It all started with the movie. Amazon turned the book The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood into a movie, and one evening, browsing through the options, I found it and watched it. The movie has a slow start, it took me a bit to become interested, but then the action picks up, and it becomes really entertaining.
I think all awkward people will get a kick out of if, or maybe most, not all. Anyway!
I enjoyed the movie, and as I often do when it comes to movies that are adapted from books, I thought it would be nice to read the book too. Funny enough, the universe conspired, and I found the book in an airport bookshop right before an 8-hour flight. What better excuse to buy yet another book! Not that I didn’t have two other books in my backpack! Muahahaha!
I started reading the book when I boarded, and I read, and I read, I kid you not, seven out of eight hours of flying. Very well written (for me) and entertaining. I enjoyed it lots.
Though, the surprise came when I got to the end chapters! Weeeeee! Spicy! I did not expect it to become quite that … descriptive. I am not complaining, I can take it, but it did take me by surprise.
The book, till that point, had an undercurrent of sensuality and denied desire, but it is never so full-blown as to hint at what is about to happen.
They did it in the movie too, but not quite so overtly, so when I got to that section in the book, I was quite surprised. Plus, the edition that I have also has an added chapter with his point of view of the events. Quite a lot to take!
I really enjoyed the book, and I am not ashamed to admit it. I think that romance books have their well-deserved place on the reading stand, and they should not be banished as not serious enough. They deal with feelings, with development, with human interactions, which, in all seriousness, are central to our human existence, no matter our reading tastes.
In addition to the story, I enjoyed a lot the insight into the academic world, it is quite an interesting background to the love story.
Because I saw the movie before reading the book, the actors were the ones who populated my imagination while reading. This is, maybe, one downside about seeing a movie or series before reading the book they were adapted from, the actors will stick in your mind and override any description the author wrote in the book. In this case it is not that bad, as the actors are very good in the movie and I think suited to their roles.
So, which one? The book or the movie?
The book! 100%
If you saw the movie and liked it I recommend the book, it is so much better, fuller of meaning and joy. You will like it without a doubt.
If you did not see the movie, start with the book, this way you get the chance to create your own characters. There is a chance that the movie might seem bland and one-dimensional when, and if you do see it, but it still is worth it, it is a nice movie.