Five Netflix rom-coms based on books
How often does it happen when you read something in a book, and it hits so hard, you literally shut it for a second and just stare into the void? Like, how dare a sentence know exactly what you are feeling (or have felt) when you are pretending to be fine? We have all been through that. And it’s time we let ourselves experience those rom-coms.
A good thing about cinema is that it doesn’t let good love stories just stay in print. It brings them out of the books and gives you a beautiful film or a show. And Netflix has taken the liberty of bringing some of the boldest and messiest fictional couples from books and turned them into real people with faces.
And say what you want about rom-coms, but when they are done right, they don’t just make you swoon. They make you believe that one random encounter at a bookshop or one stupid dare in December could actually flip your life inside out.
So if you’re craving a little serotonin with a hint of drama and a whole lot of fictional romance, here are five rom-coms that knew exactly what they were doing. Based on books. Streamable in one night. And dangerous if you’re even slightly emotionally vulnerable right now.
Five Netflix rom-coms based on books
Dash & Lily (Adapted from ‘Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares’, 2020)
It starts with a notebook. Obviously! Hidden in a bookshop that smells like ink and winter, waiting to be found by someone who is bored enough or lonely enough to play along. And that’s the whole point, right? Neither of them is looking for love, but the dare makes it impossible to look away. Dash & Lily is a story that many of us might have imagined to be part of in some way or other.
Dash is allergic to joy, while Lily is made of it. And instead of texting or swiping or meeting at a party, they fall for each other through handwritten notes and ridiculous challenges across New York. It is so Gen Z-coded it hurts because this is the fantasy, right? That someone out there gets you without ever seeing your face. That love doesn’t need a perfect photo. All it needs is timing and curiosity.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (based on Jenny Han’s novel, 2018, 2019, 2021)
There was a time when this movie series was the identity of Netflix. It unlocked a whole generation of delusional daydreamers, because who hasn’t written a text or a letter they were never planning to send? Lara Jean did it five times. And then those love letters accidentally got mailed, and suddenly she is fake-dating the hot lacrosse guy while trying not to spontaneously combust from second-hand embarrassment. Oh, Lara Jean, you got it so easy.
To All the Boys is so iconic that it should come with a “dangerously rewatchable” label. But underneath all the rom-com fluff, this is a story about vulnerability. About putting feelings into words before you are ready to admit them out loud. Peter Kavinsky might have been the internet’s boyfriend for a hot minute, but it is Lara Jean’s nervous spiral that really made this a hit. Because she’s all of us: overthinking everything and holding back. All while loving too much all at once.
Purple Hearts (based on Tess Wakefield’s novel, 2022)
Disclaimer: This is more of a romantic drama. Here, you’ve got a struggling singer and a Marine about to deploy. And then they get together in a fake marriage for healthcare. You think you have seen this movie before… until you don’t. Because Purple Hearts comes from the part of you that still believes two people who hate each other can fall in love if the circumstances are dramatic enough.
This film is giving enemies-to-lovers, but with hospital bills and PTSD. And the soundtrack is criminally underrated. After all, it is a musical. Once you watch it, you will live inside it for days. Purple Hearts is the type of movie you play when you need to cry but can’t quite get there without a little push. Because when it hurts, it hurts. In the world of enemies-to-lovers rom-coms, this one might sting a little.
The Hating Game (based on Sally Thorne’s bestseller, 2021)
You know that one co-worker you’d rather fight than flirt with? The one whose every move feels like a personal attack? Yeah. That’s Lucy and Josh. Trapped in a corporate warzone of sexual tension, oh, and those dramatic elevator stares, and petty games that get way too personal way too fast. Come on, we’ve all had that one coworker we have shared this equation with.
This movie is a masterclass in will-they-won’t-they energy. Every scene feels like it’s about to turn into either a kiss or a court case, and that’s the thrill. You don’t watch The Hating Game for realism, but some part of you wants to believe your worst enemy at work secretly wants to ruin your lipstick, not your mood (wink, wink). And that maybe you want the same thing back.
Persuasion (Jane Austen classic, modernised, 2022)
No one does emotional damage like Jane Austen, and we know nobody will disagree with us on this. But this version of Persuasion? It’s her legacy with a side of fourth-wall breaks and exes you never really got over. Anne Elliot is the girl who let the love of her life go, and now he is back: hotter, richer, and possibly still angry. And you feel every single second of regret in her eyes.
You’ve got to give it to Jane that this style of writing is so modern without losing the ache. The glances across the room or the letters that come too late. The moments where you just want them to scream at each other, but also understand why they can’t. If you have ever replayed an old conversation in your head a thousand times or stalked your ex’s Instagram pretending you have moved on, this one is for you. Because Persuasion is about the love that never left.