The Objectors! This is the best kind of reading after a long work day. Sophie and Stuart are solid characters who have a great time objecting at weddings. It is fun premise with a satisfying conclusion. I will recommend to those wanting something light but with substance. I look forward to the next book from Lynn Painter!

A wonderful low-stakes romantic comedy filled with laughter, love, and spice. The premise is incredibly original, the pacing is phenomenal, and the characters have depth and are extremely lovable. I was entertained every step of the way and never wanted this story to end. 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!

What a wonderfully unique story! We follow Sophie and Max, two “objectors” who get paid to break up weddings (usually of people who are being cheated on) and end up finding their own unlikely love story. I loved the banter in this book SO MUCH!! I was obsessed with both of these characters and I loved watching their story unfold. This story was full of funny and tender moments, but also had its emotional ones as well. It was short and sweet and I really enjoyed the reading experience!

Lynn Painter is an author I'd wanted to read for a long time, and I am consistently amazed by how she reinvents the genre with each new book! This one is no exception - I can't wait for people to read it!

Another charming read by Lynn Painter. I have yet to be disppointed by Painter's writing style, character development, and banter and Happily Never After is no exception. The premise was fun and the characters were likable. I particularly enjoyed Sophie's relationship with her geriatric roommates.

Thanks to Net Galley for the electronic ARC.

I love the premise of this book, it’s so creative. Sophie and Max are the Objectors. Sophie discovered her fiancé was having an affair before their wedding, so to get her out of marrying him, a friend hired Max to object at the wedding when the officiant asks if anyone opposes the marriage. Max told everyone the groom was having an affair.

Max only objects at weddings where one partner is obviously in the wrong. Sophie joins him, certain situations are better handled by a woman. Both Max and Sophie are wary of relationships, but their chemistry is off the charts.

I enjoyed this book, the characters are great and the weddings are fun to read about. 5 stars.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really enjoyed this romance novel about two cynics falling in love. Oftentimes, the romance genre can feel too happy, but I like that these two main characters were pessimistic about love, considering that there are many breakups and divorces that happen in US society. It actually helped me feel hopeful about love and that it can still happen even if you don't believe. Lynn Painter always writes such believable characters and I even loved the side character of Larry! I also enjoyed the wedding tropes and the concept that there can be objectors operating as a job was fascinating! It made me want to look into how I can get paid doing something like that.

I wanted to love this one, but it had too much language for my personal taste and it took away from the book. The premise was also very silly and not very believable for me.

Happily Never After was my first Lynn Painter book and it was a fine read. The premise was unique-paid objectors to a wedding-what a brilliant idea. I liked how the main characters-Sophie and Max first meet. It was different than the typical and it was fun. Sophie and Max reconnect a few months later and that is when the adventure begins. Sophie and Max tag-team as objectors and some of the craziness that ensues is hilarious. Not only do they have a budding friendship but also the chemistry between them is scorching. Reading how these two deny their true feelings while they have the perfect friendship is entertaining. They had great banter and interactions. I enjoyed watching these two fall in love but not fall in love hehe. Overall this was a pleasant read with nice characters and storyline.

3 Stars
This one was just okay but I found it underwhelming and a bit boring. I felt like the conflict in this was so unnecessary and the MCs just needed more growth and to communicate better. I usually love Lynn Painter’s books but this one was probably my least favourite.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC!

3.5/5 ⭐️’s

I loved the concept of this book, very Speak Now coded! I adore Lynn Painter, specifically her young adult books, and I was so excited to get this arc before the release date. However, I found that it didn’t meet my expectations, but it was very, very funny and cute!

Synopsis:
The objectors: people who object to stop weddings from a happy ever after, these instances occur from infidelity, or from an ex-lover who comes to lay claim on the love of their life. Our objectors are Sophie and Max, who become an unlikely team after Max objects Sophie’s wedding, where she needs to leave her cheating fiancé with less of a mess. This unlikely pair goes from wedding to wedding to help object unwanted marriages from happening, and along the way, they try not to fall in love.

