BOOKS ON THE BIG SCREEN!

It happens a lot, right? Books being adapted for cinema. And even those that don’t quite make it to the big screen are still in with a shot for the smaller screens in our home (often thanks to HBO).

Some are done well (I’ve yet to see one done excellently), and some not so well.

On my list of not-so-well would be (imo) Kiss the Girls. I’d read nearly all of the Alex Cross novels at that point. Said Alex Cross had always appeared in my mind as someone a little ‘down with the coolness’ despite his age and his being a family man, someone who still had a slight hawtness factor about him, a man in his prime with a body that reflected that. And they went and cast … Morgan Freeman. Though, even if I could have gotten over that, the film was just too far from the novel for me to buy it as being a halfway decent adaptation.

But then there are some on my list of ‘done well’.

Like Harry Potter, for instance. Yes, a lot of the story was left out, which included a whole lot of the in depth explanations for what was going on, but there is no denying that the films were a big hit—and they would not have been as successful had they deviated too far from the stories readers had grown to love.

Or The Bone Collector. Yes, there was some alterations to the storyline on the screen. But, I can honestly say that The Bone Collector is one of my favourite adult adaptations from novel to film to date. The fact that Denzel Washington portrayed who I’d always imagined as a white man didn’t bother me either—but then he did play the part really well. Angelina Jolie also made a great Sachs. So that one deffo goes on my ‘success’ list.

What about film rights that are already bought (or rumoured to be)? Like Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series. Fans of Mac and Barrons globewide must be either as excited as all get out because they’ll get to see some of their favourite characters brought to life, or they’ll be pretty nervous because nobody wants to be left wanting by the choice of cast or the producers failure to do the story the justice it deserves.

And let’s not forget the TV adaptations like: True Blood (from the Sookie Stackhouse series)—even though the storyline of the programme now only vaguely resembles that of the books, the show is still a big hit; or Dexter—another massive hit, which I think has to do with the actors ability to convince the watcher to connect with and like a serial killer, just as the author pulled off in the books; or The Wire in the Blood (based on Val McDermid’s crime thrillers that began with The Mermaids Singing)—which I LOVED because of how well suited Robson Green seemed for the role of Tony Hill; The Vampire Diaries; The Walking Dead; Bones (from the Kathy Reichs novels)….

So … how do you feel about films/TV series that are based on books you’ve read? Have any impressed you? Or do they too often leave you wanting?

Which of your favourite books would you love to see hit the screen?

BOOK ENDINGS … BUT WHAT IF … #HEA

Every decent book (or complete series) has (or should have) closure. Resolution. A definite end with all threads tightly woven and all questions answered to a satisfactory level.

Does that mean we have to be happy with the ending, though?

Does that mean we have to accept who the MC has chosen to spend the rest of her life with?

Again, if the author has done her job well, the reader should be left content with where the MC’s life has ended up (I am only talking fiction here). The reader should not be left shaking their fist at the page and wondering what the fudge was on the writer’s mind, right?

I guess I’m pretty lucky because I’ve yet to come across a book where I’ve hated the HEA. The closest I’ve come to wondering if I’d be left placated was with Rachel Vincent’s Shifters series.

I mean … how would everything have panned out if Faythe had ended up with Jace instead of Marc? Apart from the fact it would have been one hell of an explosive ending because NO WAY would Marc have taken that lying down—though his true response would have been a pretty unpredictable one. Which was why I wondered how the heck Vincent would pull it off (because I ADORED Jace) and not leave the reader (me) heartbroken on the poor kiddos behalf.

Another example: Supposing Kelley Armstrong’s Elena Michaels had fallen for Logan instead of the hunky (though psychopathic) Clay Danvers. How VERY different a story Bitten would have turned out to be, no?

What about Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series? Would the readers have been in uproar if MacKayla Lane had succumbed and fallen for V’Lane instead of the slow structure of mutual love between her and Barrons? I guess she could have pulled it off without upsetting her entire readership with just a little tweaking to V’Lane’s character and likability. It’s not like I didn’t enjoy reading about him. He made me chuckle most of the time, so the reader (me) could have been convinced, right?

