When it comes to romance, it’s Initially easy for our skepticism to get the better of us. We questioned, we doubted, and sometimes we even felt the urge to dismiss the narrative outright. But isn’t that just like life? We’re often hesitant to embrace new experiences, wondering if we’re being overly critical or perhaps not giving something its dues. At times, we feel that we might be missing the essence of the story. But as the narrative unfolds, the pieces start to fit together, and the bigger picture emerges.
It’s August, which means we are wrapping up summer. However, with climate change, it stays hot well into September now. So August is still a great month for the beach, traveling, and relaxing by the pool.
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Since it’s a good time for lighthearted reading, we figured what better way to end the summer season than by talking about romcoms? Romance stories are often what we tend to read during the lazy days of summer. In recent years especially, Shirin has become consumed by romcom books during the summer months. BookTok has really highlighted a lot of popular romance novels and encouraged people to read them.
While Shirin likes to find the biggest, most popular romcoms to read, I tend to go down “rabbit holes” and pick up lesser-known romances that are suggested based on mainstream hits. This is how I always end up reading a lot of Colleen Hoover books. But it also leads me to fun authors like Tessa Bailey. One of Shirin’s favorite recommendations from our book discussions was We Were Liars, which is an excellent summer-set story, even though it’s not a traditional romance.
To kick things off this month, I found some romcom film adaptations we maybe hadn’t seen before. It’s fun to occasionally watch a movie version of a book we haven’t already seen. I came across the fact that The Hating Game was adapted into a movie in 2021. I’ve read the book, but neither of us knew this movie existed. The Hating Game was a very popular romcom book recommendation on Bookstagram and BookTube over the past few years.
The movie stars Lucy Hale and centers around a workplace “enemies to lovers” romance. Lucy plays an executive assistant named Lucy who works for a publishing company that has just merged with another publisher called Bexley Books. The other CEO’s executive assistant is Josh, played by Austin Stowell. Josh and Lucy cannot stand each other and constantly compete and snip at one another in the office. When a new director position opens up, they both apply for it, pitting them against each other even more.
Through various happenings, Josh and Lucy start to feel an attraction, which confuses Lucy. There is tension between them as Lucy tries to deny what she feels while Josh patiently waits for her to come around. Lucy ends up going on a date with a coworker named Danny, but she doesn’t feel a real spark with him. After a work trip and wedding, Lucy comes to realize the depth of her feelings for Josh. But a misunderstanding threatens to jeopardize their new relationship.
Ultimately, in typical romcom fashion, the misunderstanding is resolved and they end up together in the end. Along the way, there are funny supporting characters and classic romance tropes. We found Danny extremely amusing because he reminded us so much of Shareen’s husband Dan. The leads also had great chemistry. While perhaps predictable, it was an enjoyable watch and a nice intro to our romcom theme this month.
The Hating Game is just one of many romcoms being adapted. We also can’t wait for the Prime Video film version of Red, White & Royal Blue to come out this month. We’ll definitely be discussing that one soon. In the meantime, let us know if you’ve seen the Hating Game movie. We want to hear your thoughts!
RelatedRed, White & Royal Blue: The Biggest Differences Between The Book & Movie
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