Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia) for the eARc. All opinions are my own.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved the banter between Wes and Liz, and really enjoyed seeing Wes's POV—his inner thoughts made it clear how much he loved her. The exploration of Wes's grief was heartbreaking but beautifully done. However, the miscommunication between them dragged on for so long that I started to lose interest. There was just too much unnecessary drama, and seriously, why is Wes growling? The pop culture references to songs and artists also felt overdone. I'm on the fence about this one. Yes, we learned more about Wes and Liz as individuals and their relationship, but was this book really necessary for their development? Probably not.

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“I’d deleted all previous messages after the breakup, mostly because I knew I’d never stop rereading them like a favourite book.”

“Did I have five minutes? For Liz? My entire life, the answer to that had been something along the lines of hell f*cking yes.”

“I’d choose you over anyone else”

I adore Lyn Painters books. Each book has been fun and well written, each book gets better! I adore this series! And Lyn painters books!

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Lynn Painter for the opportunity to read this book!

Nothing Like the Movies is a dual, POV romance novel that follows the second chance romance of Wes and Liz. Nothing Like the Movies starts with Wes and Liz navigating life after breaking up due to the unexpected loss of Wes' father. Liz is now at college and settling in better compared to how Wes settled into college.

This book deals with friendship, second chances, dealing with grief, loss, banter and fighting for what you want!!

Nothing Like the Movies is well worth the read!!

In a world of bad sequels this does not apply. Lovers of the original "Better than the movies" are going to love this extension of Liz and Wes' story! The pacing, timing and development of the story and the characters all work well and it's hard to fault this book. Although the book deals with serious and confronting issues and plotlines, it is palatable and appropriate for the target audience whilst staying impactful and raw.

as a previous reader of Lynn Painter’s books I was so excited to have been approved for an arc of Nothing like the Movies!

A sequel to Better than the Movies, this book continues the story featured in the first book. This book features Wes and Liz navigating their relationship while attending college.

This book is not all happiness. I’m afraid with me needing to grab a box of tissues halfway through this book. Nonetheless the relationship building the heartbreak and the working towards a compromise made me enjoy this book even more.

I love Love Lynn’s writing. Can’t wait to read more from her.

This one was middle of the road for me, didn’t LOVE it, didn’t hate it. It was a good read, but too many pop culture references. Overall was left feeling underwhelmed by it.

Listen, this was hard to get into, I have found YA and clean romances cute, but I honestly didn’t feel that invested in the characters and that this was overhyped. I’m sorry.

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

Wes and Liz had an amazing few months together before starting college at UCLA, but something terrible happened and Wes ended up losing her. Now, they’re both back at UCLA and in a better place, but Wes is set on winning Liz back. He’s pulling out all the stops with big romantic gestures, hoping to get her to fall for him again. The catch? Liz isn’t interested, especially since she’s hanging out with a new guy friend. Despite his best efforts, Wes is starting to wonder if their relationship is really over for good.

I had some mixed feelings about this book. Right from the start, I was thrown off when the story jumped ahead 2 years just 2 chapters in. It was a pretty jarring shift for me. I didn’t hate the book, but I didn’t really love it either. It took me a while to figure out my rating because I was pretty confused. I had low expectations going in since the ending of "Better than the Movies" seemed perfect. I couldn’t see why Liz and Wes would break up, and I was worried there’d be some annoying miscommunication drama. Luckily, that wasn’t the case. At first, it was really annoying to read about their 2 year silence without knowing what happened, other than the fact they broke up. It made it hard to enjoy the book at the beginning. On the plus side, even though they were broken up, the moments Liz and Wes shared were really sweet. They were still kind to each other, which was nice to see.

I did really like Liz’s character in this book. I felt a strong connection to her, just as I did in BTTM especially during the breakup when she was left completely in the dark about why Wes ended things. She hadn’t done anything wrong, and although she was understandably upset, I appreciated her maturity and how she handled everything. Despite the difficult situation, she remained kind towards Wes. That being said, I did miss some aspects of her previous character. Her passion for rom-coms seemed to be missing, and her usual charisma was toned down. Perhaps Lynn intended to show a more mature side of Liz since this book is set during their college years, but I missed her charming personality from before. In BTTM, the rom-com quotes that reflected Liz and Wes’s relationship were such a delightful touch, and their absence here was noticeable. The quotes in this book didn’t have the same impact and sometimes felt a bit cringy, which was disappointing. On the bright side, Liz’s relationship with her parents was absolutely heartwarming. Seeing her bond with Helena grow from the previous book was lovely, and her parents’ support throughout her challenges was truly wonderful.

