3.5⭐️ SG / 3⭐️ GR

A perfect lighthearted read for me after finishing One Dark Window. There’s not much depth in this book making it a wonderful fluffy palette cleanser!

If sarcasm and witty banter are your love languages, you’ll love Sophie and Max! I’ve never loved a side character in a romance more than I love Larry, especially after the stairwell (iykyk) 😂

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Romance for the ARC in exchange for an honest review 💞

Publication date: March 12, 2024

This book was cute from the start and I love a good romcom. I read it in one afternoon and I rated it 3.75 elsewhere.

Sophie is about to marry Stuart and Max objects. At the time she doesn’t know what’s going on but we find out that Stuart is a cheater and did Sophie a huge favor.

Max finds Sophie again to ask her to help him at another wedding.

The banter between these two characters was the best and their chemistry. I did however find some of this book very “juvenile” but it was super cute regardless. I love Lynn Painters books.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for the free copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

4.5 ⭐️

Happily Never After by Lynn Painter presents a modern take on relationships, adding a unique twist to the conventional romance novels.

I found the premise interesting—Sophie, a woman about to get married to her cheating fiancé, hires a wedding “objector” named Max to disrupt her ceremony. In this case, when the pastor finally says "speak now or forever hold your peace,” an objector says "I do,” and provides the reason why the couple shouldn’t be married.

Throughout the book, Painter skillfully explores the intricacies of love by portraying Sophie's disbelief in it, despite her undeniable emotions. As a reader, Sophie's refusal to believe in love proved to be quite frustrating. While her reasoning behind this belief makes sense, her actions and thoughts contradict it, evoking my desire to shake her out of her denial.

The development of Sophie and Max’s relationship is the highlight of the book. It was very easy to like Max because of his humor. Painter masterfully creates well-rounded characters with distinct identities, making their friendship and support for each other's careers genuinely endearing.
The witty banter between the characters keeps the narrative engaging, ensuring there's never a dull moment. Furthermore, the inclusion of Larry and Rose, Sophie's elderly roommates, enhances the story by offering a unique perspective on unconventional relationships.

The narrative skillfully explores the complexities of romantic relationships, portraying a character who thinks and acts in love despite vehemently denying its existence. Sophie's inner struggle, coupled with her undeniable chemistry with Max, evoked so much emotion from me. Despite my frustration with Sophie's continuous denial and repression of her feelings, it serves to heighten the tension, keeping me invested in their journey.

I'm glad I had the opportunity to read another one of Lynn Painter's novels. I admire her ability to write such delightful and immersive romcoms, like this one.

Thank you Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the ARC!

I freaking love this book.
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Starting with the name of the book, the author has managed to captivate me with her delightful story once again. I was introduced to her a year or so ago, and really enjoy her style of writing.

Her last book was a delightful 5 Star read for me and I knew when I saw this book up for review, I just had to have it. And I’m so glad that I did.

Happily Never After is a perfect example of a romantic comedy story. It’s witty and fun-loving, sexy, and steamy. I freaking love this book. It feels like one long foreplay session that is fun, quirky, and hot as hell. It has everything you want and is a perfect romcom!

Painter creates characters that you simply fall in love with. Max is a dream boat and the epitome of the perfect book boyfriend. I want one exactly like him!!

This book is a creative masterpiece where the author thinks outside the box, creating an experience, not just a story. It is a joy to read and definitely one you will read again and again.

If you’ve never read Lynn Painter, this is the perfect book to start the addiction!

Lynn Painter is one of my all time favourite authors. I feel like I need to say that before this review.

Max is a “professional” wedding objector. Meaning that he gets people out of their weddings by exposing truths on their wedding day. He ropes Sophie in to his tasks and hilarity ensues.

This book relationship fell flat for me. I liked Sophie and Max… but I feel like I needed more. The banter had so much potential, but it missed the mark a bit. The characters talked a lot about their chemistry, but I needed more buildup.

I loved Larry and Rose — they were the unexpected entertainment that I didn’t know that I needed.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lynn Painter's writing is my jam – it's so smooth, and the banter is on point. The way she crafts realistic interactions, like Sophie and Max's grocery shopping escapade, is just chef's kiss.

What really got me was the natural progression from strangers to buddies and then lovers. No rush, no forced vibes. Now, we all know how romcoms these days love to solve everything with one chat, but not this one. The third-act drama had some weight, and even though it could've been a quick fix, the ending still hit the sweet spot.

For my fellow rom-com enthusiasts, especially those in need of a breezy, enjoyable read – this one's a no-brainer recommendation! 📚💕

I loved these two!!! What great chemistry and BANTER!!! Oh my gosh the Banter was amazing!!! I was laughing and swooning over these two. The sexual tension was so awesome. The sex scenes were so well done. Not too many and not over done. This was such a fun story idea. The love story between these two was so awesome.
There is a lot of swearing. F word and others. Some alcohol use.

Lynn Painter can do no wrong. I'm convinced she could write anything and it'd be an EASY FIVE STAR read for me.

I have yet to not fall head over heels for Painters books. I love the plotline, the characters, the witty banter, and the spicy scenes.

Happily Never After is my 2nd fav book by this author (Mr. Wrong Number still takes the #1 spot). The plot of this is absolutely wild and I was here for it. Sophie the main character is about to get married and finds out her fiance is cheating on her... again. She hires someone to call off the wedding for her. A wedding objector to stand up and object to the marriage. Max is the objector and he helps Sophie get out of a marriage she definitely doesn't want.

Flash forward a couple of months and Max calls up Sophie to see if she wants to be an objector with him for a wedding. Now is where the fun begins. Max and Sophie have the best banter and the BEST slow burn I've read. Reading about them being nothing but strangers to best friends who object at weddings was iconic and hilarious. The slow burn was literally the definition of *chefs kiss*. While this was a rom com it was also about some deeper topics and the author did a fabulous job at being light hearted but emotional at the same time. The spicy chapters were also... *chefs kiss*.

Seriously if you aren't reading Lynn Painter books then I think somethings wrong.

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!