Truly another 5 star read from Lynn. I really enjoyed this one a lot, it was a little bit more mature than better than the movies - it had some heavy moments but the whole story was relatable. I definitely felt my heart break reading what Wes went through with his dad.

I loved the side characters in this one a lot too. It seemed like such a realistic group of people and friends.

I would definitely have been fine with just better than the movies, but I like that Lynn gave us this story. It gave the characters a lot of depth and flaws and made it more realistic.

Personally, I’ve always thought some books don’t need a sequel. And although I’ve always stated better than the movies never needed one, this was still a fun read! There were many moments full of angst and anticipation as well as romance and comedy. However, there were times I needed to step away from the book as I felt the characters had changed a drastic amount compared to the first, but I can’t lie, I still love them!

I’d recommend this book but I’d also recommend reading it with less expectations because it might make it a more gripping read.

**I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Lynn Painter what have you done to me?! I devoured this book possibly quicker than I did Better than the Movies!!

This is a continuation of our 2 love interests from book 1. Now they are in college, grown up, something has happened in the past that has driven them away from each other. We take our time in a dual-pov setting where we get to hear their thoughts, their feelings and little by little the story starts to come out on what happened to them after that prom night!

I just need so much more Lynn Painter in my life.

“In a crowd of million ski masks, I’d still be able to find you.”
I loved reading about Wes and Liz again but sadly did not need this book😭😭 in my mind they never broke up.

Grateful to netgalley for this ARC🫶🏻

Better Than the Movies quickly became a classic and a fan favorite for YA romance. I had super high hopes going into this one, but it didn’t quite live up to its prequel. One of my biggest pet peeves in literature is an obnoxious amount of Taylor Swift references, and this definitely got on my nerves for that reason.

First off, Thank you Netgalley and Lynn Painter for the chance to read this arc!!! 🩷🥹

I loved "Better than the Movies" and was excited this book was Liz and Wes! "Nothing Like the Movies" was cute, like all of Lynn Painter's books 🩷 Was happy to see more of their story!

4⭐️


Better than the Movies is one of my favorites books so I knew this wouldn’t disappoint. It was a little sad to see how much had changed between Liz and Wes. They seemed completely different from the first book. I did enjoy seeing how their relationship grew throughout though. Nothing could keep them apart.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Title: Nothing Like the Movies
Author: Lynn Painter
Length: 448 pages
Format: ebook arc
Pub Date: Oct 01 2024
Genre: Romance | Teens & YA
Rating Out of 5: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ♾️
Summary:
Wes had his dream girl, Liz, but tragedy struck just before they left for college, causing them to drift apart. Now, months later, they’re both at UCLA, and Wes is determined to win her back. Armed with rom-com-inspired grand gestures, he tries everything to rekindle their romance, but Liz isn’t budging, especially with a new guy friend in the picture. As Wes pulls out all the stops, he starts to wonder if their love story is truly over.

Thoughts:
Y’all. This is what we’ve been waiting for! I’m not going to lie, I was a little stunned when the blurb came out, and our precious Liz and Wes were BROKEN UP! But I had faith in Lynn, and when I received the ARC I immediately jumped in head first! Only Lynn could make me a fan of second chance romance and actually not be a fan of fake dating 😜. This takes place after Wes and Liz have already broken up, so we don’t have to fully feel the heartbreak of their breakup. We discover over time what exactly happened to break them up, and that was a little easier on my heart. What wasn’t easy on my heart was Wes’s POV basically the whole time. It was so sad and sweet and really tugged at my heart strings! Of course I was also laughing throughout the entirety of the book as well. With a perfect cast of main and side characters (can we get a whole Clark book?!), the witty banter that we always get from Lynn, the swoony romance that Wes works so hard for, and the healing that we get to see both Wes and Liz go through, this book was A+++++++++. Literally everyone needs to read it! And then read it again and again!

Special thanks to the @netgalley and @simonteen for the arc in exchange for my honest review!

3.5 ⭐️This was cute! I didn’t read all of the little mini stories in between (gosh, there were a lot!), so when the book immediately opened up the way it did, I was a little let down.

