Honestly saw the movie before reading the book and completely agree!! The book is unmatched. Their love story is so much deeper than how it’s portrayed in the movie and book Hayes is so direct and adorning with how much he loves Solene for who she is. I think the movie could’ve done well as a series, especially with all of the places they go in the book. We would’ve really seen the gravity of his fame and how much she was sacrificing constantly leaving her world, her career, towards the end, her identity and also seeing him, limited by what he can do but also staying grounded. But at the end of the day, I think of them as two separate stories. I’m only happy that they end up together in the movie so I can have that HEA I didn’t get from the book LOL
Yesss, I really wish we could have seen this as a series! I completely agree with the ending. It’s really nice to see both and think of them as two stories almost
WARNING SPOILERS: Love all your notes. I did see the movie first so you’re right I did enjoy it due to that. But I agree with the jist of what you’re staying. My biggest gripe for the book to movie translation is the lack of portrayal of the very passionate scenes between Hayes and Solené. Like the book is giving me 50 shades and the movie is giving me generic tv safe sex scenes. The intensity of the passion was so lost which was so integral to the transition from strictly physical so slowing falling in love, the near obsession to physically posses each other during sex, burn the liaisons into memory. I prefer the movie’s ending at least gave a strong glimmer of hope. As for the changes between the movie in the book, I really feel like they made Isabel older so she could be kind of a support system to her mom and kind of have a stronger logical versus emotional understanding of the relationship between her mom and Hayes. I also think they intentionally changed, her actual crush in the band to Rory to take the awkwardness/betrayal of her mom dating Hayes away. It was pretty obvious that they didn’t do the full tour in pieces the way they did in the book and changed it so that it can coincide with Isabel‘s summer camp trip for continuity purposes. basically a more linear timeline that works with a movie format. It was also my first thought, after reading the book that they should’ve made it into a series to capture all the depth that was lost from the book itself. I hear that the author may be contemplating writing a sequel due to the popularity of the movie. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. Oh ps: will we ever know what really happened between Oliver and Hayes…..??? They left that entire dynamic out. So many more thoughts. Also not gonna lie the soundtrack from the movie is very “on repeat” worthy.
I completely agree- the passion was lost in the movie! And it was so disappointing. I was expecting them to tone it down, but it was SO watered down to the point that it wasn't believable for me. I think you have a good point with Isabel! It was more fitting for a movie and I have to say, I really did enjoy their relationship in the movie. I wish they would have showed her friend having a bigger part though, like she did in the book. I do feel like having your daughter be your biggest support system involving your relationship isn't the healthiest. But yes, I actually really missed the Hayes/Oliver storyline! I wanted to know more and see if Oliver had feelings for Hayes...because that was the vibe I was getting in the book!
I completely agree about watching the movie first. When I saw it I went in completely blind and ended up liking it enough to get the book. Then I read it in a 24 hour span and was completely blown away, favorite book I had read in a long time, far surpassed the movie. Rewatching the movie after reading the book was a STRUGGLE lol
Yesss, I imagine that it was tough to go back and watch it again right after finishing the book. I had two month between finishing it and watching the movie, so I had forgotten a bunch of the small details. But I totally agree, the book surprised me! I was expecting a cute romance novel and it blew me away. I’m so glad you read it!
I agree with your movie before book suggestion. I agree with how the book gave much more depth to character. The movie was not enough even if i did not read the book. Thank-you for bringing many things to light here. I don't like the (5) year separation. The book with a wider age difference was bound to happen that they were not going to be together. I think the book was just an affair and the movie is a relationship possibility.
I completely agree! I love romances but have such a hard time finding ones I really love, there are so many where the character don't really feel in love to me or they are not really well developed individually. It tends to be a lot harder for me to cry at the end of a book but I sobbed like a baby after this one. Do you have Goodreads? I'm always looking for recs of really well written books like this. I also completely agree with the disappointment you felt going from the book to the movie. I watched the movie with a couple of friends and like it, but didn't even know it was a book until I saw Taylor Reid Jenkins had reviewed it. I picked it up and read it in one sitting and felt all the feelings. When I went back to rewatch the film it just fell flat. The characters felt so untrue to the adaptations in the book and all the messages of agism and the entire plot line of Hayes coming from an elitist background felt lost. The descriptions of what she was experiencing during Hayes's stardom and the stadiums they filled where much more extreme that what is portrayed in the film. There was just SO much lost.
