Review - - Accidentally Amy

Accidentally Amy

by Lynn Painter

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: January 14, 2025

Reviewed by Hellie

Isabella Shay is usually a very honest person. But when she’s running late for her first day at her dream job and the barista yells for “Amy” three times with no answer, she does the unthinkable.

Izzy takes that PSL.

It’s the exact drink she ordered and paid for, only way further ahead in the queue—and she’ll take whatever bad karma is coming for her; she’s desperate and very late. But when she turns around and runs directly into the most attractive man she’s ever seen, spilling the drink all over his made-for-GQ shirt and tie, she ends up having the ultimate meet-cute. Karma who? Sparks fly and things feel beyond promising, until he says to her: “See you tomorrow, Amy.”

Izzy reasons she can just straighten things out the next day, no biggie. Only when she gets to her new office and meets the VP of her department, it is none other than Blake Phillips—the hottie from Starbucks. And the man might’ve been charming to “Amy,” but he is an arrogant grump to Izzy, an arrogant grump who does not find her explanation funny at all. But day by day, an attraction simmers between them and they’ll have to find a way to work together without ripping each other’s heads—or clothes—off.

Hellie’s Heeds

My people, Lynn Painter just gets better and better. You may recall I recommended a previous book by her, Happily Never After, where I cackled all the live long day while reading it. Accidentally Amy is just as funny, just as sweet, and just as sexy, and I suspect if I went back and read her other books, Mr. Wrong Number and The Love Wager, I would also have to admit I cackled all the way through the pages. Lynn Painter is funny as hell and honestly I think we all need a bit more of laughter to get us through the rest of this Winter of Oh-Hell-Not-Again (which happens every January, the longest Monday of the year.) While I’m a bit delayed for a January recommendation, February is also sure to have its share of grey, cold days and this is the warming cup of hot chocolate you need to make it to Spring. 

That was my summary for you TL;DR (too long; didn't read) peeps. For the rest of you, I will add more details like both characters own cats–and they are the cutest and most adorable cats you’ve ever met, even your own. Also the fact that the hero has adopted two special needs cats: one blind and one diabetic–has put him in the running as the most swoonworthy hero of 2025 and we’ve barely started. (I mean, despite the fact January feels a 1000 days long, technically we’re just underway of this year and reading, as a reminder.)

The sex scenes were sexy–and admittedly I’ve gotten older and crankier so sex scenes don’t generally impress me much anymore. If anything, I’ve started rolling my eyes and skimming pages–and I don’t like that because I love a well-crafted sex scene–but my friends, I savored every word. I dogearred a couple pages for my Hubby. The scenes were both vivid but also felt not unnecessarily explicit, which *chef’s kiss* not everyone can do–but Lynn Painter can. The characters are well-developed…and honestly I’m looking forward to my coffee date at Scooter’s next week with Isabella Shay as I make her my new best friend, she’s that real. (I won’t order any Pumpkin Spice Lattes though….)

So run…add this book to your TBR pile for 2025. It’s worth the spend, in my opinion, and while you’re at it, check out her backlist if you haven’t already. Top Dish. 

Review - - Happily Never After

Happily Never After

by Lynn Painter

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: March 12, 2024

Reviewed by Hellie

 

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.

 

Hellie’s Heeds: 

5 stars, Top Dish, Awesome Beach Read 

The only reason why I wasn’t able to get this review to PJ before she went a-journeying was because I kept stopping in mid-read to hit my husband in the shoulder and go, “Listen to this, listen to this…” and then read it aloud–and then we’d cackle–and I’d go back to reading. It takes me twice as long to listen to the book as it would for me to read it–and here we are. That said, this book was so funny I had to stop every other page or so and read it aloud to whatever half-willing victim (after giving them a “brief” synopsis of the story so far) so they too could enjoy Lynn Painter’s brilliance.  

