Lynn Painter should be teaching Rom-Com 101! She knows exactly what the readers love and keeps giving us the greatest laugh out loud stories. Lynn Painter is an auto buy author for me. I fell in love with her style from her very first book Mr. Wrong Number.

This book was a cute, quick read. Soohie and Max had great chemistry. I found a few places where I was killing but it picked back up! A great weekend read.

It's been decided: I love Lynn's adult books much more than her YA novels. I just really struggle with YA in general so please know this is a "me" thing.

Their name? The objectors. Their job? To break off weddings as hired. Their dilemma? They might just be in love with each other.

As a fan of contemporary romance and lighthearted stories, I really enjoyed the humorous and playful tone of "Happily Never After". With its themes of fake dating, friends-to-lovers, and romance, this book gave me all the warm and fuzzies. Painter balances the rom with the com perfectly in this standalone novel.

This quote 🥹😭🥰🫠⬇️

“But Soph, I know that I like you more than anyone else in the world. And that’s it, isn’t it—the thing that matters?”

I always have such a good time reading Lynn Painter books and Happily Never After was no different. I liked this one- it was funny, cute, and at just under 300 pages, a fast read. My favorite parts were the objecting story-line, wedding shenanigans and Sophie’s roommates.

I do wish Sophie and Max had gotten over their exes a little bit sooner to further develop their romance being a shorter book. But, it was still a good time! I’d love to see this book made into a movie; Lynn’s books always read like a rom-com to me. Fingers crossed 🤞

💒THINGS 💒
✌️dual POV
🩷strangers to friends to lovers
✨fake dating
🏡unconventional & meddling roommates
🫠 last names as nicknames (Parks & Steinbeck)
❌ love cynics x2

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

In Happily Never After, the worst day of Sophie Steinbeck's life just turns out to be the start of her future. Discovering her fiancee has cheated on her, but if she broke off the engagement, she and her family would suffer, she hires a professional objector to ruin the wedding instead. And when Max pulls it off perfectly, she thinks he is her hero, but in fact he's so much more than that. Working together following the failed wedding to save more unhappy grooms or bride's, Max and Sophie's cynical thoughts on love all seem to change, and it's harder for them to ignore the chemistry developing between them. But the latest groom to hire Sophie happens to be marrying the woman who broke Max's heart, and he can't get involved in ruining her day. Will it lead to Max and Sophie having a happily never after?

I didn't really know what to expect with this book, and it was a sort of impulse request on NetGalley, but it was so good! Sophie's story about being trapped in an engagement and future marriage, otherwise her father would lose his job, and the family ruined, was heartbreaking, and it was amazing that someone like Max could come along and save the day. Them becoming pseudo colleagues to help others avoid being married to the wrong person was perfect, as was the way they spoke with each other, and were able to be real and honest. I will say that I did hate the story line with Max's ex, but in a way, it was so needed as it allowed him to get full closure and allow himself the chance at happiness with Sophie. This book was heartbreaking, and so happy at the same time that it's a bit of a contradiction, but I loved it even so. I can't wait to read my next book by this author.

This was a great "love skeptics to lovers" and I really loved it. the older friends/roommates really added to it and even though I saw the ending coming, I'm glad it ended the way I wanted it to with an HEA.

This book was a surprise hit for me! Funny and sweet, but lacking in tension. I always love a fake dating romance

Max runs a successful side gig as a professional objector. Surprisingly there are a lot of people that want to get out of a marriage without being the one to break things up. But they are more than willing to pay for someone else to ruin their wedding.

For instance, there’s Sophie, who’s sweating bullets. It’s moments before she is supposed to say I do, and she’s praying the man she paid to ruin her wedding pulls through. The pastor asks if there are any objections and when she hears, “I do,” she can finally breathe. Stuart is a cheater and the thought of spending the rest of her life with him was miserable, but now she's finally free and doesn't have to risk her job. Her almost wedding ends in shambles but that’s exactly what she was hoping for.

After Max saves the day, they go their separate ways and don’t run into each other again until much later. Another wedding brings our duo together only this time, Sophie ends up joining Max as a guest. And is fascinated by his job. She doesn’t believe in love anymore, and there’s something exhilarating about saving people from falling for the allure of it. So much so that she begs to play the role of Objectress. She’s a little bit jaded, and in a strange twist of fate the only one who might be able to change her mind about love is her partner in crime.

Max and Sophie were so fun together. It was clear from the start that these two complimented each other perfectly. Mix in a little fake dating, and a lot of steam I was hooked. Their banter was so easy, and they quickly fall into a friendship that becomes just a little bit more each day. They weren’t without flaws, and each had their hurdles to overcome, but it felt very realistic. Especially when they ended up standing in their own way. Despite the miscommunication, I could completely understand the headspace both Max and Sophie were in.

Watching these two slowly fall for each other despite their negative views of love was such a joy. They’ve seen the worst of love, and that’s become the blueprint for how NOT to be in a healthy relationship. I loved the way they stepped up by the end and did better. This book was so genuinely funny and sweet. And truly was a great experience to read.

I want to extend a huge thank you to NetGalley, Berkley, and Lynn Painter for the copy of this arc! I truly enjoyed it and will gladly pick up more books from this author.

Lynn can't write a bad book!! While I prefer her YA stories over her adult ones, they are all SO enjoyable and funny. They suck you right in, always move along a fast pace, and have really interesting plot points. The wedding objector plot was so engaging and hilarious. It was interesting all the different scenarios they found themselves in. I really loved Sophie and Max's characters and thoroughly enjoyed the whole book!

