Although Sophie annoyed me at times with her insistance that love didn’t exist, this book was too good to not give a high rating to. Lynn Painter is for sure an instant-read author with Happily Never After. The banter was absolute perfection and I just fell in love with the relationship between Sophie and Max. It was a different type of fake dating, and it just worked so well for the plot. Sophie’s interactions with Stuart and Larry absolutely cracked me up.

I am not as into Lynn Painter's adult books as I am into her YA books. I think Happily Never After has solidified that for me. Where her YA books are richly plotted with interesting characters, her adult books are generally more simplistic with flat characters that feel more juvenile than her YA counterparts.

Take this book, with Sophie, a twenty-something HR executive saved from wedding a cheater by Max, a man who takes the occasional odd job of objecting to weddings. Eventually he asks her if she wants to be his partner in Objecting crime and off the plot goes. The premise is interesting, but once you get to know the characters it starts to feel a little played out. Max falls first (nice!) but Sophie is convinced love isn't real and won't have any of it, preferring to go through life selfishly getting hers while finding nothing at all wrong with this. Sophie herself felt a little like if a man's idea of the ideal woman became flesh--she drives a vintage muscle car, she wears high heels, she drinks hard, loves pizza and football, smokes the occasional cigar. Cool. Max then becomes the female ideal: falls in love hard, will do anything for his chosen one, has the perfect set of abs.

They just don't feel like real people to me.

The plot is fine, if not a little juvenile in itself. The climax is fine, but again leaves you wondering just how selfish Sophie is willing to be to get hers. I enjoyed the banter and the chemistry between the two leads, but generally found it lacking elsewhere. I think I'll stick to Painter's YA books.

Happily Never After has a fun premise that made this book enticing from the very beginning! I loved the fact that Max had a side hustle of being a wedding objector and then, in turn, meets Sophie because she is a troubled bride trying to get out of her wedding! These two definitely had a bunch of chemistry and witty banter!

I enjoyed the character growth the characters had and it was amazing to be able to read their journey over the course of this fun book! I highly recommend to those wanting a fast paced, unique rom-com, that reads like a romance movie!

I was thrilled to receive this ARC through a Shelf Awareness giveaway promotion! Lynne Painter is one of my favorite rom-com writers for good reason. This story of Max, the Objectioner, and Sophie who hires him is funny right from the start. The dialog flows between the two and heat jumps right off the page. Entertaining from beginning to end. 4⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley, Shelf Awareness and Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley for this complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Lynn Painter's adult romances are the perfect quick and fun read to get you out of a reading slump! HAPPILY NEVER AFTER has a really unique concept to it, and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.

I’ve never read anything by Lynn Painter before, but after reading HAPPILY NEVER AFTER I am a huge fan of her writing style.

A romcom, friends to lovers, fake dating trope is something that just warms my heart and this book had all those things and plenty of witty banter, heart, and heat.

The premise of being a quasi-professional wedding objector, was something I’d never even considered, and the romance was based off the fact Max was hired by the bride’s bestie to get the wedding called off.
It worked. Sophie was able to dump her cheating ex and still retain the job she loved at her almost-father-in-law’s company. After that, she realized the guy who helped get her reprieved is smoking hot and could definitely fit into her bestie category.
I hate spoilers so I won’t go into detail about what happens to these two, but be assured – love wins the day,.
5 great stars to a fab story.
Thanks Netgalley and Lynn Painter for a sneak peek at what promises to be a bestseller.

Max Parks is an objectioner. That means he has people,who hire him when he needs to object if couples don’t need to be wed. Sophie is in desperate need of an objection since she caught her fiancé cheating on her. To make things worse, she works with him and he owns her apartment. Sophie does not believe in love and hasn’t had a personal life since having her wedding interrupted. Her boss says if she wants a promotion, she is going to have to get a personal life to balance out her 24/7 work drive. Max is all set to take over the family business but his parents won’t retire until he is in a serious relationship and his mom knows they can move to Florida and he will be taken care of. So….. friends and a female objectioner? Everyone wins…or do they? Because neither one of them want a personal life but have to out on the facade to get what they want.

4 stars to this cute and fun romcom!

