Books Equal Happiness :D

Top 5 Wednesday is group that was created by Lainey and is currently hosted by Samantha. A topic is posted every month wherein if you want to, you can post about your top 5 picks for said topics.

The topic for July 5th is "Books Without Romance" which may refer to a book with little or no romantic subplot.

OTHER JULY TOPICS

I rarely read books without romance so there might still be some romance in some of these books but they're not the main plot.

1. MISFIT BY JON SKOVRON

Jael is the daughter of an ex-priest and a demon. She discovers that she has powers and some demons are after her. I actually forgot what happened in this book but I do remember that it was awesome. I think there was little or no romance here because all I remember is action. I loved this book and I still wish it had a sequel.

2. SLASHER GIRLS & MONSTER BOYS BY VARIOUS AUTHORS

This is a collection of mystery, suspense, and/or thriller short stories. I really love this collection. Some of the stories had an amazing mixture of creepiness and awesomeness. There may be stories that had romance but the main point is: CREEPINESS.

3. THE GREEN MILE BY
STEPHEN KING

This is the book of the movie 'The Green Mile' starring Tom Hanks. It's about the lives of the guards at a Death Row cell block. Since this is a thick book, I suggest you watch the movie first. It is an amazing adaptation that may motivate you to read the book (just like me). I don't remember much romance here. It is a serious book with a wonderful but kind of dark story.

4. FAR FAR AWAY BY TOM MCNEAL

I remember that this book had a slow pacing but it was really interesting. The book is in the point of view of Jacob Grimm, one of the members of The Brothers Grimm. He is a ghost that watched over a boy in a town where weird things were happening. It was beautifully written and interesting to read.

5. THIS SAVAGE SONG BY VICTORIA SCHWAB

I couldn't resist not putting it in this list. This book is amazing. I love the plot wherein the hideous acts that humans do produce monsters. There was a blooming romance but it was not the point. The characters were badass and they really had to fight for their lives. It was very interesting and fun to read.

BONUS: ARTEMIS FOWL BY EOIN COLFER

I didn't continue this series after the first book because of the lack of romance (I got kind of bored and it had a lot of books) but from what I remember from what I read, it had an amazing plot about a boy and a fairy. They had a lot of interesting adventures together.

"I'll love you forever. Even when I can't.
I'll love you forever. Even when I shouldn't."

SYNOPSIS: Auburn works hard so that she can have custody of her son. In her search for a job, she meets Owen, a local artist who use confessions as inspirations for his art.

RATING: 8.5/10
NUMBER OF EPISODES: 7 (1 Season only (?))
STATUS: Completed (?)

I did not know that Confess had a TV Series adaptation and I was really excited to watch it when I found out. I love the book so much (it's my favorite of all Colleen Hoover's books) and the series did not disappoint. I watched all episodes in one sitting. Although there were some scenes from the book that I loved that were changed or wasn't part of the series, they still followed the storyline and did an amazing job.

The cinematography was really beautiful to look at. Even though it was a non-fantasy setting, the scenes were really beautiful. Auburn and Emory's house and the confess slot in Owen's house was beautiful. The paintings that were used during Owen's exhibit was amazing. Though I preferred some of the art in the book, it was still pretty awesome seeing the art as a real thing. Plus, the confessions. Although they had little appearance, the thing about the confessions made me really love the book.

The cast were able to portray their roles properly. Even though Katie Leclarc looked kind of old for me as Auburn, I still loved her. Ryan Cooper was hot as Owen. Although I can't get it out of my head that he kind of looks like Jamie Dornan. I loved Amy Pham as Emory! She was so adorable and fun to watch.

AUBURN REED

They changed many things about Auburn's background in this series. She works at a salon in the book while she works in a retirement home here. The reason why she gave custody to Lydia was changed too. I liked both the Auburn here and the Auburn in the book. Although I don't remember Auburn being that whiny in the book. She really had a hard time in life and I was happy that she got what she wanted in the end.

OWEN MASON GENTRY

Ryan Cooper was not how I imagined Owen in my mind. He was hot though. I love Owen. He was a very adorable character in the book and the series. I love how protective and supportive he is toward Auburn. I love how he made her realize that she was doing a good job with AJ. I was sad though that we didn't get to see much from his perspective.

EMORY LE

She had the biggest character change. I think the Emory in the book was kind of weird and loved being by herself. The change here was major but it didn't ruin her character. Sure, I wanted the book Emory (she was a badass) but I did love series Emory. She urged Auburn a lot to get what she wanted. I just love Emory in the book because she was fierce and protective of Auburn (she made sure that Auburn called her during midnight when she was with Owen). I was devastated though that they removed the fact that she saved Auburn from Trey. That was the second most badass scene in the book (next to Auburn revealing her recording).

TREY TAYLOR

Ugh. Since I know what would happen with Trey, I was disgusted whenever he touched Auburn. I knew he was a sick bastard and I didn't want him touching precious Auburn. They made him a little less psycho in this series (given that he stopped when Auburn screamed during the almost-rape scene) but he still was. Ugh, plus stalking Auburn was really creepy. He also told Lydia about Auburn filing for sole custody. That asshole.