I am normally a HUGE!!!! fan of Lynn Painter, and this book did not do it for me. Sadly this was a DNF for me at about 30%. I really hope to give it another chance some day, but I really could not get into or connect to this story. I don't know if I was hyping it up too much or getting too excited before reading it or what, but when I got to reading it, it was just really not what I was hoping for. I think the insta-love was what really got me down on this one. For me, there was no tension between the two MCs, and it just unfortunately fell a little flat. I will give it a chance again someday.

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the finished copy.

2.5 stars

Happily Never After by Lynn Painter tells the story of Sophie Steinbeck, who finds out right before getting married that she’s been cheated on.
So instead of calling off the wedding she hires a stranger named Max to interrupt the ceremony and confront her fiancé. Max's side gig is that of an "objector" - someone hired to object at a wedding where one party feels like they can't call off the wedding for some reason or other. The two run into one another again and Max asks if she’ll work with him to help others expose their cheating partners and Sophie agrees.

Cute premise, right? Well. This book was just aggravating. The main characters were both so shallow and self-obsessed. Their relationship was "insta-love" even though Sophie states that she doesn't believe in love. So much of the plot was unbelievable. So much of the romance was cringey. So much of the banter was ... actually kind of cute, but not enough to redeem the book.

Now, I will 1000% read Ms. Painter's adorable YA novels, but her NA or Adult romance books don't seem to be for me.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This was such a cute book! Max and Sophie were fun and funny and their dialogue was quippy, I loved them. Larry and Rose stole the show as roommates. The plot was different, which I really enjoyed. I loved the setting of all the weddings, I kind of wish there had been a few more because they were so fun to read about. It made me think a little bit of 27 Dresses. I love Lynn Painter's YA books, so I wasn't surprised when I loved this one too. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for this ARC!

SUMMARY: Sophie Steinbeck needs to dump her cheating fiance at the altar, but she doesn’t want to look like the bad guy… enter: Max, a cynic who has turned objecting at weddings into a personal side hustle. After celebrating her derailed nuptials together, Sophie decides that she wants to help save people like herself by becoming Max’s objector-in-crime. But what happens when this “down with love” duo starts hanging out – and hooking up – every weekend?

This is another fun + funny romcom from my gal Lynn Painter that you should add to your TBR. Honestly, she just has the romcom equation down.

You know how people say ‘they don’t make good romcoms like they did in the 90s?’ Well, Lynn Painter is writing them. Hollywood, please take note.

While the characters are not as well developed as some of her other books, I’m not complaining. The third best Lynn Painter book is still more entertaining than the best book written by someone else.

Check it out if you like:

💖 Friends to lovers
💖 Quick-witted banter
💖 Smart, sexy characters

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lynn Painter is quickly becoming an auto buy author for me! I loved the humor sprinkled amongst the romance between the main characters. The set-up of exposing cheating partners is unique and not one I’d read of before. The chemistry between Max and Sophie is palpable, and I thoroughly enjoyed their love story!

Lynn Painter is the Queen of writing books that feel like early 2000s rom coms and I'm here for every second of it!!

While, I enjoyed different aspects of this including, the banter, plot and some of the side characters. However, I didn't love Max and the sex scenes that felt like they stopped the relationship growth the reader needed to see!

Beside that, I enjoyed this book for the ✨vibes✨

Thanks Berkley for the ARC! I love you guys <3

This is BY FAR my favorite Lynn Painter book! She ATE with this book! Honestly she should write spicy books from now on cuz it added the PERFECT element to this book! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Max and Sophie meet after he objects to her wedding, which gets Sophie out of a disastrous relationship with Stuart. Sophie and Max become fast friends, going to weddings together and posting lots of photos together to appease Max's parents and Sophie's boss. This fiery friendship turns into fierce feelings that neither of them were looking for, but they have already fallen into the fire...of FUCKRAH 🔥


This was a cute book. I do feel like there are two distinct halves that could've flowed together a bit better. The first half is Sophie and Max objecting at weddings and putting on a fake almost relationship for everyone else. Some supporting characters, like Sophie's best friend and Max's parents get dropped from the story. This didn't bother me enough not to enjoy Max and Sophie's chemistry in the second half. I loved how they confessed their feelings for each other by the end. An enjoyable read ❤️

This was cute and an easy fluffy read with a side of spice. The overall story was so fun. Two people who don’t believe in love objecting to wedding as a side gig. But obviously they had to fall for each other. I loved how Max was a golden retriever personality. The little miscommunication at the end could have been easily resolved but luckily the book ended cute! Lynn Painter knows how to write a fun romance!

Sophie Steinbeck is sick to her stomach when she’s about to tie the knot. Thanks to Max Parks, hired to object to the wedding, she avoids a major mistake, and her focus then is her well-being and her career. Sophie and Max develop a friendship — a beautiful and heartwarming friendship. While they also become partners as “objectors”, they also confront their personal challenges, adding depth to their character. 

The delicious banter between Max and Sophie brings humor and charm to the narrative. I thoroughly enjoyed every page with them together. Lynn Painter’s talent for crafting romantic moments shines through; her description of just one kiss is explosive:

“I knew without a doubt that I could kiss him forever and never lose a single butterfly.”

It’s hard not to feel the chemistry between the Max and Sophie on every page.

“Happily Never After” not only delivers on romantic expectations but also skillfully combines elements of sweetness and steaminess. It’s a beautifully written story that captivates from beginning to end.

Fairly light and fun, watching the reasons for the various objections was my favorite part. I am fairly put off by romance novel characters who are swearing off love or denying it. Because, sure it is just chemicals in your brain, but so are lots of things and those are all real too. So that bugged me a little, but not enough to not thoroughly enjoy myself. Is the premise a bit silly, sure. But you didn't pick this up looking for hard hitting realism.