Top Ten Tuesday – Books I’d Love to See Adapted for Netflix or Hulu
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is Books that Should be Adapted into Netflix Shows/Movies. I’m really feeling this topic because I recently watched the Hulu adaptation of Love, Victor, which ties into Becky Albertalli’s Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. They did such a great job with the series that it has really had my wheels turning about what other books I love would make great movies or TV series. I have confined my topic to Netflix and Hulu mainly just because those are the two streaming services I have and I’m honestly not willing to go out and subscribe to every single service there is out there. So yeah, I want to see these bad boys show up on something I’m already paying for.
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Books I’d Love to See Adapted for Netflix or Hulu
1. SHADES OF MAGIC by VICTORIA (V.E.) SCHWAB
My favorite fantasy series is of course at the top of my list of books I’d love to see brought to life onscreen.
It makes me giddy even thinking about actually seeing Kell, Lila, Rhys, and the Four Londons.
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2. THE LUNAR CHRONICLES by MARISSA MEYER
Next on my list is my favorite fairy tale retelling, the futuristic Lunar Chronicles.
I think it would just be such much fun to actually watch these
characters in action and see all of the shout outs to the original fairy tales.
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3. CARAVAL by Stephanie Garber
Although I’ll admit that the purple prose in these books occasionally felt a little much,
I think translating that same prose into an actual visual would make for a glorious series or movie.
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4. THE BROWN SISTERS by Talia Hibbert
I adore Chloe and Dani Brown (and also can’t wait to meet their sister Eve in the upcoming third book).
I think their stories would just make for the cutest, sexiest rom-coms.
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5. ONCE UPON A CON by ASHLEY POSTON
This is another fairytale retelling that I think would make a fun movie or series.
I’d love to get to actually attend the cool conferences we read about in these books.
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6. LOVE FROM A TO Z by S.K. ALI
Adam and Zayneb were just so precious and I think it would make for a great Netflix film.
It has the perfect balance of super cute romance, with more serious topics covered as well.
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After watching the film Love, Simon and the Hulu series Love, Victor,
I’m convinced that any of Becky Albertalli’s contemporary novels would be great on-screen.
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8. ANYTHING by SANDHYA MENON
I’ve adored every contemporary novel I’ve read by Sandhya Menon and think they would be so cute as a Netflix series.
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9. STALKING JACK THE RIPPER by KERRI MANISCALCO
I also like to watch darker shows like Riverdale and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,
so I think something like the Stalking Jack the Ripper series would be fantastic as either a limited series or film.
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10. ANYTHING by KAREN MCMANUS
Edited to add that I just learned that One of Us is Lying actually is being made into a series for the Peacock streaming service.
Bummer that it’s not on Netflix or Hulu, but hopefully I’ll figure out a way to watch it.
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Question: Would you watch any of these if they were adapted for Netflix or Hulu?
Review: HIDDEN by Laura Griffin
Hidden by Laura Griffin 
Series: The Texas Murder Files #1
Published by Berkley Books on August 25, 2020
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Romance
Pages: 352
Source: Netgalley
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
Goodreads
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Thanks so much to Brittanie from Berkley for inviting me to take part in Berkley’s 2020 Romance blog tour. Today I’m excited to share my thoughts with you on Laura Griffin’s latest novel, Hidden.
Hidden is the first installment in Laura Griffin’s new crime thriller series, The Texas Murder Files. Hidden draws the reader in from the very first page as we follow a jogger on a popular hike-and-bike trail. As she is jogging, the woman seems nervous and fearful, to the point of paranoia. When a man with a large knife accosts her, it becomes all too painfully clear that she had a reason to be so nervous. Investigative journalist Bailey Rhoads is sent to investigate the murder, as is police detective Jacob Merritt. Bailey approaches Jacob to see if he can give her some details on the case, but instead of being helpful, Jacob is gruff and close-lipped about the case. When she doesn’t get any assistance from Jacob, Bailey decides to do some digging on her own.
Two things become clear as both Jacob and Bailey begin to investigate: 1) There is frustratingly little evidence to go on with respect to the murder. Even getting an ID on the victim is proving to be nearly impossible, and 2) Whether they want to admit it or not or even act on it, Bailey and Jacob are attracted to one another.
