Thank you Simon and Schuster for the Digital ARC on NetGalley, you made my dreams come true!!
Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter was everything I could’ve hoped for in a sequel. Initially, I was nervous reading this book. After reading the synopsis, I was so concerned about the fact that my favorite fictional couple wasn’t together. How could Liz move on like that? And then I read it.
I didn’t think Lynn could top how I initially felt about Wes and Liz, but she certainly did. For starters, Wes Bennett was groveling over her- which was amazing in every way. Both characters had me screaming like I do at romantic comedies when the characters get into a fight over miscommunication. The character development was Steve Harrington level development (and in case you don’t watch Stranger Things, that’s high praise. He was terrible in season 1 and is now one of the most beloved characters in the show.) Although, I would’ve loved to see more with Sarah and Clark… (Lynn, if you’re seeing this, am I misreading the vibes? I feel like you should do a book about them👀)
Lynn Painter’s books just scratch a part of my brain that fuels me to keep reading because they make me happy. I didn’t want to put this down EVER and I was heartbroken when it was over. The love I have for these books is unlike anything else. When Nothing Like the Movies comes out in October, RUN to the bookstores, don’t walk.

After I read Better Than the Movies, I was obsessed with Wes and Liz! They were absolutely precious, and I loved their sweet high school relationship.

Nothing Like the Movies has all the laugh out loud moments and pop culture references that we loved from the first book. However in this book, Wes and Liz have grown up and have unfortunately, grown apart. Wes and Liz have started to face some of life’s challenges, resulting in their break up. But Wes will stop at nothing to get Liz back!

Better Than the Movies was light and happy, but Nothing Like the Movies was a lot more real and vulnerable. It was more mature. Lynn gave us all the things we loved about Wes and Liz in BTTM but with many more layers! We meet new side characters (LOVED me some Clark!!), delve deeper into familial relationships, grow from life’s challenges, and explore college life.

This is a sequel that really exceeded my expectations, and I’m excited for you to read it!

Wow! I’m always apprehensive about sequels, but this was great! I typically rate LP books around 3-4⭐️ — I usually like them but they often feel a little silly or something is off in them for me. This sequel felt more adult and mature compared to many of her other novels. The plot is definitely heavier and has some tear-inducing moments, which I think added depth. I really enjoyed reading Liz & Wes’s next steps!

4.5⭐️

Sweet story - I enjoyed reading both perspectives throughout the story. There was a detail I wish was circled back to but overall, it was an enjoyable read.

Oh my gosh I’m crying. This exceeded all of my expectations. Better Than the Movies was one of my favorite books in 2022 (it is perfect) and Nothing Like the Movies hit just as hard. These characters are so comforting and it feels like home when I read Lynn’s books!!!

I found this book to be a lot more realistic than the first one. The plot has so much depth & it’s filled with grief, healing, growth. The angst and yearning was EVERYTHING TO ME. I loved reading about Wes and Liz relearning & reconnecting with each other (honestly gave me You Deserve Each Other vibes). I was swooning!!! Wes is perfect!!! Liz is perfect!!! This is the perfect follow up!!!!!!!

Massive thank you to Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy.

It was very cute and made me swoon very much. I read the first book and loved it and although I didn’t want them to break up, the storyline was great and entertaining. The ending seemed a little rushed but nonetheless was glad to seem Wes and Liz made up and back together. The writing as always has kept me interest and on my toes, no boring parts. Would very much recommended reading the second part.

I want to preface this by saying I did not think Better Than The Movies needed a sequel because it was so perfect by itself. However, I loved Wes and Liz soooo much that I would’ve read anything else about them.

Nothing Like The Movies made me laugh and broke my heart, all while keeping me glued to the book. I was devastated for Wes and equally angry for Liz.

Second chance romances are not my favorite to read but if I had to read one, it was going to be this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the ARC!

I received an advanced copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Simon & Schuster. I was so excited to hear that Lynn Painter wrote a sequel to Better Than the Movies. This book is realistic, yet incredibly funny and romantic. It would be perfect for high school and up to read, and I give it ALL the stars. ⭐️ ✨

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Children’s and Netgalley for this free E-Arc in exchange for an honest review

Full review will be posted on Goodreads closer to the book's onsale date, per publisher request

Actual rating: 4.25

I’m going to be honest, when I saw this was available for request on Netgalley, my decision to request it was entirely selfish. I devoured BTTM two weeks ago (late to the game ik ik) and all its extra content and was so excited for more. That said, this book did not disappoint.

