When I saw this available on NetGalley, I was so excited!!! I loved Better than the Movies and was so eager to read this when I heard Painter would be continuing their love story! Just like the first novel, I devoured this in just one sitting! Yes, this book is Young Adult, but I would still recommend these two for new adults and adults - this story is for everyone! I will be auto-buying anything Painter writes in the future and patiently awaiting the release of more chapters from Wes' perspective. There's something that feels familiar and comfortable in her writing - almost like re-watching your favorite rom-com (wink wink hehe). Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads RTC closer to pub date.

Sigh. I knew this sequel probably wasn’t going to be for me, but I requested it anyway since Better Than the Movies is one of my favorite romances. But alas, this follow-up novel did not do it for me. I want to preface by saying this is in no way a bad book. Lynn Painter’s writing is always so engaging and captivating. For me, where the story fell flat was the characters. Wes and Liz just felt… different? Neither of them were as charming or unique this go around; they were a bit lackluster, honestly. I can see where the thought process was for this, but I feel like a novella of Wes and Liz happily exploring their freshman year of college together would’ve been really fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the arc!

If you’re looking for a heartwarming and funny read, “Nothing Like the Movies” by Lynn Painter is perfect! This charming sequel to “Better Than the Movies” follows Wes and Liz as they navigate the ups and downs of young love and second chances. Painter’s witty writing and lovable characters make this book an absolute delight. You’ll laugh, you’ll swoon, and you’ll root for Wes and Liz every step of the way. It’s a must-read for anyone who believes in the magic of romance and the power of a good rom-com moment!

4.5⭐️

BTTM is one of my all time favorite books and Lynn Painter is, in my opinion, the QUEEN of YA romcoms, so you can imagine my excitement knowing we were getting more Wes & Liz. Wes & Liz’s love story is straight up perfection and captures all magic and joy we love and expect from classic romcoms, but my heart was a little anxious to start NLTM knowing that there was a rift between them and they had broken up.

NLTM has SO. MUCH. LONGING. I was rooting for Wes and Liz from page one and my gosh, Lynn really puts your heart THROUGH IT. I totally understood the hesitation from both Wes and Liz to sit down and hash things out because the situation was so emotionally charged, but a little less pain and suffering would have been preferable… and for myself, because I’m not going to lie, I was pretty teary.

Lynn handles heavier topics with immense respect, tenderness, and vulnerability. Wes’ grieving over the loss of his dad was so raw and deeply felt as you read about his journey since stepping away from school. I cannot fathom the weight of the burden of holding his family and household together when trying to process such a loss. I was so grateful he had friends (Michael is still a darling dear) in his corner looking out for his wellbeing. Liz and Wes both demonstrated incredible maturity and strength as they had both experienced significant and I think their healing journeys will resonate deeply with readers who find themselves on a similar path.

Where BTTM is filled with swoony, epic fireworks and foot popping moments, NLTM shows us that grand gestures don’t always go according to plan and that real love is complicated and messy, but with the right person, is worth fighting for… and that beauty can still be found in the messy, hard times and after loss.

🎥 Nothing Like the Movies - Lynn Painter 🎥
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨ Publishes 10/1/24 ✨

If you read and loved Better Than The Movies by Lynn Painter, you are going to want to read this one! Once again Lynn Painter hits us with a fun, banter filled sweet romance!

We are reunited once again with Wes and Liz, however this time they’re in college! I loved that this one was written in their college years. It was so fun to be back with Wes and Liz. I do wish I would have re-read Better than the Movies because it took me a minute to catch up to everything. But you could see how much they had both grown up. I definitely felt like I empathized so much with Wes and what he went through prior to arriving to at UCLA. This one definitely didn’t feel as YA and there was such a sense of nostalgia for me from my college years. I also loved all of the movie and song references throughout the book too. Each chapter starts with a quote from a movie and I thought it was just adorable. It was such a fun and easy read with all the rom-com vibes.

Definitely recommend this one for a fun read but be sure to read Better Than The Movies first!

