Nothing Like the Movies: fall back in love with dream romance in this instant no. 1 bestseller (Better than the movies, 2)

When I found out that in the second book of Liz and Wes they showed as a couple of exes who are trying to step over the pain of the past to be happy together again, I was a little disappointed. How could a sweet end “better than the movies” turn into a sad story and almost not showing it (only through memories in dialogs). But further according to the book, I understood how much this story has a greater and deeper meaning in their love. Because despite how young they are, they have already overcome great difficulties that only strengthened their relationship. And it's beautiful to see how strong their bond became.Plus, I, as a person who in my head represents the scenes of books as from a third person (as if watching a film, not through relive characters life) The last “closing” scene after the epilogue was magnificent. This really gave me the same beautiful * FADE OUT * to me that I saw the credits in my head.. Perfect picture in my head, thank you

The side characters in this make this book so much fun. I love that there is something going on with a few of them. I would love too know more about what is going on with them.

Daughter had read this within 24 hours of delivery 🤣

Spine and back of book damaged

Liz and Wes will always be one of my all time favourite couples. I loved them in Better than the movies and I fell in love with them even harder after finishing Nothing Like the Movies. This book utterly broke my heart. The two of them breaking up broke me, finding out the reasonings behind them breaking up, broke me. But seeing how determined Wes was to get her back had my heart soaring. These two are meant to be together in every dimension. I laughed, I cried and I had the best time reading this story! I loved this story in a different way to Better Than the Movies, that story was about young high school love and falling in love for the first time. This one is about growing up and going through challenges and time and getting through them and becoming a better person whilst also rediscovering love. These two work through so much and they come out on top.

This is the sequel to "Better than the Movies" and picks up 2yrs down the line after Wes and Liz have broken up. They went to college together but only 2 weeks into their first semester, Wes's dad died and he had to move home to Omaha to take care of his family and he didn't want Liz waiting for him when she should be living her life, so he lies to her and tells her he cheated on her.Now he's back at UCLA as a freshman, playing baseball again and he's determined to win Liz back but she's not interested in reliving the heartbreak from the first time around. So she fake dates her roommate and colleague, Clark but nobody really buys it because they've always acted like siblings.The story is really cute but it would have been better if Wes had put the time into getting to know Liz now, rather than trying to appeal to the girl she once was. She's grown up a lot and changed quite a bit from when she was 18 as she's made new friends and had new experiences but Wes is holding onto the girl he fell in love with and doing whatever he can to win her back.I also don't like the fake dating between Liz and Clark. She should have been honest with Wes and told him from the start she didn't want to get back together or be friends again but instead she drags her close friend into it and makes him lie. Even when Clark starts to befriend Wes and can see what a good guy he is.I'm glad they were able to work things out between them by the end though, even if it did take something drastic to get Liz to finally realise her feelings.Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK Children's for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Such a wonderful YA book with the beauty and complexity of falling in love and heartbreak. She manages to encompass some very adult feelings into words. I found myself fighting sleep to keep reading this. Such a great read, Painter never misses. Sequal to 'Better than the Movies' I hope she releases a third one because I love Wes and Liz too much.

Liz and Wes are back! I loved following theirs enemies to friends to lovers story in 'Better Than the Movies'. The romantic comedy film references, the scheming, the gradual inevitability of the central relationship... I was very excited for a follow up with our central couple at college. The story, as others have commented on, was a little different to what I was expecting, especially given we have an early parent death, a break up and a two year time jump. This, however, did not hurt my enjoyment of this heart-warming sequel.The novel alternates between Wes and Liz's viewpoint as he starts his baseball career at college and she ends up documenting it for her internship. Cue l;ots of close quarters and the fiery enemies banter we saw in the first book (before the book weaves its way satisfyingly to the inevitable conclusion). I particularly enjoyed the sections of the novel where Wes and Liz revisited their past and returned home, uncovering an unfortunate trail of miscommunication and lost time.The most throwaway plotline is Liz's fake relationship with her flatmate to make Wes jealous. It certainly creates those feelings for Wes but there is no real consequence for the plot. It is conveniently brushed to the side as easily as it appears. Other than that, I enjoyed the twists and turns and following Wes and Liz in the next phase of their lives. 4 stars.