I received an egalley from Berkley Romance in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored Waiting for Tom Hanks so when I was contacted to review the second book in the series, I jumped at the chance. Waiting for Tom Hanks was definitely a book that fell between you either loved it and it's rom-com goodness or you hated it because it was too dramatic a lot of the times. I fell into the category of loving it but I can't help but feel Not Like the Movies will have the same impact. Unfortunately, I did not like this one.

It started out brilliantly. This book follows the relationship of Chloe and Nick after Annie's movie is auctioned off and the trailer comes out. Chloe and Nick are constantly hounded by people and the media because the movie is so popular from the trailer and they just needed to know if this was the couple that the movie was loosely based off of??? We get to learn more about Chloe's life and how hard she works to juggle everything. She has a father suffering dementia, a brother who left her to handle everything on her own, a business degree that still needs finishing, and pies to bake for Annie's wedding. What she really doesn't need is to think about Nick!

What Nick really needs is to not have someone toy with his emotions. And that's exactly why I didn't appreciate this novel. I had major issues with Chloe's inability to make decisions on pursuing her love-life and hurting someone in the process. Yes, she's not selfish because she spreads herself too thinly and helps everyone as much as she can. But when she finally decides to be selfish, she decides to string Nick along and make him believe that she's in 100% when really, she's just there for a quick lust session. It broke my heart when I saw Nick so hurt by it.

What I did like was the representation. We had someone who was taking care of a loved one with a debilitating disease, we had a gay brother, we had a bisexual main female character, and so much more. I also really liked the banter Chloe and Nick shared. And of course, the sexual tension.

DNF at 16%

I had to quit early; the book is fine and I'm sure many will adore the premise and the romantic arc. But the writing style/voice is not working for me and it would be unfair of me to continue if I'm not enjoying the book. YMMV so read a sample first.