NOTHING LIKE THE MOVIES-
LYNN PAINTER - ARC
Liz and Wes are no more 😭😭 but will it stay that way? Wes wants her back, Liz is fake dating her best friend. Wes has stuff to work through and Liz has a career to focus on! So naturally it's both hilarious and heartbreaking getting them to admit they both still have feelings for each other!
I just adore the vibes from these books, the soundtracks, the teen angst everything it just makes me feel like I am in a 90s teen movie. I said it about the first one but will say it again, if you love the cheesy 90s romcoms and teen movies then these books are so nostalgic. 100% worth the read!
@rachaelmcreads

If you enjoyed Better than the Movies, you're in for a treat! I first discovered Wes and Liz three years ago and I've been captivated by their chemistry ever since. They make such a fun and charming couple to root for, and it's been exciting to see their popularity grow to the point where Lynn Painter decided to expand on their story. This book has everything: baseball, music, song lyrics, hilarious roommates and friends, fake dating, second chances, and just the right amount of angst. It's definitely one you'll want to reread.

Nothing like the movies is an absolute dream for any rom-com lovers out there. This is a sequal to Better Than The Movies, which I hadnt read at the time of receiving this book. So I put book 2 on pause so I could read book 1 first.

Painter has such descriptive writing when it comes to feeling and portraying emotions. It was so easy to feel what they were feeling and to live the experience through them both. The only thing I didn’t like was the fact both the charaters seemed to have completely changed their personaility? Theyre like new people in this book. I get they grew up and whatbot, but they were like reading 2 new characters.

The tension and emotion between Lis and Wez was brilliant, I truly feel the characters on such a deeper lecel than anticipated. It was a fun ride and a good read.

I loved this book.
I enjoyed the first book but there were a couple of things I didn't enjoy, but these things didn't show up in the sequel.
Firstly, I loved Wes and his POVs. I enjoyed the introduction of the new characters while still giving reference to the characters of the first. The way that Wes dealt with his grief and anxiety was so week written.
I wasn't a fan of Libby's character in the first book, but she seemed to have matured in the sequel, and I enjoyed her growth.

I did enjoy this book. The story was fun and the characters were enjoyable. Loved the references too

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutey ADORED better than the movies so I was sooo excited to read this one.

I absolutely loved this one, Wes and Liz are some of my favourite characters ever I will read anything that has these characters in them! If you love rom-com movies (who doesnt??!!), then you will love this book. I absolutely loved the rom-com references in the first book and they were just as good in this one, if not better. I really loved delving more into Wes's point of view and seeing what he was going through, and I loooved the college setting too. I feel like these characters have really grown up in comparison to book 1 and I love that we've been able to go on this journey together with them.

I have no faults at all about this book, I hope this is not the end of Wes and Liz's story.

My only issue with the eARC was that the formatting was a bit messy which made it hard to read at times! But this was not a problem with the book at all so I have not factored that into my rating.

4 stars!!

A fun, heartfelt sequel which will appeal to those who loved the first book! This follows the characters to college (does this mean it's not really YA?!), and we find out whether or not they really get their happily ever after.

Lynn Painter's Nothing Like the Movies was a rom-com lovers dream. Every chapter started with a rom-com quote. It had back-to-school elements that were invigorating, and the Twilight Baseball Scene reference was definitely one of the best parts for me. There was a lot of language that indicated that the main characters were young, and at some point that vernacular sort of took me out of the story. It also felt incredibly long.

This long-awaited sequel added plenty to Liz and Wes' story, but it just felt a bit unnecessary - it definitely falls flat compared to how gorgeous the first book is. However, it's well written with a happy ending and of course, who can deny a second chance romance? Lots of cute scenes and good friendships, too!

Nothing Like the Movies is the sequel you never knew you needed. It's one that really works and is fun to read. It dives back into the characters' lives and what's been happening. It's all about them finding their way back to each other and falling in love.

Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter is a heartfelt sequel in the Better than the Movies series, centering on Wes and Liz's journey of rekindling their relationship after a painful breakup. Painter captures the emotional rollercoaster of young love with charm and humor, as Wes goes all-in with rom-com-style gestures to win Liz back. Despite his best efforts, Wes faces the real challenge of whether love can truly be restored after heartbreak. The book shines through its relatable characters and the perfect balance of sweetness and tension. Wes and Liz’s relationship feels both tender and authentic, making it a delightful, feel-good read. A must-read for those who enjoy second-chance love stories wprinkith a sle of movie magic.

