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Sophie meets Max “The Objector” Parks on her wedding day, when he objects to her marriage to Stuart. Though she acts surprised, Stuart’s duplicity doesn’t shock her at all - she found evidence of it herself on his cell phone, and her best friend recruited Max to help put a stop to the wedding.

What may surprise her? The chemistry she develops with Max, and how much she wants in as an Objectress, saving others from miserable marriages one wedding ceremony at a time. And with Max by her side, it’s double the fun.

But when Sophie is recruited to break up a wedding involving someone from Max’s past, things get messier. Can these partners in crime keep working together professionally, or is the line between them bound to be blurred?

I really enjoyed this book! The premise was fun and unique, and I loved how Sophie and Max worked together as everyday heroes, saving others from heartbreak and miserable marriages. Their banter was great, and while I liked the two of them together, I wish their relationship had developed just a little more slowly. I also wish Sophie’s best friend, Asha, had been more involved in the story too.

Two aspects of this story I couldn’t love more were secondary characters Larry and Rose! They absolutely cracked me up and provided some much-needed levity and great advice, as well. And the fact that they referred to Max by the wrong name almost the entire book was hilarious too 🤣🤣

Though this wasn’t my favorite Lynn Painter book, I still really enjoyed it and loved both reading and listening to it!!

I absolutely adored this book!! As my first read from Lynn Painter, I will definitely be recommending this one to everyone! This book had me feeling all the feels and rooting for Sophie during the whole story.

Thank you so much Berkley for the e-ARC!

I usually love Lynn Painter's books but this one was a miss. I didn't love the main character's a ton and didn't love their chemistry.
Overall I liked it but it was just missing that Lynn Painter spark for me. It could honestly just be the case of 'It's not you, it's me'.

Read this if you liked the movie “Wedding Crashers”!

An unlikely duo team up to become “objectors” at weddings where either the bride or groom don’t wish to go through with the ceremony and get married.

They spend A LOT of time together saving others from relationships that were doomed to end badly- all while telling each other that they definitely DON’T have feelings for the other and that they DEFINITELY don’t believe in love. What could go wrong?

I thought the banter and comedy in this one was great! Though I didn’t feel connected to either of the MCs and didn’t really feel their chemistry very much.

However, I do recommend this just for the plot and banter alone!

Thanks to Berkeley for the gifted e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I have yet to find a Lynn Painter book I didn’t adore, and like her previous books, Happily Never After had me cackling with laughter. Lynn’s signature witty banter and laugh out loud moments paired perfectly with this off-the wall premise and meet cute. Sophie and Max meet when Max is hired to object at her wedding and help her call it off when her husband is exposed as a cheater. Sophie then teams up with Max to join him as a wedding objector for hire. But as they spend more time together, even these two people who don’t believe in love can’t ignore the chemistry and the feelings between them. This was just the light, fun read I needed - it was slightly ridiculous, but that is exactly what I loved about it and why it brought me so much joy.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Happily Never After had the rare gift of being EXACTLY what I wanted to read when I sat down to read it. It was funny, sweet, sexy, and perfectly paced. I'm a sucker for fake-lovers trope but the added addition of being professional wedding objectors was SO FUN.

I adore Lynn Painter's YA romances and while I haven't loved any of her adult romances, I'm always down to give them a shot. And I'm so glad I did - I really enjoyed Happily Never After! As someone who grew up in the golden age of the romcom, I could easily see this being adapted into a movie.

Happily Never After follows Sophie and Max who become friends in a rather unconventional way - Sophie's best friend hires Max to object at Sophie's wedding, Sophie can't call things off on her own or she'll be on the hook for paying for everything. And her fiancé is a DOUCHE. It turns out there is a higher demand for such services than one may think, so Sophie and Max team up to object together.

Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes so I had SO much fun following Sophie and Max as they faked it for the gram. The pacing of the story flowed really nicely and there were no areas where the story dragged on. I absolutely loved Sophie's elderly roommates and almost wish we could have seen more of them in the story.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for a review copy.

two people who’s jobs are to object at weddings?! sold!! this book should be made into a romcom movie because the plot, banter, and all the tropes were done to perfection.

Lynn Painter knows how to write cute romances! This was a fun little “fake relationship” friendship between Sophie and the objector at her wedding, Max. His side job was to break off weddings and the book starts off with Max objecting to Sophie and Stuart’s wedding and this starts a bonded friendship between the two.

I really enjoyed this one, Sophie and Max were absolutely adorable together and their dynamic reminded me so much of my husband and i together with the banter and namecalling in a funny endearing way. They were magnetic, they both found benefits of a fake friendship/relationship, but i didn’t really see a lot of that come to play except for one or two scenes/moments.

I’m a somewhat new reader to Lynn Painter so I am really enjoying the books I’ve read of hers so far.

What a cute read! I love the concept of the story. There were definitely cheesy moments, but that just made me giggle. The banter and chemistry between the main characters was really nice. Great read overall!

I am a huge fan of this author's books and this one was so much fun to read. I loved Sophie and Max--they both were well developed characters with their own flaws, fears, painful relationship pasts, but they also had sizzling chemistry and banter that made me smile and laugh out loud. The novel is told in dual points of view which I enjoy because I get to experience the fictional world from both main characters.

The characters are my favorite part of this novel. Sophie is intelligent, loyal, planned impulsive (she is very organized and one step ahead of most of her co-workers), and guarded with her feelings. Max is also intelligent, loyal, and has a huge heart, I loved how they interacted and became braver together as their friendship grew. This novel takes rom com to deeper emotional levels because these characters have experienced hurtful past relationships that both are still struggling to heal/move on when they meet.

DNF @ 18%, so no rating. (Except on Netgalley, where I can't leave a review without one.)

I really wanted to love this book. Between the cover and the blurb, I thought it was a shoo-in. But...what happed after the first few chapters? They were so entertaining, and then the main character became insufferable. There was too much hate for men and too much complicity from the main male character in this, which made the things I liked about him take a nosedive. For the sake of the readers who finish this book, I hope she becomes less cynical. For me, it was too hard to believe she might.

The narrators were fantastic, and I would love to hear more from them. But even they couldn't save this one.

ARC from Netgalley and PRH Audio.

Review: ”I love you”, ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?

That line from Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift kept popping into my head the whole time I was reading the second half of HAPPILY NEVER AFTER, and I think it fits the main character Sophie so well.

I loved Sophie and Max as characters, and their romance was absolutely adorable! The banter was very fun! I smiled so much while reading. Lynn Painter writes absolutely wonderful adult romance novels! A total feel good read, that I definitely would recommend!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Lynn Painter has another good one! Really enjoy the concept of this and love Sophie and Max. There is of course the slight misunderstanding or not revealing of the whole truth but that is easily gotten over. I enjoyed their chemistry!

Thank you for the free book @berkleyromance and for the free audiobook @prhaudio !! #penguinrandomhousepartner #berkleyIG #BerkleyBookstagram

What if you found out that your fiance has cheated on you (again) but calling off the wedding will have some serious consequences? For our female lead, Sophie, she’s just going to go through with the wedding and file a divorce later.

Buuut her bestfriend had a better idea: hire someone to object at her wedding ceremony! And then enter our male lead and one of the most unique romcom meetcutes ever 😂

Two anti - love and anti - relationship people form an alliance to help those who are getting cheated on from going through their weddings!

To my friends who are currently dating, this is a book you need to read if you want a reminder that situationships will never work! Trust me, I know 🙃

This one delivers the usual witty banters and creative plot that Lynn Painter books always have! However, this is spicier than her usual stuff. So closed door romance girlies, be aware of that. There is still a plot in it though so the spice didn’t really bother me. The older grumpy roommates were such fun characters!

I was also very fortunate to have the audiobook because it was very easy to follow and I was able to keep listening to the book even when I was driving or doing chores!