I thought the book was still cute and I did enjoy reading it. It def changed my opinion on Liz, ALOT.

It was a little slower paced than BTTM and didn’t have all the feels in there. Would I have missed out by not reading this one, nope. But not mad that I did. It’s still a cute enemies to lovers, second chance, make you want to rush to the end book.

I’ll still totally read anything Painter writes.

I really enjoyed this one but I can see why some people may not have if they didn't read the first book. I definitely recommend reading the first book first so you can already have that attachment to the characters and feel more in depth. I loved reading about Liz and Wes again.

Any book with Wes & Liz i’m going to absolutely adore. I won’t lie it kinda broke my heart when within the first few chapters they weren’t together, but getting to see their chemistry in a different format was exciting. I also love that in this book we get more of Wes character depth, because the first book was mostly Liz. Overall if someone enjoyed the first book, I would definitely recommend them to read this one.

Thank you @NetGalley, Lynn Painter, and the publisher for this arc! I was very excited to receive it.

Honestly, I am tired of all my highly anticipated sequels being let downs. I feel like there hasn’t been one that’s really out done the first book. Unfortunately this was similar.

It was boring, I didn’t love Wes’s POV, it lost the magic the first book had, too many side characters, we got really important backstory from like chapter long interviews??? And through side characters retelling it?? Which felt kind of lazy.

Wayyyy too many pop culture and Taylor swift references. I actually didn’t mind it in the first book because I think it was done really well, but this time it just…wasn’t. One of the first chargers started with “I was listening to [song], one of the best Harry songs” when referencing a Taylor swift song. Obviously I get it, but i think it’s the wrong way to do pop culture references.

I did feel invested in the story for a bit and the writing wasn’t horrible, this just really wasn’t for me. I’m going to pretend it doesn’t exist and reread the first one.

I actually skimmed a lot of it, so I may rate it 1.5 stars🥴 sorry y’all, I wanted so much from this.

Very very sweet. Wes and Lizz deserve the world and it was so sweet seeing them older and maturing. Love the lessons they learn and the emotions they go trough. Lynn Painter writes books that are so enjoyable to read and just make you happy inside, this one did the same. Very easy, enjoyable cute read but still was able to make me emotional.

I love everything Lynn Painter has written. Better Than the Movies is a favorite of mine. I adore Wes and Liz so much. I was rooting for a happily ever after.

Nothing Like the Movies is what happens after their HEA. When life came down hard and they were separated. We watch as they find their way back to each other after years of being apart.

It was such a sweet book. I didn't devoure it like I did the first book, but I enjoyed every moment. This is a must read!

Thank you NetGalley and Lynn Painter for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wes and Liz and Better than the Movies brought me fully back into obsessive reading. I’ve always been a reader but I picked that one up during Covid and, well, here we are. I loved the banter, the antics, the childhood friends to boyfriend and girlfriend arc so much. Wes and Liz forever.

I was excited to meet up with my friends, a few years older and finally together, after a book that was the slowest of slow burns.

Except that’s not what we get.

Instead, Liz is changed as a result of a break up with Wes two years earlier. She’s a junior now, at UCLA, with a career goal she’s unapologetically moving toward, a new group of friends, and no wish to look back at Omaha or Wes. No sir, singleminded, she’s only moving forward.

But Wes is coming to UCLA, a freshman, unexpectedly, after the death of his father two years before. A death that changed the course of his life. But he’s ready to take back what he wants: baseball and Liz.

And so begins the slowest of slow burn redemption stories.

Listen, Wes is a dream. Always has been. Always will be. And my heart went out to him and the difficulties thrown in his path.

I was a big Liz fan in the first book. And while I realize she’s still a kid, I was less of a fan this time around. Her hurt was warranted. The amount of groveling she put Wes through felt unnecessary.

I still enjoyed it. Painter has a way with words and setting the scene. She writes great characters. But I went in this time expecting something else.

Don’t listen to me, I bet you’ll love it! And Painter is still an auto-buy for me.

