Cait’s Review of “Better than the Movies” by Lynn Painter

By: Cait Marie

Blurb

In this rom-com about rom-coms, in the spirit of Kasie West and Jenn Bennett, a hopeless romantic teen attempts to secure a happily-ever-after moment with her forever crush, but finds herself reluctantly drawn to the boy next door.

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.

Review

This book was adorable and fun. I really enjoyed it and had a difficult time putting it down. I think I read the whole thing within a couple days, which is fast for me at the moment.

That being said, I read it a little over two months ago, and I don’t remember much beyond the basics. I actually had to read through some other reviews to refresh my memory. I remember loving the characters together and rooting for them, waiting for them to admit their feelings for one another. The pacing and writing was great as usual. The specifics of what happened and how the book ended are gone though.

Don’t get me wrong, I know I loved it. It just didn’t make much of a lasting impression like Painter’s other books. If you’re looking for a relatively quick light romance, I’d definitely still recommend it. I’ve loved all of her books, and I wish I had more to say about this one. I can, however, say that I liked it enough to consider re-reading since I forget too much.

I’ll probably re-read it in September before the sequel releases!