Overall, even if it wasn’t my favorite of hers, I still very much enjoyed and binged this so I would still definitely recommend!!

💭 What will you be reading this weekend?

#lynnpainter #happilyneverafter #romancebookstagram #romancebooks #newbookreleases #bookreview #goodreads #marchbookreleases #friendswithbenefits #fakedating

🌟: 4.75
I can always count on Lynn Painter's books for a good time.

This one probably has one of my favorite premises of her books. I loved the idea of someone who gets hired to object at a person's wedding (essentially a professional wedding crasher). Combine that with the initial objector, Max, teaming up with a bride whose wedding he crashed to crash more weddings and I am sold. Honestly, I would have loved to see them object at more weddings, because the idea was just that fun.

One of my favorite parts of the book was the witty back and forth dialogue between the main characters. While Sophie's vehement and constant disdain for anything involving love got frustrating (I can understand her position, and the fact that it was necessary for her to be so opposed to add tension and allow for her to develop, but I still wanted to give her a good shake so she could come to her senses), the snappy conversations kept propelling the plot forward, helping me absolutely fly through the book

The snappy conversations kept propelling the plot forward, helping me absolutely fly through the book, despite the fact that Sophie's vehement and constant disdain for anything involving love got frustrating. Even though I can understand her position, and the fact that it was necessary for her to be so opposed to add tension and allow for her to develop, but I still wanted to give her a good shake so she could come to her senses. Sophie and Max's chemistry was so good, however, that even when I was frustrated, I was completely hooked on the story waiting for these two fools to realize how far they fell for each other.

I listened to this one on audio, which was an absolutely delightful experience. Both narrators captured their characters so well, and their narration style balanced each other out in a way I appreciated. Overall, I would highly recommend checking this one out on audio.

Is this my favorite book of Lynn Painter's? Not necessarily but it's pretty dang close (that place is still held by The Love Wager). If you enjoy fast-paced romances about two cynics who start as friends and become lovers, then you should check this one out!

Loved the whole idea of this! I didn't know if objecting at weddings is a thing but I can see where it would be necessary.

Loved their chemistry and banter and the fun antics they got up to. They were also successful in their professional life. 

Just loved everything about this! And for sure her roommates were the best! Everyone should have elderly roommates at some point in their life. And I love a lively Larry.

lynn’s books are always so much fun! This quick read is about two people who become friends bonding over being anti-relationships and objecting at weddings. A little bit of fake dating gets involved to work towards a promotion and get parents off their back. I had so much fun reading! Lynn Painter is an insta-buy for me. I am always laughing throughout her books! I adore her characters! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to the read in exchange for a review!

Firstly, Lynn Painter does banter like no one else! This was a cute romcom that a genuinely really enjoyed up until the last quarter or so. The premise of wedding objectors was fun and interesting, as aforementioned, I loved the banter, there were some hilarious moments, and unexpectedly great side characters. However as the story went on the MCs' issues with love/ relationships became a bit cyclical which led to the conflict bothering me. While it did feel like it lost a bit of steam at the end, it was still a super quick and fun read!

A bride with a cheating fiancé and a professional wedding objector strike up an unlikely alliance & find love in the process.⁣⁣
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This was so much fun. I LOVED it! Sophie is saved from going through with her wedding to her cheating fiancé when her friend hires Max, a professional objector to disrupt the vows. The two form an unlikely partnership, saving other brides or grooms from ill-fated marriages by objecting at their weddings. ⁣⁣
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The chemistry and banter between Sophie and Max was amazing and the entire storyline was just so entertaining. I loved watching these two fight their attraction and growing emotions for each other. Their kisses were everything! ⁣⁣
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Plus, this book had such great characters - I adored Sophie’s elderly roommates. In my opinion, Larry stole every scene he was in. Their dynamic was just so sweet. ⁣⁣
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If you’re looking for a short, fun romcom, I highly recommend 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫!