Title: Better Than The Movies
Series: Better Than The Movies #1
Author: Lynn Painter
Genre: YA, contemporary romance
Publication date: May 2021
Published by: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Source: Borrowed from library
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Synopsis: Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar - and maybe snag him as a prom date - even befriend Wes Bennet.
The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic-comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz’s in.
But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she’s shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love - and rethink her own ideas of what happily ever after should look like.
This was the second Lynn Painter book I read and I freaking loved it! I don’t read a lot of contemporary romances, but when I read two in a row by the same author, that’s how you know it’s good!
The two protagonists of this book are Wes and Liz who have been next-door neighbors for basically ever. There’s this really good parking spot that they appropriately dubbed ‘The Spot’ that they’re always fighting over. When one of their old friends moves back into town, Liz really wants to get to know him, if you know what I mean.
Her way to do that? Her annoying neighbor Wes. Wes and Michael have been spending a lot of time together so Liz makes a deal with Wes: He helps her out with the Michael situation, and he gets the coveted parking spot. But it’s not going to be easy, seeing as how she and Wes aren’t exactly friends and he seems to go out of his way to make life hard for her. But I loved what followed! Liz getting to know the real Wes, realizing that maybe he’s not as bad as she thought, and hey, he’s pretty hot too...
I loved it! This book was just so cute! I really enjoyed the banter between them and following them as they spent time together, especially when there was a bit of faking dating sprinkled in... That was the best! Wes was just so sweet and it was funny how shocked Liz was to find this out about him, especially since she’s technically known him her whole life.
One reason why I don’t read a lot of contemporaries is because they tend to have a lot of moments that would give me secondhand embarrassment. This book, for example, I just could not with her obsession over Michael. The secondhand embarrassment because of this guy...
It got to me deep in my soul 😆 It was just ridiculous! Especially because she’s a quirky girl with very particular tastes, and she was trying to change herself in order for Michale to find her attractive. I didn’t like that. BUT our girl did go through some character growth and I loved it for her! And in fact, this is another reason why I loved Wes—she could be herself around Wes because, according to her, he already knew what a mess and how uncool she was.
It’s hilarious but also so freaking cute! One thing that cracked me up that Liz’s best friend Helena mentioned was that whenever Liz got close to Michael, the universe would throw her a curveball. Not the universe liking Wes better too!
To be fair, Wes is pretty great. I adored him! And I loved this book as well, secondhand embarrassment and all 😂 It was just so cute and sweet! I loved seeing the relationship between Wes and Liz go from enemies to friends to lovers—it’s one of my favorite tropes! And it’s a trope I noticed that Lynn Painter does really well! Was the book cheesy with all the songs and romcoms that I have never heard or seen? Yes, but I loved it anyway! 😆 It was just a feel-good book. I love Lynn Painter’s writing and am looking forward to reading more romances from her!
Her way to do that? Her annoying neighbor Wes. Wes and Michael have been spending a lot of time together so Liz makes a deal with Wes: He helps her out with the Michael situation, and he gets the coveted parking spot. But it’s not going to be easy, seeing as how she and Wes aren’t exactly friends and he seems to go out of his way to make life hard for her. But I loved what followed! Liz getting to know the real Wes, realizing that maybe he’s not as bad as she thought, and hey, he’s pretty hot too...
I loved it! This book was just so cute! I really enjoyed the banter between them and following them as they spent time together, especially when there was a bit of faking dating sprinkled in... That was the best! Wes was just so sweet and it was funny how shocked Liz was to find this out about him, especially since she’s technically known him her whole life.
One reason why I don’t read a lot of contemporaries is because they tend to have a lot of moments that would give me secondhand embarrassment. This book, for example, I just could not with her obsession over Michael. The secondhand embarrassment because of this guy...
It got to me deep in my soul 😆 It was just ridiculous! Especially because she’s a quirky girl with very particular tastes, and she was trying to change herself in order for Michale to find her attractive. I didn’t like that. BUT our girl did go through some character growth and I loved it for her! And in fact, this is another reason why I loved Wes—she could be herself around Wes because, according to her, he already knew what a mess and how uncool she was.
It’s hilarious but also so freaking cute! One thing that cracked me up that Liz’s best friend Helena mentioned was that whenever Liz got close to Michael, the universe would throw her a curveball. Not the universe liking Wes better too!
To be fair, Wes is pretty great. I adored him! And I loved this book as well, secondhand embarrassment and all 😂 It was just so cute and sweet! I loved seeing the relationship between Wes and Liz go from enemies to friends to lovers—it’s one of my favorite tropes! And it’s a trope I noticed that Lynn Painter does really well! Was the book cheesy with all the songs and romcoms that I have never heard or seen? Yes, but I loved it anyway! 😆 It was just a feel-good book. I love Lynn Painter’s writing and am looking forward to reading more romances from her!
I adored this book! Lynn Painter is now an auto buy author for me.
ReplyDeleteSAME! Her books are so cute!
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