Sneak Peek: Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter
ON OUR BOOKSHELF
Nothing Like the Movies
by Lynn Painter
A pre-release review of Book #2 of the Better Than the Movies series.
The long awaited sequel to Better Than the Movies.
If you’re part of the Haus of Hamilton Book Club, you’ll know this book has been long awaited! Better Than the Movies, our September 2025 book club pick, is one of my favorite books, and Wes Bennett is one of my all-time favorite leading men.
Imagine my surprise when this magically showed up at my door a week before the expected release date. Needless to say, I cleared my entire schedule to read this ASAP.
So grateful I my pre-ordered copy arrived early! But buckle up because this review may not be what you’re expecting.
What Victoria Loved
VICTORIA’S RATING: 4/5
Warning: While I don’t disclose spoilers, the analysis (aka rant) below gets into enough detail that you may be able to piece the story together. Proceed with caution.
Okay, so let’s clear the air: I rounded up because Wes Bennett has and remains one of my favorite MMCs of all time. That said, if I’m being honest, I’d probably give this a solid 3.75. Sigh. How did we get here? Let’s break it down…
While I’m so happy to have more of Wes, I’m shook by the story line — why, Lynn, why?!? Why does Wes always need to be the one who has to earn his place / prove himself in this relationship?! He’s spent his whole life pining over Liz, putting her needs above his in BTTM, yet HERE WE GO AGAIN. No. JUST NO. IMO, Liz needed to be the one who realizes what she’s missing and she needs to be the one who works to get him back. That means, I wish Wes would’ve uncharacteristically taken a step back and just cared less, put in less effort. This man deserves to be pined after. He deserves to be wanted, to be the first choice, to have someone fight for him. And we don’t get that in NLTM.
There’s a big miss on mental health advocacy. And this was a complaint I had in the first book… but forgave. But why?! Why?! Why doesn’t Wes get the mental health support that he needs? We saw how it was damaging for Liz and how she lived her life. And Wes is even praised for the amazing way he shows up for his family and for encouraging his mom to go to therapy. So why doesn’t he get that same support? After everything that’s disclosed about his experience during those two years at home AND what we see on the field, where’s the care?! Again, Wes seems to get the short end of the stick here; I’m disappointed.
I have a bit of whiplash with Liz’s character… She’s gone from being the neighborhood “weirdo” (aka quirky queen) who hated all the jocks and cool kids she went to high school with, and she judged the daylights out of them. Yet now we meet her and she’s out here being super cool and chill with D1 athletes. It’s a whole 360 from when she used to not be able to hold a conversation with them and now they’re trading quips… Maybe it’s because Liz didn’t give us the summer in between when she was likely hanging out with Wes and his friends, but it was quite a drastic shift between the end of BTTM and the beginning of NLTM. And the fact that she’s not making a single rom-com reference?! Is this Liz playing dress-up and being fake 2.0 or is this Liz coming out of the shadows of her mom’s dreamworld? Even Wes was confused that she seemed to have lost that romantic spark.
Show us some growth! I don’t know if I’m frustrated or impressed that these characters stay pretty true to who they are in BTTM. And I mean, they make the same exact choices — Liz continues to lie, Wes continues to make decisions for Liz thinking he knows what’s best for her. Liz claims she’s grown since high school and that’s why she doesn’t like romcoms and grand gestures. And I’m more inclined to forgive Wes for his decision to lie to Liz, but he literally goes back to acting like he was fighting over The Spot when he finally has his chance for redemption.
I lied. I’m completely frustrated. It’s been three years since the first go-around, and the outcome the first time around had huge implications, so you’d think they would have learned their lessons! But no. I suppose we can argue that they’re young. They’ll keep making these mistakes. I just had bigger hopes for these characters and this storyline.
That said, for what it is: it’s cute, and I don’t actually hate it. I think I loved Better Than the Movies so much that I didn’t want another version of it. I actually wanted to see the characters I love so much finally get their happily ever after and learn to grow together. To figure out life together. To understand what it feels like to go against the world with your partner at your side. To feel fully loved, supported, and wanted. Anddddd we didn’t quite get that.
What do we get? We get to see our favorite characters go through a hard time and come out stronger — granted they experience it separately, but they do it all the same. And that’s what young love should do. We finally get to read about Wes playing baseball!! Yay! He’s just as good as you’d expect him to be. And we see Liz living out her passions as well. Things are really happening for these two outside their little Omaha bubble! And it’s great to see their individual growth, but also lovely to see their shared growth as they figure out if they can be together after the turmoil. Because that’s healthy.
We get more romantic gestures, charming side characters, snappy one liners, pop-culture references. And obviously, a beautiful reminder of what a lovely human Wes is. Although, I’m clearly biased.
TL;DR: I’ll probably read it over and love it more purely because I get more Wes Bennett.
Pre-order your copy of Nothing Like the Movies (Amazon) and read with me!
Favorite Scene
“Wide eyes, pink cheeks, knowing smiles — those were her symptoms. I’d witnessed them time and again, hating them at the very same time they charmed the hell out of me. No one wore lovesick like my Libby.”
- NOTHING LIKE THE MOVIES by Lynn Painter
Similar Reads & Recommendations
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This was such a cozy read and made me nostalgic for college (and meeting my best friends and husband for the very first time). With all relationships - parents, partners, friends (and even things, experiences and places) - we all have to begin again… sometimes that means starting all over with a different set of circumstances and other times, it means evolving and giving it another try.
VICTORIA’S RATING: 4/5
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SIMILAR-ENERGY MAIN CHARACTERS: The Rule Book by Sarah Adams (Amazon)
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VICTORIA’S RATING: 4/5
BY THE AUTHOR:
Better Than the Movies (Better Than the Movies #1) by Lynn Painter (Amazon)
An HoH Book Club pick! Better Than the Movies is my middle school idea of high school romance come to life. I found Liz completely relatable — a hopeless romantic, holding onto a childhood crush who she’s eager to impress when he moves back to town. And then there’s Wesley. Ah, Wesley. One of my favorite MMCs of all-time. I could list out all the things I love about him, but I don’t want to ruin the magic of falling in love with this character. If this book doesn’t make you wish you were heading back to school this fall, well, I don’t know if we can be friends anymore. (I kid!) But at the very least, I hope you’ll be glad you don’t have any homework to do anymore.
VICTORIA’S RATING: 5/5
Betting on You by Lynn Painter (Amazon)
A bet, fake dating, summer love, one bed… this young adult romance has so many of my favorite tropes. Bailey and Charlie’s parents haven’t set the best examples for long-lasting love, leaving them terrified of falling and experiencing love themselves. This sweet story will make you blush, squeal, giggle and swoon. Charlie is Wes’ cousin and this couple cameos in Nothing Like the Movies.
VICTORIA’S RATING: 4/5
Until the next chapter!
xo, Victoria
P.S. Craving more books featuring these sub-genres, tropes, and themes? Tap the links below.
