Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for the free book!

Sophie needs a way out of her wedding to a cheating fiance without repercussions for her dad, who works for her future father-in-law. Her friend hires Max, a professional wedding objector. Sophie and Max strike up a friendship, and eventually, she joins him as an objector to help rescue others. They've sworn off love but sparks fly.

I loved this! The premise is hilarious, and the execution was excellent! Engaging writing, great characters, steamy romance, lots of humor and heart, and some fun tropes swept me up, and I enjoyed every minute I spent reading this!

Sophie and Max were a couple I rooted for. They were both so endearing. They met in such a unique way and truly built a friendship first. Painter's transformation of them from friends, who start off as partners in crime, to lovers was pure fun. Max was swoony, and Sophie was a breath of fresh air. Together, they had fantastic chemistry. Their banter sparkled with wit, and I appreciated the open communication between the two. Then there were Sophie's two unforgettable, unfiltered septuagenarian roommates, Larry and Rose. They were scene-stealing delights!

I hated putting this book down, and any time I had to, I couldn't wait to return to it and immerse myself in the fun again. It was escapist, sexy, hilarious, and thoroughly entertaining! This was my first Lynn Painter book but will not be my last. I understand now why rom-com fans love her books so much. I am a fan now, too, and cannot wait to explore her backlist!

“It’s hard to make the decision to walk away, even when it’s the right thing.”

Their name? The objectors.
Their job? To break off weddings as hired.
Their dilemma? They might just be in love with each other.

Holy hell March is just KILLING it with the new releases. Another five star, laugh out loud, root for the characters read! The audiobook was everythinggg. The book has dual narrators and is absolute gold! I highly highly recommend this listen. The sassiness and heat between Max and Sophie crackles off the pages.

I also very much appreciated the shoutout to the #backwardshat. Douchey? Probably. Sexy?? Hell yes!

“‘It’s fucking five forty-two on a Sunday, you psychopath,’ he said, his gravelly voice full of irritation. ‘Is this an emergency?’” At 5:42am it had better be 🤣.

Thank you for the free #audiobook @PRHAudio #PRHAudioPartner and to Netgalley, Berkley Publishing, and the author for ARC.

I absolutely loved this book!! This was my first Lynn Painter book and it definitely won’t be my last! Sophie and Max were so cute…I loved their banter, their chemistry, and how they actually communicated with each other! That was such a breath of fresh air to have characters communicate like adults….even as they tried to sort through their feelings. Such a wonderful read!!

This was such a fun concept! This was also my first book from the author, so that was exciting.

I really enjoyed the banter between Max & Sophie! The whole premise of being objectors was also so different and added a lot of lightheartedness to the book. I liked how different their personalities were. While neither wanted a relationship, you could see how easy it was between them and that their chemistry was definitely there.

For a second, I thought that this book wasn't going to have a third-act breakup, and it was set up so nicely to not have one!! But of course - it did and I did not like it at all... I felt like it was just a cop-out to force the characters to speak about their feelings. I also felt like the third-act conflict made the ending seem rushed because there wasn't a whole lot left in the book, so the resolution came so quickly that the conflict seemed pointless to me.

Overall, I did enjoy the book and am interested in reading more from the author!

3.5 Stars
This was my first book by Lynn Painter and it was cute! Rom-comy with a really good romance!
Thank you to Libro Fm for the audiobook ALC and Netgalley for the eARC.

Lynn Painter strikes again. I adore her books so much and this one was no exception. Such a cool concept for a rom-com where the characters help brides and grooms break up their weddings. The banter in Lynn's books are unmatched. I loved these characters so much!

Firstly, huge thanks to Berkley for providing me with both the digital and paperback copies of "Happily Never After" in exchange for an honest review.

Let me just start by saying, if Lynn Painter writes it, I will read it. Whether it's her adult romances or her YA novels, I'm all in. My first experience with her work was "Mr. Wrong Number," and I've been hooked ever since. "Happily Never After" feels like a delightful throwback to those fun rom-coms of the 2000s.

The premise is as quirky as it gets: Sophie Steinbeck discovers her fiancé's infidelity just before their wedding, but she's hesitant to call it off because of her father-in-law's intimidating influence. Enter Max, who was paid to crash her wedding and declare an objection with the proof of the cheating. After the doomed wedding Sophie convinces Max to make this a job for them on the side, where they go as dates to weddings to be Objectors. The dynamic between Sophie and Max is electric as they go to more and more wedding with objections and proof if reasons why people should NOT get married. They're both love cynics, but as they work together, their chemistry becomes undeniable.

