nothing like the movies by lynn painter — a review
What do you do when you like the sequel more than the first instalment of a series? Well, I found out last week.
In 2022, I read Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter, and I LOVED it. For those unaware of this book (please proceed cautiously as this article spoils the plot of both books in this duology), it’s a YA childhood friend to lovers/enemies to lovers/fake dating masterpiece starring Liz and Wes. Liz is a movie buff, and Wes is her annoying next-door neighbour, but through a perfect storm of circumstances that could only ever occur in the world of a fictional high school senior — Liz has a crush and needs Wes’ help getting his attention — the two develop feelings, fall in love and move to California together for college. And that is where the book ends. It’s a dreamy combination of teenage angst and swoony romance; each chapter starts with a quote from a rom-com, and as far as I’m concerned, it occupies a coveted spot in the love story hall of fame.
Sounds great, right? But what if I was to tell you that Lynn Painter released a follow-up book? That we get to see Liz and Wes living their best college lives in Los Angeles? THAT THEY HAVE BROKEN UP? YEP. THE SEQUEL, NOTHING LIKE THE MOVIES, BEGINS WITH LIZ AND WES SEPARATED.
Truthfully, when I found this out, my excitement for the second book dipped. So much so, that I purchased the book in October, and then proceeded to procrastinate reading it until I was on a train in March. In my mind, Liz and Wes were one of those romance book couples who, without a shadow of a doubt, stayed together forever. I couldn’t understand how Lynn Painter could write a storyline that justified the breakdown of their relationship in any way other than as a shocking plot twist - and wow, was I wrong.
Without completely recounting the events of the book, during their freshman year of college, Wes’ life drastically changed, causing him to drop out of school for two years, before eventually returning back to UCLA when the dust settled. In the midst of all of this turbulence, he broke things off with Liz but in true boy fashion, he failed to properly communicate how he was feeling, so things didn’t end very amicably. Therefore, when he rejoins school and the baseball team that Liz now works in the media department for, let’s just say things are awkward.
I LOVED Nothing Like the Movies (even more than Better Than the Movies shhhh). To put it bluntly, Wes is down bad and this book is 300 pages of him pining for Liz. So, if you love to see a man yearning, you will be into this. I think entering the story with prior knowledge of the characters made the novel fast-paced because of the affordance of being able to skip a lot of scene-setting, and it also meant that you have something to root for as a reader. We know what they’ve been through, we’ve seen how good they are for each other and we want more!
The character development seen across both protagonists made the story for me. There is a clear change in the way that Liz and Wes interact as adults compared to when they were teenagers, and it makes a world of difference for the plot. Although I’d still categorise NLTM as a young adult romance (no swearing and fully closed door), Liz and Wes’ capacity for mature conversations and the way they have to relearn each other as grown-ups felt refreshing and independent of the versions of their characters in BTTM. I particularly think that the portrayal of Liz in her element with her new friends and passions — and then being able to witness Wes’ reaction to the new her — was brilliantly done by Lynn Painter.
So yes, I liked the sequel more than the first book — but they were both easy five-star reads for me. In all honesty, Lynn Painter is a five-star author in my book; after all, it is my self appointed moral duty to get as many people to read Happily Never After as I can before I die.
This review was written by Jess, who you can follow on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/thatromancebook for more bookish content.