Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book!

BTTM is one of my favorite YA books of all time and it is still SO popular in my classroom, so of course I was thrilled to read the sequel! Is this book different? Yes, of course. Is it a great story? Also yes. Nothing Like the Movies is not as light-hearted as its predecessor, but I enjoyed watching Wes and Liz's growth as they navigated challenges. I think the more emotional and heavy feel of this book will appeal to teen readers who want a little more heft in their romances. As an educator, one thing I really appreciated about this book was that even though Wes and Liz are a couple years into college, there is nothing in the book that would give a high teacher pause when putting it in their classroom. BTTM is so popular with high school students and I'm glad that they will get to continue following Wes and Liz's story without issue (given the state of books/education right now).

Nothing Like The Movies
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks so much to @simonteen for the free eARC!

Okay, listen, I totally get the appeal of this. I see why many readers will love it, however, this fell incredibly flat for me.
Not every popular book needs a sequel!!! This is an example of that.
You have this couple who was perfectly happy in the first book, so why are we putting them through heartache in the second book? Let’s leave them alone and keep it as a stand-alone story. The first book is so iconic, and their relationship journey was so nice with the ending it originally received.
This is a college romance! It’s been so long since I’ve read one of these, so that was nice. When I think back on this book I realize how low-stakes it was. If I’m being honest, not a ton happened in this story.
Wes was so freaking sweet the entire time but… Liz was ridiculously stubborn. I thought how much he loved her was adorable, but I wish more things would have happened plot-wise in this story. Yes, of course, we got a happily ever after, but this was not necessary.
If you like books with pop culture references, then you are going to eat this up. There are tons of song and movie references throughout and there’s a playlist included at the end.
If you haven't read Better Than The Movies yet, do it now! This book is the sequel and it will be available on October 1st!

Read If You Like:
🍿college romance
🍿second chance romance
🍿baseball player MMC
🍿rom-coms
🍿lots of song and movie references

It is a story with the miscommunication/lack of communication trope, and I can't handle that one. I also realized I just don't like her writing style. Still a decent story and one I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to my students or have in my classroom.

I had so much fun reading ‘Better than the Movies’ a few years ago, so when I saw there was a sequel, I was thrilled. I couldn’t wait to see Liz and Wes in college and watch their love grow. This definitely wasn’t as light and fun as the first, though it did have many light and entertaining moments.

It’s Liz’s third year at UCLA and she and Wes haven’t seen each other in two years. Yes, you read that right. Wes went home after a tragedy in his family and ended things. Now he is back playing as a freshman on the baseball team and Liz’s internship takes her right there… covering the baseball team.

I loved watching Wes try to win Liz over and seeing them change and grow. This book hit me in my feels more than once but it also made me laugh and smile. If you haven’t read a Lynn Painter book before, what are you waiting for? I adore them!

Lynn Painter does it again and creates such a nostalgic, heart wrenching and heart warming story with one of my favorite fictional couples. I remember reading Better Than the Movies right when it came out, finding it randomly on the shelf at the bookstore and reading it all in one sitting. Nothing Like the Movies is its sequel, following Wes and Liz in their college years. Wes had tragedy struck and he dropped out of UCLA, breaking up with Liz, and trying to heal from his grief. Flash forward about a year later and Wes is determined to fix his life, go back to UCLA on their baseball team and most importantly, get Liz back. In an effort to win Liz back, Liz wants nothing to do with Wes after he broke her heart and is battling those feelings.

Wes and Liz are just so incredibly lovable and I love them as character separately and together. Lynn Painter does a fantastic job of displaying grief and the effort to fix things that are broken. I will say, one thing that bugged me was the way Liz was reacting to Wes some of the time. It felt like she was forcing the problems and not forgiving him, which didn’t necessarily feel like her character. I understand, she was hurt and protecting herself, but it felt like she was being used for conflict to make the book longer.

