Happily Never After

Chemistry class is over and Lynn Painter has aced it once again!

Sophie Steinbeck and Max Parks meet when she hears about him through her best friend and pays him to object to her wedding to cheating fiance Stuart. You know the part … “If anyone has any reason why these two should not be wed” … that one. Max is the one that says “I do!”, and the bride-to-be Sophie can now say “I don’t!” without her dad having to repay the cost of the cancelled wedding.

Thus starts one of the weirdest, funniest, most playful, complicated, endearing friendships between two people who’ve sworn off love and relationships that I’ve had the pleasure of reading!  Sophie is particularly committed to the idea that romantic “love” is a made-up idea that doesn’t exist in reality.  After both have had their hearts broken, they’re not falling for that nonsense again!

Their solution? To become co-objectors to others’ doomed weddings! It’s a side gig that allows them to spare other bride or grooms-to-be the pain of marrying someone who hasn’t been faithful to them. They also figure out that if they post pictures on social media that make it LOOK like they’re together, it will help Sophie achieve a promotion she wants, and will get Max’s parents off his back. It’s win-win for them, right? If only those pesky feelings would go away …

While they double down on the idea that love and relationships are for fools, their burgeoning friendship may have other ideas. I mean … they’re both smart, highly successful, attractive, funny people who might also be two of the most snarkastic characters I’ve encountered in a book! I had so many good laughs from these two, as well as Sophie’s hilariously sassy elderly roommates, Larry and Rose. The first chapter at Sophie’s wedding alone was worth the read!

The heart and soul of this book and what I loved most is Sophie and Max’s friendship. Romance is always fun, but their banter and interactions as FRIENDS were what really made the book for me. Having said that, the chemistry I spoke of at the start of my review? WOW. I needed a minute to bring my heart rate back down! It’s open-door but not overly explicit. If you don’t want to hear about “sexy fun time”, though, you’ll need to skip some spots. I’ll also warn that most of the major characters have occasional potty mouths, but Max is exceptionally fond of the f-bomb. It doesn’t phase me much, but it is excessive at times. 

If you enjoy snarky, sarcastic humor and a fun friends to lovers story, this is a winner! This is my third book by Painter, and I’ve loved all of them. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

★★★★ ½

Thanks to Berkley Publishing, NetGalley and author Lynn Painter for this digital ARC to honestly review. It’s out now.