Better Than the Movies (2021) Nothing Like the Movies (2024)
⚡ Pace: fast · 🎭 Emotions: light, charming · 🚪 Entry threshold: low · ⭐ Why read: cozy romance, playful humor
High school feels like a stage where everyone else knows their lines, and that’s exactly where the story picks up – with a girl who clings to romantic daydreams as if they’re the only script that makes sense. She wants a love story worthy of her favourite soundtracks, yet real life keeps interrupting her fantasies with chaos, grief and a maddening boy next door who refuses to stay in the background. Why do the people we overlook become the ones who see us most clearly? And what happens when the romance you planned clashes with the connection that sneaks up on you? The first book captures the glittery, messy urgency of teenhood: school hallways humming with rumours, big dances that feel like destiny, and the quiet tug of wanting to be understood without having to pretend. Beneath the banter and late-night drives lies a deeper thread – the longing to hold onto the joy of stories while learning that real love rarely follows a perfect script.
The second book widens the emotional map, keeping the rom-com sparkle but grounding it in growth, self-doubt and the shifting gravity of young adulthood. Crushes evolve into something steadier, friendships stretch under pressure, and characters begin asking themselves what they truly want once the soundtrack fades. Can you rewrite your expectations without losing the softness that made you love love in the first place? And how do you let someone in when you’re still figuring yourself out? Across both novels, the series balances charm with sincerity, showing that love can be awkward, surprising and wonderfully inconvenient. It suggests that the best romances aren’t the ones that look cinematic, but the ones that grow out of honesty, shared jokes and the courage to be vulnerable. By the final pages, the world hasn’t become less complicated – but it feels fuller, brighter, touched by the realisation that love worth keeping rarely looks like a movie, yet still makes your life feel better than one.
📚 Did you know 📖
The book became a TikTok bestseller and is often described as the “Gen Z rom-com novel.”
Painter deliberately plays with the clichés of 1990s–2000s romantic comedies, while also poking fun at them.
The novel won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Romance in 2021.
The story was partly inspired by the author’s love of classic Meg Ryan films.
In addition, 9 novellas and extra scenes have been released alongside the main books.
Legend has it: fans created an entire Spotify playlist with the songs mentioned throughout the book.