The Weekend Aesthetic is a feature where I post book aesthetics on the weekend. They might be of a book I’m currently reading, recently read, or read a long time ago.
I adore romcoms, so I was super excited for Better Than the Movies. Pitched as a romcom about romcoms, Better Than the Movies truly is a love letter to all romcoms. Before Liz’s mother died, she passed her love of romcoms to Liz. Now it’s the end of her senior year, and Liz’s grief is extra strong as she goes through all of the end of high school milestones without her mom. But if she can land the perfect prom date, it would be like one of their romcoms and maybe, just maybe, feel like her mom is there with her. Cue her childhood crush, Michael, moving back—the timing couldn’t be better. However, Michael still sees her as the little girl he once knew, so Liz recruits her neighbor Wes to fake date her in exchange for the coveted parking spot they fight over daily. But as Wes and Liz spend more time together, Liz starts to rethink who her perfect leading man might be.
This book is perfect for fans of romcoms, especially To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and The DUFF (the movie adaptation). It’s full of so much trope-y goodness that will leaving you swooning in delight! I loved Liz and her love for vintage dresses, music, and, of course, romcoms. Her grief felt so real, and Wes was so supportive of her in it (and all of her other schemes). He’s definitely worthy of being the leading man! The supporting cast of characters was also great, especially Liz’s stepmom and how their relationship develops throughout the book. This book is full of so much heart and is not to be missed!
Release Date: May 4, 2021
Find it: Goodreads, IndieBound, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Amazon
In this rom-com about rom-coms, in the spirit of Kasie West and Jenn Bennett, a hopeless romantic teen attempts to secure a happily-ever-after moment with her forever crush, but finds herself reluctantly drawn to the boy next door.
Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar—and maybe snag him as a prom date—even befriend Wes Bennet.
The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz’s in.
But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she’s shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love—and rethink her own ideas of what Happily Ever After should look like.
i love this post idea! is this something you came up with?
Thank you so much! Yes, I created it in 2018—so I’ve been doing it for 3 years now ☺️
I’ve heard really great things about this one! I can’t wait to read it for myself.
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear?
Yay! Hope you love it as much as I did!