Happily Never After begins with a bang as an objector stands up and stops a wedding! This book has all the things I love about Lynn Painter’s books – witty banter, great characters, and a spicy romance. And though it lacks the depth of her other books–this one is pretty light–I still thought it was great fun.

Our heroine, Sophie, is trying to figure out how to get out of her wedding. A few days before the wedding, she sees her fiancé, Stuart’s, phone and realized he was cheating on her. Her father works for Stuart’s father and she is afraid he will be fired if she cancels the wedding. Her best friend, Asha, comes up with the idea of hiring an objector. Asha knows Max, her cousin’s old college roommate, and he had helped out another friend by objecting at their wedding. Asha contacts Max to stop Sophie’s wedding and save her from marrying Stuart, who is awful. Sophie hopes by having the objector stop the wedding and telling everyone about Stuart’s cheating, the blame for the canceled wedding will fall on Stuart. So, the plan is set and, whoa, It IS a very funny scene!  Chaos breaks out, followed by a night of drinking and laughing with Sophie, Max and her friends.

Fast forward four months later, Sophie gets a call from Max asking if she’d be an objector at his friend’s wedding–his friend found out his girlfriend was cheating on him. This too is another really funny wedding scene. Sophie and Max have so much fun, they decide to be objectors together. They think of themselves as performing a public service to others that need their help, and the extra cash they make comes in handy too.

Sophie and Max both have regular day jobs. Sophie is an HR Director and is up for a big promotion. Sophie’s boss notices she’s been sending work emails at odd hours and tells her she needs a better work-life balance if she wants the promotion. Meanwhile Max needs a girlfriend to convince his parents that he is settled enough so they will retire to their dream home in FL. Max is a senior project manager for his father’s construction company and is ready to take over when his dad retires. They decide to help each other out by hanging out and posting pictures of themselves together online. They joke around with each other and their conversations are fun, even when they’re doing mundane things like grocery shopping and running together. They are attracted to each other and it doesn’t take long before things get spicy and pretty fantastic.

I wondered how it would all work out because both Max and Sophie have sworn off relationships yet they seem like a perfect match! Max’s ex-girlfriend, who broke his heart two years earlier, shows up and causes some problems and it takes some time (maybe a little too much time) for Sophie and Max to make the leap and take a chance on love.

It would have been fun to see more of their friends and family in the story but I loved how the humor ran all the way through the story. If you enjoy Painter’s books like I do, or if you’re looking for a light romcom that’s pretty steamy, this is a quick easy read that will make you smile.