Review: Better Than The Movies

Better Than The Movies
By Lynn Painter

Published By: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
Date Read: June 1, 2023
Genre: YA – Contemporary Romance
Source: Bought
Format: Audiobook
Pages: 356

From Goodreads:
Liz Buxbaum has always known that Wes Bennett was not boyfriend material. You would think that her next-door neighbor would be a prince candidate for her romantic comedy fantasies, but Wes has only proven himself to be a pain in the butt, ever since they were little. Wes was the kid who put a frog in her Barbie Dreamhouse, the monster who hid a lawn gnome’s severed head in her little homemade neighborhood book exchange.

Flash forward ten years from the Great Gnome Decapitation. It’s Liz’s senior year, a time meant to be rife with milestones perfect for any big screen, and she needs Wes’s help. See, Liz’s forever crush, Michael, has just moved back to town, and—horribly, annoyingly—he’s hitting it off with Wes. Meaning that if Liz wants Michael to finally notice her, and hopefully be her prom date, she needs Wes. He’s her in.

But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz her magical prom moment, she’s shocked to discover that she actually likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love—and rethink her own perception of what Happily Ever After should really look like.

“You look best when you’re you.”

Better Than The Movies was a book that I had seen floating around Bookstagram when it first released, but I didn’t get around to picking it up until it was chosen as the monthly read for my YA Book Club pick. This isn’t my favourite YA Contemporary that I have picked up, but it was a fun and cute read.

Better Than The Movies follows the story of Liz, a young teenager whose crush moves back to town and she is determined to show him how awesome and cool she now is. She is dying to have that romance movie moment… but she fails to see what is right in front of her in the form of her neighbour Wes.

This book has a very cliche kind of storyline, but it was super fun to read. I really enjoyed the storyline, and I really enjoyed all of the romance movie references. As someone who loved so many of these movies when I was in my teens myself, it was really nostalgic for me to experience them in another medium. I also really loved Wes, he was such a funny and adorable love interest. It was super cute to see him develop throughout the book.

My main issue with the book comes from Liz. I really didn’t like her. I understand that this book is younger YA, and I am definitely past the age that this book is aimed at but my goodness, Liz was one of the most selfish… ungrateful characters I have ever read. I get that teenagers can be self-centred… but Jesus! Liz has had a tough time, she lost her Mom and she’s heartbroken about that. She struggles with the relationship with her step Mom but after some of her inner monologue, I was expecting the step Mom to be AWFUL! No… she wasn’t. She was actually trying really hard with Liz but Liz was just having none of it. Honestly, the more I got through this book, the more I was like… but seriously… why does Wes like her? What is there to like?

Better Than The Movies was fun and cute, and overall it was enjoyable but I did have my issues with it. This was my first book by Lynn Painter, and I am really intrigued to read one of her adult romance books, just to see how different they are to her YA. If you’re a younger audience, you’ll love this book but unfortunately, I think I’m getting too old to fully love YA romances.

“I fell in love with teasing you in the second grade, when I first discovered that I could turn you cheeks pink with just a word. Then I fell in love with you.”

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