Tag: tv shows

One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus

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I should start this out by saying I was a little hesitant to read this book. I read One of Us Is Lying because I really enjoyed the TV adaptation on Peacock, and the book was just as good. After I finished the book, I realized that the second book in the series wasn’t so much about the original characters but about Maeve and a new group of people that go to Bayview.

At the end of the show, it seemed like the next season would be a continuation of the original Bayview Four’s stories. The book ended differently, so it makes sense that their stories have mostly ended, but I still wanted more of them.

They do make appearances throughout the second book, but the story isn’t about them anymore. This time, the focus is more on Bronwyn’s sister Maeve and her group of friends. A new Simon impersonator has come into the picture and is playing games of Truth or Dare with the students of Bayview.

I was surprised to find how much I really did enjoy this book despite my earlier hesitations. The new characters were interesting and the revelations of secrets kept me reading chapter after chapter. The story had a pretty good twist that was different enough from the first book to keep it interesting. Would definitely recommend continuing the series if you’re a fan of the show and have read the first book.

I’ve seen things about a third book coming in 2023, and I’m pretty sure I’ll read that as well.

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

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It’s been awhile since my last book review, but don’t worry, I’ve still been reading!

I felt like there was a lot of hype for the Hulu adaptation of Nine Perfect Strangers. They had such a great cast and were promoting the show off the success of Big Little Lies. I made sure to watch it every week and it was certainly interesting. I feel like I enjoyed it for the most part. I cared about the characters and was happy with how things ended for all of them. Nicole Kidman’s portrayal of Masha was a bit odd, but kind of worked? Overall, I enjoyed it.

I really liked Big Little Lies and have wanted to read more of Liane Moriarty’s work, so it only made sense to read the book. I think it’s important to mention that Liane Moriarty is Australian and both books take place in Australia, so it’s interesting to me that they’ve been adapted to American locations. I guess this is Nicole Kidman’s doing, right? She has to be the reason these Australian books are being made into American TV.

Anyway…I have to say that I liked the show more than I liked the book. It was still a good read, but I almost wish I would have read it before seeing the show. It just wasn’t as dramatic or interesting and we didn’t get to see as much of the personalities of the characters.

There were quite a few changes that were made when they adapted it into a show, and I think all of the changes were for the better. The biggest ones for me for the house they stayed in and Masha’s character.

In the book they’re in an old Victorian house that has cracks in the plastic and gave me sort of an eerie feeling. I’m assuming that’s what Moriarty was going for, but it seemed like it would be a better location for a ghost story than a meditation retreat. Changing it to a modern facility worked better in the show. Although it didn’t have that eerie, old feeling I think there’s still something creepy about those cold, empty facilities. Almost like Kim Kardashian’s empty, white, seemingly endless hallways.

The other big change was Masha. In the book she was an overweight business executive that didn’t take care of herself and had a near death experience that made her change her lifestyle. Nicole Kidman’s portrayal was also unhealthy, but not quite in the same way. They had similar traumas prior to their NDE, so that was the same, but their personalities afterward were very different.

Both Masha’s pushed the boundaries to extremes with their guests, but while Nicole Kidman’s moves were carefully calculated and kept in control, book Masha really lept off the deep end. They both helped the guests in similar ways, but by the end Nicole Kidman’s character was respected where book Masha should’ve been institutionalized.

I definitely liked the way that the show handled everything better. It felt intentional, where the book made her seem too crazy. It was a good read though. At the end I found myself wanted to just keep reading one more chapter. I was glad too that they tied up all the loose ends by the end and didn’t leave the reader guessing what happened to everyone after they left the retreat.

To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn

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I can’t believe I’m already finished with the fifth book in this series. They’re so easy to read, I swear I’m just flying through them.

I love Eloise. She’s the perfect character. She’s smart, she stands up for herself, and she doesn’t let people disrespect her in any way. In the last book we did see Penelope stand up to Colin a little bit, but Eloise takes that to a whole new level. She refuses to be disrespected.

On a side note, apparently I’m a spinster since I’m 29 and unmarried. Is that a bad thing? The books kind of make me feel like it’s a bad thing.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this story. Phillip took awhile to open up and see Eloise as more than just a mother to his orphaned children, but I like them together and thought that they were a good match.

I think it’s because I saw myself in Eloise a little bit. She’s too realistic to just accept a “sweep me off my feet” type of love match. She needs someone who challenges her and who she can respect on other levels. She doesn’t necessarily need the romance, she wants someone who she can have an intelligent conversation with and someone who respects her for her intelligence. I felt that.

