Review: Better Than the Movies (Better Than the Movies #1)

Title: Better Than the Movies (Better Than the Movies #1)
Author: Lynn Painter
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 4, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this rom-com about rom-coms, in the spirit of Kasie West and Jenn Bennett, a hopeless romantic teen attempts to secure a happily-ever-after moment with her forever crush, but finds herself reluctantly drawn to the boy next door.

Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar – and maybe snag him as a prom date – even befriend Wes Bennet.

The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic-comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz’s in.

But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she’s shocked to discover that she 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 ideas of what happily ever after should look like.

Review:

Liz Buxbaum loves rom coms because it connects her to her mom who passed away when she was a child. She dreams of having her own romance her childhood crush, Michael, who moved away when they were kids. Now, Michael has moved back to town. Liz wants to have her rom com moment with Michael and go to prom with him. She convinces her next-door neighbour and frenemy Wes to help her get Michael to notice her. However, the more time Liz spends with Wes, she wonders if he’s meant to be the romantic lead in her love story.

This was such a cute romance! I loved all the references to rom com movies and books. Liz was living her own rom com. At first, Wes convinced her to change things about herself to attract Michael. Liz eventually had to learn the hard lesson that it’s important to find someone who loves you for who you are, not to turn yourself into someone different to please someone else.

Better Than the Movies is a cute YA rom com!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a digital copy of this book!

Content warnings: death of parent (off page), car accident, vomiting, blood

Other books in the series:

• Nothing Like the Movies (Better Than the Movies #2)

Have you read Better Than the Movies? What did you think of it?