Does Better Than the Movies have a sequel?

Yes. Lynn Painter published a direct sequel, Nothing Like the Movies, in 2024, picking up with Liz and Wes as college students. Better Than the Movies tells a complete story on its own, so it can be read as a standalone, but the sequel continues their relationship. Painter has also written shorter companion pieces set in the same world, including Better Than the Prom.

Are there other books by Lynn Painter with similar characters or themes?

Readers who enjoy the banter and romantic comedy elements in Better Than the Movies will find similar appeal in Lynn Painter's other young adult novels, which often feature witty dialogue and charming rivals-to-lovers dynamics.

Better Than the Movies

Reader reviews of Better Than the Movies

Issie Israa · 2026-08-12T15:09:55.000000Z

I picked up Better Than the Movies expecting a cute, funny rom-com considering the insane amount of hype surrounding it. Instead, I spent most of the book cringing so hard I wanted to pause the audiobook every five minutes. Liz was exhausting. Her obsession with Michael wasn't romantic or endearing; it was embarrassing. She constantly humiliates herself over a guy who gives her little reason to believe he's interested, and somehow the book treats this as quirky rom-com behavior rather than delusion. At one point, her friend tells her, “I can’t talk to you when you’re being delusional,” and honestly? That friend was the only sane person in the entire book. The fake-dating plan made absolutely no sense to me. Liz’s idea was to convince Michael that she’d grown up and wasn’t “Little Liz” anymore by pretending to date his friend. Maybe it’s just me, but I couldn’t understand the logic behind any of it. Most of her decisions felt less like something a real person would do and more like something the plot desperately needed her to do. And then there’s Wes. We’re constantly told he’s annoying and that they hate each other, but did I read the wrong book? Because most of the time, he’s actually nice, supportive, and ridiculously patient. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic felt completely manufactured because I never understood where the hatred was supposed to be coming from. Another thing that drove me insane was how much Liz seemed willing to revolve her entire life around Michael. She repeatedly prioritized her crush over the people who were actually there for her, and it made her incredibly frustrating to read about. Instead of rooting for her, I spent most of the book wondering why nobody sat her down and told her to get a grip. And can we talk about how every single thing in her life had to be filtered through rom-com logic? The meet-cutes. The grand plans. The obsession with creating movie moments. It felt so over-the-top that I couldn’t take any of it seriously. The book relies heavily on readers finding this charming, and unfortunately, I didn’t. I found it immature, repetitive, and painfully cringeworthy. By the end, I wasn’t rooting for anyone; I was just relieved it was over. Maybe my expectations were too high because of the hype, but I genuinely don’t understand some of the ratings this book gets. I went into it expecting one of the best YA rom-coms ever written and came out wondering if we had all read the same book. Maybe this works if you love over-the-top rom-coms and second-hand embarrassment. I don’t. For me, this was one of the most frustrating and disappointing reads I’ve picked up in a long time. Definitely not better than the movies.

Contemporary Romance Young Adult

Pages: 368
Published: 2021
Language: English

Liz Buxbaum has been raised on romantic comedies, and she knows exactly how her love story is supposed to go: senior year, prom, and a grand cinematic moment with Michael Young, the boy she's adored since childhood. There's just one hitch — Michael barely knows she exists. To engineer her perfect meet-cute, Liz reluctantly enlists the help of the one person guaranteed to annoy her: Wes Bennett, her cocky, prank-loving next-door neighbor.

Wes agrees to coach Liz in the art of getting noticed, and as the two spend more time scheming together — arguing over playlists, trading insults, quoting the movies Liz loves — their relationship starts to look a lot less like a rivalry. Soon Liz has to wonder whether the fairy-tale ending she scripted for herself is really the one she wants, or whether the best part of her story is the boy she never planned for.

Warm, funny, and full of movie references, Lynn Painter's Better Than the Movies is a young-adult romantic comedy about grief, growing up, and the difference between the romance you imagine and the one that's right in front of you.

Prose complexity: 1/10

Funny Lighthearted Romantic Heartwarming Emotional

Enemies to Lovers Grumpy Sunshine Slow Burn Coming of Age

Spice level

2.0 avg spice

Lynn Painter

Lynn Painter is an American author of romantic comedies for young adult and adult readers. Born in Champaign, Illinois, she settled with her family in Omaha, Nebraska, where she still lives and writes as a community columnist for the Omaha World-Herald. Her young adult debut, Better Than the Movies (2021), found its audience through BookTok and spent years on the New York Times young adult bestseller list; a sequel, Nothing Like the Movies, followed in 2024. Her other young adult novels, publish...

Liz BuxbaumProtagonist

A high-school senior and devoted romantic-comedy fan who plans a movie-perfect prom while still carrying grief for her late mother.

Wes BennettSupporting

Liz's next-door neighbour and long-running nemesis, who agrees to coach her toward Michael and becomes the romance she did not plan.

Michael Young (Better Than the Movies)Supporting

Liz's long-standing childhood crush, newly moved back to town, and the boy her scripted prom-night romance is aimed at.

Jocelyn (Better Than the Movies)Supporting

Liz's best friend, called Joss, who keeps her grounded when the rom-com plan runs away with her.

All characters in Better Than the Movies

Frequently asked questions

Does Better Than the Movies have a sequel?
Yes. Lynn Painter published a direct sequel, Nothing Like the Movies, in 2024, picking up with Liz and Wes as college students. Better Than the Movies tells a complete story on its own, so it can be read as a standalone, but the sequel continues their relationship. Painter has also written shorter companion pieces set in the same world, including Better Than the Prom.
Are there other books by Lynn Painter with similar characters or themes?
Readers who enjoy the banter and romantic comedy elements in Better Than the Movies will find similar appeal in Lynn Painter's other young adult novels, which often feature witty dialogue and charming rivals-to-lovers dynamics.

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Better Than the Movies

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