The Hating Game

Welcome back to my blog- all about reviewing and recommending books! 

This week's blog post is a review all about Sally Thorne's novel, The Hating Game.

The Hating Game is a romance-fiction book written by Sally Thorne and published in 2016. The Hating Game follows Lucy Hutton, a book obsessed assistant to a publishing CEO, and Joshua Templeman, a fellow assistant to the company's second CEO and Lucy's number one enemy. Lucy and Joshua never see eye to eye after the merger of the publishing houses they work for, creating ways to make life difficult for the other, and now the two of them are competing for a new promotion, which will lead to one of them becoming the other one's new boss. As each of them campaign for this new position and attempt to tear the other one down along the way, we begin to see the two of them slowly start to fall for each other. However, this becomes a slight problem when the two of them realise that someone will have to take the job, but will it come at a cost? Will the two of them find a way to be together or will the job come between them?

Having read this book I would rate it 3 out of 5 stars. I would say that this is a pretty good romance novel, it has an enemies to lovers trope, which can always be seen as an eye-catching read. This book is perfectly average, it is a quick read if you are someone who doesn't have a lot of time for reading and is keen on romance books. I wasn't completely hooked from the start it does take a while to get into the swing of reading this book. The book has its moments that have you on the edge of your seat, however, there are also a few chapters that do drag out quite a bit can make the book a bit boring.

The Hating Game was adapted into a film in 2021. The movie stars Lucy Hale as Lucy Hutton and Austin Stowell as Joshua Templeman. This movie may be seen to a few as quite a cringey chick flick, but as far as book to movie adaptations go, I believe that they did the book justice. When creating book to movie adaptations, those who have read the book prior will always keep an eye out for key parts of the book that may be overlooked, small details that some may miss, but without these details from the book the movie would seem incomplete. For example, towards the end of the book there is a key scene in Joshua's apartment that solidifies their feelings for each other through a very niche detail and the movie managed to capture this well. Overall, I think that this movie was pretty decent, it wasn't the most exciting book to movie adaptation, but they followed the book very closely, which is always great to see.

Hope that you guys enjoyed this review!

Pippa

Where the Crawdads Sing

Welcome back to my blog!

In this week's post I will be sharing with you my thoughts and opinions on Delilah Owens', Where the Crawdads Sing.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delilah Owens is a coming-of-age story published in 2018. This story follows Kya Clark, known to the town as Marsh girl. Kya and her family live out in the marshes of North Carolina, but trouble arises and each one of Kya's family members start to leave the marsh due to their father's abusive behaviour, leaving just Kya and her father. AS we see Kya grow into adulthood she becomes the only Clark left living out in the marsh. Kya never attended school or interacted with those living in the town but was taken on by a couple who run a shop out by the boats. They help Kya to earn money to enable her to continue to live out in the marsh. However, things take a turn for the worst when she meets Chase Andrews, the most popular guy in town, and begins a relationship with him only to find out that he is engaged. Kya is later arrested for the murder of Chase Andrews, but did she actually do it?

I would strongly give this book 5 out of 5 stars. This story pulls you in right from the start, watching Kya group in a world where she isn't really loved and appreciated to facing a murder trial, all because she is an outsider to the town and can be easily blamed. This story also gives us a bit of a love story between Kya and one of the character's, Tate Walker, who shows Kya what true love is and loves her for who she is and will do anything to help prove that she is not guilty of Chase's murder. This book really leaves the reader on the edge of their seat in anticipation of getting to the end of the story. When reading the story I did not find one aspect of the book to be boring. I was so entranced by this book that I finished it within 2 days as I just couldn't get enough.

Where the Crawdads Sing was adapted into a movie in 2022. Overall, as far as book to movie adaptations go, I believe that this adaptation is one of the best ones I have seen. Daisy Edgar-Jones' portrayal of Kya Clark is just what you would imagine while reading this book. While watching the movie, I truly felt as if the book had come to life, as if what had been playing in my head while reading the book. The film managed to encapsulate all the key aspects of the book, allowing every plot twist to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat.

I hope you guys have enjoyed this blog post on Where the Crawdads Sing. Make sure to keep an eye on Instagram for an update on my next post!

Pippa

It Ends With Us

Welcome back to my blog!

In this blog post I will be talking my third book, It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover.

 

It Ends with Us is a fictional romance novel written by Colleen Hoover, published in 2016. This book follows the main character, Lily Bloom who has just moved to Boston after losing her father. Lily’s dream is to open a flower shop, how she is going to do that she doesn’t know yet. On her first night in Boston she meets Ryle Kincaid, a neurosurgeon, and the two spend one night sharing their bad days. Lily never plans to see Ryle again, until she meets Alyssa, with whom she opens florists with and to Lily’s surprise is Ryle’s sister. We follow Lily as she navigates her new life in Boston, running her new business and experiencing new love, but what will happen when she runs into Atlas, the boy next door from Lily's past and her first true love. What could possibly go wrong?

I would give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. this book has a fast paced storyline, which grabs you in from the beginning and makes you feel like you can't put it down. However, I decided to rate this book slightly lower than I would like to as I was not a fan of the writing style.

This was the first book of Colleen Hoover's that I decided to read. Colleen Hoover has a long list of work, but I believe having read multiple of Hoover's books that, It Ends with Us, is one of the best ones to start with.

