Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter

 

4*

Nothing Like the Movies is the long-awaited sequel to Lynn Painter’s Better Than the Movies, a sweet, clean, YA second chance romance. I wish I had reread the first before I began this one, not because it can’t stand alone, but because I wanted, fresh in my mind, Wes and Liz’s origin story and the place where they left off.

Liz and Wes were next-door neighbors in Omaha, and Wes enjoyed antagonizing her as all little boys do when they like a girl. It wasn’t until their senior year, when Liz’s old crush Michael moved back, that she and Wes faked a relationship in the hopes of getting Michael to finally notice her. As so often happens, after spending so much time together, they realized that their feelings had gone from frenemy to love. This story picks up as Liz is entering her third year at UCLA where she started with Wes as a freshman until his father’s sudden death forced him to drop out and quit a very promising baseball career. So, imagine Liz’s surprise when she sees that he’s back and eager to rekindle their relationship despite breaking her heart (and his own). Liz, in a misguided attempt to dissuade him, fakes another relationship, this time with her very platonic roommate Clark. When her new internship has her enmeshed with the baseball team, filming their every move in the preseason, it becomes harder and harder for her to ignore Wes’s efforts, especially when she finally learns the truth about what happened that led to their breakup.

Although I didn’t find this sequel quite as entertaining as Better Than the Movies, I think it’s because of the suffering these two delightful kids went through to find their way back to each other. Wes is quite clueless when he thinks he can just work his charm on Liz and she’ll fall back into his arms, but she’s not having it. I enjoyed watching each of them excelling, Liz with her sports video productions and Wes with his exceptional pitching (when he can get his head back in the game after recalling his father’s critical comments). There’s a good balance of humorous banter and painful vulnerability, and side characters provide encouragement and guidance to help Wes and Liz recognize the truth of their complicated feelings. I also enjoyed the rom-com movie quotes at the start of each chapter, my recognition proof of my unapologetic love for the genre. Once again, Painter has demonstrated why she’s a star in the YA romance world. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Simon & Schuster BFYR through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.