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daniellegorman 's review for:
Nothing Like The Movies
by Lynn Painter
sorry, but I love Lynn Painter so badly.
she is the only YA romance author I will follow around like a lost puppy.
yes, I fear I am too old. yes, I cringe at every Gracie Abram, Taylor Swift, Noah Kahan lyric she drops (note: trust, I love these artists). yes, I think her writing can be FAR too poetic and try-hard for how some of these male characters would feel or think or speak. but still... I can't help but love her and the comforting ways she addresses coming of age.
this one, though... this one I didn't get. I wanted to love it. I swore I was /going/ to love it. I walked in so excited to love it. I walked away feeling so meh.
maybe it's the fact that this didn't feel much of a romance at all? it was more so 80% a break up book addressing the depths of life and what can happen when your adolescence is stripped away from you andddd theeeennnn like 20% a second chance romantic comedy.
personally, I wish she went the Emily Henry "Happy Place" route with the structure of this book. all of the love we have for these characters is in the first book, but they are different people now. practical strangers to me! I wanted the stark contrast of the "then" and "now" woven more tightly throughout the story. I craved seeing them happy together, I wanted the couple to live and breathe on the page for more than half a chapter. I wanted the romantic and comedic moments we had gotten in the first book. instead, we got a lot of character work (did anyone really develop? i actually can't tell) and a second chance trope for two people who lost the spark that made me adore them in the beginning.
still, the moments that we got, I liked. I thought the character arcs were refreshing and a risk on Painter's part. and I just love that she wanted to keep telling their story. the idea that all of Lynn Painter's characters are slowly growing with their audience and maturing in ways we didn't expect to see?! because like we NEVER get an aged-up sequel to a beloved YA novel! how fun is that?
she is the only YA romance author I will follow around like a lost puppy.
yes, I fear I am too old. yes, I cringe at every Gracie Abram, Taylor Swift, Noah Kahan lyric she drops (note: trust, I love these artists). yes, I think her writing can be FAR too poetic and try-hard for how some of these male characters would feel or think or speak. but still... I can't help but love her and the comforting ways she addresses coming of age.
this one, though... this one I didn't get. I wanted to love it. I swore I was /going/ to love it. I walked in so excited to love it. I walked away feeling so meh.
maybe it's the fact that this didn't feel much of a romance at all? it was more so 80% a break up book addressing the depths of life and what can happen when your adolescence is stripped away from you andddd theeeennnn like 20% a second chance romantic comedy.
personally, I wish she went the Emily Henry "Happy Place" route with the structure of this book. all of the love we have for these characters is in the first book, but they are different people now. practical strangers to me! I wanted the stark contrast of the "then" and "now" woven more tightly throughout the story. I craved seeing them happy together, I wanted the couple to live and breathe on the page for more than half a chapter. I wanted the romantic and comedic moments we had gotten in the first book. instead, we got a lot of character work (did anyone really develop? i actually can't tell) and a second chance trope for two people who lost the spark that made me adore them in the beginning.
still, the moments that we got, I liked. I thought the character arcs were refreshing and a risk on Painter's part. and I just love that she wanted to keep telling their story. the idea that all of Lynn Painter's characters are slowly growing with their audience and maturing in ways we didn't expect to see?! because like we NEVER get an aged-up sequel to a beloved YA novel! how fun is that?