I honestly don't know what to make of this sequel.

"Better than the Movies" was one of the first novels I read by Lynn Painter and I loved Wes and Lizzy's story! Of course I was curious about what the two of them would do in college, how they fared and what their relationship held in store.

I didn't expect them to no longer be a couple.

Lynn Painter's writing style was, as always, very nice and easy to read. I flew through the pages again.
However, I was very disappointed with the plot.

Unfortunately, I missed a common thread in the story. And what I also didn't like was the lack of depth, which was missing in some of the first and sad topics. For me, this was unfortunately not really addressed at all. And at the end of the book, I didn't know where the story was actually going. I simply couldn't fully understand the actual reason for the break-up until the end and it felt pretty odd to me.

We got to know Lizzy as a romantic teenager who has definitely grown up. Nevertheless, I was a bit sad that this part of Lizzy was buried. I still really liked Lizzy though.

Although we were allowed to read Wes's POV, I had the feeling that we didn't get much of his actual thoughts. Especially at the beginning of the story or his behavior in the flashbacks, I sometimes just couldn't understand.

For me, "Nothing but the Movies" unfortunately doesn't even come close to its predecessor and therefore only gets 2.5 out of 5 stars from me.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

*3.5*

Did I need this book? No I don't. Was it better than what I thought? Yes, it was. I have to say I didn't have high expectations for this one, since I loved the first one so much and it was almost a five star read for me. This one wasn't. And that's okay.

There are so many things I think didn't really meet my taste in this one, first and foremost the completely change of personalities the characters undertake. I get that some years passed from the first one and people change, but one thing is change one thing is completely revisit one's personality. It didn't really sit right with me for some reasons, and I wasn't completely a fan of it. Second of all, I get that the break-up happened because it was used as the catalyst for this novel, but it did not seem coherent to me, and kind of faint in its dynamic. And the last thing, I think this book really touches on many plot points, but it never really come to conclude any of them. I don't know, I think the ending was overdue but also kind of flashed out.

On the other end, while I didn't like some things, others really catched my interest, first and foremost the romance between Liz and Wes: I still think it was there, under layers of miscommunication and buried feelings. I liked the slow burn (maybe even too slow sometimes) and the rekindling of their feelings. I also really liked the new characters introduced in this story, in particular Clark, and they added something nice to the story. I think what really saved this book for me, and made me quite enjoyed it was that I could still see the characters I loved underneath it all.

So yeah, if you liked the first book, don't expect to be blown away, but also this could be something you might want to check out

This sequel was unnecessary and actually made the characters really unlikeable and tbh I really struggled to get through the book as the writing was not very good.

4.5 stars! Hearing there would be a second book to an already perfect first book had me nervous but I LOVED this. Book 1 was all about Liz and book 2 was all about Wes. It felt so real it even made me cry. A beautiful story and conclusion to WesLiz. Thank you Lynn Painter!!

Right as Wes and Liz were about to set off to UCLA together, tragedy struck and their relationship ended. Flash forward and Wes and Liz find themselves in college, together. In a healthier place now, Wes knows he broke Liz’s heart, but is determined to make her fall back in love with him. Only, Liz will have none of it. Even worse, Liz has a new friend…a guy friend. Still, Wes won’t give up. But after his best efforts get him nowhere, he’s is left wondering if their relationship is really over for good.

Liz really gave Wes a run for his money with this one. A lot had changed in two years and the things he thought would work on her ended up repulsing her instead as she tried to forget that time in her life. He was relentless though, and I loved that when met with hostility he continued to be his charming self.

I also loved that we got his POV, especially as much of the focus on this book was on him moving on from the tragedy he faced two years before. He was such a lovesick puppy where Liz was concerned 😂 I could feel his devotion leaking from the pages.

The baseball aspect of the book was spectacularly written. I'm not a fan by any means but there's just something about the way Painter described Wes playing baseball that had me feeling like I was right there with Liz.

The painful declarations of love, the tears, the mixed feelings, it was all so bittersweet to read and I was rooting for them to get through to the other side. When they finally did, I was smiling at the beauty of the experience.

