It Only Happens in the Movies
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- Create Date：2021-04-05 10:51:33
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Holly Bourne
- ISBN：1474921329
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Summary
A clever， deconstructed rom-com that proves that in real life “girl meets boy” doesn't always mean “happily ever after” 。 。 。 or does it？ At turns funny， feminist， and achingly real， this read is perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella， Patrick Ness， and Julie Buxbaum。
Audrey is over romance。 While dealing with her parents’ contentious divorce， a breakup of her own， and shifting friendship dynamics， she has every reason to feel cynical。 But then she meets Harry， her fellow coworker at the local cinema。 He’s brash， impulsive， and a major flirt。 And even though Audrey tries to resist， she finds herself falling for his charms。 But in this funny， insightful， and ultimately empowering novel， love—and life—isn’t what it’s like in the movies。
Audrey is over romance。 While dealing with her parents’ contentious divorce， a breakup of her own， and shifting friendship dynamics， she has every reason to feel cynical。 But then she meets Harry， her fellow coworker at the local cinema。 He’s brash， impulsive， and a major flirt。 And even though Audrey tries to resist， she finds herself falling for his charms。 But in this funny， insightful， and ultimately empowering novel， love—and life—isn’t what it’s like in the movies。
Reviews
Rose Reads
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Probably the worst book I have ever read and I'm so sad that I wasted my time on this。 Before you get mad， because this is such an unpopular opinion， just hear me out。1。 It spent a lot of time putting down romance movies and their cliche gestures， and then PROCEEDED TO DO ALL OF THOSE SAID "CLICHE" GESTURES！2。 The ending sucked， if I may be direct about it。 First of all， Harry was sexually assaulted， and for being a feminist novel， I find it interesting and problematic that Bourne didn't address Probably the worst book I have ever read and I'm so sad that I wasted my time on this。 Before you get mad， because this is such an unpopular opinion， just hear me out。1。 It spent a lot of time putting down romance movies and their cliche gestures， and then PROCEEDED TO DO ALL OF THOSE SAID "CLICHE" GESTURES！2。 The ending sucked， if I may be direct about it。 First of all， Harry was sexually assaulted， and for being a feminist novel， I find it interesting and problematic that Bourne didn't address this at all。 Second， as such， it wasn't his fault。 He clearly loved Audrey and went through so much work to show her and prove to her he loved her。 Even LouLou， who knew how Harry was and had warned Audrey about him， knew that he was sorry and that ultimately it wasn't even his fault: hence LouLou appearing in the film and helping him out。 And Audrey loved him too！ I- why？？？3。 A lot of the characters seemed forced and like they were just there as wallpaper in the background。4。 I get it。 I get how romance movies are unhelpful and not always the most realistic depiction of love。 But let's be honest。 Who watches rom-coms as a guidebook on how to act？ People watch rom-coms because they are cliche！ Because of that warm and fuzzy feeling that makes you forget about all your troubles。5。 What is wrong with Audrey？！ How can she not see how it wasn't even Harry's fault， and how can she be so unforgiving？ He was so clearly genuinely sorry。6。 The ending was so rushed。7。 I loved how Harry was in the beginning of this book， and their chemistry while working at the cinema made me actually see the prospect of them getting together。 Such good banter！ But then they get together and all of that banter and chemistry is gone。 Just lots of kissing and other stuff in its place。8。 I appreciate what Bourne tried to do here， which was show that not all romances end the same with a happily-ever-after （which I definitely agree with）， this particular situation of Harry and Audrey's was not the one to do it with。 It didn't even make sense on so many levels why it couldn't have worked out。So， if you're looking for a feel-good contemporary YA novel， like most readers of contemporary YA are， don't read this book。 Instead of that warm， fuzzy， feeling of HOPE that you usually get， this book just gives you emptiness and confusion。 *really sorry， Holly Bourne* 。。。more
Maya Edwards
，
Oh My God。5/5 stars， easilyI loved this book so much， and Holly Bourne is such a powerful writer。 She inspires me to be the best i can be as a woman， i love her
Lauren Ogg
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A sweet YA novel that offers more for young readers than the typical “boy meets girl” happy ending。 Wrestling with themes of identity， love， adolescence， and media Bourne’s novel is one that playfully exposes the subpar uniformity of typical western love stories。
PatrickK
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W końcu jakaś młodzieżówka nie podążająca za oklepanym schematem książek z wątkiem romantycznym！！
Mari
