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.

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!