Overall, these characters will stay in my heart for a long time and I will definitely be rereading when in comes out in October of this year!

i can’t believe i got to read this book so early, I am so happy about it! I truly enjoyed this book, and I had my doubts because, in my opinion, "Better Than The Movies" didn’t need a sequel, But I was truly positively surprised!

If it weren’t for the reading slump that hit me in the middle of reading this, I probably would’ve rated it five stars. The first book will always have a special place in my heart and i don’t think anything can ever live up to it.

I love Liz & Wes so much it physically pains me, I could read ten more books about them and not get bored. Wes Bennett is the best book-boyfriend ever and Lynn Painter still remains the queen of ya-romances!

Can’t wait for everyone to read this once it comes out!

Was this sequel necessary? Not really. Was it perfect? I mean…nothing is. Did I have a good time? Heck yeah!

Might be generous with 3 stars🫣 I loved the first book, but this felt so predictable and immature to me. It was super PG (which is fine), but I really wasn’t buying how Wes and Liz broke up after what happened to his dad. Honestly it was all pretty dumb. I would say sleep on this one, but definitely read Better Than the Movies (book 1)!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

In the grand scheme of things, I found this book to be highly unnecessary. You can just tell it was a cash grab book, and I never thought Lynn Painter would go that far but here we are.

I loved Better Than The Movies, and even then, I never saw a sequel in its future. Nonetheless, I was kind of excited for Nothing like the Movies despite reviews. Boy was I in for a rude awakening

The amount of music artists references in this book annoyed me to my core. They don’t add anything to the scene or the story, so the amount of time spent on songs was a waste of time.

The characters felt so off and were written inorganic. The POV’s - Wes and Liz’s - and the characterization were so forced and unnatural. The aspects I loved so much from the first book were completely gone in the sequel, and all of it was just unnecessary drama for the sake of drama. I understand people can change in the span of two years, I get that. However, Liz and Wes were completely different characters - their personalities were so different in comparison to the first book. They should at least have some traits from their youth but they read as newly introduced characters.

I didn’t have a good experience reading this book, and I’m disappointed in the direction Painter took this book in. It could’ve been so well written, but the execution was incredibly lacking.

Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter • ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read: 8/15-8/24 2024

✨ ARC Review ✨

Thank you so much Simon Teen for this NetGalley ARC!!

NLTM is the sequel to Better Than the Movies and it is AMAZING!!! I was so excited when I saw that my ARC request was accepted!

This is a second chance rom-com with banter, dual POV, pining, forced proximity, and fake dating. Plus, we get cameos from Emilie & Nick (The Do-Over) and Bailey & Charlie (Betting On You)!!

Little summary breakdown:
- Liz and Wes are in college now, and they have both matured and grown A LOT in the past 2 YEARS
- Little Liz is gone
- Wes is a simp
- Learn some baseball terminology
- Prepare to have your heart break for Wes
- Cry

This book put me on a rollercoaster of emotions and I loved every second of it. If you loved BTTM, read this. If you’ve read anything by Lynn Painter, love YA books, love romance books, and/or if you’re like me and hate straight up romance movies, but decide to try out a romance book just to see how the genre in the book world is, READ BOTH BTTM and NLTM. BTTM was my first romance book and I fell down the rabbit hole.

Thank you Lynn Painter for continuing Wes and Liz’s story ❤️ I can’t wait to read your next YA novel

Releases October 1, 2024
I can’t wait to get my hands on a hardcover copy, preorder ASAP - Amazon Pre-Order link: https://a.co/d/euIxzhy

I am not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but I do not have anything to say about this novel. It is cute. The pacing is slow. LOVE the movie quotes at the beginning of each chapter. Some of them are not from popular movies, which I appreciate. I loved reading the unfamiliar ones. Wes is desperate. Liz is whiny. They were not everything I remember them being in the first book. Wes is drooling and chasing after Liz the whole book. Not really romantic...still an okay read.

Honestly, I was expecting something a somewhat more uplifting, since the 1st book was so lovely. Nothing Like the Movies lived up to its title though - a bit depressing.

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