I really hope that the show makes it this far. I think it’s only been renewed up to four seasons, so that would be Penelope and Colin’s story I believe.

The one thing I’m really interested about with the show’s adaptation is the storyline with Marina. In the show, she’s Penelope’s cousin and she ends up with Phillip Crane after he realizes she’s pregnant with his late brother’s child. In the book she also ends up with Phillip after George dies, though the children belong to Phillip.

Marina has such a strong storyline in the show, it would be a shame for her to have the same fate as book Marina. I’m curious to see how this plays out, especially because Phillip’s children play such a huge role in his marriage to Eloise.

I’m a little sad that I’m more than half way through the books. Are the prequels good too? I might have to read those as well.

Normal People by Sally Rooney

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I loved this book.

The Hulu show was so good, and if you haven’t seen it I HIGHLY recommend it. I knew immediately that I’d have to read the book.

It’s kind of hard to explain, but I really don’t think any form of entertainment has ever really shown the emotions between two people who are so obviously meant to be together but can’t because of situations in their lives and bad timing.

It seems like Connell and Marianne just can’t catch a break. One of them is either in a relationship with someone else when the other is ready or just has too much pride to admit that they’re actually both madly in love with each other. Their relationship is so complicated, but also just kind of works in a way. It’s so frustrating to see them fail over and over again because they can’t communicate.

I feel like this story really does so well because everyone can relate to a situation that was ruined because of miscommunication or just no communication at all. I know I’ve definitely been there.

One thing I do want to say is that at some points this was really hard to read. I honestly didn’t think it’d take me so long, but some parts just made me so sad I felt like I needed to put the book down and take a break for a little.

Definitely an emotional rollercoaster, but highly recommended.

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

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I really don’t know why, but it took me forever to get through this book. I think it may have been because it was so similar to the show that it wasn’t really interesting to me, or didn’t really add anything to the story enough for me to stay interested. Honestly though, that’s a compliment to the show because it means they did really well with the details!

I will say, the story did get a lot more interesting once we got to the murders and what Grace did remember. I did also like that we got to see Dr. Jordan meeting with more people that knew Grace and that he went to the house where the murders took place.

I expected the hypnotism to be more exciting in the book, but I guess it can’t be too sensational if it’s supposed to be believable. The acting in the show was perfect and made this scene so creepy!

One thing I really didn’t like was how both Jeremiah and Dr. Jordan kind of fled after the hypnotism. It seemed like both of them were trying to be helpful and then it was like they both just gave up. I really thought that they would help her get out sooner, but I guess since this is fiction based on a true story we wouldn’t be able to have her get out of the penitentiary earlier than she actually did.

It was also disappointing that Dr. Jordan’s memory was affected in the war, resulting in him being no help to Grace whatsoever. Honestly it made his whole role in the story pretty pointless. I’m not sure how much of this is historically accurate, but if this is what really happened then that really sucks.

Although I’m not sure myself whether Grace was innocent or if she was suffering from some sort of mental/post-traumatic stress disorder, I am glad that she was pardoned and was able to live the rest of her life with some sort of freedom. She definitely was very unlucky in life, so it was nice that she sort of had a happy ending. Not sure that I wanted her to end up with Jamie, but honestly it could’ve been way worse.

I hope she did have a happy ending. It would be nice to know what really happened.

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

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I really enjoyed Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, so when I heard that HBO was making a show based on another one of her books I was definitely intrigued. I watched the show before reading the book and absolutely loved it. The acting was so good, and I was completely shocked with the ending. Of course, I had to read the book afterwards.

There were so many more details that helped explain things in the show. Meredith talking about Amma’s biting explained the teeth pulling so much better, and it was something I was curious about when the show was on.

I don’t think I realized that Amma was only 13. Maybe because the actress looks a lot older and I definitely wasn’t doing the things she was doing when I was 13. It’s pretty crazy to think a person that young is capable of doing the things that she did. I wonder how much of it was because of her mother and the way she was raised.

The book had so many more details in the ending, so I’m really glad that I did read it. The show had a few flashes at the end revealing Amma and her friends as the murderers, but the book really goes into detail about what happened after Camille figures it all out. It was definitely an enjoyable read.

Pretty sure I’m going to read Dark Places next. I saw that movie when it came out and wasn’t really interested in the story, but I’m thinking it may make more sense if I read the book. Plus Gillian Flynn is obviously a great storyteller and I kind of just want to get my hands on anything she writes at this point.