recommend it to readers who are older who enjoy Painter's YA books, which are super popular in my library. I'll continue to read her books as well!!

Happily Never After is such a fun, cute and easy read. The banter and chemistry between Sophie and Max pops off the page. I found myself constantly smiling and laughing out loud several times throughout the book. The friendship that develops feels genuine, so that the “friends to lovers” trope folds perfectly in.

Both Sophie and Max are extremely likable characters. Sophie is a strong female character who thrives in her career and isn't afraid to say what is on her mind. Max is full of compassion for Sophie, his family and everyone he encounters. Other characters that I adored were Sophie’s roommates, Rose and Larry. Larry is the grandpa we all wish we had.

If you are looking for a quick read that leaves you feeling all bubbly inside, this is the book for you. Overall this book has a little bit of everything: friends to lovers, he falls first, and a little fake dating sprinkled in. The short chapters give you the “one more chapter feel” only to find yourself finishing way faster than you thought.

Lynn Painter NEVER FAILS to deliver. If you are looking for one fun read, this is the book! She excels at banter and this one had plenty. Loved the chemistry between the two leads, and the romance was top notch. Max and Sophie have my heart! Definitely getting this one!