Better Than the Movies
- Downloads：3531
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-06-29 06:52:23
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Lynn Painter
- ISBN：1534467637
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Perfect for fans of Kasie West and Jenn Bennett， this “sweet and funny” （Kerry Winfrey， author of Waiting for Tom Hanks） teen rom-com follows a hopelessly romantic teen girl and her cute yet obnoxious neighbor as they scheme to get her noticed by her untouchable crush。
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。
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。
Reviews
Ava
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This book is so good I can’t even。 Like give me a Wes in my life pls and thank you。 If u don’t like this book then I don’t like u🫶🏻
Hannah Wenzel
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Apparently I’m a big fan of 4 star reviews？ This book was very cute and a fast read。 It was a nice break from the books with heavier topics that I read before this。 Love Liz and Wes together was team them since the beginning。 Was never team michael tbh nothing against him but Wes>>>>>😍。 Just wondering if he ever gave her the parking spot back？
Violett
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I LOVE THIS SM！！！
Topaz_Reads
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A very sweet coming of age story between antagonistic neighbors and a childhood crush who came back。Synopsis: Liz Buxbaum and her nemesis， neighbor Wes， grew up with a neighborhood group of kids including a classic "mean girl"， and the boy who starred in all of her childhood daydreams， Michael。 But Michael moved away at the end of 5th grade and then a month later， Liz lost her beloved mom in a car accident。 In the intervening years， she felt both losses keenly。 The mean girl has landed a few hit A very sweet coming of age story between antagonistic neighbors and a childhood crush who came back。Synopsis: Liz Buxbaum and her nemesis， neighbor Wes， grew up with a neighborhood group of kids including a classic "mean girl"， and the boy who starred in all of her childhood daydreams， Michael。 But Michael moved away at the end of 5th grade and then a month later， Liz lost her beloved mom in a car accident。 In the intervening years， she felt both losses keenly。 The mean girl has landed a few hits over the courseof middleschoolandhighschool， her battles with Wes have become increasingly epic， and Liz has coped with her grief by modeling her style after the brightly patterned dresses her mother favored， and falling in love with the romantic movies that'd brought her mom so much joy。When Michael unexpectedly moves back to town at the end of senior year， Liz bargins with Wes to help her catch Michael's attention: the coveted single street parking space for his help in getting her noticed。 They concoct a fake dating ruse that seems easy to begin with， but harder and harder as their lies start to mount。 Especially when Wes and Liz's "pretend" relationship feels like friendship and then so much more。 Review: This had all the best parts of any good YA love story: enemies to lovers， first love， learning to become authentically your own person， and discovering that the stories we tell ourselves can hinder us from seeing the truth that's right in front of our eyes。 Liz and Wes have great chemistry and it's evident through his many sweet actions towards her， that Wes uses their so-called animosity as a way to stay close to Liz， rather than as a way to needle her。 Liz has to go through some pretty serious self growth over the course of the book to get to her HFN （i。e。 coping with her mom's death and her unrealistic expectations of love/romance）。 At times， I was frustrated and annoyed by Liz's hurtfulness to her BFF Joss， her step-mom， and to Wes， but she comes around in the end and makes the necessary recompense to appease me。🎧 Listened via Audiobook - 4⭐️ 。。。more
frances
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3。6 starsI am NOT a romance person， I get reminded of that every time I read a romance novel。
Aubry
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I loved this book。 I thought it would be another cheesy high school romance but was pleasantly surprised at how sweet and funny it was。 I couldn’t put it down。
Paulina
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3。5⭐
Maia:）
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Loved it！ This a cute and cheesy YA romance where the girl is obsessed with rom coms and music and so I could obviously relate to her lol。 She asks her neighbour （whom she doesn’t like） to help her get with the boy she’s been in love with since forever。But as they fake date she obviously realize that she doesn’t actually hate her neighbour， and the buildup of their relationship was amazing。 Super quick and could get you out of a reading slump， would recommend！ 4。5⭐️