I was completely swept away by the swoon-worthy moments, the hilarious banter, the crazy post objection interactions and the steamy sex scenes. Every page had me laughing out loud and rooting for Sophie and Max to find their happily ever after, even if they were determined to avoid it.

"Happily Never After" was an absolute joy to read, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to dive into this delightful rom-com. If you're looking for a fun, feel-good romance with plenty of heart and humor, look no further. This book has it all!

3.75 ⭐️ (my favorite of lynn's adult romances)

happily never after is a solid contemporary romance! i will forever love lynn painter, her characters, and her writing style but i was sometimes disappointed with how much i disliked her adult romances. this one, however, was an exception. i love how creatively absurd this plot was. i've never read something like it before and i adored every minute of it. sophie and max are such entertaining characters. they have phenomenal chemistry and didn't really have major character flaws. their ability to be their truest form of themselves with each other (without worrying about judgment or critique) made their relationship even sweeter. (and of course, the side characters were a joy as always!) however, as much as i enjoyed reading this book, the third-act conflict felt childish when seeing how mature the characters are. the conflict was something that could have easily been fixed with a conversation and didn't need to be dragged along. it could have been avoided altogether. the epilogue, though, did make it better at the end. i will definitely be resisting this book in the future! and as always, the biggest thank you to netgalley and berkley publishing group for providing me with the arc!

This was my first Lynn Painter book and I am now obsessed and planning to read her entire backlist. Such a quick read but so much fun!!

Sophie’s wedding is interrupted by Max, a man who has a side gig objecting at weddings. A friendship follows suit where she joins him in objecting at other weddings. Along the way, the friendship blurs the lines into a quasi-relationship despite them both swearing that they don’t believe in love.

This book is such a fresh concept and I found myself devouring this in one day. Max and Sophie were both hilarious characters, but the best part was the dynamic between the two of them. The chemistry was off the charts amazing and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes as they denied the love brewing between the two of them. This book felt like a classic 2000s rom-com movie and I ate it up.

Highly recommend and I can’t wait to check out Lynn’s backlist. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Berkley for the advanced copy! All thoughts are my own.

ARC Review for Happily Never After. Spoilers removed (so this jumps around a lot and thoughts may seem incomplete due to a spoiler being removed). Full review is on the site:

Lynn comes straight out the gate swinging with this absolutely hilarious tale of two people whose paths cross in the most unexpected of ways. Brimming with the heart, wit, and snappy banter that is Lynn’s signature, “Happily Never After” will take your ideas of love on a ride that you will never forget.

To have and to hold, through sickness and health – yeah it sounds promising until you find out the person in front of you has been lying, cheating, and for some crazy reason – is still determined to marry you! That’s the unfortunate situation Sophie Steinbeck finds herself in. If not for her best bud Ara’s timely intervention, Sophie could have been trapped in the shackles of matrimony, holding onto a hope of annulment or divorce as her ticket to freedom. But a hero lurks among the crowd, ready to utter the sweetest of objections just as the officiant reaches the pivotal “If anyone here knows of a reason…”

“I do.” Those two simple words have been Max’s saving grace time and again, rescuing friends, family, and acquaintances from the brink of wedded disaster. What starts as a favor for a coworker becomes his brand, and once again, word of mouth has Max standing in a church, stopping a union from being built on lies and deceit. Typically, he’d take his payment, cut ties, and move on. However, Sophie isn’t your average bride. Amid the aftermath of separation, Max finds himself drawing closer to Sophie as they unpack the essence—and in her view, the nonexistence—of love. Fast forward a few months, and Max is the one in a pickle, turning to the person who’s as cynical about love as him. A favor thought to be a one-off snowballs into several more weddings and evolves into an unexpected friendship with a feigned romance twist. As they spend time together, they realize their outings are mutually advantageous—Sophie’s promotion hinges on her demonstrating she understands work/life balance and has moved on from Stuart while Max’s parents are eager to hand off the family business to a “well-settled” Max. Seems pretty straightforward, as long as they can fight their growing chemistry. But for two people who view love with so much skepticism, that shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Unlike the other delightful books I have had the pleasure reading by Lynn Painter, this one was more of a thinker than a gut buster of laughter. Don’t get me wrong, the chuckles were there and the banter was solid but the deeper meaning of the story was more appealing than the humor. Getting to know Max and Sophie is a journey into complexity. She was organized and disciplined, yet with the spirit of a more relaxed personality. She sought a life of equilibrium and structure but yearned for unpredictability, and that’s where Max came in as her perfect counterpart. Describing Max is challenging – he knew what he wanted out of life but something always seemed to be in the way. He was definitely a man that mastered obstacles. Max’s appeal came from his easygoing nature, but the true magic was in what he and Sophie unearthed in each other.

