Happily Never After

Rating: 2.75 stars.“I’m not in love but also kind of in love with you, soph.”“I’m not in love but also kind of in love with you, too max.”What really worked for me here was the banter and humor between Max and Sophie, their dynamic had this effortless spark that carried the story. Their whole setup as “professional wedding objectors” (cringe, but also kind of hilarious) wasn’t my favorite premise, yet the way they clicked from the start made it easy to root for them. No matter what stage their relationship was in, the chemistry was undeniable and definitely the highlight of the book.One of my biggest issues was that Max’s chapters didn’t feel distinct from Sophie’s, they blended together so much that I sometimes forgot who was narrating. I also thought the story leaned too heavily on both sets of parents instead of digging deeper into Max and Sophie themselves, which left their connection feeling surface-level until the forced drama at the end. But the other side of their dynamic read more like a friends-with-benefits situation than anything else, and while predictable isn’t always bad, this felt like a foregone conclusion from the start. On top of that, the overdone lust , Max’s fixation on her lips, Sophie swooning over his abs, the Instagram talk, the drinking, pushed the romance into eye-roll territory instead of building real chemistry etc.“Two love skeptics make a living crashing weddings, but fate has a way of crashing their hearts instead.”⋆.˚

Lynn Painter's books always just hit the spot for me because of how good her writing and character-building is. I just loved this romance so much.

Outlandish concept fun execution