On the HahaFiction shelf
Happily Never After
Audiobook available · 7 hr 39 min
Sophie knows her fiancé is cheating, but calling off the wedding could endanger her father’s job. Max makes a sideline of objecting at ceremonies, giving people a way out. After he helps Sophie, she asks to join him on other assignments.
From the publisher’s blurb
“Back pats and handkerchiefs were not my thing.”Read the full description at Lynn Painter, Happily Never After, authorized Berkley excerpt via Fresh Fiction
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What makes it funny?
Max arrives to collect his fee and expects tears. Sophie is busy throwing snack cakes off a balcony at a Volvo. His plan to take the money and leave lasts only until he sees the next throw.
The comedy at work
Wedding objections become a service with fees to collect and customers to manage. Max’s impatient professionalism makes a useful foil for Sophie’s exuberant relief.
Try this if…
The wedding-interruption setup suits readers who enjoy broad romantic predicaments and cynical leads who have reasons to mistrust love. Older roommates and troublesome cats add to the supporting cast.
Good to know
Infidelity and a threat to a parent’s livelihood start the story. It alternates Sophie’s and Max’s perspectives; the excerpt includes drinking and profanity.
A few distinguishing details
- Paid objections at weddings
- A relieved bride’s snack-cake revenge
More funny contemporary romance
Sources & further reading
- Apple Books lists Happily Never After (Unabridged) by Lynn Painter, narrated by Helen Laser, with length 07:39.
Book information
- Penguin Random House lists Happily Never After by Lynn Painter in paperback at 304 pages; ISBN 9780593638026.
Publisher
- Publisher-authorized excerpt
Publisher
- Publisher
Publisher
- Publishers Weekly review
Review
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