A moment of recognition for the secondary characters of this book – Larry and Rose were a hoot! It was so sweet to realize that while her roommates drove her crazy, they had essentially became Sophie’s family and best friends. They truly contributed to the story in their own unique way, adding wisdom and guidance that only the older generation can.

While there is absolutely nothing I disliked about this book, it does take some time to build up momentum, picking up steam about a quarter of the way in (so be patient!). Once it finds its footing, it’s nearly impossible to put down. The chemistry between the characters is one of the primary hooks drawing in the reader. Lynn has a tendency to not focus on the spice but more of the intimacy and connections of her characters. Does that mean the steamy moments, weren’t hot – absolutely not – they were fire but it was the looks, the caresses, the description of how they saw each other, inside and out, that made those intimacy scenes deeper and satisfying.

Philosophically, the book delves into the essentials of what love is, how we define it, what it symbolizes, and the consequences/impact of it. Through it all, we are continuously forced to remove the “term” love and start to witness a foundation built on friendship, chemistry, bond, mutual respect, adulation, and happiness. We are reintroduced to the misnomers of love that are actually lust, desire, fear of being alone, familiarity, contempt, or just situationally beneficial. Overall, the reader finds their beliefs, definitions, and perspectives challenged – begging the question, if we removed the term “love” and just placed the characteristics described by Sophie, how many us would still claim to be in love?

Happily Never After makes you laugh, makes you think, and most of all makes you realized that certain ideals are not black and white. We are allowed to live, love, and lose but by our own definitions not those placed upon us. Sophie’s acronym has found a special place in my heart and I would be interested to know what impact Lynn’s words will have on her readers.

Was a very fast paced super cute and funny romcom. The characters don’t have a lot of depth, but you find yourself laughing and loving all the drama and antics that you don’t mind, the book is under 300 pages, and the ending is a little sappy, but very enjoyable. I will recommend this

3.5 stars

Sophie Steinbeck does not believe in true love. Max Parks does not want to find love. Both believe in happily never after.

Sophie is being cheated on by her fiancé and cannot call off the wedding, so of course the solution is to hire a wedding objector. Enter Max, objector for hire and unexpected ally in Sophie’s rejection of love. Max and Sophie become an objecting team and as they break up couples not meant to be together while initially faking being friends, they both find themselves wondering if their evolving friendship has caused deeper feelings than either thought possible.

•••

I wanted to love this book based on the premise alone. I haven’t read any other books based on the idea of a wedding objector for hire, so I’m glad I gave this one a chance.

This book was a cute rom-com, but it fell short in character and plot development, in my opinion. I feel as though I only got to know Sophie and Max on a superficial level and because of that, the conflict felt really forced. Sophie and Max have physical chemistry, but they lack complex personalities and feel so flat that even though they’re supposed to be changed people by the end, I don’t really buy their lust turning to love.

Sophie’s elderly roommates kept the book enjoyable; Larry is such a great side character! With not much depth, this book is a good lighthearted read for anyone searching for that.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

The wedding that did not take place. The Objector. Who or what is The Objector? This is someone named Max who earns quite a pretty penny when the routine question is asked whether or not a wedding should take place. Max makes his objection at Sophie Steinbeck's wedding. As it stands, her fiancé had been cheating on her and she is more than relieved to be able to call off the wedding.

Three months pass and beyond drinks the night the wedding did not take place, Sophie and Max had not seen one another. However, Max has another job as an Objector coming up and needs Sophie to play his second. If she agrees, she can earn a lot of money.

As a friendship grows between Sophie and Max as they work together to stop a few weddings here and there, that friendship grows into more. However, as each of them is completely jaded about love, emotion definitely will not come into play even when the couple get closer and closer. Or will it? After all, sparks won't create real emotional feelings, or so it seems. Lynn Painter has written quite an enjoyable read, one that kept me entertained right from the start.

Many thanks to Berkley and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Thank you so much to Berkley for the advance copy of this!

Listen, Lynn Painter can do no wrong. I have yet to find a book of hers that wasn't stellar. This is my second adult book of hers and last year I absolutely loved The Love Wager. And this one was no exception. I thought the concept was unique and what a meet cute (though a little out of the ordinary)!

"You cannot touch me, Steinbeck, without shattering me."
"I want to watch you shatter."