Wes was incredibly romantic and sweet in this book! One of the main reasons I was excited to read this was to get to know Wes better, and the dual POV really worked for me. Learning about his struggles was heartbreaking; I cried so many times. He truly deserves the world after everything he went through. I won’t spoil anything, but the way Wes handled his struggles was really moving, and I felt so sorry for him. Even after everything, I loved seeing him transform, get back on his feet, and chase his dreams. His resilience was inspiring. I was surprised by how deep and complex Wes’s story turned out to be. I didn’t expect it, but I appreciated Lynn exploring these layers. However, I was pretty frustrated during the first half of the book because we didn’t get a clear reason for why Wes decided to break up with Liz. It felt like he could have just talked things through with her and continued their great relationship. While I get why he needed to withdraw because of what he was going through, it was still pretty frustrating to read about. It also felt a bit odd that after two years, Wes suddenly decided he wanted to win Liz back, especially since I strongly believe the perfect book boyfriend Wes from "Better Than the Movies" would have opened up to Liz and kept working on their relationship despite his struggles.

This book definitely leaned more into Liz and Wes’s personal lives and college experiences rather than just focusing on their romance. But the romance that was there was really good! Wes puts in so much effort to win Liz back, and he’s even respectful about it, especially when he believes that she’s with someone else (it was a fake relationship btw). It’s like he’s the perfect guy. His efforts to win her back were spot on, and I loved the playful banter between them—it was still there and made me happy. Even though Liz kept her distance at the beginning, fate just kept on bringing them back together. Wes’s pining in this book was great to see. So, even though the book wasn’t all about the romance, it was still handled really well.

Overall, I’m still on the fence about whether this book was really needed. I think it would have been great if Lynn had just wrapped things up with the last book instead of starting this one. It felt like Liz and Wes already had their perfect happy ending. This book does dive into some more mature and serious themes, which was a nice surprise and made it better than I expected. It’s a solid read, but I still would’ve been okay not reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley & Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

This was a bittersweet concept, but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The story, revolving around Wes and Liz in college, after two years of no contact started out with potential for an engaging second chance romance, but quickly becomes a dragged out plot that relies heavily on miscommunication. The characters, while endearing at times, felt very different from the ones we fell in love with in the first book.. The dialogue, meant to be charming and witty, sometimes came off as forced. That being said, it’s a light and easy read, and if you want to see where Wes and Liz end up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Lynn Painter has done it againnnnnn !! WES BENNET is everything I swear.

THE DUAL POV!! dual pov kept me obsessed through out this whole book

I was so sceptical of better than the movies getting a sequel cause huhhh they broke up???? but, this book surprised me. At the start, it really did feel like a major mischaracterisation of characters I thought I knew really well, especially the new years flashback. But it quickly changed into a story about growing up and taking on, or being forced into, new responsibilities while trying to manage relationships.

It was such a fun story in a new setting for the first part, especially getting Wes perspective into his love for Liz. I think the story lost me a little in the middle, mostly cause it derailed everywhere I thought the story was going. But I was so HOOKED reading this book. These characters are soo interesting to readd and it was soo painful but worth it

If you loved the first book, this is absolutely a book worth your time!

Thankyou NetGalley and Simon & Schuster (Aus) for providing me with the opportunity to read this book to provide an honest review!

3.25 ✨ ARC REVIEW

Thanks to #netgalley

- College Baseball Romance
- Second Chance, Childhood Friends to Lovers Breakup
- Fake Dating
- Forced Proximity

Loved the movie references, felt the 1st books presence immediately, the quotes will always have my heart!
Love how Lynn knows how to incorporate references that my generation totally can relate to and get giddy to read.

Liz was totally redeemed in this book for me, I really struggled with her in the first book but loved Wes. This time she was fierce and strong - She has direction and fought to make her presence known, building solid friendships and working hard at her internship.

Wes however, was suddenly thrust into a redemption story that I just wasn’t ready for… dealing with loss, and what it meant for him to make choices for the people in his life including Liz.

I really struggled with wanting more from this sequel, I wanted to love it as much as I loved the first - The book that made me fall for Lynn’s writing and YA romance. However, there was just so much missing and so many loose ends from the side characters; they all had a fade to black which left me wanting more - Will Clark fall in love?? Is this another book??? (I kind of hope not though after this book) What happened with Lilith and where is Liz going next in her career??

I felt like I missed a lot of the hard hitting points because it waffles to them, or I just lacked the concentration or interest in following through with investing in the story line… it definitely was nothing like the movies.

I did love the scene and setting - being a big fan of LA I felt like I was right there with them in College and that was amazing!

If you need to know how Wes and Liz end up and you can’t sleep until you read this then this is for you… but you might feel like you wish you did sleep through it.

