“Sometimes we get so tied up in our idea of what we think we want that we miss out on the amazingness of what we could actually have.”
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Young Adult
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1.5 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Underage drinking and smoking, other than that can’t really think of anything else.
“Better Than The Movies” is a rom-com style novel all about rom-coms. Liz Buxbaum and Wes Bennet have been next door neighbors their whole lives, sounds cute, right? Well, it doesn’t help that Wes has been trying to be a pain in Liz’s butt for as long as she can remember. But then in comes Michael, her childhood crush that moved away to Texas when they were younger, and she can’t help but fantasize about dating him. But Michael thinks Wes is into Liz… So, in an attempt to convince Michael that Liz isn’t into Wes, they start… fake dating? But only so they can fake break up later on and Michael can be assured Liz is completely available. But as said break up date comes closer and closer, Liz feels unsettled. She’s liked this new friendship that’s grown between herself and Wes—who’s making it a whole lot harder to hate him.
In this fake-dating, enemies-to-lovers tribute to all young adult rom-com movies, you will ultimately fall in love with some of the most infuriating characters ever. Liz, with her blinding stubbornness; Wes, with his trust issues; Michael, with his insecurities—and misguided decisions. I could not get enough of this book.
I think it’ll be amongst my favorite reads this 2022. Where is Netflix when you need it most? This book needs to be made into a movie. Like now.
In this mostly-clean read, you’ll get all the teenager lessons you’ll need: how all lies are discovered in the end, how your family can support you—even if you’re not related by blood, how it’s okay to mess up and forgive and be forgiven, but mostly how high school and first loves and first crushes aren’t the end of the world.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for a cute, rom-com-movie-inspired read. If you enjoy fake-dating and enemies-to-lovers this book is also for you. But specifically, if you’re looking for a book to gift to a teenager in their junior or senior years, THIS IS IT. Don’t look any further. This book has the perfect mix of romance and deception and friendship and family and high school and prom and love.
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“Enemies-to-lovers—it’s our trope, Buxbaum.”
andrea's galley 