I succumbed to the raving reviews and endless videos - and I read Better Than The Movies by Lynn Painter. In my opinion, this was a very cute picnic read, but not exactly read-in-one-day-on-the-edge-of-your-seat-because-you're-so-invested-in-the-characters-and-the-romance kind of book.
Essentially, the book centers around a character named Lix Buxbaum. Her mother died when she was young, and because Liz has all these memories of watching romance movies and talking about true love with her mother, Liz is pretty much obsessed with getting her happy ending (or at least prom date). Enter Wes Bennet, her super-annoying next-door neighbor, who has agreed to help her pin down her dream prom date (Micheal).
Now obviously, the story is a bit more complicated then that, because Liz also has to deal with her best friend and stepmother when she feels like the things she does with them is incomplete without her mother. So it's quite emotional, but not too complicated.
Personally, I love Liz and Wes, and if you adore the whole "I was blind, but you've been here this whole time" and "I was waiting" trope, then yeah, this book is definitely for you.
The entire book is just a bunch of meet-cute moments, Liz obsesses over Micheal (who she thinks is her dream guy) and negotiates for Wes's help. Eventually, she realizes that she is way more into Wes than Micheal, and the reason she's been doing all of this is because of her unresolved mom issues (this is literally word-for-word from the book). And of course, as all romance goes, the characters get together in the last 10 pages in a super cute moment (hint: "She. Isn't. You.")
One thing that was interesting, which I've seen no one point out - Joss. She was not the best character, and not the best friend. If she can clearly see that her best friend doesn't want to go dress shopping for a reason, then why does she keep pressuring her? Not only that, but throughout the entire book, Joss is disrespectful and pushes her own opinions onto Liz rather than letting Liz be. What makes me sad is that no one except Wes seems to care about the true Liz. Joss was happier when Liz was dressing up like a stereotypical teenager. It's as if Joss wants to change everything about Liz. And that fight they picked had no reasons whatsoever. I am glad they made up at the end though. (Unrelated side note: I love Joss x Noah).
Overall, I like this book - but I will say, I just don't get the hype. It's good, but not better than other romance I've read. It's not even particularly better than subplot romances that are mentioned twice in fantasy novels. It feels like there is no reason to rate it more than four stars, but no reason to rate it less. Well, maybe my mind will change after I read the several bonus materials and Nothing Like the Movies, which comes out in October.
The image above is pretty much exactly how I imagined them to look - more or less. Liz, either way, is spot on.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
By the way, if you check my last blog post, you'll see the link to my YouTube Channel. I read this book and The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake for a YouTube video, which will be uploaded soon. Let me know if you have any thoughts and/or recommendations!
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