This week’s episode of the Fully-Booked: Literary Podcast kicked off with the usual dose of year-end confusion: how is it already almost Christmas? We’ve all blinked and landed in December, and Meaghan and Shirin aren’t immune to the time-warp. Especially for Shirin, who had a baby this year, it’s been both the fastest and slowest twelve months of her life.
Between sleepless nights and adjusting to motherhood, she had zero attention span for anything too heavy. But what did break through the fog? Freda McFadden.
Both hosts read The Housemaid earlier in the year and quickly fell into a rabbit hole of binge-reading McFadden’s catalog. Shirin even forced her husband and her mom to read it. Meaghan got sucked in after reading The Boyfriend, which she actually found more twisty than The Housemaid. One thing led to another, and suddenly, The Housemaid became an unofficial book club pick of the year.
So, when news dropped that The Housemaid was being adapted into a film, it became an unmissable event, even if the two had to break tradition and see it separately.
That separation made the episode unique. Normally, they watch together and accidentally spoil their best hot takes before recording. This time, they arrived fresh, without pre-discussing their thoughts. That made for a really natural conversation full of in-the-moment reactions, which, honestly, is always more fun to listen to.
Note
The following is an editorialized transcript of our weekly literary podcast. If you would like to listen to the podcast, click the play button above orlisten on your favorite platform with the links below.
Freda McFadden, The Enigma
Before diving into the adaptation itself, the hosts gave a little background on the author. Freda McFadden has published over 20 books since around 2015, and yes, there’s a ton of speculation about whether she uses AI to churn them out. On top of that, she’s a doctor, which somehow makes her even more fascinating. She used to write on the side but seems to be leaning into writing full-time now.
She also maintains a pretty intense level of anonymity. When she does public appearances, she wears disguises, a wig, a nose prosthetic, you name it, to avoid the weird overlap between being a physician and a thriller-writing sensation. We don’t blame her. People get weird.
McFadden’s books fall firmly in the campy, popcorn-thriller category. The kind where if you think about them too hard, they unravel, but if you just go along for the ride, it’s a blast. They’re not high literature. They’re juicy, twisty, and absurd, in the best way possible. Which is why Meaghan and Shirin were so curious to see how The Housemaid would translate to the big screen.
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So, Was The Housemaid Movie Any Good?
Honestly? Yeah. It was better than we expected. The general vibe was “campy slasher meets Lifetime thriller,” and we were here for it. Shirin had low expectations going in and left the theater pleasantly surprised. It was fun, dramatic, and leaned into the over-the-top elements of the book in a way that actually worked. Meaghan agreed but had slightly more tempered praise. She gave it a 6 out of 10, mostly because the experience didn’t blow her mind, though she enjoyed herself.
Amanda Seyfried carried the movie. That’s not even up for debate. Sydney Sweeney? Not so much. She looked good, sure, but felt flat, emotionally and dramatically. The hosts even laughed about an interview clip they saw before the movie where Sweeney kept interrupting Seyfried, who gave her the death glare. It kind of summed up their whole dynamic on screen.
One surprise standout was Brandon Sklenar, who played Andrew. He usually plays the “nice guy,” which made his turn in this twisted role that much more unsettling. Shirin said that if she hadn’t read the book, she would’ve been completely floored by the reveal. And honestly, that’s the trick with thriller adaptations: if you already know the twist, the tension just doesn’t hit the same.
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Adaptation Changes That Stuck With Us
There were a few key differences between the book and the film, some of which worked, others less so.
For starters, the tone. The movie cranked the camp up to 11, which isn’t a bad thing, just different. The violence was more graphic than expected. We’re talking tooth-pulling, stomach wounds, and a super dramatic staircase death that didn’t even happen in the book. Instead, in the book, Andrew died of dehydration in a locked room, a slow, quiet demise. The movie went for spectacle.
Then there’s Nina. In the book, she’s… complicated. You don’t really like her. She’s manipulating Millie and acting erratically, and even though her motives become clear later, you’re still left feeling weird about her. In the movie, though, they softened her character a lot. She’s more sympathetic, almost heroic.
They even gave her a redemption moment where she comes back to save Millie, a scene that didn’t exist in the book at all. That change probably made the movie more satisfying for some, but it also felt a little too clean.
Enzo, Nina’s accomplice/love interest in the book, barely gets any screen time in the film. He’s there, he broods, and he says maybe two lines. The casting was spot on; he’s definitely hot and Italian, but the character felt underused. Which is too bad, because in the book, there’s a slow-building relationship that adds emotional stakes.
One particularly jarring change? Nina’s weight. In the novel, gaining weight was part of her plan to make Andrew lose interest in her. That plot thread was erased entirely, probably because putting Amanda Seyfried in a fat suit in 2025 would have been a PR disaster. Instead, they leaned on age differences and power dynamics to convey the same thing.
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Real Reactions, Real Fun
What really made this episode fun to listen to was the genuine enthusiasm and the banter between the hosts. Shirin, especially, was on a high from seeing the movie with her mom in a hilariously outdated movie theater. That whole outing became part of the charm, 90s ceiling decor, weird lighting, empty screening room, and all.
They agreed that the experience of watching a thriller adaptation in a theater is wildly different from reading the book. Watching at home, it’s too easy to grab your phone and tune out. But in the theater, especially with someone to debrief with afterward, it becomes an experience. And that’s something you don’t get from every film.
There were also some emotional moments. Shirin, now a mom to a little girl, found herself deeply affected by the flashbacks to Nina’s trauma, especially being institutionalized and separated from her child.
That storyline hit hard and stayed with her. Meaghan acknowledged that while she wasn’t as emotionally affected, those scenes were still done well, especially in highlighting just how manipulative and terrifying Andrew really was.
To wrap things up, the hosts checked in on what other people thought. As of recording, the film had a 6.5/10 on IMDb, 78% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and a whopping 90% audience score. Clearly, people are enjoying the chaos.
Final Thoughts and What’s Next
Shirin gave the film a solid 8 out of 10. Partly for the movie itself, partly for the experience around it. Meaghan landed closer to a 6, but agreed it was a good time. They both hope this adaptation does well enough to spark more McFadden films, especially The Boyfriend, which has even more wild twists than The Housemaid.
They closed out with a little look ahead to their next episode, which will be their end-of-year reading wrap-up. It’s been a big year of genre shifts, growing families, and letting go of pressure to read the “right” books. Sometimes, you just need a fast-paced thriller and a good laugh.
And if that sounds like your vibe, too? Then you’re in the right place.
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