Yes, SO MUCH was lost. I very rarely say to watch the movie first, but I think it would have been better in this case. I do have a Goodreads, and you're more than welcome to add me over there! (You should just be able to search my name) I am a little boring over there though. I do more reviews on my instagram account if you're interested to follow me over there. I also read the book in one sitting! I just couldn't stop! It was so beautifully done. You can really feel their love and passion.
I LOVED the book, and I agree with most of your criticism about the movie. It really lacked the depth of the relationship we saw in the book, and comes across way more like fan fiction than the book ever did. I think it’s a little funny how your perspective of Hayes was that he was very mature for his age in the book, because I saw him as quite immature (but realistically so, since he was 20/21). But I'm a woman in my late 40s, and Hayes reminded me a lot of men I knew in my 20s. Like the author, I've also worked in the entertainment industry, and I think she captured the dynamics of that world really well. Fame changes people, and perhaps that veneer of "important and in charge" can be understood as maturity. I think Robinne Lee captured that difference really well with the scene of the girl crying in the hotel hallway. Hayes's reaction is understandable, given his position, but Solene's reaction is more mature and has a different perspective. She has more empathy. Altogether though: 10/10 for the book. I actually liked the ending (because it really couldn't be any other way). 6/10 for the movie, just because it gave me a few laughs and the lead actors are very good.
I completely understand how you feel. I also read the book before watching the movie. With many of my favorite books recently being made into movies, I have learnt to accept that the movie would not be exactly like the book. In the movie medium it is not just the time factor which will influence the script but also what can be made into a movie. Ollie's story and that of his sister worked in the book but would not have fitted into the pace of the movie. It is the same with Hayes' relationship with Izzy, which is a great pity for me. They have also aged up Hayes and Izzy because the audience of the movie is different from the audience for the book. The relatively young age for Hayes would not have been well received by the broader audience. As it is, some viewers referred to Solene as a groomer even though the character is 24. Unfortunately, in an adaptation you will always lose something 😢 Thank you for your well-thought through reaction ❤❤❤
I personally watch the movie first because I seen that it was a new movie on prime and Anne Hathaway was starring in it so I decided to sit down and watch it it seemed like a a good movie and then I realized that it was made from a book and I love books automatically come into it thinking that know they do not make the books in the movies exactly the same and out of the short time of a movie that can't fit everything from the book so I set an read the book and love the book when was a little disappointed that they couldn't fit so much into the movie
Thanks. I came to YT looking for exactly this - weather the book had the answers to all the questions that the movie didn't answer. I loved the acting by Anne Hathaway & Nicholas Galatzine, but the script was very shallow. There was nothing about why Solene liked this guy other than his good looks and glamour (there were several reasons why she shouldn't like him), that meet-cute was very weird and not cute at all, there was very little discussion about the hypocricy of age gap discussion, and the end seemed very tacked on. Your video explained why the book became so popular.
Totally agree with you. I love that book I read it twice during the pandemic (I love that new color pallet for the new cover, I own the previous that is Grey with same font). I wasn't going to see the movie because I knew about many of the changes. Since I'm subscribed to Prime, I watched but putting my mind in "this is another book's adaptation" mode so I didn't hate because while watching I avoid comparing it in mind. A couple of weeks later a student comes to my class bragging about how good the movie was but she never read the book. Poor girl, I ranted so much, I even put out the book from the shelf and read her the real ending. 😅 and she admitted "that ending is much better, I'm going download the ebook". I feel bad, she's not guilty of my 45 minute rant. Honestly, from a streaming service that has R-rating shows like "The Boys" I was expecting more risk, like putting a 20 year old actor or one close enough to pass for a 20 year old, with a 40 year old actress with no removal of steamy scenes. And 2 leads with real chemistry 😮
The book & film a significantly different. I LOVED the film and I LOVED the book. Does anyone have the bonus chapter - Seven minutes with Hayes? I cannot find that edition anywhere. Mahalo!
I'm probably going to be the least liked here, but I actually thought the movie was much more enlightening 🤷🏻♀️ Nothing against the author but I didn't like the book. I agree with someone's comment on here that the book is more an affair and the movie is a love story.
Haha that’s okay! You’re allowed to have your own opinion on it. I can see what you’re saying about the book seeming like an affair. I don’t see it that way, but I can definitely see how one would!
Honestly saw the movie before reading the book and completely agree!! The book is unmatched. Their love story is so much deeper than how it’s portrayed in the movie and book Hayes is so direct and adorning with how much he loves Solene for who she is. I think the movie could’ve done well as a series, especially with all of the places they go in the book. We would’ve really seen the gravity of his fame and how much she was sacrificing constantly leaving her world, her career, towards the end, her identity and also seeing him, limited by what he can do but also staying grounded. But at the end of the day, I think of them as two separate stories. I’m only happy that they end up together in the movie so I can have that HEA I didn’t get from the book LOL
Yesss, I really wish we could have seen this as a series! I completely agree with the ending. It’s really nice to see both and think of them as two stories almost
WARNING SPOILERS:
Love all your notes. I did see the movie first so you’re right I did enjoy it due to that. But I agree with the jist of what you’re staying. My biggest gripe for the book to movie translation is the lack of portrayal of the very passionate scenes between Hayes and Solené. Like the book is giving me 50 shades and the movie is giving me generic tv safe sex scenes. The intensity of the passion was so lost which was so integral to the transition from strictly physical so slowing falling in love, the near obsession to physically posses each other during sex, burn the liaisons into memory. I prefer the movie’s ending at least gave a strong glimmer of hope. As for the changes between the movie in the book, I really feel like they made Isabel older so she could be kind of a support system to her mom and kind of have a stronger logical versus emotional understanding of the relationship between her mom and Hayes. I also think they intentionally changed, her actual crush in the band to Rory to take the awkwardness/betrayal of her mom dating Hayes away. It was pretty obvious that they didn’t do the full tour in pieces the way they did in the book and changed it so that it can coincide with Isabel‘s summer camp trip for continuity purposes. basically a more linear timeline that works with a movie format. It was also my first thought, after reading the book that they should’ve made it into a series to capture all the depth that was lost from the book itself. I hear that the author may be contemplating writing a sequel due to the popularity of the movie. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. Oh ps: will we ever know what really happened between Oliver and Hayes…..??? They left that entire dynamic out. So many more thoughts. Also not gonna lie the soundtrack from the movie is very “on repeat” worthy.
I completely agree- the passion was lost in the movie! And it was so disappointing. I was expecting them to tone it down, but it was SO watered down to the point that it wasn't believable for me. I think you have a good point with Isabel! It was more fitting for a movie and I have to say, I really did enjoy their relationship in the movie. I wish they would have showed her friend having a bigger part though, like she did in the book. I do feel like having your daughter be your biggest support system involving your relationship isn't the healthiest. But yes, I actually really missed the Hayes/Oliver storyline! I wanted to know more and see if Oliver had feelings for Hayes...because that was the vibe I was getting in the book!
I completely agree about watching the movie first. When I saw it I went in completely blind and ended up liking it enough to get the book. Then I read it in a 24 hour span and was completely blown away, favorite book I had read in a long time, far surpassed the movie. Rewatching the movie after reading the book was a STRUGGLE lol
Yesss, I imagine that it was tough to go back and watch it again right after finishing the book. I had two month between finishing it and watching the movie, so I had forgotten a bunch of the small details. But I totally agree, the book surprised me! I was expecting a cute romance novel and it blew me away. I’m so glad you read it!
I agree with your movie before book suggestion. I agree with how the book gave much more depth to character. The movie was not enough even if i did not read the book. Thank-you for bringing many things to light here. I don't like the (5) year separation. The book with a wider age difference was bound to happen that they were not going to be together. I think the book was just an affair and the movie is a relationship possibility.
I’m so glad you agree! I loved so much about the book and was so sad to see all that was lost during the adaptation.
I completely agree! I love romances but have such a hard time finding ones I really love, there are so many where the character don't really feel in love to me or they are not really well developed individually. It tends to be a lot harder for me to cry at the end of a book but I sobbed like a baby after this one. Do you have Goodreads? I'm always looking for recs of really well written books like this. I also completely agree with the disappointment you felt going from the book to the movie. I watched the movie with a couple of friends and like it, but didn't even know it was a book until I saw Taylor Reid Jenkins had reviewed it. I picked it up and read it in one sitting and felt all the feelings. When I went back to rewatch the film it just fell flat. The characters felt so untrue to the adaptations in the book and all the messages of agism and the entire plot line of Hayes coming from an elitist background felt lost. The descriptions of what she was experiencing during Hayes's stardom and the stadiums they filled where much more extreme that what is portrayed in the film. There was just SO much lost.