Kyra
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This was perfect the way Wes was perfect。 He was amazing he pushed is own feelings aside for her and he only wanted to be there for her even if it was supposed to be only a limited time。 Also the way he helped her learn to be her self and not to change for a guy no matter how much you want him and how he helped her be happy with her life and how she wants to。 The story was just so good and I'm glad she got a romance better than the movies。 I would want to reread again and I could experience it f This was perfect the way Wes was perfect。 He was amazing he pushed is own feelings aside for her and he only wanted to be there for her even if it was supposed to be only a limited time。 Also the way he helped her learn to be her self and not to change for a guy no matter how much you want him and how he helped her be happy with her life and how she wants to。 The story was just so good and I'm glad she got a romance better than the movies。 I would want to reread again and I could experience it for the first time again。 。。。more
Anjalee
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she。 isn’t。 you。 OMG
Anna， Review Junkie
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Bardzo często jak czytam młodzieżówki mam mieszane uczucia， ale tutaj już od pierwszych minut audiobooka byłam like: YASS。 Książka jest kombinacją prawie wszystkiego， co lubię。 Fake dating， sąsiedzi， e to l。 Bawiłam się rewelacyjnie。 Była jedna irytująca rzecz， ale nie będę się czepiać。 Trochę przypominała mi książkę DUFF， którą uwielbiam i tutaj było podobnie， zakochałam się w tej historii， bo była tak bardzo urocza。 A te wszystkie nawiązania do filmów romantycznych na których wychowałam się te Bardzo często jak czytam młodzieżówki mam mieszane uczucia， ale tutaj już od pierwszych minut audiobooka byłam like: YASS。 Książka jest kombinacją prawie wszystkiego， co lubię。 Fake dating， sąsiedzi， e to l。 Bawiłam się rewelacyjnie。 Była jedna irytująca rzecz， ale nie będę się czepiać。 Trochę przypominała mi książkę DUFF， którą uwielbiam i tutaj było podobnie， zakochałam się w tej historii， bo była tak bardzo urocza。 A te wszystkie nawiązania do filmów romantycznych na których wychowałam się też ja - rewelacyjne。 Uśmiech mi nie z twarzy nie schodził :）AAA， i SOUNDTRACK， w ogóle muzyka w tej książce jest fajnym dodatkiem do fabuły。 。。。more
Anushree15 S。
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5 stars
Anto
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no cause wes ruined all the possibilities of me having something in real life， he literally ruined me and i thank him for it
sydelle
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WESLIZ。 I LOVE THEM。 I JUST DO。 ALL THE TAYLOR SWIFT REFERENCES？？？？ THE FAKE DATING TROPE？？？？ CHILDHOOD FRENEMIES TO LOVERS？？？？ I JUST LOVE IT。 i was just SCREAMING through the whole book，， that's how much i loved it 😞😞😞 the conflict part of the story was a little bit too rushed for me but that's about my only nitpick tbh WESLIZ。 I LOVE THEM。 I JUST DO。 ALL THE TAYLOR SWIFT REFERENCES？？？？ THE FAKE DATING TROPE？？？？ CHILDHOOD FRENEMIES TO LOVERS？？？？ I JUST LOVE IT。 i was just SCREAMING through the whole book，， that's how much i loved it 😞😞😞 the conflict part of the story was a little bit too rushed for me but that's about my only nitpick tbh 。。。more
Nora Raju
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Sweet romance Nemesis to loversGuy was in love
Maureen
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4。5/5A really enjoyable and nostalgic book about high school crushes and coming of age！ Very cute！
Adonis
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One of my favourite books of all time！ I never expected to love this book as much as I do now， this surely has become my comfort read。The music and movie references this book has is so sublime。 Got soo attached to the characters。 Wes & Liz's Playlist is so fucking good。 🤌🏻I can pick up the book and move to any page and love what I'm reading。 Not a single drawback。 Lynn Painter has pulled off a 6 out of 5 star book。 "Enemies-to-lovers—it’s our trope， Buxbaum。” One of my favourite books of all time！ I never expected to love this book as much as I do now， this surely has become my comfort read。The music and movie references this book has is so sublime。 Got soo attached to the characters。 Wes & Liz's Playlist is so fucking good。 🤌🏻I can pick up the book and move to any page and love what I'm reading。 Not a single drawback。 Lynn Painter has pulled off a 6 out of 5 star book。 "Enemies-to-lovers—it’s our trope， Buxbaum。” 。。。more