It Ends with Us was adapted into a film and was released this year. Overall the adaptation of the book into this movie was pretty good, however, it was not very accurate to the book. The movie stars Blake Lively as Lily Bloom, Justin Baldoni as Ryle Kincaid and Brandon Sklenar as Atlas Corrigan. The movie was able to portray majority of the key moments of the books well, for example, Lily and Ryle's fight on the staircase. The movie also depicted Lily and Ryle's first meeting on the rooftop is relatively accurate, which is pivotal in setting up the tone of the film. On the other hand, there are a lot of crucial pieces of information from the book that are missing from the movie. In the book one of the most important climaxes of the story is when Ryle finds a Boston magnet, from Atlas, hidden in Lily's box in their room, which leads to one of their biggest fights. The movie also leaves out references to Lily's diary entries when referring to past Lily and her relationships with her mother, father and Atlas. A smaller detail that was missed out in the movie is why Atlas decided to change the name of his restaurant. Although some details that are missing are not big they do impact the storyline.

Hope you guys enjoy this post, keep an eye for the next one!

Pippa

Little Women

In this post I will be sharing my next book, Little Women.

Little Women is another classic written by Louisa May Alcott, written in 1868, and is the novel which Alcott is most famous for. 

In this book we follow the March family, living in Massachusetts during the America Civil War. Jo, Amy, Meg and Beth March along with their mother, we see how they live their lives during a time of turmoil and as they await the return of their father who is away fighting in the Civil War. As the girls go on with their lives, they later meet Laurie and his grandfather, who become almost like family to the March girls. Jo and Laurie begin to develop a budding friendship and help each other through troubling times. This novel jumps between past and present, allowing us to see how the girls’ relationships with each other and partners develop. Within the book Jo March, who the book mostly follows, aspires to be a writer and growing up wrote plays for her and her sisters. We also see Meg March struggle being a poor man’s wife, Amy March’s aspiration to be an artist and accompanying their aunt March to Europe and Beth March’s unfortunate illness.

This classic novel scores 5 out of 5 stars. A heart-felt novel with a focus on family and sisterhood, but also has the right amount of love stories written into it without making it the sole purpose of the book. For this era creating a story like this, mainly focused on womanhood and not just a love story was very untraditional but has become one of the best-selling books.

This novel is by far one of the best books I have read. Writing the story in both the past tense and the current really allows the reader to understand and appreciate the characters development. For this time of which this book was published it’s great to read a book that of the time was not solely based on the intentions of the book having to end with the woman finding a husband, but instead seeing a woman work hard to pursue her dream, but also managing to find love along the way. Within the novel there are multiple storylines for each character than don’t overshadow one another, which allows the reader to truly understand each characters’ story.

Little Women has been adapted into film twice. The first adaptation of this book was in 1994, with a star studded cast, including Winona Ryder and Christian Bale. The second film adaptation was in 2019 directed by Greta Gerwig, with yet another star studded cast, this includes Saoirse Ronan and Timothee Chalamet. Out of these films I have only managed to watch the 2019 adaptation. Having watched this movie I can say that it does follow the book pretty accurately and was done very well. It encapsulates the jump from past to current amazingly without losing track of the storyline. 

Keep an eye out for the next post!

Pippa

Pride and Prejudice

Welcome back to my blog!

The first book I want to share with you guys is one of my personal favourites.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, published in 1813, is known all around the world as a literature classic and is probably one of Jane Austen's most notable pieces of work. Pride and Prejudice follows the protagonist of Elizabeth Bennet as she navigates her large family of 4 sisters, all entered in society, an eager mother desperate for her daughters to find husbands and their father hoping for their happiness. We are then introduced to both Charles Bingley and his best friend Mr Darcy, who have just arrived in the book's setting of Hertfordshire. The book explores the personal development of Elizabeth Bennet and her relationship with Mr Darcy. We see the trials and tribulations as the Bennet sisters start to fall in love, but are cast aside due to their family's social class compared to those around them, but Elizabeth strives to stand by her sister, Jane, to make sure she ends up with the man she is in love with, Charles Bingley, even if it means putting her own feelings for Darcy to the side.

This was my first classic book and to say I was pulled in from the beginning would be an understatement. Starting off strong I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars. This book is your quintessential enemies to lovers love story, full of ups and downs and the perfect ending for a hopeless romantic.

Jane Austen truly has a way of creating some of the most beautiful love stories of this era and her style of writing allows the reader to fully immerse themselves into the book. Austen adds such subtly into her work in order to enhance our love for the character and their development, for example, when we see the slightest bit of emotion in Darcy when Elizabeth shows rejection. This little change in Darcy's character lets us as the reader begin to see a different side of him and how he begins to actually show his true emotions, but in quite an understated way.

This book has been adapted into both a television show and a movie. First, the 1995 BBC period drama of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. Most people who have read the book would agree that this adaptation is the most accurate to the book compared to the 2005 movie adaptation starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfayden. The BBC version of Pride and Prejudice portrays Mr Darcy more accurately than the 2005 movie, displaying him as a more socially awkward and blunt character, whereas Matthew Macfayden radiates an almost heartthrob persona, which was probably not Austen's intentions. The 2005 adaptation allows its viewers to feel this almost magical and romantic love story, however, relevant to the book, the 1995 series allows you to understand the slow burn of emotions in the build up of Elizabeth and Darcy's relationship. Lastly, the 1995 adaptation allows you to truly appreciate Austen's writing as the dialogue is more traditional than the later adaptation.

Stay tuned for the next book!

Pippa

Welcome to my blog!

 Hey guys,

Welcome to my new blog! On this blog I will be sharing one of my favourite hobbies, reading. I will be posting about books I have read or currently reading, whether they have been a favourite or not. Alongside sharing the books I have been reading I will also be sharing my opinions on the books' book to movie/show adaptation, dependant on whether the book has one or not. This will include whether the adaptation was well done or not and how true it was to the book.

Can't wait to start sharing with you guys!

Pippa