And a huge thank you to @netgalley and Lynn Painter for the advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I loved Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter. Knowing this title was coming out soon, I had to go back and finally pull Better Than the Movies from my TBR pile and I am so glad that I did! This story is so cute, I loved it!

“I am just Wes f***ing Bennett, Lib, the guy who can’t remember a single day in his life when he didn’t love you.”

I LOVED the first book… this one just doesn’t quite hit the same mark. So it’s basically the aftermath of the Wes&Liz breakup, which is slowly explained, followed by Wes’ plan to win Liz back. This one is written in alternating POV between them. (Surprisingly, I’m not sure I always liked being in Wes’ head) I didn’t like how Liz changed so much; she’s no longer a romantic. Also, Wes goes through some rough trauma, which once revealed in a dramatic scene, is quickly kind of pushed to the side in a kind of whiplash change. But, I did enjoy his determination in winning Liz back, especially the scenes related to his over the top romantic gesture. And I love the way Liz tries to help Wes in his struggles as she still cares about him. I do like them as a couple, the teasing, the banter. It just wasn’t as good as book 1. BUT… I’m thinking there’s gotta be a book in the works for Clark and Sarah and I’ll stick around for that!

THANK YOU #netgalley for the ARC!

Sometimes things would be better as standalones, ya know? Butttttt I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love this. I loved going back with Wes and Liz!

I enjoyed how this little duology mixes a lot of common romcom movie tropes with book tropes. I liked the idea of Wes using grand gestures and Liz’s “hopeless romantic” ideals to get her back. I was not expecting the time jump! All the little things that went wrong for Wes added a comedic twist to otherwise rather melancholy undertones (breakup, cheating, death of a parent).

Overall, I enjoyed this one and I loved the way it wrapped up. Everything was done BIG. ✨

Read this if you:
💔 enjoy watching romcoms
💔 want to read a love story in reverse - the characters from the first book break up at the beginning (I feel like I’ve read a few like this lately!)
💔 have ever accidentally started a fire

This was the perfect sequel to Better than the Movies. It lives up to the hype and I enjoyed reading it so much!

Another story about Wes and Liz, what can I say? Was this book absolutely necessary? Probably not, but did I want to read it? Absolutely!!! I love all the stories that Lynn Painter has written about them. I was hooked when I read Better Than the Movies and all the other short stories that she has posted about them. . Is Wes a complete simp when it comes to Liz? Definitely, and I ate it all up. His love and devotion when it comes to Liz is the stuff of movies. When I read that there was going to be a sequel, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. When I read that Wes and Liz break up, I needed to know what happened and needed to know if they get back together? Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to find out.

While I was really excited for Nothing Like the Movies, I was also pretty scared. Liz and Wes not being a couple anymore? That's just something I couldn't imagine! I'm not going to go into too much detail, because I do think this is one you need to read without knowing too much, but it's worth the read. Lynn Painter hit me in all the feels, and even had me in tears, but she put me back together again before the end of the book.

Liz and Wes were so in love with each other, but when tragedy strikes, Wes is left to deal with a lot. You really just want to hug him, but also shake him, because he went through so much alone. Liz was hurt of course and closed herself off from everything that had to do with love. Dual POV helped a lot in this book, because both sides of the story are really needed. It was so great seeing both Liz and Wes grow as people and think about what they wanted. I will say, a lot could've been solved if Liz and Wes sat down and talked, but I feel like both had a lot of growing to do themselves. It was really interesting reading about that while they tried to find their way back to each other.

Nothing Like the Movies had me feeling all of the emotions. I think this is the first time I've actually teared up while reading a Lynn Painter book. The grand gestures, learning to deal with loss, following your dreams, and growing up were all parts of this story. Also, we had some amazing side characters in this story. I'd love a book about Clark or Sarah. They were a lot of fun to read about.

All in all, Lynn Painter did not disappoint with this sequel to one of my favorite books. She's definitely proven herself to be one of my all time favorite authors.

