Liz Buxbaum has always known that Wes Bennett was not boyfriend material. You would think that her next-door neighbor would be a prince candidate for her romantic comedy fantasies, but Wes has only proven himself to be a pain in the butt, ever since they were little. Wes was the kid who put a frog in her Barbie Dreamhouse, the monster who hid a lawn gnome's severed head in her little homemade neighborhood book exchange.
Flashforward ten years from the Great Gnome Decapitation. It's Liz's senior year, a time meant to be rife with milestones perfect for any big screen, and she needs Wes's help. See, Liz's forever crush, Michael, has just moved back to town, and-horribly, annoyingly-he's hitting it off with Wes. Meaning that if Liz wants Michael to finally notice her, and hopefully be her prom date, she needs Wes. He's her in.
But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz her magical prom moment, she's shocked to discover that she actually likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she really thought she knew about love-and rethink her own perception of what Happily Ever After should really look like. (Lynn Painter)
I walk a fine line between cliché stories. Some are too ditzy, some are too predictable but some can execute the magic of a good story. Better Than The Movies is the latter. The dialogue rolled of the tongue easily, the main characters weren't clueless and character development is written well. I was too caught up in the excitement of the story to notice any obvious flaws which means that as a reader, the book is an enjoyment, instead of reading something horrible and being aware of it every time you open it. The book wasn't all cute and flirty. Liz's mother died when she was young, leaving most of Liz's memories with her when they were watching rom-coms together, causing her to believe she must act like the main character of one in order to keep her memory alive. Her father remarried and Liz feels uncomfortable allowing Helena into her senior memories, when it should have been her mother instead. It had many pop culture references, which can be quite off putting, especially for me but Painter managed to write them across easily, always managing to make them fit, instead of forcing them in. Something that drew me in first were the quotes seen at the start of every chapter from certain rom-coms. Upon further reading, these quotes were placed at the start of the chapter to foreshadow the chapter itself.
"Love is patient, love is kind, love means slowly losing your mind" - 27 Dresses in Chapter 9. In Chapter 9, Liz and Helena, her stepmum who she shares a complicated relationship with, go to Starbucks and Liz reveals her thoughts about her growing alliance with Wes. Later, they go dress shopping with her best friend, Jocelyn and her mother. This chapter represents the growing switch in Liz's mind about how she is starting to enjoy Wes's attention more than Michael's. She is becoming confused and ponders the what if's. This reflects the quote itself as she's slowly losing her mind trying to figure out where her feelings stand in all of this.
"But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all" - 10 Things I Hate About You in Chapter 10. In Chapter 10, Wes and Liz decide to see a meteor shower together. The next day, they go to a diner, before going to Michael's house for a movie. Both these events; the meteor shower and diner are not Michael-related. Wes invited her personally and Liz is having a good time. As an enemies-to-lovers book, this quote from an enemies-to-lovers movie which is an excellent choice. In fact, this quote can be used for the whole book but for a chapter quote, Painter selected it quite well.
"But you know, the thing about romance is, people only get together right at the very end" - Love Actually in Chapter 18. This is The Chapter and the one worth the journey. This quote summarises every romance film or book. The book is the journey and they only truly get together at the end. Of course, we never know what happens after but we like to think it all went smooth sailing.
Liz and Wes's love story was one that made us laugh and gasp and it was written beautifully. It had moments that made us wish we were the main character and it created hope for those who were in Liz's position. Those who didn't go to keg parties. Those who considered a movie for Friday night entertaining. Those who didn't enjoy playing basketball. Those who decided to live their life like a rom com (which looks like it might just be Liz). It is executed well and I look forward to reading the sequel.