a wedding marks the beginning and end of this enjoyable romantic comedy! i enjoyed Max and Sophie as characters, and they have a lot of chemistry and banter. the author did a fantastic job of portraying Sophie as a very intelligent, capable, and respectable woman who enjoys having fun. plus i loved how sophie's grandpa and his friends could also crack jokes. however, the book was really hallmark-y and didn’t have a lot of depth to it so just be aware of that going in. all in all, i enjoyed reading this book and i def suggest it to rom-com readers.

I love everything Lynn Painter and this one was no different the characters were well written. Although the story seems as though it will end the twists in the story make this a great smooth happy ending read. Looking forward to seeing this books final publication.

This book kicks off with a bang with a stopped wedding, and it never really lets up from there. The chemistry, the banter, the fake dating, the writing- this is Lynn Painter perfection. Highly recommend to anyone with a pulse that needs some warm fuzzies.

Many thanks for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review- my opinions are my own.

This was my first novel by Lynn Painter and I was absolutely delighted by it! The storyline was refreshingly unique - Sophie hires an "objector" to put a stop to her wedding after she discovers her fiancee has been cheating on her.. Max, the "objector" and Sophie end up becoming partners is the objecting business, then become friends with a lot of chemistry. While both Sophie and Max are self-proclaimed disbelievers in love, it becomes clear that some connections just can't be denied. I loved the banter between Sophie and Max and the story kept my interest throughout. I can't wait to read more of Lynn Painter's novels!

Lynn Painter writes the best romance novels! I love them so much! They are always so fun and light hearted. I enjoyed this one! The beginning of the book was so funny. The plot of the book was great!

This is a hilarious rom-com filled with sparks between Max and Sophie. They meet when Sophie is about to get married to Stuart as Max is paid to be an objector at the wedding and get Sophie out of marrying Stuart the cheater. Max and Sophie proceed to drink the night away laughing. Sophie calls him her hero for saving her life.

Months later Max calls Sophie as he needs her to help object at a friends wedding. Sophie agrees and she does it with flourish and style at a red neck wedding and enjoys herself. Her and Max become friends as both swear they don't want a relationship.

Then they realize that fake dating might just be the thing to help both of them get ahead. So they post pictures to social media and start hanging out more. The chemistry between the two of them is off the charts. The frank conversations they have are hilarious. I loved this book and I think you will too. The roommates add so much to the story and never thought 70 year old room mates could be so funny and great with advice and add so much to the story.

4/5 ⭐️

With every book she writes, Lynn Painter is becoming one in a small list of one-click authors.

It’s the comedic yet whimsical way she writes that keeps me coming back for more! And this book was no exception!

Lynn paints (pun very much intended 🤪) the love story you just want to fall into and never come out. There were funny moments, sweet moments and plot twists I never saw coming. Sk basically, this book was a good time from beginning to end.

This book is The Bookish Life approved for reading :)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of Happily Never After by Lynn Painter.

3.75⭐️
Now Lynn Painter is always serving the fluffy romance vibes and this book was no different! Sophie and Max are both anti-love due to their pasts but through friendship and some steamy chemistry, they start to question if love may be in the cards for them after all. I really enjoyed the ‘objector’ premise of the book, although I would have liked to see it played out a little more. Similarly while I enjoyed the sort of fake dating vibes, I wish that there had been a bit more tension between the characters. Overall this was a sweet & fluffy palette cleanser type of romance book for me. If you’re a fan of Lynn Painter’s other books you will probably love this too!

Lynn Painter is one of the few authors who can consistently make me laugh out loud, and I look forward to reading her books for that exact reason. I definitely had some LOLs while reading this one, which opens with Sophie Steinbeck creatively getting out of her own wedding by having a stranger object and reveal her fiance's infidelity. Her friend hired him after hearing about his services through the grapevine, and Sophie is so relieved to have gotten out of the wedding without having to call it off herself that she spends what would have been her wedding night with her best friend and Max, the objector. Not so long after, Max reaches out to Sophie and she becomes his partner in objecting to weddings, which works out well for her because she fully believes that love doesn't exist and that most marriages are problems waiting to happen. I loved Sophie and Max's friendship and their chemistry and banter, and enjoyed the marriage (pun intended) of the fake dating and friends to lovers tropes in this. Another winner for me from Lynn Painter.

This one just wasn't for me. The dialogue just felt so dated and corny, I didn't see the chemistry between the couple (all those spicy scenes were just so forced and unearned with any real connection outside the physical) and I wish it had focused way more on the wedding objector plot line than everything else. I k now lots of people will find things to enjoy here, but it wasn't a successful rom-com for my personal tastes.

I LOVED this one! Lynn Painter is known for her YA books but she really does Adult Romance so well. The conflicts were realistic and handled in a mature fashion that still allowed for romcom flair. More of this, Lynn!

I loved this book! I devoured it in only a few sittings and wish there was more to read. The story line was paced very well and the characters were easy to love!

Wow this was such a delightful romance. Friends to lovers ish, fake datingish. Loved this couple. Loved Sophie’s friendship with Larry. It made me smile. I love romance books where the writer just nails the couples chemistry.

We follow Sophie and Max and they both are recovering from traumatizing past relationships. Their lives begin to intertwine as they decide to partner together to prevent marriages from occurring - for good reason. These moments they’re spending together cause for feelings to grow, but with their past relationships still haunting them, they both are too afraid to follow their feelings.

This was a great quick read. It was also written in dual POV which is something I adore. I just love being able to see the story from different angles and to get as much info about situations as possible. This was also my first Lynn Painter book, and I would definitely reach for another one of her books to read after this. The book over was very cute. The build up of the relationship was done wonderfully, though I did find the ending a little rushed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

3.5⭐

I love Lynn Painter! This isn't my favorite book of hers, but I did enjoy it! She manages to bring characters off the page and create lots of chemistry between our main characters Sophie and Max.

Lots of fun banter and I really liked the premise of "objecting" at weddings of people that needed a little help to back out. Like, maybe your fiance is cheating, but their parent is your boss or your landlord. You hire someone to object and air the dirty laundry so you aren't the one breaking it off.

If you like Lynn Painter, you will enjoy this one, but I think it was a little too "Hallmarky" for my personal taste in romance books. So, more a case of wrong reader than a bad book.

Thanks to netgalley for an ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

Happily Never After by Lynn Painter was absolute fun, lots of humor and spicy love scenes. Told in alternating points-of-view, this book gets an ex-bride and her professional wedding objector from strangers to lovers to doing it for the 'Gram and job promotions. Highly recommended for people who need a good HEA.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

This book is so fun. Will definitely purchase for my library’s collection. Lynn Painter always circulates well.

I enjoyed this one! Unloved the banter between Sophia and max. My only complaint was the smut took away from the plot for me. I like a good spicy book but this was a bit much for my taste.

Sophie Steinbeck finds out that her fiance has cheated on her -- again! Sophie wants to end the wedding, but she doesn't want to be the one to do it. Thankfully, there are professional objectors, and their whole purpose is to show up and yell "I object!"

During an impromptu anti-wedding party at the end of the night, Sophie learns that this is Max the Objector's job. Sophie wants to be an objector.

The two of them begin going to weddings and objecting to weddings. As Sophie and Max begin spending more time together, they realize they are physically attracted to one another. They hookup, as it is purely physical.

A groom-to-be hires Sophie to object; however, his fiance is the girl that broke up with Max.

Sophie realizes she has fallen for Max.

What a cute rom com! It was funny, sweet, and hot. Definite stars for Sophie's elderly roommates!