Or, how about some of the Black Dagger Brotherhood novels? I’m pretty certain there just has to be some pairings in there that the readers don’t 100% agree with. Right? I could safely say without verification that Blay so shouldn’t be with Saxton in the readers’ eyes—not when Quinn’s heart is bleeding so badly over the guy. Damn, some readers even believed that Jane so wasn’t the right female for V.

Are there any books you’ve come across and paused to wonder … but what if s/he’d taken that path instead? What would their story have been then? Or do you always believe the author has got it right?

BOOK SERIES: FEVER #fever

This is my first post for my new monthly blog on successful book series’ and what makes them so special. If you care enough to understand why I decided to start this monthly post, you can find out here. If you don’t care but are still mildly interested in what I have to say, then please continue.

First series up for my scrutiny is:

FEVER by KAREN MARIE MONING

This is one of those that if you’d asked me what I thought at the beginning of the series, I’d have most likely made a sound along the lines of: Meh.

Not the worst I’ve read. Definitely not the best either.

However, this is also one of those that reading only one of the five books in the series would be totally unacceptable—because all five books are the story in its entirety … and my opinion definitely changed by the end.

This starts off in Darkfever with MacKayla Lane, a not very relatable airhead-type character from the Deep South (no, I’m not stereotyping—simply stating my thoughts on a fictional character) who ends up in Dublin, Ireland, in a bid to unravel the mystery behind her (recently) murdered sister.

During most of Darkfever, I thought Mac spent waaaaaaaay too much time thinking and over-thinking and over-over-thinking, to the point I wondered what would be lost if the thoughts were somewhat hacked away to the bare minimum and at least a third of the book lobbed off.

Now? Man, as much as I hate to admit it, those thoughts need to stay.

Mac is such a HUGE philosopher and as her thoughts veer throughout the series from shallow to deep they become such an imperative part of the storytelling that it simply would not be the same tale with them gone.

If you asked me to summarise what the series is about, and I gave you the complete rundown, it would take more than a singular blog post.

Though if asked at the drop of a hat I’d probably spurt out with: fae, seelie & unseelie, a battle for power or a battle between good & evil depending how you look at it, myth, folklore, saving the world, treachery, betrayal, self-discovery, self-acceptance, loyalty, and the most convoluted kind of love. <<That is why describing the entire series would take forever—because whilst so much of this storyline is genius simplified to its most basic core, it is also so intricately woven that the finished design is nothing short of complicated beauty.

By the end of Darkfever, I didn’t particularly want to read on (but my Goodreads Cheerleaders ensured I did).

By the end of Bloodfever, I still didn’t particularly care for the main character (and again, my Goodreads Pushers … well … pushed me).

By the end of Faefever, trust me, Karen Marie Moning most certainly had my attention and left me on such a cliff-hanger I carried on and read the ‘Note to Reader’ in refusal to accept I’d reached the end.

Dreamfever I think was the one I read the fastest and this is where every reader of the series who has so far failed to understand the appeal of Barrons suddenly ‘Gets it’.

If for NO other reason, you should read this series for HIM: Jericho Z Barrons—whose appeal and potential for awesomeness I spotted from the first moment he stepped onto my page! Trust me: This … dude (?) is so not your typical hero. He could be a bad good guy. He could be a good bad guy. Whatever you want to categorise him as, just know that he rocks!

Then there is Shadowfever. The grand finale. Where everything that has had the reader scratching their heads and speculating finally becomes so clear. This one requires a different pacing to the others. Yes, the first couple in the series aren’t exactly written at a fast pace, but this one is different in that the pacing is there … but if you fly through too fast there’s a chance you’ll miss the scenery beyond the windows of your mind.

You need to slow yourself down to absorb it all.

You need take your time to appreciate the unveiling of everything that has (if you’re anything like me) eluded the reader until the big reveal smacks you upside the head with it.

And that’s the beauty of this final book: You want to take it all in like a Grow-your-own-SpongeBob does water.

If you’re interested in hearing my thoughts on each individual book and seeing how my mind has been changed as I’ve worked my way through the series, each book link will take you directly to my (Goodreads) reviews.

I’ve purposefully declined to outright describe the occurrences of the novels because I have a personal hate for spoilers, but I hope my waffling has been in some way helpful to you or will help you decide whether or not this sounds like a series you might consider reading.

My rating for this series:

Maybe you’ve read it already, have it on your TBR pile, or have heard lots about it but don’t know if it’s for you. Either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts.