This was the first Lynn Painter book that I've read and I have fallen in love with her writing! Happily Never After is SUCH a cute rom-com. Even though it's slightly predictable at times, it's well written enough to get away with it. Falling in love while ending other people's love stories is such a unique trope, and now I'll forever look for another book like this one.

I was really disappointed reading this. I did not like the plot nor the characters. Pick me FMC, nepo baby MMC, not at all relatable, Human Resources would NEVER.. I think the premise was very good but the execution was done poorly.

4 ⭐️ 2 🌶

This was pretty cute as all of Lynn’s books tend to be. The storyline was pretty fun and I would also like to be a wedding objector one day.. sounds cool as hell. They had chemistry, some tension and overall it was a very enjoyable, fast read.

The audiobook was amazing!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5

Lynn Painter does it again!

Of course, let me preface this by saying the only other book of her’s that I’ve read is one of her YA romances, The Do-Over, which was honestly adorable! I’m still over here thinking about the DONC!

Lynn’s writing style and humor come off the page so effortlessly, I couldn’t help but get sucked in. Practically every other page, I found myself laughing out loud at something one character or another said. It is truly a pleasure to read Lynn’s books!

The premise of this romance was so unique. Think wedding crashers, but instead, our two main characters go around objecting to strangers’ weddings! GASP! Alas, it’s not what you think - it isn’t random. Sophie and Max are typically approached by one half of the not-so-happy couple for one reason or another, but the long and short of it is that they feel as if they have no other option. And let me just say, karma is a great thing! 😈

What starts out as more of a business arrangement, quickly morphs into a lil bit of a fake dating, I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine, situation. But friends, when the tables turn and the tension breaks, boy oh boy do we get some spice! I’ll just leave it there. 🥵

I cannot wait to read more from this author! For those who have read more of her backlog, which should I pick up next?

Thank you Berkley Romance (@berkleyromance #berkleypartner) for the free book!

“Happily Never After,” the latest romcom by Lynn Painter, New York Times bestselling author, follows the story of a woman who strikes up a friendship with the man who crashed her wedding.

When Sophie Steinbeck’s fiance cheats on her again, she knows she can’t go through with their wedding — so her best friend hires someone to disrupt it. That “someone” is Max, the guy whose side job is yelling “I object!” at weddings. A couple of months later, Max reaches out to Sophie and asks if she wants to join him in his objecting duties. Hesitant but excited, she agrees to help him out. The two become partners in crime as they save one doomed marriage at a time.

At the same time, Sophie’s boss tells her she needs to have a better work-life balance to get a promotion, and Max’s parents want him to settle down and be “taken care of” so they can retire to Florida. The two decide to tell everyone they’re “just friends,” but they post cute staged pictures of themselves together on social media to convince their loved ones there could be something more.

He’s a cynic, and she doesn’t believe in love anymore, so neither of them is interested in being in a relationship. Throughout the story, however, they consider if they should act on their undeniable chemistry.

“Happily Never After” has been marketed as “The Wedding Crashers” meets “No Strings Attached,” but these movies aren’t exactly where Painter got the inspiration for the book.

In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Painter shared that she heard the words “if anyone knows of any reason these two should not be married” on TV and got an idea for a book.

“I was like, ‘Oh, that’d be funny if somebody did that for money,’ ” Painter said. “And I put it in my notes app and forgot about it for like a year.” When it was time to work on her next book, her agent hated her proposal, so she pulled out her notes app, and there the story was.

“Happily Never After” has the perfect blend of romance and comedy, most notably in the banter between Sophie and Max. There are also hilarious side characters like Larry and Rose, Sophie’s elderly roommates, who sense Sophie and Max’s attraction to each other before the pair can. Painter admitted that she doesn’t intentionally think about balancing romance and comedy in her books.

“I’m a very unserious person,” Painter said. “I also grew up watching all of the ’80s and ’90s romcoms. I’m just a rom-com junkie, so I feel like that’s sort of just etched into my DNA. The whole ‘cringey, awkward things happening’ thing. Well, they fall in love! But I don’t plan on that, and I can’t be serious, so that’s just how it works out.”

Painter also writes contemporary young adult romances in addition to her adult romances. One of the most memorable parts of her YA books are the official soundtracks she includes for the characters.

“I feel like those big feelings you get from what you’re reading (are) the same as you get (when listening to) music,” Painter said. “It’s funny because when I started out, I wasn’t that kind of reader. And now it’s so a part of writing YA, even if the playlist has nothing to do with the book.”

Even though she doesn’t create playlists for her adult romcoms, Painter said that the song she imagines for Sophie and Max is “Speak Now” by Taylor Swift.

With her upcoming book, Painter wants readers to have a joyful reading experience. “I’m the type of person who is a big comfort watcher,” Painter said. “I’ve got ‘Friends’ and ‘Gilmore Girls’ that I watch a billion times over and over again. … I would love to write things that give people that warm (escape) into a book where nothing terrible is going to happen. I guess I just would love to put something out there that makes people smile and gives them joy.”

“Happily Never After” is one of those books that will undoubtedly make you smile — you can’t help but root for the main characters to get together. With such a unique premise told from a dual point of view and plenty of wedding antics, you won’t want to put this sincere and witty romcom down.

Lynn Painter’s “Happily Never After” will be released on Mar. 12, 2024.