I love Lynn Painters writing; it’s effortless and filled with great banter. She does a great job at using realistic interactions to build chemistry between her characters (e.g. Sophie and Max grocery shopping).

The transition from strangers to friends and from friends to lovers was also realistic and not rushed. The third act drama could have been resolved with one simple conversation, as is often the case in today's romcoms, but the ending still delivered.

Overall, I'd recommend to any romantic comedy fans looking for a easy and enjoyable read.

Unfortunately, this is my least favorite pf Lynn Painter’s. While I enjoyed the premise, writing style (as always with her books), and the banter between the characters, it fell a little flat for me. I was a little bored, but I will still definitely pick up Painter’s future books!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

This was, unfortunately, not my favorite Lynn Painter book. I didn’t fall in love with the plot or characters like I had hoped. However, the banter and the writing were two super strong points for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC.

The story opens with a blast when an objector stops a wedding and the fun takes off from there. This book has all the things I love about Lynn Painter’s books - witty banter, great characters and a spicy romance.

Sophie’s best friend hires Max to stop Sophie’s wedding and save her from marrying Stuart, who is a jerk. Sophie didn’t know what to do after she saw Stuart’s phone and realized he was cheating on her, just two days before their wedding. Her father works for Stuart’s father and she was afraid he would be fired if she canceled the wedding. When the objector stops the wedding and tells everyone about Stuart’s cheating, the blame for the canceled wedding falls on Stuart. It's a very funny scene -chaos breaks out, followed by a night of drinking and laughing with Sophie, Max and her friends. Sophie tells Max he's her hero for stopping the wedding.

Fast forward four months later, Sophie gets a call from Max asking for her help to be an objector at his friend's wedding, after his friend found out his girlfriend was cheating on him. It was another really funny wedding scene. Sophie and Max have so much fun they decide to work together as objectors.

Sophie and Max both have regular day jobs. Sophie is an HR Director and up for a big promotion. Sophie’s boss notices she’s been sending work emails at odd hours and tells her she needs a better work-life balance if she wants the promotion. Meanwhile Max needs a girlfriend to convince his parents that he is settled enough so they can retire to their dream home in FL. Max is a senior project manager for the construction company his father started and is ready to take over when his dad retires. They decide to help each other out by hanging out and posting pictures of themselves together online. They joke around with each other and their conversations are fun, even when they’re doing mundane things like grocery shopping and running together. They are attracted to each other and it doesn’t take long before things get spicy and pretty fantastic.

I wondered how it would all work out because both Max and Sophie have sworn off relationships yet they seem like a perfect match! Max’s ex-girlfriend, who broke his heart two years earlier, shows up and causes some problems and Sophie and Max have to decide if they’re willing to take a chance on love.

It would have been fun to see more of their friends and family but I loved how the humor ran all the way through the story. If you enjoy Painter’s books like I do, or if you’re looking for a light romcom that’s pretty steamy, this is a quick easy read that will make you smile. Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Berkley for the advanced copy of this book.

I love Lynn Painter and this book definitely did NOT disappoint. The marriage breakup “business” was a fun and funny element to Max and Sophie’s story. Great sexual tension and build up that definitely paid off!

Happily Never After is another fun romance novel from Lynn Painter. She always does an incredible job sucking you into the story from the beginning. It was a fun and easy read that goes by quickly. It was more adult than ever other romance books I have previously read. Overall, it was a cute and fun romance read I would recommend.

I am a HUGE Lynn Painter fan and I was expecting to adore this based on the synopsis. However, this was my least favorite book by her. I found myself feeling bored most of the time. The plot wasn't strong enough and for some reason it didn't made sense at all. I wish I could mention some things that I liked about this but there were sadly none.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the arc.

"I don't know you well, but I know that Sophie Steinbeck should only ever be laughing."

Lynn Painter is tied for my favorite romance author for many reasons: she writes swoon-worthy love stories featuring men written by women, women written by badasses, and plots written for lovers of Taylor Swift. I will always advocate for readers to pick up Lynn Painter's books when they're browsing the romance section, pointing them towards Painter's banter-filled, unlikely pairings, and I can't wait to recommend Happily Never After in March.

