Obviously I read the book first. It is a relatively short novel, so I got through it in a single day. Honestly, I thought this was quite delightful! There are lots of things about it that are completely ridiculous, but in a fun way. I don't even know where to start with the plot, so here's what the Goodreads page says:


Ashley Davison, a graduate student in California, desperately wants to spend the holidays with her family in Seattle. Dashiell Sutherland, a former army intelligence officer, has a job interview in Seattle and must arrive by December 23. Though frantic to book a last-minute flight out of San Francisco, both are out of luck: Every flight is full, and there’s only one rental car available. Ashley and Dash reluctantly decide to share the car, but neither anticipates the wild ride ahead.

At first they drive in silence, but forced into close quarters Ashley and Dash can’t help but open up. Not only do they find they have a lot in common, but there’s even a spark of romance in the air. Their feelings catch them off guard—never before has either been so excited about a first meeting. But the two are in for more twists and turns along the way as they rescue a lost puppy, run into petty thieves, and even get caught up in a case of mistaken identity. Though Ashley and Dash may never reach Seattle in time for Christmas, the season is still full of surprises—and their greatest wishes may yet come true.


Look, I don't even know what it was about this book that made me like it so much. It was sweet and funny, and had kind of a different twist to what you usually see in a cosy Christmas romance. It is quite a romp, and I just found myself smiling as I read it. Also, as an aside, the actual physical book itself is quite lovely - it is a little hardcover, with a very pretty picture on the front.

Onto the film then! I don't recall really having done a book and Hallmark movie comparison before, although I think there are one or two I have both read and watched, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

Here's the summary of the movie, from the Hallmark website:

Based on a novel by Debbie Macomber, this yuletide movie tells the story of Ashley Harrison (Meghan Ory) and Dash Sutherland (Andrew Walker). She is a crafter based in San Francisco who is desperate to spend the holidays with her family in Seattle and Dash is also in a rush to get there. When Ashley inexplicably encounters a problem with her reservation at the airport ticket counter, she turns to Plan B and attempts to rent a car. But there’s just one vehicle left and Dash beats her to it. Reluctantly, Ashley takes him up on his offer to join him on the road trip. As the pair heads north, their adventures include car trouble, adopting a puppy and being secretly tailed by federal agents, who believe Ashley is up to no good. With a hint of romance gradually filling the air will these two fall in love or will their journey bring about an unexpected road bump to romance?

This movie had a few things going for it right from the start:
  - Andrew Walker is one of my favourite Hallmark actors
  - Meghan Ory plays one of the leads in Hallmark's tv series Chesapeake Shores, which I love.
  - There is knitting
  - And puppies

I actually kind of adored the film almost as much as the book! I thought that a few of the more unusual parts of the plot were less well dealt with in the film than the book, but I also loved that they were different enough that both were completely enjoyable - having read the book didn't take away from the movie at all. The movie was also very pretty - there were some lovely tree shots (like in the background of the promotional picture) and gorgeous decorations. I'd recommend either or both of these to anyone looking for a fun silly Christmassy romp (with puppies!)

xo Bron

***
Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber
Published 2015 by Ballantine Books
Source: I was lucky enough to find both the book and movie at my local library (if you're in Canberra get on it!)
Format: Hardcover, 256 pages

Another case of me having a book on my TBR FOREVER, and finally reading it so I can see the movie/tv adaptation - a friend gave me Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda (which has been retitled Love, Simon, to match the movie) I  think for my birthday in April last year (it could have been longer ago!). There has been so much buzz about the movie that I definitely wanted to see it, and when a friend had tickets to an advance screening on Sunday I jumped at the chance - and so I spent Saturday binge-reading the book =)

I think this book deserves every single bit of gushy praise I have seen it given everywhere. The writing is so readable and the story is super sweet. I thought the characters were very realistic (as opposed to the caricatures/super quirky characters we sometimes see in contemporary fiction - which can also be great, just different to this). I loved every single page of this.



The movie was super well done - I mean, I had literally JUST read the book (the previous day!) and it totally captured what I loved about the book. It was really cleverly done, in that even though I knew how the book ended I had no idea whether the movie was going to end the same way - and without getting spoiler-y, let's just say it isn't exactly the same! The casting was SO PERFECT - Simon was kind of Ferris Bueller charming, Martin was even more Martin-y than I had imagined him when I was reading and Jennifer Garner & Josh Duhamel were probably my favourite parents of teens in anything I have seen (ok except the dad in 10 Things I Hate About You - but that was for totally different reasons haha).

My favourite character in both the book and the movie was Leah, and I am so busting to get my hands on her book - Leah on the Offbeat - which I believe is coming out in April. I am actually keen to read everything Becky Albertalli writes - including The Upside of Unrequited (which came out last year and I bought this week) and she has a book coming out that she has co-authored with Adam Silvaris.

I gave this a big shiny 4.5 stars, and recommend getting out to see the movie too!

xo Bron

I'm off to see the new movie adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's My Cousin Rachel today. I read the book last month and really enjoyed it (I wrote a bit about it here), so I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with it on the big screen. So for today's book stack I pulled out some books we have at home that have been made into films.
I haven't seen (or read) all of these, but there are some that had fantastic adaptations (the Dressmaker!), and some, well, less fantastic (ahem, Paper Towns).


Anyhow, this also made me think about what some of my favourite adaptations are. The first one that came to mind was The Hunger Games series. I loved the books, and thought the films (all of them)  were just so perfect.
Another book & movie pair where I like both as much as the Hunger Games, is Interview with the Vampire. I kind of adore the Vampire Chronicles series, and I loved the movie too.


So, we all know that the book is always (usually) better, but I'd love to know if you have a favourite book to film adaptation? Let me know in the comments!


xo Bron