Some books are meant to be a one and done! I thought this would be great then I started reading reviews and thought I will form my own opinion. Well they were all right!

I absolutely adored this book. Seeing Wes and Liz again and how they navigated college and their relationship and growth throughout college. I felt all the things with this one and so glad the journey ended as it did.

Nothing Like the Movies brought the same trademark banter we’ve come to expect from Painter (and all the anticipated music and pop culture references), which was my favorite part of the book. I do think it was significantly longer than it needed to be; it felt like the conflict kept repeating itself, and each miscommunication was quite predictable. Since flirty banter is the strong suit, it was a bummer that so much of the book lacked that while the couple was broken up, especially since we could see from the start how they would work it out. Still a cute and enjoyable story but maybe would’ve been better suited as a novella!

As someone who was in love with the first book, I am so disappointed. This is Wes character assassination so we can watch the characters re-get together. I love Lynn Painter but this one really missed the mark for me.

I just adore Lynn Painter's style of writing. I haven't read someone with the specific banter style she is able to write for her characters. I was super excited for this sequel and it didn't disappoint. I enjoyed that the female main character remained independent and the male didn't try to stall her growth. Thank you Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

Another winner from Lynn. I devoured BETTER THAN THE MOVIES and oh my goodness - She's done it again! This book is delightlful, adorable and so lovely!

Lynn Painter books are always such a ball of sunshine. I preferred Better than the movies, but this book was sweet and enjoyable none the less. Wes & Liz have my heart.

I am not one to DNF books, but there's a first for everything. I was bored and it just kept dragging.
I was here for a second chance rom-com and this didn't hit that mark.

I love Lynn Painter, this one just wasn't for me. :)

After reading the first novel in this series, Better Than the Movies, and being utterly charmed by it within a couple pages, I had very high hopes for this sequel. To prepare myself, however, I made the foolish mistake of reading other reviews of the novel and was hesitant to continue with the story, given their mixed nature. Luckily, those reviews (at least in my opinion) were completely wrong.

Nothing Like the Movies is a different sort of sequel in that so much background story takes place between the two novels and part of the plot is unraveling those threads and connections. Furthermore, for those that read the two back to back, the beginning of this novel can be quite jarring and confusing, since the narrative is introduced in a way that makes one think that they missed a chapter (or two, or three). One of the key concerns I read in other reviews was that the characters’ voices and personalities were completely different. I find that change to be expected and quite refreshing, given the premise of the plot. No one person is going to be the same after a life-altering experience, nor are most young adults going to perceive life the same as they did in high school, which Painter clearly understands.

Nothing Like the Movies is a wonderful sequel if you give it a chance. No, it does not have the constant musical lyrics and film reference interludes that seemingly reflect the current action perfectly. However, it also doesn’t depict Liz as a juvenile lovestruck teen who revels in her fantasies more than reality. Instead, it finds the harmonious balance between romance and practicality that makes for a healthier and more reassuring ending to Liz and Wes’s story.

This was a YA book that i think would hit right for the correct audience--i just wasnt that audience.

Thanks though for the gifted copy of this one!

WE FINALLY GET THE BOOK WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR! Liz and Wes are back and SO SO GOOD. I will always recommend any thing Lynn writes. 5/5

This was a cute book! A little drawn out and long at times, but that could have been me and my focus at the time! I have been reading it on and off for a couple of months

I love Lynn Painter. I really think YA is her wheelhouse. I don’t usually love a sequel but this was an incredible follow up to Better Than The Movies. More YA from Lynn PLEASE!

Lynn Painter is a queen. I will read anything she writes and I was just SO happy to get back to this world and these characters. This is just as cute and fun as the first one. Highly highly recommend

I loved the first book so much, but unfortunately I think it didn’t need the sequel. I really didn’t recognize Liz most of this book and what I loved about her the most from book -1 was missing. The whole book was angst and then they finally got back together in the last two pages. I just wish we got more. I’m sad I was so disappointed by this.

and yet another home run for lynn painter! there is a reason why she is the reigning queen of ya fiction. 👑 i have adored all her books in the past, but like some, i was a tad skeptical about reading the sequel to “better than the movies.”wes and liz’s story was so beautiful that it was hard to imagine them breaking up between these two books. 😭💔

to answer the question bouncing around in everyone’s head; “is the sequel worth reading?” my answer is yes, absolutely! i enjoyed nothing like the movies from the start. liz and wes both changed during their time apart but for the better. wes dedicates the entire book to winning liz back and falling more in love with her than ever before. his genuine affection for liz melted my heart. his devotion for her was evident in his actions and thoughts. i ended up looking forward to his povs the most!

also, this song + this book?? 😭🫶🏻💙
“if i could do it all again, i know i’d go back to you.” 🎶

overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
profanity: 🫢🫢🫢
fluff: ☁️☁️☁️

i’m sorry but.. just no

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ the only thing i truly enjoyed about “nothing like the movies” was me experiencing some emotions throughout my read. at some moments i was very close to crying but otherwise book had no emotions, no tension, nothing to keep me interested.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ characters
i didn’t like liz before and i also didn’t enjoy her character now. her character had no development in the first book and i was hoping to see some in this one. but, unfortunately, her character was just forgotten about🤷🏼‍♀️ wes. i was soooo cringed when reading his chapters. i’m sorry, but some of his quotes… i was dying. if someone said that to me in real life, i’d be like, what?

there was no chemistry or tension between liz and wes. i don’t know why, but I honestly think they overgrew each other. they weren’t fitting as much as they did in high school.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷necessity
i do still believe this book was unnecessary. why creating additional drama when you can leave characters alone. in my opinion, previous story ended perfectly. BUT what i think is: this book should have been a different story with different characters. then!!! it would actually be better.

This series has me in a chokehold. Liz and Wes are absolute perfection and I would read anything Lynn writes about them.

Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter was one of my favorite reads of 2023 and I was excited to know there would be a sequel this year. Of course, I had to read it and Lynn Painter did not disappoint!

The story continues that of Wes and Liz, but time has jumped a few years and many things have changed. I was hoping for an instant happy moment, but NOT what we got at all. I had an audible gasp moment in the first chapter or two where Wes’ behavior had me shaken! The character growth in this book took center stage, in my opinion, and I quite liked seeing how Wes and Liz had each grown. Wes had really matured, maybe not fully from things he would have preferred to go through, but grown none-the-less. Liz seemed to have really found herself. I loved witnessing these growths and the events that had forced that growth in flashbacks, which I don’t always love. I feel like Painter used flashbacks well so we could see little snippets about what had happen in the years we had missed.

While Better Than the Movies still remains my favorite of the set, I quite enjoyed this book. It was nice seeing Wes and Liz and all their friends as older, and mostly more mature individuals. I loved getting to know the side characters of Wes’ team and Liz’s roommates and classmates. They both had a passion they had embraced and I thought it was great to see characters we had read in book one develop more and done so well. Lynn Painter’s writing style is smooth and flawless in transitions. She knows when to slow the book down a little and let you enjoy a moment, and when to throw a curveball or shocking moment to bring up the excitement. I truly love reading her books.

If you love a great coming-of-age story and growth, check out Not Like the Movies (and make sure to pick up Better Than the Movies too if you haven’t read it)! And if you are loving it, pick up more by Lynn Painter. I haven’t found one I didn’t like yet!

Lynn Painter is queen of conversation and banter. Although this wasn’t her best plot, the banter that develops characters you can relate with.