Synopsis:
Happily Never After follows Sophie and Max, who meet when Max objects at Sophie's wedding to her fiancé Stuart. Of course, Sophie had hired Max to do just that after she found out Stuart had been cheating on her and she needed a way out that wouldn't get her fired or waste the money that had already been spent. Sophie dubs Max her savior, pays him his fee, and gets ready to start her newly single life a jaded woman who believes in marrying for convenience rather than love. So when Max reaches out four months later for her help in objecting to another wedding, Sophie finds that she can't say no. After all, Max had saved her from a life of manipulating and infidelity, and she wouldn't wish that on anyone. The pair fall into a fast partnership and even faster friendship, agreeing to join forces to save unfortunate souls from loveless marriages.

Soon enough, Sophie and Max find that their friendship is not only loaded with jokes and schemes, but also rife with chemistry. Despite both of their aversions to true love, the pair experiment with "kissing for themselves," discovering the electricity of their intimacy and the unavoidable attraction they have for one another. So begins part two of their partnership: convincing everyone they're together. If Sophie can prove to her boss that she has a personal life, she'll get a promotion, and if Max can prove to his parents that he won't be alone forever, they'll finally retire and move to Florida. It seems obvious. Sophie and Max can play into their chemistry, ham it up for those around them who feel the need to meddle in their lives. Surely they won't fall for each other, right? After all, Sophie and Max don't believe in love...do they?

Thoughts:
While I will always love and devour everything Lynn Painter writes, I have to say Happily Never After fell a little flat to me, especially compared to her other stories. I wasn't as enamored by Sophie and Max as a couple as I have been for pairings like Olivia and Colin or Hallie and Jack, and I didn't think the plot was as fleshed out as it could have been. There were definitely areas where I wanted more information or detail, such as their family lives, Sophie's relationship with her elderly roommates, and Max's former engagement. I thought Max and Sophie definitely had chemistry, but it wasn't as backed by yearning and romance as Painter's other adult romcoms have been. I think Happily Never After could easily be 20-50 more pages without being repetitive, and I wish we got those added details that would have made the plot and relationship more real to me as a reader. Nevertheless, Painter is still one of my favorite author's of all time, and I can't wait to promote and recommend this book to romcom lovers! I do think this has taught me that I prefer Painter's YA books to her adult novels, which just makes me more excited for the inevitable YA announcement that is sure to follow this publication!

I was lucky enough to win an e-ARC of HAPPILY NEVER AFTER by Lynn Painter through a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thank you for the early look, and have a safe and healthy holiday season!

Happily Never After was an adorable premise. Lynn Painter always does a great job with Rom-Coms and this novel was her at her best. Charming characters.

Lynn Painter is a goddamm delight. A national treasure of joy and love. And this book proves it beyond the shadow of any possible doubt. It's like reading a rainbow while riding a unicorn carrying a basket of kittens. Happily Never After is so damn good it physically hurts. Now that I've posted this I'm gonna go back and read it again, slower this time.

3.5 stars

Saved from her own doomed marriage, Sophie joins Max on a mission to prevent others from the same horrible fate. As professional wedding disrupters, the two soon bond over everything they have in common and as their friendship grows, so do the sparks.

Overall a really enjoyable new romance, and one that will find a great target audience. Sophie and Max are great characters together, and the story arc was well done. However, for me, I don't feel that this excessive amount of foul language was needed for this story. Some would have been fine, but it became more and more off-putting and unnecessary the longer the story went. Sometimes the a good turn of phrase is worth way more than just throwing in an extra expletive or 12.

I received a DRC from the publisher via netgalley.com.

I like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for sending out a widget. Lynn is my weakness and I'll shove aside books to get a chance to read.

... I'm surprised at the angle she approached this from. Guy falls first and has to convince the female that they're really connecting, feeling on a stronger level than what she thinks.

The plot for this one is pretty basic, that when it gets to the dilemma, we have reached the 70% portion of the book. That's right. The issue involving his ex does not appear until the 70% portion of the book.

So what is going on in this book? Well, a couple weddings, bickering, quips and one-liners thrown back and forth Gone is the best friend who appeared at the beginning of the book who hired Max to begin with. What happened? Did Lynn just kind of need to get this out of her system? Truly, this book is the weakest of all her adult novels I've read (still have to read Mr. Wrong Number & Acidentally Amy). But a three star read in my eyes.