From the plot and author of this book, I couldn’t wait to get started. However, I didn’t have the most engaging time reading and had to switch up my reading format, which tells me I wasn’t excited about continuing to read. Although, I will say that it could have been the time in my life in which I was reading this book, and maybe why it didn’t hit hard for me. While my mood wasn’t sold on this book halfway through, I did find the writing charming (of course, it’s Lynn Painter!) and Sophie’s outlook on romance refreshing. To the books detriment, for me, I think my idea from this book was overshadowed by my love of Lynn Painters YA contemporaries and I wished she would weave her magic of those into her adult books. There’s something about the formula of holding back the romance and creating a “well worth it” tension without physically so early on, which would have made it more meaningful to me. That way of writing, for me, is very impactful and truly more honest in the characters relationships, which I see in her YA writing. All and all, I love Lynn Painter and will continue to read her books forever.

This book was an absolute delight. I might go as far as to say it’s my favorite Lynn Painter book so far, and that’s saying a lot because I adore her books. It was full of quick-witted banter, and hilarious insults, along with plenty of swoon-worthy moments. I just loved watching the main characters grow and fall in love despite all their best efforts.

Sophie Steinbeck finds out that her fiancé has been cheating...again...right before they’re due to get married. She can’t call it off because her future father-in-law is her dad’s boss, and he’d get fired for sure. So she enlists the help of a professional ‘objector’ to put a stop to the wedding.

The more Sophie learns about Max (the Objector) the more she decides he’s a modern-day hero, saving people from wasting their lives with the wrong people. Plus, Sophie doesn’t believe love is real, so she wants in on the objection game. The two of them just want their family and friends to leave them alone because they’re absolutely not looking for a relationship, so they decide to ramp up their friendship. It’s not fake dating exactly, but if their loved ones make assumptions about their friendship that’s fine with them.

Naturally, all this time spent together leads to feelings...not that they’re going to admit that to each other.

I just loved Sophie and Max, and could have read another 300-900 pages about them, easily. 😉

This rom-com was hilarious, anti-wedding, and full of love! I fell in love with the story.
 
Sophie Steinbeck discovers her fiancé has cheated again but can't call off the wedding as Stuart is her co-worker and his father is her dad's boss. Her best friend comes to her rescue by leading her to hire a professional objector to break off weddings.
 
She learns about her hero's job, Max the Objector, which involves saving people from hurting each other on the night of her anti-wedding, and that makes sense to her.
 
Sophie and Max work together, enjoying each wedding and becoming "just friends." However, their physical chemistry is off, leading to occasional hookups, which is absolutely fine since they don't have feelings for each other and love doesn't exist.
 
Then, a groom-to-be hires Sophie to object, but his fiancée is the woman who broke Max's heart.
Max struggles to decide whether he can be a party to his ex's hurting, and Sophie realizes she may have fallen in love with her partner.
 
Lynn Painter did it again. I loved The Love Wager, and this one didn't fall behind. What a fresh and unique plot, and add fake dating to it, bam! You have a page-turner.
 
This book was fun, and I just couldn't put it down. I read it in one sitting (just had to sleep at night). The story was quick and fast-paced, with amazing dialogue and witty banter, which was chef's kiss. The writing was smooth, the characters well developed, and there was a perfect blend of comedy and romance. Also, this comes with a touch of spice.
 
Larry was my favorite. I enjoyed reading every bit of it and recommend it to all the rom-com lovers and everyone else who doesn't read romance but would like to.
 
Rating ~ 4.5✨

Putting aside the extremely implausible meet-cute (could there truly be THAT many weddings to break up at the altar?), this was a sweet rom-com. I enjoyed Max and Sophie’s relationship and especially liked the fun addition of Sophie’s silly elderly roommates. The spice level was HIGH but managed to be descriptive without being graphic. It struck a good balance.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🔥🔥

Quick Breakdown

Strangers to Friends to Lovers
Fake Dating
It’s Just a Hookup
Last Names as Nicknames
LOL Banter
Elderly BFFs
Dual POV
Open Door - Mild to Moderate

Take a look at my new favorite Lynn Painter 👆🏻

Sophie learns her fiancé is cheating on her right before her wedding. Afraid to call it off since her would be father-in-law is her father’s boss, the maid of honor hires Max a professional objector to stop the wedding for her. Max ends up spending the would be wedding night with the bridal party celebrating the lack of nuptials and mutually hating on love.