The story is told in back-and-forth first person POVs of Sophie and Max. Sophie is the greater of the two nihilists, a complete believer that “love” as defined by poets and adolescent idiots does not exist. She’s certainly never felt it. Even when she was about to be married. She felt a companionship for Stuart, an intense friendship–but not “love” of the passionate, all encompassing kind…and she thought he was on the same page. He was not. Turns out he did want a more passionate kind of love–at least on the side–which is how our story starts. Sophie’s bridesmaid hires an Objector, dear Max, to break off Sophie’s wedding so she doesn’t have to marry the cheating SOB. After the failed wedding, when Max comes to collect his paycheck, the drunk almost-bride convinces him to stay and drink with her and the bridesmaid–and he’s almost immediately hooked. 

Neither of them think they’ll see each other again until Max needs her to play the part of Objector in a wedding. Soon they start going to other weddings together, playing Objectors together and having the time of their lives. Each needs the other as a sort of “relationship camouflage” to keep family and coworkers off their backs, which works really well for them until they begin to realize: I really like him/her. Which is shocking to Sophie who does NOT do feelings. Ever. Max isn’t keen on feelings either–but Sophie really doesn’t do feelings.  

As someone who also doesn’t “do feelings” in a Brene Brown kind of way (“It was a year long street fight”), Sophie was very easy for me to relate to. To those of us in the crowd who may have had less dysfunctional parents or childhoods, you may want to shake her a few times for being so obstinate of what is so clearly obvious: LOVE. It’s a nice change of pace to have the girl being the one who struggles with feelings rather than the guy–in contrast, Max is much more a romantic and is much sooner to admit to himself he loves Sophie.  

The black moment was good–but the Groveling was adorable. I *heart* a great Grovel scene…and Sophie’s presentation will have you laughing out loud. It was a quick read with great pacing and hysterical banter. I think it would be perfect in your beach reading (I know how TBR piles can be). Oh, and the secondary characters? Did I forget them? OMG, Larry! Sophie’s cats! Seriously…go read it. 

Review - - The Love Wager

The Love Wager

by Lynn Painter

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: March 14, 2023

Reviewed by Santa

Hallie Piper is turning over a new leaf. After belly-crawling out of a hotel room (hello, rock bottom), she decides it’s time to become a full-on adult. She gets a new apartment, a new haircut, and a new wardrobe, but when she logs onto the dating app that she has determined will find her new love, she sees none other than Jack, the guy whose room she snuck out of. 

After agreeing they are absolutely not interested in each other, Jack and Hallie realize they’re each other’s perfect wing-person in their searches for The One. They text each other about their dates, often scheduling them at the same restaurant so that if things don’t go well, the two of them can get tacos afterward. 

Spoiler: they get a lot of tacos together. 

Discouraged by the lack of prospects, Jack and Hallie make a wager to see who can find true love first, but when they agree to be fake dates for a weekend wedding, all bets are off. As they pretend to be a couple, lines become blurred and they both struggle to remember why the other was a bad idea to begin with.

Santa Says:

The Love Wager by Lynn Painter was a hit for me from the first page! A solid five stars filled with witty banter as Hallie Piper and Jack Marshall text their way into each other’s hearts. There were several times where I laughed right out loud! They hooked up at a wedding where she was a bartender and he very narrowly escaped becoming engaged to a shrew. You would think that was the end of their story. Hallie certainly wasn’t looking for more coming off a horrible break up with a man she was sure was going to propose to her. Her life was stagnating and she needed to get her life together.   

Friends decide to set her up on a dating app and as she is scrolling through she discovers Jack is also on the app. They agree not to date one another but start acting as each other’s wingman eventually meeting up after their dates. They become fast friends and best friends. But there is always something simmering underneath it all. I felt like shouting ‘Come on!’ They even make a bet as to who would find true love first. Oh, this is going to end well. 

It takes a lot for Jack and Hallie to finally admit they really love one another. That it could be more than a hook up at that wedding. They decide to pose as fake boyfriend and girlfriend for her sister’s wedding. There’s no way that would never cause them problems. Not even when there’s only one bed involved. Favorite romance trope alert! I was cheering for them just before it blows up spectacularly!  

Fear not, Lynn Painter brings them into an impasse that is painful to witness and gets them right out of it. Their happily ever after scene is sigh worthy and beautifully written. I am very excited for this writer. I am going to add her first book Mr. Wrong Number to my TBR list. And I look forward to her next book, too.