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A review by kccool12255
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This was SUCH a good book to end the year on. I've been wanting to read it for SO LONG, and after DNFing Salt Lane, I was just so ready to read a good book. And this book absolutely DELIVERED. I love rom-coms, I love romance books with fluff, and this is just the perfect book for me. I love it so much.
While I am slightly annoyed that the main couple both spell their names with 3 letters each, I love them too much to be annoyed. The BUILD-UP to the first kiss is PHENOMENAL. That being said, I wish that there were MORE KISSES. That first kiss is the only really descriptive one, and then the other one is RIGHT at the end. MORE KISSES, PLEASE. But Liz and Wes are SO cute, I just wish that there would've been more communication between the two of them regarding Michael and Alex, because miscommunication is one of THE worst tropes, if not the worst. I just wish we had seen more of them over all, because they're amazing and so cute. I wish that the side characters were also fleshed out more, particularly Wes and Michael's friends, since they're all really just portrayed as dumb jocks, and I would've liked to get to know them more. I LOVED Laney's development, and Liz's unfair and biased narration based on who she used to be when she was younger made for a really interesting contradiction, something I LOVE in books. When the narrator of a story is untrustworthy, the twist is a surprise to both them AND us, since we automatically trust the main character.
I love the relationship between Liz and her stepmom, and even her dad on a smaller scale. I immediately loved Helena because she was described as a "blond Lorelai Gilmore," and I've always been a big Gilmore Girls fan. I love how this book brought them closer together, and ended up in a lot of character development on Liz's end. Her relationship with Wes also gives her a lot of development, which is AWESOME.
Anyways, GREAT book, I love it so much.
While I am slightly annoyed that the main couple both spell their names with 3 letters each, I love them too much to be annoyed. The BUILD-UP to the first kiss is PHENOMENAL. That being said, I wish that there were MORE KISSES. That first kiss is the only really descriptive one, and then the other one is RIGHT at the end. MORE KISSES, PLEASE. But Liz and Wes are SO cute, I just wish that there would've been more communication between the two of them regarding Michael and Alex, because miscommunication is one of THE worst tropes, if not the worst. I just wish we had seen more of them over all, because they're amazing and so cute. I wish that the side characters were also fleshed out more, particularly Wes and Michael's friends, since they're all really just portrayed as dumb jocks, and I would've liked to get to know them more. I LOVED Laney's development, and Liz's unfair and biased narration based on who she used to be when she was younger made for a really interesting contradiction, something I LOVE in books. When the narrator of a story is untrustworthy, the twist is a surprise to both them AND us, since we automatically trust the main character.
I love the relationship between Liz and her stepmom, and even her dad on a smaller scale. I immediately loved Helena because she was described as a "blond Lorelai Gilmore," and I've always been a big Gilmore Girls fan. I love how this book brought them closer together, and ended up in a lot of character development on Liz's end. Her relationship with Wes also gives her a lot of development, which is AWESOME.
Anyways, GREAT book, I love it so much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, and Vomit