What to stream: Swoon for recent romance adaptions from Colleen Hoover and others
Romance novel adaptations are big business right now, and will only get bigger. With the popularity of romance novels, especially on “BookTok” and the success of “Heated Rivalry,” based on the “Game Changers” book series by Rachel Reid, it’s clear that audiences are craving big, swoony feelings as a form of escapism.
One of the biggest names in the genre is Colleen Hoover, who started out self-publishing her novels and became a sensation. Her latest novel to be adapted to the screen, “Reminders of Him,” hits theaters this weekend, starring Tyriq Withers and Maika Monroe as a would-be couple struggling to get over tragedy in their shared past. But Hoover’s work first hit the big screen in a film that’s become more famous for its legal trouble than anything else.
“It Ends With Us,” starring Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni and Brandon Sklenar came out in August 2024, but it remains in the news with ongoing litigation between co-stars Lively (also a producer) and Baldoni (also the director and producer) regarding on-set conduct and subsequent online smear campaigns around the film’s release. But before it was a tabloid scandal, “It Ends With Us” was the first big-screen Hoover adaptation, detailing a story of intimate partner violence and the relationship that helps protagonist Lily (Lively) escape and heal. It’s currently available to stream on Netflix or available to rent on other platforms if you want to get a sense of the whole Hoover deal (or examine it for tension between Lively and Baldoni).
A Hoover book was previously adapted for TV back in 2017. “Confess” was a seven-episode TV series starring Katie Leclerc, Ryan Cooper and Sherilyn Fenn, and followed the romance between a young woman rebuilding her life in Los Angeles and an artist. Shocker – secrets in their past threaten to tear them apart. You can purchase the series on Amazon or iTunes.
Last year, another Hoover adaptation, “Regretting You,” hit theaters, starring Allison Williams, Scott Eastwood, Mckenna Grace, Mason Thames and Dave Franco. A car accident kills two members of a family that leaves the remaining survivors struggling to process their feelings. The film is directed by Josh Boone. Stream it on Paramount+.
Another Hoover book will be hitting theaters in 2026 – “Verity” stars Anne Hathaway , Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett, and is directed by Michael Showalter.
Johnson also starred in the ultra-spicy blockbuster romance adaptation “Fifty Shades of Grey” (2015), opposite Jamie Dornan. The film spawned two sequels “Fifty Shades Darker” and “Fifty Shades Freed.” Stream them on Netflix.
A romance thriller adaptation topped the box office at the end of last year too. “The Housemaid” starring Spokane’s Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried and Sklenar serves as the bonkers id to the more melancholy Hoover material. Directed by Paul Feig, “The Housemaid” is the kind of sexy thriller that invites you to laugh along. Rent it on all digital platforms.
Finally, the current queen of romance, Emily Henry, had her first book-to-screen adaptation debut earlier this year on Netflix. “People We Meet on Vacation” stars Emily Bader and Tom Blyth as friends who fall in love over a series of adventurous trips around the world. Henry’s other novels “Book Lovers,” “Beach Read” and “Happy Place” have all been optioned for the screen and are in the process of being adapted. “Bridgerton” alum Phoebe Dynevor has been cast as the lead in “Beach Read,” which will be written and directed by Yulin Kuang, so keep an eye out for that soon.