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I have to admit it—I’m a total sucker for Hallmark movies. No matter what time of year it is (and Hallmark truly has movies for every single season), they’re my favourite guilty pleasure. They give me permission to stop stressing about the world and real life and just relax.
So when Hallmark started adapting a few of their movies into novelizations, I was all in.
October Kiss is probably my favourite of Hallmark’s fall movies. Ashley Williams and Sam Jaeger make a delightful pair with excellent chemistry, and the storyline couldn’t be more adorable. I picked up the novel, hoping it would be more of the same.
Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed.
Don’t get me wrong, the book follows the movie pretty similarly, right down to the exact lines and some of the actors’ gestures. There were even a few added scenes and moments that enhanced the story and the main characters’ budding relationship.
But on the whole, I felt like the novelization lacked the charm of the original film. I’ve definitely read some great novelizations (Witness comes to mind), and I think the secret to a novelization’s success is being able to take the same story and have the book stand on its own feet.
The Witness novelization was a success for me because it took the storyline from the movie and enhanced it, giving it new life and giving fans more to enjoy from the story they already love. With the October Kiss novelization, it honestly felt like I was watching a lesser version of the movie. The book lacked its own charm—or any charm, really.
All that being said, I still enjoyed the time I spent reading it. I was just happy the book was only 158 pages and 10 chapters long.