In an effort to share the genres I read more, here is a long form review of NLTM by Lynn Painter!

Enjoy!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟 Do I dare say that this was better than the first one? Yes.

Do I have an even unhealthier obsession with Wes Bennett now? Absolutely, Yes.

For a short and beautiful time, Wes Bennett FINALLY got the girl of his dreams, the beautiful and sassy next door neighbor, Liz Buxbaum, who he has been making fun of (and has been secretly head over heels in love for) since they were kids.

All seems to be untouchably perfect as the two are about to begin their college journey together at UCLA. However, Wes gets the tragic and unexpected news of his father's death. Now dealing with huge responsibilities that require him to grow up very quickly, Wes makes the decision to leave his would be life, as well as Liz, behind.

2 years have gone by, and Wes and Liz have done alot of growing on their own. Broken hearts and souls have been healed, but we all know that nothing ever really stays the same for yourself. When Wes makes the recommitment to play baseball again for UCLA, all he can think about is what pieces are left to be picked up Liz.

Having not seen each other in that amount of time, how much have Wes and Liz really changed? Do they know each other anymore like they used to? And is there any chance that Wes can make amends with Liz, and win back her heart?

In this long anticipated follow up novel to its predecessor, Nothing Like the Movies shows Wes and Liz in a much more matured and grown headspace. I can say with confidence that I loved this book more than the first one, and that is rare for me to say with any sort of series // sequel books. This book was virtually perfect, and I have nothing bad to say. I have never LAUGHED OUT LOUD, cried, or smiled and giggled so much in a very long time with a book and this really gave everything.

This felt so very nostalgic and what I really loved so much about this book was how detailed Painter was when diving into the individual pasts of Liz and Wes. I love how she really took a more adult approach to developing their characters, and they are virtually not the same people as they were in BTTM. Where Liz built a life for herself in California, Wes put his head and dreams on hold to take care of his family.

I gained alot of respect especially for Wes because he had alot of growing to do street smart wise, but also because he never gave up on his aspirations to go to college and play baseball or on his relationship with Liz. The commitment, persistence, and dialogue that Wes has taken on reminded me so much of my IRL partner, and why I was so smitten with him!.

I really love how Liz did alot of development on her own. Moving away from home to start your life is something that really teaches you to look out for yourself, and I LOVED how she decided to change up her looks, take no BS (from Wes), and dive deep into her passions!

Together, their chemistry is so magical. I love how we got to see Wes and LIz in the many stages of a building a relationship, but revisited. The plot gave:

The cherry on top was all the dialogue between Wes and Liz. All of it was a mix of sweet and heartfelt, as well as tense, dramatic, and gutwrenching.

Again, just like how BTTM made me feel, I absolutely felt like this was a movie playing in my head. It's really hard to do that with Aphantasia, and Lynn Painter is just SO GOOD at vividly describing the worldbuilding, locations, and what is currently going on in the story.

Overall, this really does deserve all the stars, and is already one of my favorite books of 2024! Pick this up, read it, and make it your whole personality. It's already mine for the remainder of the summer (and same with Wes Bennett still being my YA contemporary boyfriend forever and ever and ever. Liz, I am so jealous of you even now).