Sophie has sworn off on love after her ex fiance was cheating on her and her best friend hired an objector to object their wedding. Fast forward, the objector Max needs a favor from Sophie and for her to join her on a wedding gig. The chemistry between Sophie and Max was very apparent early on and the banter carried on throughout the book. Max fell super hard for Sophie and you could tell he was struggling to respect her wishes to not be in a relationship. Sophie's feelings were also very complicated because she made this vow to herself that she would not fall in love again but here she was slowly falling for Max. They both just worked so well together and became best friends throughout the course of the book.

This was a quick read and just such a delight!

If you are a fan of dual POV, fake dating, wedding shenanigans, fun banter - definitely check this out!

PS - Why is it so sexy when a guy says "Stay the night"?!

Read if you like:
💔 Love Cynics
💋 Fake Dating- ish
🥵 FWB
👴🏼 Grumpy/Funny Senior Roommates
❤️ He Falls First

This book is a light and fluffy look at two cynics that become friends after Max is hired to object at Sophie’s wedding after she finds out her fiancé is cheating on her just days before their wedding.

Both Max and Sophie are love cynics so when he could use some help and Sophie could use some extra cash after demanding to keep the fancy apartment and kicking her ex out which led to having to get a couple senior roommates to make rent, they become business partners breaking up weddings together, because what’s the harm when you are a cynic and helping others get out of bad relationships?

Except both Sophie and Max could benefit from people thinking they are dating so when they put on a “fake dating but we are just friends 😉” plot, they start to have a bit of a friends with benefits arraignment in addition to their business relationship.

All in all, I loved the he falls first and the way these two cynics changed their opinion about love through finding their person that could help them see the beauty in love.

Thanks Berkley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review of this light and fluffy romcom!

Cute and fun! As Lynn Painters books always are!!! Characters who are figuring it out and stumbling into one another in a way that just makes sense.

If you're in the mood for a fun, lighthearted, low stakes romcom- I've got a book for you!

It was fine and had enjoyable moments during the read, but I can tell that this one isn't going to stick with me like Better Than the Movies. I think the pacing of the plot was great, but the character/relationship development was lacking because both main characters felt like shells of any typical Hallmark romcom lead from any romcom that you've seen. This book spent a lot of time telling me how much chemistry Sophie and Max had, but I just didn't buy into it. I need more banter, more tension, more *something*.

There was spice, but it was almost like closed door spice? I'm not sure if that makes sense, but there would be some graphic descriptions and then a fade to black. It's the first time I've come across that, but honestly I didn't mind it.

Overall, a decent romcom, if a little forgettable and predictable.

Thank you to Berkley for this ARC!

OKAY WAIT this was cuuuute! i've still never been to a wedding where there actually was a chance for anyone to object, so that's funny, but using objecting as the context for this storyline was fun! i didn't totally buy into the FMC's original reasoning for why she was willing to go through with her marriage to her scum of a fiancee until The Objector came onto the scene to save her, but putting that aside, i thought it was a unique meet cute and the way their story played out was fun and flirty! it was a great audio listen, too, and i flew through it, totally picturing it as a katherine heigl/josh duhamel movie! (tell me i'm wrong!!!)

Thank you to PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook and to Berkley Publishing for an advanced readers copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Happily Never After is a fun, light-hearted romance that I enjoyed reading/listening to in one day.

Sophie is at the altar on her wedding day when Max objects to it. He is paid to object as Sophie knows her fiancé has been cheating…again.

A few months later, Max contacts Sophie and they decide to team up together to object at other weddings. This leads to them spending a lot of time together. The chemistry between the two is evident and leads to some steamy scenes (nothing too graphic). But, both are anti-relationships. Can they deny their feelings for one another?

This is a great story with amazing banter. I love Sophie’s geriatric roommates, Larry and Rose. So funny. Their banter with Max AKA Julian was the best.

The narrators, Helen Laser and Sean Patrick Hopkins, were new to me. They did a wonderful job with the snark and emotion. Very enjoyable!

I LOVED every second of this book. And I almost can't articulate why. The story wasn't absurd. The characters don't have any major flaws. There's no crazy drama. No one is secretly rich. And it just makes the whole story just so freaking adorable and delightful.
Sophie is confident, funny, smart, ambitious, and effortlessly cool without being annoying or unlikable. Painter struck the perfect balance with her. I found Sophie so relatable and saw a lot of myself in her and just wanted to be friends with her! Max is charming and emotionally mature and perfectly matches Sophie's wit, intelligence and ambition. Their banter is to die for.
The chemistry is immediate and blatantly obvious but it never becomes frustrating. Painter is somehow able to pepper in deep moments and thoughts without losing the overall lightheartedness of the story.
I was smiling every time I picked this up to read.