Daily Arts Writer Ava Seaman can be reached at avasea@umich.edu

(Read this Jan. 2024...totally thought I'd sent in my review then!)

Listen. I know, I know. I give all of Lynn's books high ratings. But it's truly because they ARE. SO. GOOD.
The chemistry between the love interests was off the charts. I really enjoyed the dual POV because we got to see how the two resisted (aka pined after) each other. Their banter was entertaining, the love between them was beautiful, and all I could think was I wished the book was EVEN LONGER! Give me another 400 pages and maybe I'll be good!

Happily Never After by Lynn Painter is a surprisingly charming & entertaining romance that wooed a suspicious reader going into it, also known as me! This is giving early 2000’s romcom vibes a la Kate Hudson & Matthew McConaughey in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days in the best way possible.

The premise for this book almost sounds like the premise is too ridiculous, but the author does a fantastic job of taking the plot by the ridiculous & infusing it with enough logic, charming endearment & humor to be an utterly fantastic read.

Happily Never After is great for fans of…
🖤 Friends to Lovers
🖤 Slowburn
🖤 Witty Banter

I love a fast paced romcom with quick banter that woos me to rapidly turn pages & this did that. I love the chemistry & connection between these leads. They had me grinning like an absolute fool as I read this. This may be my biggest surprise of the year & I loved it so much.

If you are looking to swoon & smile your way to a steamy & spectacular romance that reminds you of the quintessential early 2000’s romcom, I highly recommend checking out Happily Never After!

Msssuve thanks to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

TThis was cute and sweet. if you love cozy romances it's a must! I loved every minute of it. A total must read!

Anything written by Lynn Painter is an automatic read for me! I absolutely love anything she writes. I quickly became invested with the plot and the characters early on in the book.

Cute, hilarious, and sexy. I listened to this on audio and it was perfection. The dual POV always gets me and the concept was so fun.

I love Lynn Painter and this was a cute romance from her! I do feel more depth in her YA romances but I definitely enjoyed this fun take on a romance - the plot was so unique and made the book really fun. It just didn’t hit that deep connection for a 5 star feel.

The premise of this book was so unique and fun! It was a highly enjoyable and cute read that I truly enjoyed. It had amazing banter, fake dating, rom-com vibes, and troublesome fun!

Fun! Spicy, super fun friends to lovers, but also fake dating with a twist! BANANAS chemistry!! Seriously, the chemistry was off the charts. I generally prefer Lynn Painter’s YA romances to her adult ones but this was by far my favorite of her adult contemporaries!

This was a really cute, fast read. The idea of there being objectors you can hire for weddings was a great storyline and there was a lot of fun scenes there.

I LOVED Max, though I was a little perturbed by a certain decision of his toward the end, so I would have to agree with Sophie on that a bit, but overall he was amazing.

I really liked Sophie to start but was having issues with her once she was obviously developing feelings but then just excused them away at every opportunity, and while I'm all for making sure you're taking care of yourself in a relationship and making sure your needs are being met, I think she kinda crossed the line into being actually selfish and had a total disregard to his feelings.

A delightful twist on the friends to lovers trope, Happily Never After starts with almost-wed Sophie finds out that her fiancé has cheated again just days before the wedding. So she hires a stranger to stand up at the ceremony and object, thereby calling things off in a way that her fiancé's father, her father's boss, can't justify retribution. Soon after, Sophie joins Max in his business of breaking up weddings, but things get messy when the next wedding they're asked to ruin turns out to involve Max's ex. Sophie can't understand why Max doesn't want to participate, after all he's been apart from his ex for years, while Max has to wrestle with the truth about why he doesn't want to interfere. And what about the energy that's been growing between Sophie and Max? Neither wants a relationship, or so they say, but their chemistry is off the charts.
This easy, fun read left me with no angst at all, but a laugh and the warm feeling brought on by a good romance story.

Despite enjoying the beginning of this book I was quite disappointed towards the middle-end of it!
I think this was a cute concept for a silly little romance but I could not get over the female main character’s personality.

Personally, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped I would.

Lynn Painter is the queen of great banter!
Every time I start one of her books, it's a guaranteed great time.

I loved that the premise of Happily Never After is so unique and fun. Two love cynics who band together working as objectors for hire to break up weddings and save one of the parties from entering a bad marriage. That's how Sophie meets Max: He was the objector at her own wedding after she found out her fiance had been cheating on her.

The progression of their friendship and how it turned into love, their chemistry, the fake dating... I truly enjoyed this read! I love rom-coms and you can never go wrong with Lynn's books. This one gave me 90/early 2000's romantic comedy vibes and I kept imagining how it'd be so perfect as a movie!

What a fun twist in the genre. My first Lynn Painter book will certainly not be the last. I loved the hijinks of this one - very original concept.

The premise of a girl who doesn't believe in love becoming an objector alongside her own wedding's objector and the hijinks that ensued was a super fun concept.

As always Lynn painter's writing style was ubputdownable but some of the character's choices later in the book were frustrating and the romance felt very surface level.

Overall a fun quick read if you don't take it too seriously.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review! 💕

Another 5 star read from Lynn!! I always pick up a Lynn Painter book expecting to love it, but she still exceeds my expectations every time. Happily Never After was a fantastic read from the first page to the last page. With sizzing chemistry, a hilarious premise and entertaining dialogue, Happily Never After is a definite new favourite. I will always recommend Lynn Painter's books, and this one is no different!