Months later, he calls on Sophie to help him object at another wedding. They quickly become the closest friends, learning that they can stretch this friendship into something mutually beneficial. Since her ex fiancé is still her coworker, if she can appear to have moved on, she’s a shoe in for a big promotion. If it looks like Max has a significant other, his parents would be more comfortable finally retiring. Spending time together is no hardship though. How long can these two commitment phobic individuals deny their insane chemistry?

I am BLOWN away by this one. Between the hilarious banter, insane chemistry & perfectly delivered audiobook performances it’s no surprise I binged this one as quickly as I did. I couldn’t stop listening! It’s paced perfectly with short chapters & dual POV leaving me engaged with the characters & completely addicted. felt engaged & there were countless moments I had to suffer strange looks from my family after fits of cackling out loud.

I love Lynn Painter! Her books are so fun and this one is no different. I really enjoyed Sophie and Max and their story. The book was just a good time and I read it super quickly in one sitting! Definitely would recommend if you need a good romcom!

Sophie Steinbeck and Max Parks have sworn off love. In fact, these two cynics are co-objectors in their side gig which allows them to spare other brides and grooms the embarrassment of cancelling or calling off a wedding. They soon realize that spending even more time together might just help get them to the next phase of their life. But as they double down on their fake relationship, the chemistry between the two is undeniable. Can these two cynics come to terms with falling for their fellow cynic?

Lynn Painter books always leave a major small on my face and my heart happy. This book didn’t disappoint when it came to the warm fuzzies. I adored the friendship, banter, and chemistry between Max and Sophie. I routed for them all the way through the book, but honestly their Friendship is what really endeared them to me.

This wasn’t my favorite of Painter’s books. I don’t have any big negatives, but The Love Wager is still my favorite. With quirky wit, some open-door romance, and the absolute best side characters (if we don’t get a book with more of Sophie’s roommates, I’ll be so upset!), this story will be sure to charm you!


Happily Never After comes out April 9, 2024! Huge thank you to Berkley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof.books or on Tiktok @speakingof.books

Happily Never After by @lynnpainterbooks is an absolutely hilarious and incredibly entertaining rom com. One of the only authors who can make me actually laugh out loud with her characters’ witty banter.

Max has a side gig as a wedding objector for hire. When he breaks up Sophie’s wedding, they end up joining forces as a wedding objector team. Sparks fly along with some hilarious wedding shenanigans. One of my favorite parts of the book though was the side characters- Sophie’s elderly roommates Rose and Larry. Please give Rose and Larry their own book, ok Lynn? Pretty please!

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I can always count on Lynn Painter for snappy, forthright dialogue and interesting concepts. In this case, having an objector at the wedding when one of the party is a cheater. It makes it feel more like it is not the non-cheater's fault, as though they are an innocent victim rather than an accuser. I did find it a little unbelievable that the non-cheater would just go through with the marriage otherwise. But there is a lot of pressure around weddings.

Our main couple here, are a bride Sophie, who was a non-cheater and Max, the objector, since her potential groom was cheating. There are other dynamics since Sophie works at the same company as the cheater. Sophie just plain doesn't believe in one true love. Max believes but hasn't found her.

Together they end up fake dating. Sophie has a way to prove to her boss she has a personal life beyond work. Max can hold off the dates and pressure from his family to settle down. They end up doing objections together, since they are proponents of objections. Sophie and Max also find they have other hobbies and interests in common.

You can guess how this will end up as they just become more and more real in their fake dating. I enjoyed this enough to finish it in one day!

The premise of this book sounded super fun and intriguing but ultimately I was left underwhelmed.

I was hoping for more of a Wedding Crashers vibe, but it ended up being pretty meh.

Thank you Berkley & NetGalley for the advance review copy! All opinions are my own.

Lynn writes such happy, funny books that run on banter and snappy dialogue and HAPPILY NEVER AFTER was no exception. Max and Sophie had delightful repartee and made me laugh consistently. Anyone looking for a feel-good romance, this is your book!