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Cute book。 Loveable main characters。 I enjoyed it。 Wasn’t the BEST book but it was a heart warmer。
Hannee， yours truly。
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FIVE STARTS！ This is the most authentic romance book I’ve ever read。 Amazingly written， amazing characters， amazing plot throughout the book。 Everything。 Is。 So。 Damn。 Amazing。
Jeremy Light Bobier
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it didn’t interest me when i first read it， i even had to think if i should continue it。 i was sure i was going to give this book a 2 or 3 star until after 150+ something pages that i started to feel for the character and the situation of her family。 honestly fuq men like his dad。 overall i enjoyed pretty well。
Annaleah
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A cute story of self discovery and a teenage girl's romantic pursuits。 I will admit I was disappointed by the ending a bit but that's simple personal preference because I like romantic endings but given the nature of her situation and her family history， I do think that the author's choice for her to end up alone was necessary。 A cute story of self discovery and a teenage girl's romantic pursuits。 I will admit I was disappointed by the ending a bit but that's simple personal preference because I like romantic endings but given the nature of her situation and her family history， I do think that the author's choice for her to end up alone was necessary。 。。。more
Fia
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No siis tämä kirja。。 Tälle kirjalle ei voi olla koskaan liian vanha， vaikka kohderyhmä ehkä onki suunnittelu YA。 "Yli-ikäisenä" rakastin tätä kirjaa vielä enemmän， kuin Bournen muita lukemiani kirjoja。 Selvät 5⭐ No siis tämä kirja。。 Tälle kirjalle ei voi olla koskaan liian vanha， vaikka kohderyhmä ehkä onki suunnittelu YA。 "Yli-ikäisenä" rakastin tätä kirjaa vielä enemmän， kuin Bournen muita lukemiani kirjoja。 Selvät 5⭐ 。。。more
Whitney
，
Lately， watching teen/coming of age movies always makes me cry。 Some combination of nostalgia and inner teen angst keeps getting my feels out of whack and I just lose it。 This book did the same thing to me。 I'm a grown-ass woman who's been through a heck of a lot and this lil YA book made me sob for the main character。 I'm both happy and mad about it。 So anyways。 Thanks， Holly Bourne。 Lately， watching teen/coming of age movies always makes me cry。 Some combination of nostalgia and inner teen angst keeps getting my feels out of whack and I just lose it。 This book did the same thing to me。 I'm a grown-ass woman who's been through a heck of a lot and this lil YA book made me sob for the main character。 I'm both happy and mad about it。 So anyways。 Thanks， Holly Bourne。 。。。more
Lia Penny
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Reality vs RomComs
vuyiswa
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LOVED THIS BOOK - highly recommend gives me After vibes however it's much better - well in my opinion anyways Holly Bourne is a genius， the whole concept of this book is so smart and I really enjoyed it LOVED THIS BOOK - highly recommend gives me After vibes however it's much better - well in my opinion anyways Holly Bourne is a genius， the whole concept of this book is so smart and I really enjoyed it 。。。more
Bethany Paisley
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 4。5 starsSHE MAKES THE RIGHT DECISION SHE DID WHAT AFTER COULD NEVER-
Shafia
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JUST READ THIS。 All I want to say about this novel is that it's not like your average young adult books， it is realistic in nature and I love the writing and feminist content in the novel。 The story is about two different people Audrey and Harry working in a same cinema House and about their lives but mostly of Audrey's life since she is the protagonist。 JUST READ THIS。 All I want to say about this novel is that it's not like your average young adult books， it is realistic in nature and I love the writing and feminist content in the novel。 The story is about two different people Audrey and Harry working in a same cinema House and about their lives but mostly of Audrey's life since she is the protagonist。 。。。more
Katie Quinn
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Closer to 3。5 stars。 I really enjoyed the premise of this one because although it wouldn't appear to be the case， it's very different from your typical YA or romance novel in that it's very self-aware of romantic tropes （especially within movies）， and it doesn't necessarily follow or remain loyal to those tropes。 This provides for a twist ending， one that could easily upset many people， but one that I completely understand。 My main concern was that while the novel strove to break barriers in cer Closer to 3。5 stars。 I really enjoyed the premise of this one because although it wouldn't appear to be the case， it's very different from your typical YA or romance novel in that it's very self-aware of romantic tropes （especially within movies）， and it doesn't necessarily follow or remain loyal to those tropes。 