Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Happily Never After

ebook
0 of 5 copies available
0 of 5 copies available
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.
  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      January 1, 2024

      Sophie Steinbeck is at the altar about to say "I do" to her cheating boyfriend, Stuart Lauren, albeit begrudgingly, because she can't see any other way out of her situation. When their officiant asks the requisite question about anyone objecting to the union, a handsome stranger stands up to state his case: Stu has been unfaithful. Sophie later discovers that her best friend paid the handsome stranger, Max Parks, to object to the marriage, freeing Sophie from her predicament. It's an occasional gig for Max, and he enlists Sophie's help at the next wedding. The two agree to a platonic friendship as they work together, even though their chemistry is undeniable. Neither will admit that their romance is more than lust, but they are about to learn that love can find its way into the hearts of even its toughest critics. VERDICT A rom-com for the cynics, Painter's (The Love Wager) latest is peppered with sarcasm while the heat remains at a low sizzle. The supporting cast is equally funny and helps to round out an entertaining yarn that doesn't take itself too seriously.--Kara Kohn

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 22, 2024
      Painter (Betting on You) delivers a charmer of a rom-com with this lively tale of professional wedding objectors. When Sophie Steinbeck finds out her fiancé, Stuart, has been unfaithful, she wants to call the whole thing off—but her father-in-law to be is her father’s boss and she worries about the repercussions. Enter Max Parks, who gets paid to object at ill-fated weddings and who helps Sophie to call things off mid-ceremony without getting blamed for the relationship’s end. Both Sophie and Max have been burned by love, but when Sophie asks Max to show her the ropes of the hired objection gig, their attraction is undeniable. They agree to a purely physical relationship even as Max hopes feelings will grow. When Sophie is called to object at Max’s former girlfriend’s wedding, however, his instinct to protect his ex from heartbreak creates a huge rift between Max and Sophie. Will they be able to sort out their differences? Alternating between Sophie’s and Max’s perspectives, the zippy plot comes complete with a winning supporting cast, especially Sophie’s entertaining senior-citizen roommates and mischievous cats. Rom-com fans will find this scratches the itch.

    • Kirkus

      Starred review from January 15, 2024
      Two people who scorn love fall for each other while teaming up to help others escape doomed relationships. When Sophie Steinbeck finds out that her fiance, Stuart, is cheating on her before their wedding, she knows calling it off is the right thing to do. But her dad is employed by Stuart's father, and Sophie is convinced the boss is just cruel enough to fire her dad out of spite. The solution comes in the form of Max Parks, a wedding objector for hire--he shows up at the chapel and publicly accuses Stuart of infidelity. A drunken celebration following Sophie's non-wedding leads to a connection between her and Max, and when they decide to team up to help other wronged brides and grooms, sparks begin to fly between them. But with Sophie having just gone through a disastrous engagement, and Max still reeling from a heart-shattering breakup, neither one wants a relationship...right? Painter builds a foundation for entertaining rom-com antics, but none of the pieces hold together. Much of the dialogue, especially the banter between Max and Sophie, is more cringey than humorous. The wedding objector plot--by far the most striking aspect of the novel--moves to the background as the book shifts to a flimsy fake-dating scenario, and since neither Max nor Sophie really needs the money, there's little urgency to their finding new ceremonies to foil. In fact, there's little tension at all. Even when Max's ex-girlfriend reappears toward the end of the novel, it does little to add conflict. Readers who enjoy their rom-coms with a lot of spice won't be disappointed, but it's not enough to support an otherwise weak entry in the genre. Not worth the RSVP.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Loading