Colleen Hoover went from BookTok’s “It Girl” to Hollywood’s hottest get.
The author is known for her emotional novels, but the books are making even more headway now that there are film adaptations in the works. Hoover’s most famous novel , perhaps, is It Ends With Us, which was originally published in 2016. Due to its popularity on BookTok, it became the top-selling print book of 2022 — which seemed to get the ball rolling on the film adaptation.
Justin Baldoni optioned the book’s rights in 2019, and Hoover made the first official casting announcement in January 2023, revealing that Blake Lively would star as heroine Lily Bloom.
Hoover faced some backlash over the film’s casting — and Lily’s outfits — due to the age difference between the film and book characters. The author has addressed this, explaining that the changes were made after some careful consideration.
“Back when I wrote It Ends With Us, the new adult [genre] was very popular. You were writing college-age characters. That’s what I was contracted to do. I made Lily very young. I didn’t know that neurosurgeons went to school for 50 years. There’s not a 20-something neurosurgeon,” she told Today in June 2023. “As I started making this movie, I’m like, we need to age them out, because I messed up. So that’s my fault.”
The film hit theaters in August 2024.
Keep scrolling to see which of Hoover’s novels are getting the Hollywood treatment:
‘It Ends With Us’
The book follows the story of Lily Bloom, who falls in love with neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid after a chance meeting but quickly realizes she knows nothing about him. When a past love, Atlas, makes a surprise return in her life, Lily might just be in over her head.
Lively starred as Lily, while the film’s director, Baldoni, portrayed Ryle. Brandon Sklenar took on the role of Atlas alongside Jenny Slate as Allysa, Isabela Ferrer as young Lily, Alex Neustaedter as young Atlas and Hasan Minhaj as Marshall. The film hit theaters on August 9, 2024.
‘Verity’
A departure from Hoover’s romance novels, Verity kept readers on the edge of their seat with a mystery novel full of jump scares. Writer Lowen Ashleigh receives the offer of a lifetime when famous author Verity Crawford’s husband, Jeremy Crawford, recruits her to fulfill his incapacitated wife’s famous book series. Following a mysterious accident, Verity is in what appears to be a catatonic state. (Not to spoil, but there is one chilling moment that involves Verity and Jeremy’s son, plus a wave to an upstairs window.)
In May 2024, Hoover announced that Verity was set to be adapted by Amazon MGM Studios.
‘Confess’
Hoover’s Confess followed the story of Auburn, a young woman with a mysterious past who does everything not to fall in love after meeting brooding artist Owen.
Go90 adapted the novel as a TV series, which premiered in April 2017, starring Katie Leclerc and Ryan Cooper as Auburn and Owen, respectively. The show is streaming on Prime Video.
‘Regretting You’
Hoover’s 2019 novel follows the ups and downs of mother-daughter duo Morgan and Clara. The two find themselves on a journey to reconnect with each other after Morgan’s husband and Clara’s father, Chris, is involved in a tragic accident.
A film adaptation of the novel was announced in 2024 and will star Allison Williams and Mckenna Grace as Morgan and Clara, respectively. Other cast members include Dave Franco as Jonah and Mason Thames as Miller. Filming for the project, directed by Josh Boone, is scheduled to begin in early 2025.
‘Reminders of Him’
Universal Pictures landed the film rights to Hoover’s 2022 book in October 2024. Reminders of Him follows a troubled young mother named Kenna Rowan who looks to rebuild her life and reconnect with her 4-year-old daughter after serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake.
No casting announcements have been made. The film is expected to hit theaters in February 2026.
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