This provides for a twist ending， one that could easily upset many people， but one that I completely understand。 My main concern was that while the novel strove to break barriers in certain areas （the character is a strong， feminist teenager who isn't afraid to call out the sexism in her love interest's remark that she "is not like other girls，" and there is a scathing remark on the John Green Fault in our Stars kiss in the Anne Frank house that was refreshing）， the novel does still fall back on other harmful stereotypes， and this surprised me。 I think the main issue was when the book introduces her best guy friend （who happens to be gay）， and there is a headnote that emphasizes how most movies only provide a marginalized character who serves as a sidekick and receives no character development。 That's something that honestly bothers me too in literature and film， so since the book took the time to highlight it as something problematic， I therefore expected that trope to be shattered here， but alas， it was not; all we really see of Leroy is him fulfilling the role of the harsh/blunt friend that Audrey needs during crisis。 To make it even worse， he is fairly stereotypical， and Audrey even underscores this （"Could you be any gayer？" when he does something very stereotypical）。 That， I think， is probably a huge setback in a book that is otherwise empowering and strives to break free of the mold when it comes to the formulaic romance novel/book， and I thought that was disappointing since it's a main theme within the novel。 Otherwise though， this book was really fun and engaging， and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is a classic movie junkie， or even someone who is cynical of romance movies。 。。。more
Notnotnerdygirl
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Well-written， but cheesy。 There was nothing that happened in this book that I didn't expect。 I wasn't sad when they broke up， because Audrey got into a toxic relationship and that just made me mad。 I love a good rom-com， but this book tried to be special in a way that it just wasn't。 Well-written， but cheesy。 There was nothing that happened in this book that I didn't expect。 I wasn't sad when they broke up， because Audrey got into a toxic relationship and that just made me mad。 I love a good rom-com， but this book tried to be special in a way that it just wasn't。 。。。more
Millie
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INCREDIBLE！！I loved this book so much and such an unexpected ending but it was so perfect I can’t even put it into words。
Donia Darwish
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A fun， quick read。 I didn’t really get into the characters or plot as much I would have liked。 The main premise sends some good messages， & I did appreciate the realistic ending。 3。5
Bisma
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I loved the book because I am really glad Audrey did not end up with Harry。 This is definitely the type of book every high school-er should be reading。 I wish HB books existed when I was back in high school！ I love her style of writing。 However， I did think the story was kinda being dragged in between。 But it was a good time-pass read。 So that really doesn’t matter to me。
Farzana Rahman
，
4⭐"Do you think love is a feeling or do you think love is a choice？""It's a feeling"， I said。"Well， yeah。 Love。。。it's something you feel。 You can't help who you fall in love with。""Ahh， well you said that， but ask any couple who've been married a few decades the same question？ They all say its a choice。 Every last one of them。"The only love affair I needed to invest in right now was one with myself。 Spend some time with me。 Figuring out myself and why I picked the relationships I did。 I was hold 4⭐"Do you think love is a feeling or do you think love is a choice？""It's a feeling"， I said。"Well， yeah。 Love。。。it's something you feel。 You can't help who you fall in love with。""Ahh， well you said that， but ask any couple who've been married a few decades the same question？ They all say its a choice。 Every last one of them。"The only love affair I needed to invest in right now was one with myself。 Spend some time with me。 Figuring out myself and why I picked the relationships I did。 I was holding out my heart to me。 Because I'd realised I was the only person who could give me a happily-ever-after。So back in 2019 I tried to read this book but the first few pages seemed slow to me。 And I end up not reading it。 But yesterday I looked at this beautiful book at my bookshelf， and thought why not give it a another try。This time it seemed much better。 And I actually finished it 😁The story is nothing unusual or unique。 At times very predictable。 I don't why girls like Audrey always fall for boys like Harry， despite getting all the red flags over and over。Anyway I did liked Harry felt his feelings were genuine and unlike others he was able to accept his shortcomings。 I loved the fact that we didn't had to see Audrey's ex bf after the 1st few chapters。 Overall a quick fun read。 。。。more
Adriananas