What an ending to Wes and Liz's story! Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. It's out now!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Steam level: 1🌶️ Kissing only

Nothing Like the Movies is a cute sequel to Better Than the Movies, following Wes and Liz two years later, on college.
I enjoyed the sequel even more than the first book! I remember enjoying Better Than the Movies but I got much more invested in Nothing Like the Movies. I like the fact that Wes went through something hard and it did effect him and we had to work through that. I really enjoyed the fact that there was that time jump and we saw how Liz and Wes changed.
It had all the cutesy moments I expect from Lynn Painter but felt more real somehow.
I would highly recommend if you enjoyed Better Than the Movies!

4/5 stars
6 October 2024
Mixed feelings about this second chance love story.

Wes went from being kind of the perfect boyfriend to being shitty in an unexpected way. I couldn't really get past the whole I'm going to do this for your own good behaviour but it was still cute to see Liz and his relationship cause he's got such major golden retriever energy.

Also she's way less annoyingly manic pixie dream girl in this, thankfully.

I'm thankful to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me an ARC.

oh my poor, hopeless romantic, second chance romance loving heart, BE STILL! 🥺
i am such a sucker for second chance romances, something about them will just do it for me every. single. time!! give me second chance romances all day, every day!! 💖

it was so heartwarming to see wes & liz a couple of years later but god did my heart BREAK learning about wes & the effect his trauma had on both himself & his relationship with liz. his life since BTTM absolutely crushed my soul in the worst way possible, my heart ached for him🥺

the pining, the fierce want to reclaim his love, the jealousy!! all of it had me SWOONING and melting into a puddle. we all need to find someone that loves just as deeply as wes loves liz! his sheer determination to win her back was enough make me literally fan girl over him!! 🥹

liz.. god, liz. reading her pov made my heart hurt because realising just how much the breakup impacted her to the point where she changed WHO she was made me so sad. i missed the hopeless romantic version of her from BTTM who would’ve swooned and giggled over wes’ determination and romantic gestures but it was so important to realise that pain can change people🥺

i absolutely love the way lynn handled the sensitive topics in the book; the raw, guttural emotions that come with the grief of losing someone close to your heart, the aching pain that lives within you when you lose a part of your heart..

"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. i know those feelings are probably too big and too scary and put way too much pressure on you, and i'm sorry for that. truly. but it's the way i feel. the way i've always felt." ❤️‍🩹

(a huge thank you to netgalley & simon&schuster for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review! 💜)

The sequel to Better Than the Movies is upon us and I'm left feeling like I've been forced to watch Ghost on repeat.

Take that as you wish, but if Lynn Painter can bring in quotes from movies throughout the decades; I can mention the one that broke me. Because that's exactly what happened to me when I was reading Nothing Like the Movies. I knew from the synopsis this was going to be a lot harder on my heart but Oh My God, I was hurting so much.

We're in LA for book two, as Wes and Liz have made it to UCLA and we've jumped forward a couple of years which did throw me at first but it does make sense for what will unfold - namely Liz and Wes have broken up (I promise it's not a spoiler.) I like seeing how Liz especially, has grown as a person over our absence from her life and we witness how there's a conflict between the lover of love Little Liz and the realities of growing up. Something we all go through if we've found ourselves swept away by the romance of the movies.

Wes too has changed dramatically - but I'm sworn to secrecy because I'm not confessing spoilers to you. Just be warned, our sunshine isn't so bright and carefree anymore.

For the lover of tropes, Painter has given us many in Nothing Like the Movies, with fake dating, second chance romance, and miscommunication so be warned lover of love that you may be? You're going for be screaming at the page just like you did when watching Notting Hill and you wanted Hugh Grant to open his bloody eyes when Julia Roberts uttered those wonderful lines of being Just A Girl…

I devoured this book, and cried several times, as well as laughed along the way. Liz and Wes are adorable, they don't deserve Painter's playing with their happiness in book two, however it does bring the drama every movie from Hallmark to MGM brings us.

I do need to raise one thing that lets this book down for me - there's an incredible lack of insight into the need for support for someone struggling with their mental health and addiction. Yes, this gets a lot darker than BTTM, and this needs highlighting.. I got extremely frustrated that you see a teen really struggle with no one there to just listen for starters. Painter had an opportunity for highlighting the necessity of healing with help and recognising that mental health is an issue for men as well as other genders as it is still frowned upon to ask for help if you're a guy.

(Also ouch to how bright the cover is - I love purple but Lordy that's as blinding as the yellow of book one.)