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.

It was so amazing to continue the journey with We’d and Liz. I could not put this book down and finished it in a day. Loved that the music aspect was included again in this story. I will for sure be recommending and appreciate the opportunity to read it!

I loved this story! Such a cute sequel. I couldn’t wait to read more about Wes and Liz. Wes’s story was heartbreaking but so well written. My heart went out to him. Liz’s story made me so happy to see her loving out her dream. Overall it was so so good and made me miss college life.

Great book! One of my favorite tropes is Second Chance because I adore the angst between the two main characters and I loved how the author wrote the conflict. Unlike other books, they don't get together right away and there are cameos and references. While I feel that the characters went through too major of a change in just 2 years, it is one that you can justify and still enjoyable. I recommend this book if you enjoy romcoms, second chance romance, or the first book.

I felt that while the story was good and a decent ending to Better Than the Movies, I felt that it wasn't totally a needed sequel because the ending of the first book was satisfying enough.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review!

Nothing Like The Movies gives us Liz and Wes in college, but this time they are no longer a couple. Liz is coming back from a heart break but is in a healthier place. Wes has gone through a tragedy and Liz isn't the romance lover she once was. In this movie, Wes will do anything to get the old them back.

This book was super cute but it was hard to rate it next to Better Than The Movies, which I loved so much. Was a fun and enjoyable read and if you loved Wes and Liz, then you got to see how their story continues post high school.

“When I’m near you, the way I feel steals the breath from my body. It’s like I breathe for you, like I exist to exist alongside of you.”

this was one of my most anticipated reads and unfortunately it was okay. I honestly feel like better than the movies should’ve stayed a standalone. this book has miscommunication and it’s one of my least favorite tropes.

Liz was getting on my nerves!! The whole fake dating with Clarke was out of the blue and didn’t really do anything for the story.

Wes is my baby and deserves the world. He’s the reason I gave this a 3 star and chose to push through because I wanted to dnf since 29% in.

Even though this book wasn’t my favorite, I’ll still buy a physical copy just because I love Wes and his love for Liz.

Thank you to netgalley for this arc.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ NOTHING LIKE THE MOVIES by Lynn Painter

At a Glance:

✏️ Dual POV
💕 Second Chance
🏫 College
⚾ Baseball
👩‍❤️‍👨 Fake Dating
💔 Grief

I'll admit that I was skeptical as soon as I saw this title announced. I was even more suspicious when the blurb dropped and I'm normally a huge fan of second chance romance. (It's the pining for me.) Sequels so rarely live up to the original work, but I found this so utterly charming and tender that I am ready to safely say that we can continue our Lynn Painter fanship in peace and there is no need to riot. This is an exceptional follow up.

If you're already a WesLiz fan, this book is going to break your heart a bit. Admittedly, I teared up quite a few times. The sadness in the book is palpable, but so is the hope and the laughter. Lynn Painter remains the reigning queen of dialogue. I am happy to say that she did these book babies justice and I really hope they can now remain at peace forevermore. The only time it would be acceptable to see these two again is in a cameo in a Clark/Sarah story which I highly, highly suggest. (Wink wink, nudge nudge LP.)

My heart palpitations are now officially settled and I am proud to say that I was happy to see WesLiz again. Don't worry, readers. We're all going to make it through this one. And I think most of us are going to come out smiling.

This is the highly anticipated sequel to Better than the Movies. This one ended up being not quite what I expected. I assumed it was going to be Wes trying to get Liz back, and though it was, but it was also a lot more. The trying to win Liz back was only a small portion of the story. This book does have a sadder undertone than Painter's other books, one reason being because we all just love Wes and Liz and want them to be together. I do think this book makes their relationship deeper and it was really beautiful.

Four stars for this sequel. I think that this book has everything you could possibly want from a romance book. Interesting story with awesome characters and enemies to lovers style.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers publishing for the advanced reader copy of this fantastic rom-com.

Lynn Painter's Nothing Like the Movies is a sequel to Better Than the Movies, delving into the complexities of love and growing up. In this much anticipated follow up, Wes and Liz's story continues as they navigate the challenges of college life and the aftermath of a heartbreaking breakup. The author portrays the emotional journey of Wes, who is determined to win back Liz after a tragedy forced them apart just before starting college. Wes's romantic gestures, inspired by Liz's love for rom coms, add a charming and humorous touch to the story. This novel captures the essence of young love, heartache, and the struggle to balance personal growth with maintaining a relationship.

i absolutely loved better than the movies. and not gonna lie when the sequal was announced, i was lowkey doubting the author's decision to extend wes and liz's story. but alas! this book is a reminder to never doubt my queen lynn painter 👑✨

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5/5 stars

PERFECTION. In the sequel to the beloved Better Than the Movies, Wes and Liz get to live out the second chance romance trope and the angst and romance is top notch. Wes and Liz were enjoying their romance while at college together when tragedy strikes. This leads to Wes having to move home and losing Liz. Now, he is back and more determined than ever to win Liz back. However, his romantic plans go up in smoke when this new Liz is having none of his grand gestures. Will these two crazy kids work it out?

I was OBSESSED. This was the perfect follow-up to one of my all-time favorites. I loved getting to see an older Wes and Liz and watching(reading) as they fall in love all over again. The swooning that took place. I demand another sequel of adult Wes and Liz. Or at least a novella every single year about a random day in their lives. I demand it.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.