We pick up 2 years after BTTM where, shocker, Liz and Wes have broken up and haven’t spoken in two years. Now I was hesitant going into this based on the premise, but I also went in with an open mind. It was so fascinating to see what true heartbreak does to someone like Liz, our little love lover. The way so much of her personality in BTTM was built around idealized love and then she changes when her heart is broken is so real. I especially loved the contradiction of Wes’ idea of Liz and who she actually was.

Aw, Wes. He was so cute in this book. His cheeky arrogance was quite charming, and his relationship with Liz was, as always, top tier. I liked how he continued to woo her, and once some things settled into place (iykyk), he never once doubted that they’d end up together. It was cute, it was sweet, I was kicking my feet.

Now, my biggest issues with this book was the pacing. It felt a little all over the place. Some minor spoilers ensue because truly I’m not sure how to talk around them. Liz basically hates Wes for 60%+ of this book, so it relied a lot on Wes’ pov and his hope for them to carry the story through. That, and the fact that Liz pretended to date Clark to add an extra obstacle meant that not much happened for the first half. It was still fun though, seeing how these characters we love have changed, and the way in which the narrative forced them together was clever.

The slow front half, however, means that the back half felt very fast. Liz made a lot of very quick decisions in the last 15% or so that gave me a bit of whiplash. I wanted a bit more of Wes actually wooing Liz, rather than 1 date and 1 party and they’re back together once she’s single again. I think all my issues could’ve been solved if we hadn’t had Liz pretend to date Clark (who I do love!) because all it does it make Wes’ inner monologue all jealousy and slow down the plot for the first half.

All that said, this was still incredibly sweet. Lynn Painter knows how to write characters that feel like your friends, and knows how to tug on your heartstrings just right. While this didn’t have the necessarily compulsive nature and butterflies of BTTM, it’s still a great story in its own right, and I recommend you give it a try.

Better than the movies is one of my favorite books, so I was so excited to read Nothing like the movies and it did NOT disappoint! I loved getting to see Wes' pov in this book along with his more complex character arc. Both characters learning about each other and growing in college is something I really connected with.

I was just as excited as everyone else when I heard Liz and Wes were getting another book, but I was also very worried when I read the blurb for Nothing Like the Movies. How could Liz and Wes not be together anymore? What did that mean for the tone of this book? I shouldn't have been worried, Lynn Painter had it all under control. It's not easy for an author to take a beloved couple, break them up, then make them work for a relationship all over again, and make the second book even better than the original. Painter did just that. While I was sad in the beginning for Liz and Wes, and even sadder for Wes as I learned what he had been through, I really loved seeing the growth in their characters over the years they were apart. I loved the community Liz had created for herself in college. I loved that Wes was finally getting to go for his dreams. I adored their new and old friends. It was fun to see them in college, a little older and wiser. They were more ready in this book for a serious relationship once they both got past their issues. I adored Liz and Wes even more this second time around.

Classic Lynn Painter! This book is everything you would expect, but more! I did not know that the exploration of a couple navigating grief would hit me so hard, but I found myself sobbing halfway through the book. The dialogue, the side characters, the baseball setting--it was everything! I can't wait for a new book continuing in this book-verse because I cannot get enough of these characters!

This is such a hard review to write because I loved Better Than The Movies (5 star read) but Nothing Like The Movies not only fell flat for me, but it’s a sequel didn’t need to exist. It was the closest I’ve come to DNFing a LP book.

I don’t really feel the need to over analyze the story or roast it because I typically enjoy Lynn Painter’s writing, so I’ll keep it very brief. Right off the bat, chapter 1 felt really disorganized and confusing for me. It was like being thrust head first into a book that was already in the middle of something? While I enjoyed the dual pov (who wouldn’t love being in Wes’ mind), I was bored by him and annoyed by Liz for most of the book. All of the amazing components and Liz’s love for movies wasn’t here for me. Too much music and not enough focus on movies. Also, I just didn’t get Liz’s whole internship and then Lil not being a villain was a weird set up.

