A review by maggies
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

emotional lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Unfortunately, this book was not for me, but I'm rating it slightly higher than I would otherwise because the references to all my favorite rom-coms was such catnip for me. That and the authentic portrayal of grief were the real bright spots of this book. On the other hand, I felt the characterizations were flat, with no real evidence for traits that were claimed but never shown.
For example, nearing the end of the book, Liz tells Joss that she didn't tell her the truth because Joss is "judgmental," despite no examples of this in the prior 80% of the book. Bothersome.
The plot and particular plot points were also eerily similar to The Duff. I've only seen the movie adaptation, not read the book, but I was distracted the whole way through by similarities that I didn't feel comfortable just ascribing to the genre as a whole ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 
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