The following contains spoilers for “Better Than The Movies.”
Lynn Painter is a renowned author with countless bestsellers that bookworms around the world eagerly add to the tops of their favorite book lists. However, her most famous and beloved novel is a romantic comedy called “Better Than The Movies.” The story follows Liz Buxbaum, who recruits her nightmare neighbor Wes, who has terrorized her throughout her entire childhood, to help her set up a rom-com worthy love story when her old childhood crush returns to their high school. As Liz reluctantly spends more and more time with Wes, she begins to realize that her real-life love story might be unfolding with someone else entirely. The book culminates with Liz falling for her once-hated neighbor, while Wes reveals that he has been in love with Liz since they were little.
Lynn Painter has also written several additional fan-favorite chapters of “Better Than The Movies” in Wes’ point of view and a mini-story about the couple’s road trip to UCLA, the college both characters plan to attend.
Due to the overwhelming love from fans of “Better Than The Movies,” Painter decided to make a sequel about Liz and Wes’ life in college on the West Coast. While “Nothing Like The Movies”might initially seem like just another fluffy sequel, it is anything but. The back cover synopsis provides a quick glimpse into the story: two years after Wes and Liz’s initial relationship, Wes returns to UCLA on a baseball scholarship, determined to win back his former girlfriend,attempting to win Liz back from her new guy friend with romance-movie-worthy gestures. At first glance, this summary makes the book seem like it will be filled with sunshine and pining, but it actually delivers much more substance by exploring themes of loss, grief and identity.
The reason behind Wes’ breakup with Liz goes far beyond the typical challenges couples face in college. When Wes ended their relationship, he was struggling with severe mental health issues while taking care of his mother and sister after the sudden loss of his father. Even before the breakup, Wes had been hiding his grief and declining mental health from Liz. Ultimately, Wes broke up with the girl that he has loved since childhood, dropped out of college, abandoned his promising D1 baseball career and moved back home. Now, two years later, as Wes returns to California, he continues to carry the weight of guilt and grief over his dad’s heart attack. Through scenes written from Wes’s perspective with authenticity and heart, Painter captures the gloom and sadness that accompany the loss of a loved one.
Despite its exploration of heavy themes like grief, “Nothing Like The Movies” still brims with romance, witty banter and a charming depiction of college life full of friendships and challenges the characters face amidst their jobs and careers.
One reader summed up their feelings about the book perfectly, writing, “This book made my heart weep in the best way. Seeing Wes and Liz all grown up brought both happy and sad tears” (carolinemargaret TheStoryGraph).)While many readers felt that Wes and Liz’s story could have ended with the first book, the majority of fans thought the sequel added depth to the characters that the first book did not touch on, especially for Wes. “Better Than The Movies,”, the first of the duology, focused primarily on Liz’s perspective, but “Nothing Like The Movies” introduces Wes’ point of view. This allows readers to better understand his grief and connect with him on a deeper level. Wes’ point of view also provides insight into how grief shaped his decisions after the tragedy he experienced.
Overall, “Nothing Like The Movies” strikes an impressive balance between deep and complicated emotions such as love and loss all while delivering humor, witty banter, pop culture references, character development and romance.