So I guess the title was right, it was nothing like better than the movies. If you love Wes & Liz in BTTM, honestly I’d skip this one and avoid the feelings I had 🤷🏻‍♀️

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

"𝒯𝓇𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓂𝑒, 𝐿𝒾𝒷,” 𝐼 𝓈𝒶𝒾𝒹, 𝓅𝒾𝒸𝓉𝓊𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓁𝒾𝓅𝓈. “𝐼𝓃 𝒶 𝒸𝓇𝑜𝓌𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝒶 𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝓈𝓀𝒾 𝓂𝒶𝓈𝓀𝓈, 𝐼’𝒹 𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊.” ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
:¨ ·.· ¨:
`· . ୨୧

"𝐵𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹𝓃'𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓈𝓅𝓁𝒾𝓉 𝒶 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝓌𝑜 𝒾𝓃 𝑜𝓇𝒹𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝑜 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂." ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

"𝐵𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝓂𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝓇𝓊𝓂𝒷𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒻𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓈𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝒽𝓊𝓃𝒹𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝓌𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓎 12:13𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒶𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑒."˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
ಇ.

🌟 10/10 Stars! 🌟

I wouldn't say that I was outright skeptical going into this book - because, well, it's Lynn Painter and I've pretty much loved every single one of her books but when I'd heard that Wes and Liz had broken up... I guess, I was maybe a little apprehensive? Just a little worried.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ The thing is- Better than the Movies was so good that you're probably thinking 'why would the author go out and write a second book when the first one was so good, it's not needed etc. etc. etc. I personally can't get enough of Liz and Wes but in my very humble opinion, Painter came through with an absolute banger with book two.

╰┈➤˗ˏˋ 𝓠𝓾𝓲𝓬𝓴 𝓢𝓾𝓶𝓶𝓪𝓻𝔂

The story picks up around two years after BTTM ends and Liz is at college, enrolled at UCLA. Wes's father has passed away and his mother was suffering badly from PTSD after and wasn't functioning well at all. She was unable to work, care for herself or for Sarah (Wes's sister) and so Wes leaves school in order to return home to help his family.

The situation is incredibly tough, Liz is flourishing in school, Wes is stuck at home shackled with all of the responsibilities of an adult - he feels like he'd potentially be holding Liz back with all of his problems and so in order for her to continue to grow and get the best out of college and for her future Wes breaks off their relationship.

Liz, after two years of grieving the loss of the relationship and her friendship with Wes, is a freaking powerhouse at school. Lining up her goals and just knocking them down. She's cautious, a little jaded - and definitely not the romance obsessed, heart eyed, little Liz.

After two years, Wes is finally able to put his life back on track and return to UCLA - determined to win Liz back. Will they, won't they? Do they even know each other anymore after all the time that has passed?

╰┈➤˗ˏˋ 𝓜𝔂 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼

Besties. Besties! I really did not, in a million years expect for this book to have me in such an emotional chokehold! The number of tears I shed- oh man. The pain, the joy, the reminiscing. I just loved everything about this book so much!

ೃ⁀➷ You would think that the relationship between these two was the focus front and center - and it is, but there is so much more to this novel that warmed my heart. The relationship between Liz and her parents had me so choked up at times, eyes burning and brimming with tears. They're such a good example of what parents should be and so supportive of Liz during a difficult time.

ೃ⁀➷ Everything that the Bennett family went through with the loss of Stu just ripped at my heart strings. There is a whole scene in Wes's living room in the middle of the night between Liz and Wes where I almost totally lost it lol. I had to put the book down, put my hand on my chest like that was going to prevent it from cracking. Total epic moment.

We meet a new character, Clark who is one of Liz's roommates - I can't express how many times he had me laughing out loud as well as the other college friends that we meet.

I loved the way that Painter was able to give us everything we love in both Liz and Wes but made them more weathered emotionally - all of these layers that she added to both of their personalities made it feel like you were getting to know them all over again since the last time we saw them in BTTM. They're more mature, they've been through some shit, while still being the bright-eyed, love-struck characters we love.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Highly recommend! In Lynn Painter we trust!


"𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓋𝑒 𝓈𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓌𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝑒 𝓊𝓅, 𝐿𝒾𝒷, 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝐼'𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓃 𝓁𝓎𝓇𝒾𝒸𝓈 𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓉𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝑜𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓈. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓂𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓁𝑜𝓇𝓈 𝐼 𝒸𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓈𝑒𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝑒𝓁𝓈𝑒. 𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓃'𝓉 𝓂𝓎 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈, 𝐼 𝒹𝑜𝓃'𝓉 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓇 𝒶𝓁𝒷𝓊𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎'𝓇𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂, 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒢𝑜𝒹'𝓈 𝓈𝒶𝓀𝑒, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒾𝓉'𝓈 𝑒𝓍𝒶𝒸𝓉𝓁𝓎 𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝐼 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁.
ಇ.
𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓂𝑒 𝒶 𝓈𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓉 𝓁𝒶𝓃𝑔𝓊𝒶𝑔𝑒 𝐼 𝒸𝒶𝓃'𝓉 𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒶𝓀 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝑒𝓁𝓈𝑒- 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒, 𝐼 𝒸𝒶𝓃'𝓉 𝓇𝑒𝓂𝑒𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓌𝓇𝑜𝓉𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝐼 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁 𝒾𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓇𝑜𝓌 𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝓎 𝒷𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓈. 𝐵𝑒𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝓎 𝑒𝓍𝒾𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒, 𝐼 𝓈𝓌𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝓉𝑜 𝒢𝑜𝒹."

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ 𝓯𝓾𝓬𝓴𝓲𝓷 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊
┊ ┊ ┊ ˚★⋆｡˚ ⋆
┊ ┊ ⋆
┊ ★⋆
★


Many thanks to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, and Lynn Painter for the complementary digital copy in exchange for my honest thoughts. 💐

What a delightful sequel!

Having read and loved Better Than the Movies, I was quite apprehensive about a sequel being made sue to demand. If you share those concerns, fret not! Lynn Painter has you covered! Jumping back in to the world of Liz and Wes, now entering college was a dream. Painter has mastered the art of the true RomCom, and has such a wonderful handle on all the tropes you know and love.

If you love YA, romance, and/or iconic romcoms, this is the book for you!

I've read the thoughts of a lot of people who believe this book "didn't need a sequel." Respectfully, I don't agree. I think the whole idea of the first book--that actual, real love is significantly better than the fantasies Liz made up in her mind based on rom-coms--made this sequel absolutely necessary.
Rom-coms are self-contained. They end with the happy ending. By subverting that by showing the problems Wes and Liz had after the HEA, Painter re-emphasized this point.

As for the actual book: it's probably taboo to quote another book in one book's review, but I recently read the cutest book by Katherine Center, The Rom-Commers. In that book, there is a scene where the FMC is trying to explain the point of rom-coms to the MMC and (to badly paraphrase) explains that the point of a rom-com is to simulate the feeling of falling in love. I think that is a) spot on and b) a great new test for a rom-coms success.

Using Center's guidelines to review Nothing Like the Movies, I have to say, I think Painter has accomplished this twice. While I think NLtM has a completely different vibe (it's a lot more serious and less light), it might be more meaningful. It shows that big romantic gestures (IE: Wes breaking up with Liz out of fear that he will drag her down) are not always pretty, but mean more than the cutesy ones like putting flower petals on someone's balcony. Sometimes they comes from sacrifice and can be painful. And, in the end, they do get back together, so even though it's serious, the reader does get the pay off in the end.

lynn ate with this one yet again. it HURT while bringing me happy tears at the end. she really puts you thought a variety of emotions. i wanted to hug wes ugh. i also love his sister sarah, id love for her to get her own book one day! better than the movies was an infinity rating for me and this was a great follow up. liz and wes 4ever.

This book was everything. I am so happy with how this turned out, truly one of the best sequels I've ever read. I could not put the book down, i stayed up until 5 am reading. I loved how this book felt a lot like Wes's book, getting to be in his head was EVERYTHING. It physically pained me how much Liz was anti love because of what happened between them. And dear lord the PINING. Lynn using illicit affairs was actually criminal. This book has now sent me into a book slump, it was that good. I had to re-read BTTM and all of Lynn's bonus content in order to move on.

I cannot wait for everyone to get to read this because I'm going to have a really hard time shutting up about this.

I'm not sure if this book was needed, i really loved it at first, eating it up but in the middle, it felt kind of flat. liz started to annoy me a little but what i really loved was wes's character, he really had his chance to show who is he and i loved that we saw more of his story than liz's. i do miss the 'little liz' but im glad lynn painter made a little older but wished she had that still inside her<3

I struggled a bit at the beginning to understand the reasoning behind Wes's decision, especially so soon after the events of BTTM. That being said, I think it was rehabed very well. It's impossible not to like Wes and Liz's dynamic and this book made me root for them even harder.