Spoilery Book Reviews

Idea of You by Robinne Lee

*Authors note feel free to skip*

I'm getting a little burnt out writing a book review of every book I read, because it's really slowing down my reading since I procrastinate writing the review for days, and refuse to let myself start another book until I've written the review of the previous one. Self inflicted conundrum of course. However, once I told myself it was okay to take a break from reviews, I couldn't help but mentally start formulating an opinion after reading (and watching!) this so I'm still in the game. [I must admit I read Tidelands by Philippa Gregory and didn't write a review]. My reviews have never been high quality, but I might start making them shorter so it's less of a task because I am proud of keeping this up for so long.

Also this is a book and movie, book vs movie review.

Back of the book

To the media, Hayes Campbell is an enigmatic member of a record-breaking boy band. To his fans, he's the boy of their dreams. To his label, he's gold dust.

And to Solene Marchand, he's the pretty face that's plastered over her teenage daughter's bedroom wall. Until a chance meeting throws Hayes and Solene together...

The attraction is instant, The chemistry is electric. The affair is Solene's secret. But how long can it stay that way?

My thoughts

As someone who has read, and enjoyed, a fair share of One Direction fan fiction, I feel I was the perfect audience for this novel. I am not mad that it reads precisely like a fan fiction with only minor name changes, because for fan fiction it is polished. (Other than this one sentence on page two "Would that I had acquired that gene." Makes no greater sense in context either). I want to read this again when I am forty.

I love the themes it tackles. Confronting the concept of being a sexual in your forties, that relationships can be casual, fun and exciting, not exclusive to being in your twenties. Which brings me to the age gap. It was both uncomfortable and empowering. Especially when it mentioned the fact that if the gender of the age gap was reversed, it wouldn't be 'out of the ordinary'. Still uncomfortable, but it feels common for older men to have very young girlfriends and if that is okay, than a reversed gender version of it can be okay too.

This was a fun whirlwind read that ended very suddenly, and I am mad about the ending. Not because they broke up. I think that was an appropriate way to end things, but it gave no sense of closure. I have read many sad-ending books, but the good ones have a sense of closure. This ended very abruptly and feels unfinished. Throwing in a little ambiguous epilogue about them contacting each other again would have been great, to sow just a tiny 'what if'.

I heard about this book through the release of the movie, and the fact that Nicholas Galitzine plays the the heartthrob sold me. (I prefer Red, White and Royal Blue, another book-to-movie with him at the heartthrob). The movie was mostly worse than the book.

Firstly, I expected Solene to look older? Her actual age is forty so kudos to Anne Hathaway looking so great and I hope I can age just as elegantly. Despite thinking she looked really good, their first kiss did still give me the ick. Especially since the initiation of their flirting and romance seemed to come from her. In the book, Hayes is very forward, flirtatious and persistent. Solene is of course attracted, but takes a while to give in to that feeling due to all the judgement she feels about the age gap.

The movie changed a myriad of things: Hayes is twenty-four and has tattoos, Eva is not having a baby and gets a divorce from Daniel, the meet-cute happens in Hayes's trailer at Coachella. The change that made me most angry, was aging up Isabelle to seventeen, and having her NOT be in love with August Moon anymore. The mom-guilt Solene felt about banging her teenage daughter's celebrity crush was a huge point of conflict for the book, and was completely removed from being able to exist in the movie. When Isabelle finds out in the movie, she's upset that her Mom lied, not that she is with Hayes, which completely removes some of the high-stakes of the pictures getting leaked.

Most of the other minor changes in the way the story rolls I can forgive, but I felt the very essence was changed with the relationship between Isabelle and Solene. I guess the writers didn't like including female friendships, because Solene's work partner also did not exist. Instead we had maybe two scenes with a woman whose name I don't even know, who I think was supposed to be her friend. I accept that as a novel it was a very narrow story focussing on Hayes and Solene, but the movie made it narrower.

The one aspect I did like better in the movie, was they made an epilogue. I had heard rumours about this, but had managed to not hear what the actual ending was, so I was surprised in the book and then pleasantly surprised by the movie.

TL:DR

Reads like a polished fanfiction with the typical abrupt ending that is poorly done for closure. Fun and sexy, the only thing the movie did better was adding an epilogue.