It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne

It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne
Pages: 411
Release Date: 2017
Rating: 💜💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

Audrey is over romance. Since her parents' relationship imploded her mother's been catatonic, so she takes a cinema job to get out of the house. But there she meets wannabe film-maker Harry. Nobody expects Audrey and Harry to fall in love as hard and fast as they do. But that doesn't mean things are easy. Because real love isn't like the movies...


I love the film (500) days of Summer. The way it examines love in our world and how our expectations don't always match up to our reality fascinates me. As someone who falls in love easily but rarely acts I have been known to build up a daydream of the life I could have with the person, only for it to all come crashing down around me. In many ways I am like Tom from the film, because I want more than the person I like can give to me.

And that's exactly what this book was like. The main character, Audrey, falls hard for a boy she meets working at a movie theatre and is willing to do almost anything to stay in a relationship with Harry (the bad boy of the novel). It was interesting going into this book because you knew it wasn't a love story from the get go. Audrey has sworn off love, and announces this several times at the start of the novel, so you know that we aren't being shown a love story. But holy cow does Holly Bourne take us for a ride.

If you have ever read any of Holly Bourne's books before you have learnt that nothing is ever as it seems. Every single one of her novels has had at least 3 major plot twists that each serve a different purpose. The first one is the one you see coming, the second one is the one that changes the entire dynamic of the story and the third one leaves you in tears. This book was no exception, with each one of these living up to and crushing all of my expectations for the novel. The characters were so well written that it felt like this story was happening to your closest friends, and you just wanted Holly Bourne to LET THEM HAVE A HAPPY ENDING!

One thing I've always admired about Holly Bourne's books is the fact that the side characters aren't neglected, no matter how little time they spend actually appearing on page. From the neurotic cinema manager to Harry's group of friends I really felt like I connected to each character and got to see the deeper parts of their character. No one was a perfect person, with no flaws. Everyone had multiple sides to them, and you could understand their motives for all of their actions (even if you didn't enjoy them). Like all of Holly Bourne books I've read, this book made me feel like I'd lost a friendship group the moment I turned over the last page, which is the beauty of a well-written novel.

Possibly my favourite part about this book was all the pop culture references that were made between the characters. This has become an increasing trend in YA books, with some people falling flat but Holly Bourne has always had a way of interweaving her world with world that seems so effortless. The references to Kill Bill,  the Marvel universe, and literally every romance movie worth watching added so much to this book as you got to get inside the brain of the characters and understand the connections they are making as they are making them.

The ending made me sob for a good two or three minutes with how perfect it was. You get to see just how much Audrey has grown as a character, and also the influence she has had on Harry as a person. It was one of the most beautiful endings to a YA romance I have ever read and exceeded my expectations on so many levels. And even though I knew what was coming the second time I read this book, it still made me weep like a Disney princess (dramatically throws self on bed).

Overall this book is well worth the read, even if you aren't the biggest fan of romance, because it is so much more than a love story. It has a feminist take on the typical romance novel that takes down all your expectations and rebuilds them into the story you didn't realise you needed (plus it has zombies, which is pretty awesome).