Lynn Painter can do no wrong, and she proves it once again. I was so invested in the characters throughout the story.

I think I did Lynn Painter and myself a disservice by not reading Better Than the Movies before diving into this book. I heard nothing but praise for the first book and expected to be able to dive right into the sequel. Unfortunately, I never experienced the great chemistry the main characters were purported to have in the first book. Their interactions felt a bit flat.

The book starts months after Wes and Liz broke up when they meet again at a New Year’s Eve party. It’s evident that neither Wes nor Liz has moved on from their first love and the rest of the book focuses on Wes’s plan to win back the girl next door. Wes is sweet and smitten and, while Liz still has feelings for him, she won’t make it easy to win back her trust or her heart.

There’s something about this book that felt forced to me and I think that’s on me. I plan to start at the beginning and read the first book, then revisit this one. I like Lynn Painter’s writing and enjoyed the book’s pacing. The secondary character’s were endearing. There was enough to like about NOTHING LIKE THE MOVIES to try again.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Shortly after arriving at UCLA, Wes' life imploded. Now, two years later, he was getting his second chance. His second chance to go to college, play ball, and to win Liz's heart.

It goes without saying that these after the HEA stories are never easy on my emotions, but I put my trust and faith in Painter to do right by them, and *whew*, she did. There was so much that happened, and so much that had changed, and now it was time to see if these older and world weary versions of Wes and Liz were still meant for each other.

OMG! Lynn Painter I have no idea why you did this to Wes, but I adored his journey. He had the bottom fall out of his life, and he really had to shift gears from an incoming hot-shot freshman ballplayer, to someone who had to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. I cannot say he handled it all well, but he got through it and was so deserving of the second chances he received.

Liz also changed A LOT from her breakup, and it was up to Wes to get to know this new version of Liz. She was not going to be easy on him, but he was a determined man. It was really touch and go at times, but in my heart, I never stopped believing in the power of love that existed between these two.

I sound so dramatic and parts of this book really were, but it was also a lot of fun. Liz had a great group of friends, and there was even a lot of overlap between her and Wes' friend groups since she worked with the student athletes. I was especially fond of the baseball boys bromance and was so happy Wes had them after sort of being on his own for the past few years.

Though I wish we could have jumped forward a bit more at the end, I am grateful that Painter revisited this couple. My heart ached for them, but I was so happy to get a chance to see them grow and spend more time in their world. There were ups and downs, but this story ultimately filled my rom-com loving heart with joy.

There's something really magical about visiting some of your favorite fictional characters a few years down the line and Lynn Painter did not disappoint. This book is quintessential Liz and Wes with the teasing, the obsession, and the music soundtracks. I loved that it was dual POV and that we got a peek into Wes Bennett's head to see how down-bad he was for Liz. I think this story could've gone differently - maybe they were already together in college, and then there was a third-act break-up however I feel the second-chance romance trope fits these two best. I wish we got maybe 25 more pages at the end of the book but ultimately the book had me in my feels to see Wes fighting for his girl. I loved Clark; it was refreshing to see a healthy opposite-sex platonic relationship in a romance novel. Wes's sister, Sarah, was hilarious. All side characters were a little cuckoo nuts and just added humor to the story. Also, I loved the movie quotes at the start of the chapters and the musical choices, Chef's Kiss! Lynn Painter, do we share the same playlists? The book is perfect for those who love the cheesy, squealing, kick-your-feet-in-the-air feeling you get from romance movies and books.

So often the sequels cannot hold a flame to the original but in this case, I loved the sequel just as much if not more. Wes and Liz are two of my favorite characters with their witty banter and love for lyrics. While most of it is a love story, other themes include troubled family dynamics, fake relationships, and navigating new friendships. Make sure to read ‘Better than the Movies’ first but then grab this one for a sweet, fun ride.

Thanks to NetGalley, Lynn Painter and Simon & Schuster for giving me the privilege to read this novel. It is one that I will be recommending again and again as this series has quickly become one of my top YA Romance reads.