NO ONE TALK TO ME BCOS I NEED TO CRY UGLY TEARS

omg omg omg

THIS BOOK IS THE LITERAL CUTEST I SPENT THE WHOLE TIME KICKING MY FEET & GRINNING LIKE AN IDIOT

IT’S 6:05AM AND I AM WIDE AWAKE OMG

and i am LOVING the second chance romance of it all?? was i surprised when i read the blurb? oh 100%, and i was WORRIED seeing the initial reviews

but you are so right bcos it MAKES SENSE??! most college sequels tackle relationship drama so it’s like, all life-y and not-at-fun anymore but this one is just pure feels & winning her back and ALL THE GLITTER PEN VIBES

my lil’ heart cannot handle all that fluff

and i need to stop reading all the doubtful reviews bcos IDK WHAT ANYONE ELSE SAYS I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT SO MUCH

like fanfic vibes in the best way?? COLLEGE AU VIBES? IDK BUT I LOVE IT

THE ONLY COMPLAINT I HAVE IS THAT IT’S FAR FAR TOO SHORT (i know i’m *the* person that says romances shouldn’t be more than 300-400 pages but if you wrote an entire 7 book series on these two i will eat each and every one of them up)

(i need more clark too 👀 OR A SPIN-OFF BCOS ALL THE SIDE CHARACTERS ARE >>>)

THANK YOUUUU S&S 😭😭

I didn’t read the first book, but was gifted this one to review. I think this book on its own would have been fine and I didn’t need to read the first book to read this. But in saying that, this book wasn’t needed (book one could’ve stayed as book one with no sequel).
I didn’t like the characters and found them immature. But I didn’t mind reading more.

I was thankful to receive the ARC for this book, I was really excited to read it but I just feel like it did not hit as good as Better than the movies.

I loved that we finally got a Wes and Liz POV instead of just Liz but I just felt as a whole most of the drama was so unnecessary, in saying that though maybe the appeal for YA readers would be there.

It offered
- college romance
- fake dating
- second chance romance
- sports romance (kinda)
- dealing with past trauma

Look, it was a good book, it was a little slow but it was a nice chill read I guess, I just think I wanted to see more of Liz and Wes together, it felt like both books are just both the characters pining over/trying to get/trying to win over one another and I wanted so much more of their relationship from this one. I still enjoyed it but I enjoyed the first book a lot more.

This book is so cute and funny, I love starting a new chapter with a new movie quote and getting to see if I know the movie.

In the sequel to Better Than The Movies, Wes and Liz head off to college. A series of tragedies in Wes’s life leads to him dropping out and breaking up with Liz. Two years later, Liz no longer believes in romance and is filming a documentary of the school’s baseball team for her internship. Wes returns to university as a star baseball pitcher, determined to win Liz back.

Better Than The Movies was a sweet homage to romantic comedies and should probably have been left as a standalone. In this sequel, Liz is unrecognisable as a character and even Wes seems a bit out of character. Their friendship and chemistry was missing. The story was building up to the big reveal of why Wes broke up with Liz and it was anticlimactic and messy. There were also far less references to romcoms, although I did still enjoy the references to music. Especially Taylor Swift lyrics.

Lynn Painter can do no wrong, This the sequel to Better than the Movies will make you fall in love with Liz and Wes all over.

I was given an arc copy in exchange for honest feedback.

Holy moly I ate that up
It was everything I expected and more and I wish it would keep going forever
Am very interested in Clark and Sarah and I can proudly say I would read Lynn Painter's grocery list

Thank you Simon and Schuster Australia for this ARC!! 💜

Wes Bennett, I fell in love with you in ‘Better Than The Movies’ but fell for you even harder in this book. I didn't even think that was possible to do so. 🥺🫶🏻

This book is a dual POV and follows the journey of Wes and Liz’s break-up (the fact this was the main plot line hurt my soul ngl) I loved seeing them both flourish in college and find themselves as different people from their high school selves. But the two-year separation had me in edge. I was patiently waiting for the story to keep unfolding cause I knew these two were meant to be together and the fact that the weren’t had me nervous 😅

My babies deserved their second chance romance, even if it had to come by the means of a slow burn. THAT ATTIC SCENE THOUGH!! 🥵 They really went from enemies to lovers back to lovers to strangers to friends to lovers 🫣

Seeing the hardships Wes faced after the death of his father was truly heartbreaking and I wasn’t expecting to get so emotional when the whole truth finally came to light. This book was different to what I anticipated but it just proved why Wes is the book boyfriend we need and deserve. Despite his hardships, he was always still true to himself and that's why we all fell in love with him.

This book was an emotional rollercoaster. I was ugly crying in one scene and then laughing out loud in the next. I just love the banter Wes and Liz had with each other but also with their friends 🥰

Overall, I was very happy to be back with my favourite characters and I can’t wait for the world to fall in love with Wes Bennett again. If you loved the first book I’m sure you’ll love this one, it definitely had more depth but was an amazing rom-com sequel 🙌🏻

I was absolutely ecstatic to receive this book and it very much exceeded my expectations. I found Nothing Like the movies really captured what you want in a sequel. While the protagonists are still who we love and know but the books is realistic by showing that they grown and changed which happens with life after high school.

I did read this book in once sitting and honestly was surprised by how much happens yet it never felt clunky and the plot flowed nicely. I also love how Painter shows both of our protagonists following their ambitions and passions. The book had me feeling all kinds of emotions and yes I have already started re-reading it