Happily Never After

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Happily Never After by Lynn Painter
Narrator: Helen Laser, Sean Patrick Hopkins
Published by Berkley Publishing Group, Penguin Random House Audio on March 12, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Length: 7 hours 39 minutes
Pages: 304
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon | Audible | B&N | Kobo | Libro.fm

Their name? The objectors.
Their job? To break off weddings as hired.
Their dilemma? They might just be in love with each other.
 
When Sophie Steinbeck finds out just before her nuptials that her fiancé has cheated yet again, she desperately wants to call it off. But because her future father-in-law is her dad’s cutthroat boss, she doesn’t want to be the one to do it. Her savior comes in the form of a professional objector, whose purpose is to show up at weddings and proclaim the words no couple (usually) wants to hear at their ceremony: “I object!”
 
During anti-wedding festivities that night, Sophie learns more about Max the Objector’s job. It makes perfect sense to her: he saves people from wasting their lives, from hurting each other. He’s a modern-day hero. And Sophie wants in.
 
The two love cynics start working together, going from wedding to wedding, and Sophie’s having more fun than she’s had in ages. She looks forward to every nerve-racking ceremony saving the lovesick souls of the betrothed masses. As Sophie and Max spend more time together, however, they realize that their physical chemistry is off the charts, leading them to dabble in a little hookup session or two—but it’s totally fine, because they definitely do not have feelings for each other. Love doesn’t exist, after all.
 
And then everything changes. A groom-to-be hires Sophie to object, but his fiancée is the woman who broke Max’s heart. As Max wrestles with whether he can be a party to his ex’s getting hurt, Sophie grapples with the sudden realization that she may have fallen hard for her partner in crime.

Oh, this was a lot of fun! I can’t believe I waited so long to pick up one of Lynn Painter’s books, but now I want to read them all. I enjoyed the fact that Sophie and Max end up working together as objectors after Max saves Sophie from her own wedding. I think I had a smile on my face the entire time I listened to this book and found it almost impossible to set aside.

Max and Sophie were fantastic characters. They both say that they don’t believe in love, but I had a feeling that those feelings would change before the story drew to a close and I was correct. As they work together to stop a few weddings, they end up in many interesting and often comical situations. I loved the fact that these two were so comfortable with each other and I adored their banter. The chemistry between them was palpable and I knew that it would be a matter of time before they figured out the path towards their own happily ever after.

I thought that Helen Laser and Sean Patrick Hopkins did an amazing job with the narration of this audiobook. I was pulled into the story immediately and loved how these narrators added just the right amount of emotion to their reading. I found both of their voices to be very pleasant and I felt like their voices complemented one another’s very well. I am certain that their performances added a lot to my overall enjoyment of this story.

I would recommend this book to others. I found this to be a delightful romance with just enough humor to keep things interesting. I fell in love with these characters and my heart melted just a bit as these two fell for each other. I cannot wait to read more of this talented author’s work!

I received a review copy of this book from Penguin Random House Audio and Berkley Publishing Group.

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