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The ending of this book left me FURIOUS！ I couldn't stop thinking about it hours after I had finished it。 I immediately ran off to the reviews to see if anyone saw what I saw and was baffled that only few people mentioned it。 I loved everything about the story up until the 95% mark， when it all went to sh*t。 （view spoiler）[ - Wannabe feminist finale was completely tone deaf。 Harry gets basically sexually assaulted while drunk and high and 'almost passed out' and Audrey breaks up with him for it The ending of this book left me FURIOUS！ I couldn't stop thinking about it hours after I had finished it。 I immediately ran off to the reviews to see if anyone saw what I saw and was baffled that only few people mentioned it。 I loved everything about the story up until the 95% mark， when it all went to sh*t。 （view spoiler）[ - Wannabe feminist finale was completely tone deaf。 Harry gets basically sexually assaulted while drunk and high and 'almost passed out' and Audrey breaks up with him for it and it's made up to be some 'I'm so strong and independent' ending。 Are you kidding me？ The way it was written did not leave much room for interpretation。 He did not give consent。 On top of that， Harry gets blamed that he 'made a choice' by drinking and getting high。 Harry has a reputation for being a 'f*ckboy' so of course this was his fault。 I genuinely cannot imagine the outrage had Harry been a 'Harriet'。 - The entire book， Audrey was learning about how relationships are 'not like in the movies': they are imperfect， people are flawed， people make mistakes and staying together is often a choice。 You make a choice to stay with your partner when things are sh*t so you can work on it。 This was the entire mantra of the plot （ which I found refreshing ）- so of course I was expecting the climax of the book to somehow reflect this life lesson。 But Audrey's choice is the opposite: he leaves him immediately and with finality， in a gesture meant to be seen as empowering， completely going against everything that was preached （ this also given there was a lot of nuance to what happened， as seen in my first point ）。 - Overall， I got the feeling that Harry's role in the relationship was completely dehumanized。 His entire role was to 'not hurt' Audrey， fulfil her expectations about romance despite her contrary claims。 His flaws were portrayed as final， whereas Audrey's are justified。 For me， this rubbed me the wrong way， because there are already so few books that portray men in a more realistic way。 Not abusive assholes nor this magical unicorn who can do no wrong。（hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Shannon
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This was not what I thought it would be， but it ended up being better。 Not only was it a takedown of rom-coms and all the cliches within， it was also a takedown of romance novels， which follow the same cliches。 It made me SO happy when she got to the "big mistake" section - where 95% of the time it can be solved with a simple conversation。 YES！ I *hate* that trope！ The thing that really got me about this book， though， and took it from 4 stars to 5 stars， was the realistic， and heartbreakingly ho This was not what I thought it would be， but it ended up being better。 Not only was it a takedown of rom-coms and all the cliches within， it was also a takedown of romance novels， which follow the same cliches。 It made me SO happy when she got to the "big mistake" section - where 95% of the time it can be solved with a simple conversation。 YES！ I *hate* that trope！ The thing that really got me about this book， though， and took it from 4 stars to 5 stars， was the realistic， and heartbreakingly honest， depiction of a bad divorce。 Especially one with kids involved and the choosing of a new family。 My heart broke for Audrey and it did bring up some not so great memories for me。 That said， her dad was SUCH an ass that I found myself being grateful for the lesser traumas I have experienced along the way in my own life （it could have been worse）。 That said， it was still a gut punch - way deeper and emotional than I was expecting from a YA "romance" novel。I definitely want to read more from this author。 。。。more
Annick
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The romance is real。The story is not conventional。 Audrey is in her last year of high school。 The teacher tasked her with research coursework which involves examining some part of the media with an academic eye。 Audrey is inspired by: Why love is never like the movies。 “I’m doing research into romance movies and what’s the ultimate goal of a romance movie？ The big kiss！” With her parent’s recent messy divorce， Aubrey is over romance。 Don’t fall for it or you’ll get hurt just like her mom。What’ The romance is real。The story is not conventional。 Audrey is in her last year of high school。 The teacher tasked her with research coursework which involves examining some part of the media with an academic eye。 Audrey is inspired by: Why love is never like the movies。 “I’m doing research into romance movies and what’s the ultimate goal of a romance movie？ The big kiss！” With her parent’s recent messy divorce， Aubrey is over romance。 Don’t fall for it or you’ll get hurt just like her mom。