Hidden was a winner for me for several reasons, the main one being that the murder case itself is very compelling. From that opening scene, I was hooked on finding out who this woman was and why she was killed in such an awful way. I became all the more invested in the case when both Jacob and Bailey couldn’t find out anything about the victim. It was like she had gone completely off the grid. As Jacob and Bailey slowly began to unravel the details of the case and the suspense began to build, I flew through the pages eager to get to the truth about what had happened, especially as it became clear the woman’s murder was a hit job and that the killer wasn’t finished.
I also really loved both of the main characters. Bailey is a talented and tenacious journalist. She’s determined to get her story and won’t let anyone, not even a sexy police detective, stand in her way. Jacob is equally likeable, even though he initially comes off as somewhat gruff and standoffish. He’s actually just very protective when it comes to his cases. He truly cares about finding justice for his victims and in the case of this victim, is downright ticked off when the FBI comes to take jurisdiction over the case. I loved his passion and I also thought it was cute how hard he tried to fight his growing attraction to Bailey even though her stubbornness made him crazy. His head keeps telling him it’s a bad idea for a cop to get involved with the media, but his heart has other ideas. The chemistry between Jacob and Bailey was great too. The way their relationship progressed felt very organic, not to mention both cute and sexy.
Hidden is a very satisfying and entertaining read. If you enjoy romantic suspense and a riveting murder mystery, be sure to add this gem to your reading list.
About Laura Griffin
Laura Griffin is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty-five books and novellas. Her books have been translated into fourteen languages. Laura is a two-time RITA® Award winner (for Scorched and Whisper of Warning) as well as the recipient of the Daphne du Maurier Award (for Untraceable). Her book Desperate Girls was named one of the Best Books of 2018 by Publishers Weekly. Laura lives in Austin, Texas, where she is working on her next novel.
Audiobook Review: THE SWITCH by Beth O’Leary
The Switch by Beth O'Leary, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Alison Steadman Also by this author: The No-Show
Published by Macmillan Audio on August 18, 2020
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction, Chick Lit, Romance
Source: Netgalley
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
Goodreads
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Beth O’Leary’s The Switch is a charming and heartwarming story that follows Leena, a young woman who lives and works in London. When Leena suffers a panic attack at work one day and almost costs her company a huge client, it becomes apparent that she needs a break from her life. When she confides to her grandmother Eileen about what happened, Eileen confesses that she’s not overly happy with her own life at the moment either. She’s looking for love, but unfortunately, pickings are slim in rural Yorkshire. On a whim, Eileen and Leena decide to swap places for a couple of months, the idea being that Leena can relax and revitalize in a charming, slower paced rural setting, while Eileen can kick up her heels and enjoy life in the big city, where there are of course many more opportunities to meet Mr. Right.
I enjoyed The Switch so much! Both Leena and Eileen are such likeable characters and it was fun to watch them both settle into their new environments. I thought it was so cute watching Eileen hang out with Leena’s young friends, who helped her set up social media dating profiles, and made sure her time in London was everything she hoped it would be. I also loved watching Leena interact with her grandmother’s, mostly elderly, neighbors. Everything about this aspect of the book was just so entertaining and I loved all the quirky characters both in London and in Yorkshire.
It wasn’t all fun and games though. The Switch also deals with some serious and emotional topics as well, such as grief, infidelity, and the hazards of online dating. There’s an especially moving secondary plot that focuses on the death of Leena’s sister Carla and how the loss of Carla has impacted Leena and Eileen, and especially Leena’s mother, who is really struggling with her grief.
There’s also a little romance. It’s somewhat secondary to the emotional journeys of both Eileen and Leena, but for those who love a little romance in their women’s fiction, it’s definitely there and will put a smile on your face.
I listened to the audiobook version of The Switch and thought the narration was wonderful. Leena’s chapters are narrated by Daisy Edgar-Jones, while Eileen’s are narrated by Allison Steadman. I thought both voices were perfectly suited to the characters they were narrating and that they both really brought these characters to life beautifully. I also liked that I was able to comfortably listen to the audio at my usual 1.25x speed.
The Switch is a delightful story about love, family, and community. If you enjoyed Beth O’Leary’s last novel, The Flatshare, I think you’ll love this one too.
About Beth O’Leary
Beth studied English at university before going into children’s publishing. She lives as close to the countryside as she can get while still being within reach of London, and wrote her first novel, The Flatshare, on her train journey to and from work.
You’ll usually find her curled up with a book, a cup of tea, and several woolly jumpers (whatever the weather).