LYDIA TAYLOR

I think she was less of a bitch here but she is still a bitch (then again I remember the scene where she did not take AJ to Auburn on her birthday). I'm glad that they made her realize that she was treating AJ like he was Adam. Even making her call him Adam just to prove that point. She really loves AJ but she was just so selfish keeping him to herself and she's not even the mother.

CALLAHAN GENTRY

I don't remember Callahan running in the election in the book? I think he barely managed to live there and was really addicted to the pills? It was a nice though so that Owen would have a lot more reason to cover up for him. I really glad that he decided to go to rehab and help Auburn during the ending.

OLD WOMAN IN THE RETIREMENT HOME

She was an adorable woman who had a lot of fun lines. She pushed Auburn with Owen and it was cute to see.

AUBURN and OWEN

I love the relationship between Auburn and Owen. Although in the series, it felt somewhat fast since they removed many lines from the book. In the book, Auburn and Owen had a lot of banter together. It was fun reading about them. Still, they were cute in the series. Owen had a lot of support for Auburn and you could see Auburn light up whenever they were together. Owen was willing to sacrifice himself in the end just so Auburn and AJ could be together. I was really glad that Auburn got smart and tricked Trey. It was annoying though that when they first got together they didn't even stay together for a whole episode. Trey ruined things so fast.

AUBURN and AJ

They were adorable together. You could see that AJ loved being with her and talking to her. I'm glad to see that they were together in the end.

AUBURN and EMORY (Plus, the other one)

They had more of a sister relationship here which was beautiful and fun to watch. Emory was a lot more supportive towards Auburn and I love it. I love how she comforts Auburn and that they spent a lot of screentime together. They even took her out during her birthday.

AUBURN and TREY

Ugh. So. Much. Disgust. I hated every minute they were together since I knew that Trey is a creepy asshole. You could really see that if they did end up together, Auburn would end up being abused a lot. The only part in the book I did not love was the fact that there was no justice for Trey. He still had a job and a life just far away from Auburn. It was the same here.

OWEN and CALLAHAN

Their relationship was so complicated. Although it was not seen much in the series since they didn't talk much except for arguing and walking out from each other. It was heartbreaking to see know that Owen sacrificed his relationship in the beginning with Auburn for his father.

AUBURN and ADAM

It was really heartbreaking to see them. They had little screen together but you could feel that they did love each other so much.

SOME MINOR ISSUES:

There were so many scenes that were cut or changed. I loved many wondeful scenes in the book that did not make it into the series. Some changes on a character's background or personality was kind of annoying but did not ruin the tv series. I was just sad that they changed it into something else. The change was not bad, I still loved it.
Harrison, Owen's friend, was removed from this series which was sad. Although they did put in more friends for Auburn to help her.
No Owen hitting Trey in the hospital so that Adam and Auburn can talk again. I love that because Trey got hit!

Owen the Cat!!! Oh my god i checked many times to confirm that Owen was a real cat in the book. I was devastated that they changed her into a stuffed toy (even if the stuffed toy was cute).

They changed the Auburn-cutting-Owen's-hair-part to Auburn-painting-and-ruining-her-hair which was sad because that was the most fun scene in the book. I wanted to see that in the series but I did love watching Owen was Auburn's hair.

REACTIONS ON SOME SCENES:

I actually squealed when I saw this scene. This was a beginning of a wonderful relationship. I love Auburn's thoughts during this scene in the book and I'm kind of sad they didn't make it into the series.

Look! It's Colleen Hoover! HEHEHEH

Ugh the Lawyer was an annoying bitch. I felt so much sadness for Auburn whenever she had problems with money just so she could pay the lawyer because she wanted her son back. I was really annoyed that after she paid the lawyer, the lawyer started saying shitty things that made me really mad.
Damnnnn adding drama in the beginning by introducing Hannah and letting Auburn see her in the apartment on the night that Owen did not show up for their date.
Ugh I was really disgusted when Auburn considered Trey's proposal. I knew it was the most logical though but I really hate Trey.
I loved the scene where Lydia caught Owen in the bathroom talking to AJ and he had to pretend that he was Emory's boyfriend! HAAHHAAH. I love Emory's reaction and actions afterwards.
Ugh. I was really mad when Lydia warned Auburn what would happen if she stayed with Owen (though I did like that she didn't prevent AJ from staying with her that day even though she knew).

I love the way that Owen and AJ connected. They even got to spend a happy day together.

I love the painting of Auburn that Owen did. It was really beautiful oh my god.

Omg the ending escalated so fast. I was really scared when Trey broke inside the studio and stole Auburn's confession because you know that shit was about to go down. The fact that Trey put drugs in Owen's studio and the lie that he wanted Auburn to tell about what really happened made me really angry.
I still love the way that Auburn recorded their conversation (it was much more amazing in the book because you didn't see or know that she was recording the conversation). In the series, you can see that her phone was on her knees and she was recording.
It was really amazing seeing Lydia sign the custody papers. Finally!!