What’s more？ Audrey landed a new job at a posh movie theatre called Flicker Cinema。 Perfect for her research but there’s a flirty hot guy that works there， Harry。 Maybe he will sway her… romance is not dead！ “I started working at Flicker Cinema last night，” I said。 “He said he knew you。 He’s very…umm…friendly。”“Did he hit on you？” Dougie’s voice was harsh again。“Yes， Dougie。” I rolled my eyes。 “He pinned me against a wall and declared his undying love the second I put on my name tag。 Why would he hit on me？” This story was adorable。I enjoyed the romance， the comedy， the realities of a divorce and the aftermath， the school project and university dreams。The format of the book is fresh with the term paper inserts and text bubbles。 Overall has a great pace and I liked the unique twist at the end！ 。。。more
Lori
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I adored this book。。。 moreso than I thought i would。 I'm more of a murder mystery/ thriller buff but sometimes I need a break from murder and death。 Picked up this book for some light reading。 I was totally charmed。 Not your typical silly rom-com book。 Really smart and gave me the feels。 Need more stories like this。 I adored this book。。。 moreso than I thought i would。 I'm more of a murder mystery/ thriller buff but sometimes I need a break from murder and death。 Picked up this book for some light reading。 I was totally charmed。 Not your typical silly rom-com book。 Really smart and gave me the feels。 Need more stories like this。 。。。more
Silja
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I likes the book！ The ending was so painful even tho the book title prepared me for it😖
Essi
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Taattua Holly Bourne -laatua tarjoilee tämä ya-kirja， jossa lukiolainen Audrey elää aika kuluttavaa elämänvaihetta: vanhempien ero on syöstänyt äidin kaaokseen， inhottava exä liihottelee koulussa uuden tyttöystävänsä kanssa ihan pokkana ja uudessä työpaikassa leffateatterissa on yksi aika kiva poika， vaikka Audrey on päättänyt ettei koske poikiin pitkällä tikullakaan。 Hän on myös joutunut jättämään rakkaan teatteriharrastuksensa， mutta toisaalta päättää kirjoittaa esseen romanttisten elokuvien e Taattua Holly Bourne -laatua tarjoilee tämä ya-kirja， jossa lukiolainen Audrey elää aika kuluttavaa elämänvaihetta: vanhempien ero on syöstänyt äidin kaaokseen， inhottava exä liihottelee koulussa uuden tyttöystävänsä kanssa ihan pokkana ja uudessä työpaikassa leffateatterissa on yksi aika kiva poika， vaikka Audrey on päättänyt ettei koske poikiin pitkällä tikullakaan。 Hän on myös joutunut jättämään rakkaan teatteriharrastuksensa， mutta toisaalta päättää kirjoittaa esseen romanttisten elokuvien epärealistisuudesta。 Tästä keittyy tavallaan aika perinteinen keitos， jota kuitenkin höystää ennen muuta kivat huomiot kaikkien tuntemista romanttisista leffoista。 。。。more
Jacqueline Allan
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I really loved this book。 I loved the characters despite how cheesy and predictable they were。 Storyline was great too。 Another 5 star Holly Bourne book。
Rebecca Higgins
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I didn’t enjoy this book at all， I liked the concept of linking the story to the way that love in the movies is nothing like relationships in really， I also liked the feminism it it but other than that I really didn’t like it。 I thought the story didn’t get to the point quick enough and the characters lacked depth。 I was really bored by the end I couldn’t wait to finish reading it。 This book wasn’t for me at all。
Camilla Chester
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I read this for research reasons as I'm currently attempting to write a teen romance。 It's dangerous to read someone so skilled and inevitably I returned to my own work with a desperate cry of 'I'll never be as good as Holly Bourne'！ But， I'm not Holly Bourne， I'm me and can only write as me， so back to this book。。。It was great - just like all her books are。 I actually enjoyed the Spinster Club series more， but as a film lover， this was a great book to read， especially as I'd seen most of the fi I read this for research reasons as I'm currently attempting to write a teen romance。 It's dangerous to read someone so skilled and inevitably I returned to my own work with a desperate cry of 'I'll never be as good as Holly Bourne'！ But， I'm not Holly Bourne， I'm me and can only write as me， so back to this book。。。It was great - just like all her books are。 I actually enjoyed the Spinster Club series more， but as a film lover， this was a great book to read， especially as I'd seen most of the films referred to。 I enjoyed the love story between the two of them and the sub-plots of her parents and the making of the Zombie Bride film。 There were a few scenes in Brighton， which is a place I'm familiar with， so that was fun too。 It was funny and nicely paced and I would definitely recommend it - particularly if you like a more realistic love story rather than a sentimental smoosh fest。 。。。more
Melissa Pooner
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