Nyanbeni
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Chef's kiss。。。😘This is what I call "a book" please exaggerate the word "a book"Thank goodness it didnt turn out to be an amateur writing style。。。 Chef's kiss。。。😘This is what I call "a book" please exaggerate the word "a book"Thank goodness it didnt turn out to be an amateur writing style。。。 。。。more
val🫀
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sooo cute and perfect， i love wes<33
Megan Owens
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SO CUTE
Bethany Osborne
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Better than the movies review@lynnpainterkirkle Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️“Enemies to lovers-it’s our trope， buxbaum”“She’s not you。”“What？”“She。 Isn’t。 You。”Tropes:-ya contemporary romance-childhood enemies to lovers-big gestures-he’s been there all along-good banter-fluff-makeover-fake datingComments:I started this book while procrastinating another assignment and OMG I finished it curled up in bed in one sitting。 I loved Liz’s love of romance movies and the connections with her mum。 I also loved how Better than the movies review@lynnpainterkirkle Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️“Enemies to lovers-it’s our trope， buxbaum”“She’s not you。”“What？”“She。 Isn’t。 You。”Tropes:-ya contemporary romance-childhood enemies to lovers-big gestures-he’s been there all along-good banter-fluff-makeover-fake datingComments:I started this book while procrastinating another assignment and OMG I finished it curled up in bed in one sitting。 I loved Liz’s love of romance movies and the connections with her mum。 I also loved how the relationship between Liz and Helena developed and you could really see and understand the struggle that she had with it。 I also loved how it was so obvious that Wes was in love with Liz by all of the little things that he did for her and especially the bit where we find out he used to sit and listen to her play the piano😍😍。 The ending was really satisfying and super cute。 Other scenes I loved were the makeover scene， the basketball scene and the car crash scene。 Overall this was one of the cutest ya romances I’ve ever read。 it was sooo fluffy and the banter was amazing。 Definitely go and read this masterpiece by @lynnpainterkirkle ASAP。 🫶 。。。more
Heavenleigh peterson
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I skimmed the last 61 pages of this because I couldn’t force myself to read anymore。 I don’t think it was bad， it just wasn’t for me。 I would’ve loved it so much more if I was still 15。
laur 🫶
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i am liz， liz is me
montse
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It’s so cute I cried。
Samara Reed
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This book really surprised me。 I expected it to be just okay and instead it’s become one of my favorite romcom novels！ Enemies to lovers， fake dating， girl/boy next door， it has it all folks！！
Delaney Downing
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SO GOOD。 by far the best book I've ever read。 pretty closed door besides a few jokes。 such an easy， wholesome read。 SO GOOD。 by far the best book I've ever read。 pretty closed door besides a few jokes。 such an easy， wholesome read。 。。。more
Candela
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horrendo le doy 3 estrellas xq soy generosa la verdad parece escrito x una nena d 15 d esas historias d wattpad q son petes。 casi al final mejora un poco pero el hecho d q wes no mueve un pelo x liz o no lo demuestra mas allá de la amistad y sin embargo ella le ruega y queda como una imbecil mientras el otro salía con alex ？ q vuelvan los valores tradicionales monogamia tóxica donde no se puede mirar a otros o muerte
Abby McDonagh
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Why am I crying？？
Angel
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ahh i read this in 2 sittings。 super cute and easy read， def recommended if looking for an easy and cute YA book
sv
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Awww！！！ I loved this！！！ One sitting read， it was just too cute I couldn’t put it down。 One of those books that radiates such positive energy！！ I loved the mc so muchONE thing though， i just wish they got together earlier， or we had more of them together cause we BARLEY got to see any of that
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Better Than the Movies
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Better Than the Movies&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft