Month: August 2018

Thank You, Netflix

It’s official: Netflix is awesome.

I recently watched two different book-to-movie adaptations on Netflix, and they were fantastic.  I’ll start with To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before because gah!  They actually did the book justice <3.

Not gonna lie, I was nervous they’d mess it up somehow.  To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before was my first read by Jenny Han.  I read it because several readers mentioned it in their reviews of ADORKABLE, and of course, I ended up loving the book!  I read it on the plane back from England to the U.S. last summer–which I didn’t realize would be so perfect, but if you’ve read To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, you know in the beginning they talk about how Margot (Lara Jean’s oldest sister) is going to college in Scotland and how they’ll plan a trip to Paris.  And we were returning from a cruise to Ireland/Scotland/France!!!

Anyway, like I said, I devoured it.  I bought the second book right when I got home because with the ending it was impossible not to lol!  (Note: The movie ends a bit differently–which is a good thing as movie #2, P.S. I Still Love You, doesn’t exist (yet)!)

Lara Jean was brought to life by the absolutely amazing Lana Condor.  She was flawless.  I believed her as Lara Jean, and her personality matched the narrator’s “voice” I had in my head while reading the book.  Then there was Peter Kavinsky.  *Sigh*  Oh my goodness, this actor!  He was the one I was most nervous about just because…well, it’s Peter!  And he’s the main love interest, and we have to fall for him.  The actor, Noah Centineo, was wonderful!!!  The chemistry he had with Lana/Lara Jean was off the charts.  The screenplay was well done, and I enjoyed it SO much!

Disclaimer: I still loved the book more than the movie, so I’d definitely recommend reading it first!  BUT after that, watch the Netflix movie because it’s awesome-swoony-romance goodness!

The other movie I watched/loved is called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

It was, in a word, beautiful.  The story was complex, the characters utterly likable, and the setting of Guernsey was breathtaking.  I also loved the costumes, and of course, the romance.  Juliet and Dawsey were such a great love match.  Watching the movie honestly felt like a breath of fresh air, and although I haven’t read the book, I’d recommend this one to anyone who enjoys romance.

Sometimes book-to-movie adaptations aren’t the best–especially if you’ve read and loved the book–but these two were awesome imo.  If ADORKABLE ever gets made into a movie, I hope it will be done this well.  And I know you’re thinking, “Keep dreaming, Cookie!  Like your little book would ever be made into a movie?  HA!”

Or maybe that’s the voice in my head lol.

Dreams are good for you, though, so…if ADORKABLE ever was made into movie (or any of my books for that matter), I hope the people making it love the story and show as much care with the adaptation as these directors/actors/screenwriters seemed to.

Have you seen these movies?  I’d loved to hear what you thought!  If you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear those, too :).

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

Inconceivable!

Awesome deal alert: You can now read The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder for just $0.99!!!!

Inconceivable!

You have to picture this said in Vizzini’s voice from The Princess Bride lol–but seriously, it’s true.  The deal will only last for a limited time, so if you’ve had your eye on the book or if you want to read my latest release, what are you waiting for?  Delilah and Ethan are totally awesome, and this is one YA romance murder mystery I think/hope you’ll enjoy!

And again, for the first time ever, The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder is available for just $0.99!

I hope you’ll check it out <3.  If you’d help me spread the word, as always, I would be so grateful.  Book deals are awesome, and with this one, I hope more readers will find (and love) Delilah and Ethan’s story.  Have a great day, everyone!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

Happy National Book Lover’s Day!

Apparently, it is National Book Lover’s Day–although, let’s be honest; isn’t that every day for us bookworms lol? 🙂  One of my students sent me this (thanks, Brady!), and I just had to do a post.  Books are wonderful, fabulous, amazing things.  They have the ability to transport us to different places, pick us up when we’re down, make us cry one moment and smile the next.  (Note: I prefer the feel-good books that make me laugh and/or swoon :))  I don’t know what the world would be like without books, but I do know I never want to find out.

Have you read any good books recently?  Here are two that I’m looking forward to reading and one that I enjoyed (a lot more than I probably should have):

  1. Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
  2. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
  3. Love Me Never by Sara Wolf

I’ve been waiting to read the first two for a while.  Eliza and Her Monsters just sounds awesome and will be my first read from Francesca Zappia.  In the past, I’ve loved Holly Black’s books about fairies, so of course, The Cruel Prince captured my interest immediately.  Then there’s Love Me Never which I’ve already read and enjoyed.  A lot.  This book was…wow.  It reminded me of Boys Over Flowers–one of my favorite Asian dramas–actually strike that, it is my favorite lol.  Love Me Never was nowhere near as sweet, but it was definitely a guilty pleasure read.

Have you read any of these books?  Did you enjoy them?  I hope you’re all doing well and having a great week!  And again, Happy National Book Lover’s Day!!!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

 

 

Friday Fun :)

I have some very sweet/awesome/fun things to share with you this Friday :).

ADORKABLE came out at the end of June as an audiobook–yay!!!–and if that wasn’t awesome enough, on one of my random searches of my books (don’t judge lol), I found these beauties.

This is, to my knowledge, the first and possibly only hand-drawn piece of ADORKABLE fan art!!!! <3  It was apparently on Pinterest, and seriously, I LOVE IT!!!!!  I love everything about it from the little Yoda, to the soccer ball for Becks, to the Gryffindor crest for Sally, to all the characters’ names (including Sally’s mom and all of Becks’s brothers *sigh*).  And I noticed this part last, but that’s a German flag!  Because Sally speaks German in the book!  Gah, it’s so freaking perfect and just…ADORKABLE! 🙂  Wherever you are Amber, thank you SO much for this!

This beautiful collage is for Kamuzások, Kavarások (the Hungarian version of ADORKABLE), and all I’ve got to say is WOW 0__0.  The pictures are amazing and were paired with a very sweet book review on Bookworm’s Bookshelf blog.  Thank you so much, Lillsz!!!  You’re wonderful! <3

And that, my lovely readers, is a picture of ADORAKBLE alongside all of the other “Most Read This Week” in Young Adult Romance on Goodreads!  It was such a nice/wonderful surprise!

I know school is starting back for a lot of my readers, and if you’re one of them, I hope you enjoy it!  Whether you’re starting back or long past your school days: Have fun, read books, be YOU because you’re fantastic, and don’t let the muggles get you down.  I hope you all have a great weekend!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman