Title: Nothing Like the Movies
Author: Lynn Painter
Publication: October 1, 2024
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: YA Fiction
Pages: 445
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SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
In this highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling Better than the Movies, Wes and Liz struggle to balance their feelings for each other with the growing pains of being a college student.
For a few beautiful months, Wes had his dream girl: strong-willed girl-next-door Liz. But right as the two were about to set off to UCLA to start their freshman year together, tragedy struck. Wes was left dealing with the fallout, which ultimately meant losing Liz in the process.
Flash forward months and months later and Wes and Liz find themselves in college, together. In a healthier place now, Wes knows he broke Liz’s heart when he ended things, but he is determined to make her fall back in love with him.
Wes knows Liz better than anyone, and he has a foolproof plan to win her back with the rom-com worthy big gestures she loves. Only…Liz will have none of it. Wes has to scheme like a rom-com hero to figure out how to see her. Even worse, Liz has a new friend…a guy friend.
Still, Wes won’t give up, adapting his clever plans and going hard to get Liz’s attention and win back her affection. But after his best efforts get him nowhere, Wes is left wondering if their relationship is really over for good.
REVIEW:
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter was one of my favorite reads of 2023 and I was excited to know there would be a sequel this year. Of course, I had to read it and Lynn Painter did not disappoint!
The story continues that of Wes and Liz, but time has jumped a few years and many things have changed. I was hoping for an instant happy moment, but NOT what we got at all. I had an audible gasp moment in the first chapter or two where Wes’ behavior had me shaken! The character growth in this book took center stage, in my opinion, and I quite liked seeing how Wes and Liz had each grown. Wes had really matured, maybe not fully from things he would have preferred to go through, but grown none-the-less. Liz seemed to have really found herself. I loved witnessing these growths and the events that had forced that growth in flashbacks, which I don’t always love. I feel like Painter used flashbacks well so we could see little snippets about what had happen in the years we had missed.
While Better Than the Movies still remains my favorite of the set, I quite enjoyed this book. It was nice seeing Wes and Liz and all their friends as older, and mostly more mature individuals. I loved getting to know the side characters of Wes’ team and Liz’s roommates and classmates. They both had a passion they had embraced and I thought it was great to see characters we had read in book one develop more and done so well. Lynn Painter’s writing style is smooth and flawless in transitions. She knows when to slow the book down a little and let you enjoy a moment, and when to throw a curveball or shocking moment to bring up the excitement. I truly love reading her books.
If you love a great coming-of-age story and growth, check out Not Like the Movies (and make sure to pick up Better Than the Movies too if you haven’t read it)! And if you are loving it, pick up more by Lynn Painter. I haven’t found one I didn’t like yet!