Yes, SO MUCH was lost. I very rarely say to watch the movie first, but I think it would have been better in this case. I do have a Goodreads, and you're more than welcome to add me over there! (You should just be able to search my name) I am a little boring over there though. I do more reviews on my instagram account if you're interested to follow me over there. I also read the book in one sitting! I just couldn't stop! It was so beautifully done. You can really feel their love and passion.
I LOVED the book, and I agree with most of your criticism about the movie. It really lacked the depth of the relationship we saw in the book, and comes across way more like fan fiction than the book ever did.
I think it’s a little funny how your perspective of Hayes was that he was very mature for his age in the book, because I saw him as quite immature (but realistically so, since he was 20/21). But I'm a woman in my late 40s, and Hayes reminded me a lot of men I knew in my 20s. Like the author, I've also worked in the entertainment industry, and I think she captured the dynamics of that world really well. Fame changes people, and perhaps that veneer of "important and in charge" can be understood as maturity. I think Robinne Lee captured that difference really well with the scene of the girl crying in the hotel hallway. Hayes's reaction is understandable, given his position, but Solene's reaction is more mature and has a different perspective. She has more empathy.
Altogether though: 10/10 for the book. I actually liked the ending (because it really couldn't be any other way). 6/10 for the movie, just because it gave me a few laughs and the lead actors are very good.
I completely understand how you feel. I also read the book before watching the movie.
With many of my favorite books recently being made into movies, I have learnt to accept that the movie would not be exactly like the book.
In the movie medium it is not just the time factor which will influence the script but also what can be made into a movie. Ollie's story and that of his sister worked in the book but would not have fitted into the pace of the movie. It is the same with Hayes' relationship with Izzy, which is a great pity for me.
They have also aged up Hayes and Izzy because the audience of the movie is different from the audience for the book. The relatively young age for Hayes would not have been well received by the broader audience. As it is, some viewers referred to Solene as a groomer even though the character is 24.
Unfortunately, in an adaptation you will always lose something 😢
Thank you for your well-thought through reaction ❤❤❤
These are really good points, I appreciate the comment! I agree, there will always be parts of an adaptation that are a bit of a let down!
I personally watch the movie first because I seen that it was a new movie on prime and Anne Hathaway was starring in it so I decided to sit down and watch it it seemed like a a good movie and then I realized that it was made from a book and I love books automatically come into it thinking that know they do not make the books in the movies exactly the same and out of the short time of a movie that can't fit everything from the book so I set an read the book and love the book when was a little disappointed that they couldn't fit so much into the movie
Thanks. I came to YT looking for exactly this - weather the book had the answers to all the questions that the movie didn't answer. I loved the acting by Anne Hathaway & Nicholas Galatzine, but the script was very shallow. There was nothing about why Solene liked this guy other than his good looks and glamour (there were several reasons why she shouldn't like him), that meet-cute was very weird and not cute at all, there was very little discussion about the hypocricy of age gap discussion, and the end seemed very tacked on. Your video explained why the book became so popular.
Aw, I’m so glad you found my video and it was helpful!
Totally agree with you. I love that book I read it twice during the pandemic (I love that new color pallet for the new cover, I own the previous that is Grey with same font). I wasn't going to see the movie because I knew about many of the changes. Since I'm subscribed to Prime, I watched but putting my mind in "this is another book's adaptation" mode so I didn't hate because while watching I avoid comparing it in mind. A couple of weeks later a student comes to my class bragging about how good the movie was but she never read the book. Poor girl, I ranted so much, I even put out the book from the shelf and read her the real ending. 😅 and she admitted "that ending is much better, I'm going download the ebook". I feel bad, she's not guilty of my 45 minute rant. Honestly, from a streaming service that has R-rating shows like "The Boys" I was expecting more risk, like putting a 20 year old actor or one close enough to pass for a 20 year old, with a 40 year old actress with no removal of steamy scenes. And 2 leads with real chemistry 😮
The book & film a significantly different. I LOVED the film and I LOVED the book. Does anyone have the bonus chapter - Seven minutes with Hayes? I cannot find that edition anywhere. Mahalo!
Wait really?! I haven't heard about this!
I'm probably going to be the least liked here, but I actually thought the movie was much more enlightening 🤷🏻♀️ Nothing against the author but I didn't like the book. I agree with someone's comment on here that the book is more an affair and the movie is a love story.
Haha that’s okay! You’re allowed to have your own opinion on it. I can see what you’re saying about the book seeming like an affair. I don’t see it that way, but I can definitely see how one would!