My review will also be posted on https://thebookdutchesses.com on October 10th.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

Nothing like the Movies is book two of a series by Lynn Painter. This story is the continuation of Wes and Liz’s epic romcom about two people who have gone their separate ways after tragedy only to find themselves in the same place again. This is a sweet, sometimes heartbreaking, book about childhood enemies turned loves who break up and they wonder why life is “ Nothing like the Movies”.

Another winner from Lynn Painter! I loved the follow up to Wes & Liz’s relationship from Better than the Movies. It was refreshing to read about the reality that relationships sometimes have to endure in order to continue that happily ever after.

I loved this book more than the first one. It was so good. The reunion and the banter! It was such a cute love story. I like the documentary aspect of the book. It gave me all the feels! Definitely a must read!! Wes and Lizs love story is so cute. I need more!

Lynn writes it then I’m reading it! I love her fun style. And Wes & Liz are my favorite couple. Better Than the Movies is young adult romance perfection and this sequel lived up to my expectations! I devoured it. I love the college versions of Wes & Liz. My heart ached for Wes but his hardships made me adore him even more for what & how he went through them. I enjoyed the campus setting and college baseball & documentary perspective. It had me giggling, tearing up, my belly swooping and smiling like crazy. Reading it is like watching a movie (especially with the built in soundtrack!). So grab some popcorn and enjoy. I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy!

ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕚𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖:
✧ College romance
✧ Movie quotes
✧ Second chance romance
✧ Dual POV
✧ Grand gestures
✧ Song references
✧ Banter…oh, the banter
✧ College baseball
✧ Betting on You cameos

Thank you Simon and Schuster, NetGalley and Lynn Schaffer for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

4.5/5
this was one of my most anticipated books, and it did not disappoint! I loved getting to see these characters again, the plot was fantastic, and it was so emotional. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who liked the first one!

I am a huge fan of Better than the Movies, it was one of my favorite reads from 2022. Naturally, I was really excited for this book following Wes and Liz through college and having a second chance at love after Wes' dad passes. I think my disappointment in this book this comes down to feeling like a sequel wasn't totally needed here.

I felt like the biggest disservice to this book is that Lynn in my opinion, completely lost the spirit of who Wes and Liz are as characters from the first book. I can understand that losing Wes and spending time apart while she was in college at UCLA made Liz a bit more cynical, but I felt like Liz's general optimism, obsession with love, and overall delusion made her so endearing and I was sad to see that changed so much. I think a better approach here would've been a character arc where Liz slowly regains her faith in love again and gets back to her true self while falling back in love with Wes!! But instead, we completely abandoned basically the core of her personality. I also felt like the voice of Wes' character was lost too, while we didn't get his POV in Better Than the Movies, there was still a sweetness and boyish charm that did not exist in this book.

Wes' trauma from losing his dad was the main driver of this book and this trauma didn't quite feel like it was well fleshed out or handled thoughtfully. I feel like it was a missed opportunity for Liz to not add any sort of solace or comfort to Wes during his hard time. I definitely missed the banter and wit I have come to know and love from Lynn Painter's writing in this one.

Unfortunately not my favorite but I will definitely continue to pick up Lynn's books in the future and I will always recommend Better Than the Movies.

So fun. However much I would have loved the epilogue of Better Than the Movies to continue with a light and happy college romance for Liz and Wes, this was great.

I loved that Liz was able to pursue her dreams, and become an expert in the field. Her internship, her job, etc.

Do i think an 18 year old freshman would be invited to Jack Antanoff’s house? No. Was it cheesy in parts? Yes. Did I love it? Also yes.

This was everything I wanted and more. While some things upset me at first, I would read 600 pages of Wes and Liz just doing homework. I love them so much

Thank you netgalley for this ARC!
4.5 stars… I really enjoyed reading about these characters and how their story continued in this sequel. I felt that their growth made sense, especially knowing how it feels to want to be a new person when you go away to college. I liked how Wes was super head over heels in love throughout the book, a nice switch up from the first book.
I felt that the ending just was a bit rushed, but other than that I really enjoyed it!