My (current) Favorite Books Turned Big Screen… and my LEAST favorite one thus far.
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#1: Love, Rosie
By Cecilia Ahern.
I’m here to be completely honest with you, right? If not, what’s the point of this blog anyways? This book, for me, was sort of a love/hate relationship. Now hear me out… I LOVED this book for all of the reasons that make it a great rom-com. There’s great characters, there’s a witty plot, there’s all the feelings you want to feel when you read a book. Yes, all of this is in this novel. The “hate” part comes only because this book is a series of emails and letters. It’s not my ideal way to read a book.
Fast forward to the movie and I can tell you it’s great! I liked it even more from reading the book, since of course, there are omitted parts and parts you will understand more after reading the novel, BUT, stand alone, it’s a great movie. Who’s not a fan of Lily Collins anyways? (Okay, maybe some people, but not me!)
This is one movie you can watch before reading the book if you just cannot wait, or you can read after and you’ll understand more of it. Either way, this one is a keeper both as a novel and a movie! ENJOY!
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#2: Something Borrowed
By Emily Giffin.
This book is what started my love affair with the author Emily Giffin. For one, she has an amazing name, right??! Secondly, I love her writing style; it’s so relatable and I love getting immersed in her wit and words. She is the epitome of what people refer to as “chick-lit,” and although some people aren’t fond of this title for the genre, I love it. I always think if a book would make a great “rom-com” then it’s in the “chick-lit” category. It’s a good thing, I promise! (Yes, men can also love chick-lit!)
Great book and a great movie. The cast in the movie is great, and it’s one of those books to movies where I really can see the actors were cast perfectly from the characters described on the pages. Great book, great movie, YAY! This is another one you can do in any order you like; I wasn’t mad at all with the movie version, and of course you will still be getting more insight from reading the book before watching the movie.
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Bridgerton: The Duke and I.
By Julia Quinn.
Bridgerton. If you have Netflix, or heck, live on Planet Earth, then you know exactly what I am talking about. Did you know the Netflix Season 1 Bridgerton series is based on Julia Quinn’s book, “The Duke and I?” It sure is!
I actually watched the show first before I read this novel. I don’t regret doing it this way at all. Were there some differences? Of course. Did I mind them? Not at all. I really enjoyed both the novel and the show, but if I’m being 100% honest, I prefer the show over the book for one main reason. THE DUKE. Just watch the show, you’ll understand. I promise, you’ll enjoy both very much.
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#4: The Hating Game.
By Sally Thorne.
When I say I LOVE this book, it doesn’t really do it justice. It’s one of my favorite “chick-lit” aka “rom-com in book form” novels that I’ve read recently. I can’t tell you how much fun this book is to read. It has all the feels and the laugh out loud moments we crave from books. As you’ve probably learned from my reviews, books that just help me escape everyday life and “heavy world issues” are kind of my jam.
When I discovered it was just made into a movie I couldn’t even contain my excitement. Do I prefer the novel to the movie? Yes. Did I really enjoy the movie? Yes. Both are great, but for this one I highly recommend reading the book BEFORE you watch the movie. I worry without the background information you get from that book, you won’t appreciate the movie as much. In all honesty, it’s not the best “stand alone” movie, but if you watch the movie after reading the book I think you’ll really enjoy it. Seriously, just take my word for it and start reading and then log into your Amazon Prime account and start watching. (I think it’s only on Amazon Prime right now.)
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#5: The Secrets She Keeps
By Michael Robotham.
I’m taking a bit of a genre detour with this pick. “The Secrets She Keeps” by Michael Robotham was such a dynamic story. To say I couldn’t put it down would be an understatement. Unlike my other picks, this is not a chick-lit book in the slightest. This one would fall under more of a suspense category. The story is ever-evolving and is really just worth the read. (Don’t worry, I PROMISE zero spoilers in my reviews so that’s all I’m going to say on this!)
There is a mini series based on this book, and wow. You will not be disappointed. I think you can read or watch first with this one- whichever genre you want to be surprised with would be a good place to start. Oh my goodness, I cannot wait to hear what you think about this storyline.
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My LEAST favorite Book to the Big Screen is…
Nine Perfect Stangers By Liane Moriarty.
Nine Perfect Strangers Book to Hulu Television Series
I know, some of you are probably in shock right now and might be thinking how I could ever think this. I guess this is a good time to remind you that everyone sees things differently, and if you are on the opposite side of this opinion, I’d love to hear why you think I’m incorrect with this review.Sadly, I didn’t love this novel. I really wanted to. Maybe I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to read it, or maybe I just wanted something more from it. Either way, I was hoping watching the show on Hulu would change my opinion. I LOVE the actors in this series and really think they did an amazing job. (Melissa McCarthy should win all the awards for her portrayal by the way!) I felt that either I misread the book or something very different happened in my mind versus what I watched on the show. Did I miss something or was I right in thinking they were pretty far off from each other? Either way, feel free to still read and watch and if you do, I want to hear from you!
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Watching a novel you’ve read can elevate the picture you had in your mind to an entirly new level, or it can completely alter your view on the story. Either way, it’s fun to see everything play out the way a screen writer interpreted it.
