What is one of the best rom coms to read that is YA you might ask? Better Than The Movies! This book came out in May 2021, has 356 pages, and was written by Lynn Painter. Better Than The Movies! is perfect for rom com lovers, Swifties, and anyone who wants a good read.
This book comes from the point of view of the main character Liz. She is a lover of romcoms because her and her mom watched them before she passed. Liz has this idea that her love life will end up working out like a romcom, so when her elementary crush moves back into town she does everything in her power to get him to notice her. Even if this includes “dating” her enemy and next door neighbor Wes. As they spend more time with each other, Liz starts to realize that Wes is not the same person that she knew when she was younger.
Lynn Painter does a fantastic job of incorporating grief while still making the book a lighthearted read. Liz is in her senior year so throughout the book she struggles with going through the year without her mom. But even with this being a major part of the book it doesn’t make the book less of an enjoyable read. Better Than The Movies is a book to read if you want to read a super fun quick read.
Recently Lynn Painter released her sequel to Better Than the Movies, Nothing Like the Movies. So if you have read Better than the Movies and want to know if the second book is worth your time read the rest of this post but if you don’t want Better than the Movies spoiled please stop here.
Nothing Like the Movies came out on October 2nd 2024 and has 442 pages. This book takes place 3 years after Better Than the Movies. At the beginning of the book Wes and Liz are in their Freshman year of college and they were having so much fun together. But Wes is called back home because his dad had a heart attack and died. He ends up staying home for the next two years, and breaks up with Liz because he doesn’t want to drag her down. Liz’s Junior year Wes comes back to the school and is offered a second chance at baseball. Throughout the book he hopes to get Liz to trust him, while Liz wants to avoid him as much as possible.g This book in my opinion is not as good as Better Than the Movies. I think this is mainly because it was a second chance romance, and I am not the biggest fan of that trope. And because they already knew each other and dated, something felt more off about this book. I gave this book 3 stars compared to Better Than the Movies. which I gave 5 stars. But if you do love the characters and want to see where their story is going then I would recommend reading the second book, but if you are happy with the way the story ended then I wouldn’t pick it up.
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