Reeling from her parents’ traumatic divorce and her own recent breakup, English teen Audrey vows not to let incorrigible romantic Harry woo her.

Add in newly divorced parents, a brother you never see, mounting schoolwork, and a UCAS application, all while dealing with a break-up from the boy you thought you’d marry, it’s easy to see why overworked schoolgirl Audrey Winters is feeling the strain. With faithful and straight-talking compan`ion, Leroy, at her side, she sets about trying to rebuild her life, her emotions and her attitude towards the ever complex topic of love. Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi. But wait, did I just say romantic? I guess I did even though the main purpose of the book is to contradict everything about romantic movies. It’s actually a blatant deconstructive analysis of romantic movies proving that real life romance is completely different. Holly Bourne definitely has all the right to say that It Only Happens in the Movies. What would you say happened here? I would say a drunk girl cannot give consent, that she was taken advantage of and it could be classed as sexual assault. I’m sure some of you might even agree. I just want to point out here that this is supposedly a feminist character? By this great feminist author. I personally am having a little bit of difficulty seeing this.

What I liked so much is how it challenges the representation of romance throughout films (I'm also going to include books as well) and how it's not always perfect and happy. There's such a sense of realism to this book and it is so relatable I was actually amazed! Harry, the love interest, is the typical “bad boy charming romantic”. You know he’s trouble from the beginning but you can’t help but warm to him as the story goes on. Despite Harry and Audrey falling in love with one another, Audrey calls him out on his shit repeatedly, and I think it’s refreshing to see that it’s ok to love someone and disagree with their views and actions at the same time in a YA contemporary novel. The female character: “They’re always crazy perfect skinny, even though they’re supposedly always munching down burgers and chocolate.” This book tells the story of a girl who is frustrated with the way relationships are portrayed in the movies, and she gets a job at an indie cinema as an escape from home. Also working at the cinema is a boy who is making his own zombie movie, and what follows is a romance unlike that depicted in the movies. I loved the indie cinema setting as well as the scenes of Harry and Audrey actually making the movie, and the book challenges many common romance tropes. This is a feminist story that feels realistic, and it is a fresh take on a rom com. ❀ Main Characters aren’t stellar This is exactly the type of book young girls should be reading and I love that Holly Bourne always challenges particular notions that are problematic in our society and dissects it, by putting forth real-life situations that we're all familiar with and/or experienced and calling it out.

I'm changing my rating to a 5 stars simply because as soon as I woke up this morning, my first thoughts were of this book! I am in love! Audrey's life story was a very real one - I felt for her and very much understood how everything in her life had led her to think and act the way that she did. Harry - I think that Ms.Bourne was so fixated on proving a point that romance in real life is not like the movies that his character didn't get the justice it deserved. We never really found out what was the reason behind his disagreement with his parents - even his montage film - as much as I didn't buy it, I don't think it was fair, for it to end...just at that point. The ending, to me, felt very rushed and honestly, a little bit unsatisfactory. I respect the message - but, maybe I just don't agree with it. 🤷 Holly actually created the “Wormtail theory”. Next time you think a character is being totally hot and romantic, replace them with Wormtail. Ryan Gosling grabbing somebody’s face and kissing them to shut them up? “Ok we think this is kind of hot.” Wormtail? “No, this is disgusting, I didn’t give you consent to kiss me?!” It Only Happens In The Movies is a a very mature, true-to-life book – romance isn’t always sunshine, glitter, and happy endings. Relationships require a lot of hard work and for the most past, things will be difficult. The book reminds us of that in an engaging manner, and will make you think twice the next time you watch a rom-com.Romeo + Juliet is amazing - 90s Leo will always be my favourite - and When Harry Met Sally is just a classical. That was the moment a piece of my heart broke off and got thrown into his, where it would lodge for ever. Because you always leave a little piece of your heart in whoever you fall in love with.” Feminism vibes and realistic touch to the sensitive issues like mental health, drug addiction, divorce✅ First things first: this is a romantic story, no matter how much you complain about that. I don't care about the ifs, about what happened or about the freaking bad timing. Not only does Audrey have a pretty difficult home life (thanks to her dad for leaving their family for another woman, who was pregnant with his kids), she’s also suffering from heartbreak after her then-boyfriend dumped her one week after their failed sexual encounter. Audrey is embarrassed and bitter and swears off boys - especially boys like Harry, who just scream trouble, and who have the ability to break her already fragile heart. But can you really choose who to love?

Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the book that deal with true life romance, with all its highs and lows. Without sugarcoating it. Without showing you the happy fluffy side of things only. This book show you true life romance. It shows you how to choose yourself, to love yourself first. Something many girls would relate to. Being a teenager is difficult. For most of us reading this, we’ve been there, done that and got umpteen t-shirts to show for it. It’s clear to see why Bourne’s novels have been successes in their own right – they’re uplifting, funny, and deal with real, complex issues that youngsters face while presenting believable characters and scenarios – must readers young and old, everywhere. I’m happy to announce, though, that It Only Happens in the Movies was delightful, and my cover buy paid off. And now I have yellow books to use in my pictures, so it’s a win all round really.

Every single emotion I'd been squashing into my guts exploded like a burst appendix. I jumped off the bed and turned to him with a scowl I was sure he'd need permanent therapy to recover from. But, whatever you're going through, I can promise it’ll be one of those books that make you forget your life for a little bit. I am literally standing up right now, wildly clapping my hands in frenzied adoration and reverence to that most wonderful, powerful conclusion to a supposedly romantic story. Seriously. I could still feel goosebumps all over. Just *sighs*

Audrey is also a really good main character - her feelings are complex and often conflicting, and they’re so totally real. Her worries about her body and her feelings are real, and are things that are often glossed over or sugar coated in many films and books. I liked how, after her failed attempt at sex with her ex, sleeping with Harry didn’t suddenly make singing angels descend from the heavens, blow Audrey’s mind and making her a Changed Woman. Sure, she liked sex, but it wasn’t life changing; it didn’t complete her. Vaginismus affects around 17% percent of women between fifteen and sixty-four in the UK, but almost 50% of women with vaginismus are between fifteen and twenty-four, highlighting exactly why this representation is necessary in YA. I’m so grateful to Holly for including this and showing that this isn’t a case of there being something “wrong” with the woman as Audrey believe, but many (often treatable) factors. Because they're full of unhelpful lies. Romance films ruin people’s real-life relationships. They offer this idea of love that isn’t sustainable in normal life. It’s dan…” I was about to say “dangerous” before I looked up to see literally the whole class listening in. My fists clenched. I reached for a lesser word. “It’s…pathetic?” Talented actress Audrey (named after Hepburn) has just started working in an indie cinema where she begrudgingly serves gourmet hotdogs to the well-heeled inhabitants of Bridgely-upon-Thames alongside zombie-movie-maker and “player” Harry. When set a Critical Research project by her media studies teacher, Audrey decides to write about “why love is never like the movies”, and boy does she know about the devastating disappointments of real-life love, what with her mum seeking solace in alcohol as a result of her dad starting a new family with someone else, and her own experience with an ex who dumped her a week after she lost her virginity to him. No wonder, then, that Audrey’s left wondering what the point of love is, and the project excerpts that appear as chapter intros wittily expound her views. But this hard-held conviction is put to the test when Audrey agrees to play a “feminist freedom fighter zombie bride” in Harry’s new movie, and finds that she might just be falling for him. A short, by no means definitive list of just some of the literally innumerable awesome things this book contains:

Games

I LOVE Audreys friends, I feel like we all need them friends, I think at times we tend to move away from people, but it's always refreshing to see that just because something happens you've still got friends support. Ending: “They tend to end way too early. The movie either ends when the couple gets together, or someone dies before you can see the relationship develop.” a takedown of the bit in The Fault in Our Stars when the characters' steamy makeout happens in the Anne Frank House