Welcome back to another Coffee, Book, & Candle discussion! We couldn't very well make it through February and Valentine's season without highlighting some of our favorite books that reduced us to sobbing messes! Fun, right? Don't worry, we'll keep it mostly spoiler-free, so you won't need your tissues unless you decide to tackle one of these babies.
HEARTLESS BY MARISSA MEYER
As major fans of the Queen of Hearts and all things Wonderland (as well as Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles), Heartless is one that we were almost certain to love. Just look at that cover!
Yet readers beware: this origin story for the Queen of Hearts features her first love and will certainly leave you feeling Heartless—as though Meyer has personally ripped it from your chest as you scream, "No! Don't do it!" at the characters to no avail. Never mind that you KNEW going into the story what her fate would be, that there would be no happily ever after.
THE ASSASSIN'S BLADE BY SARAH J. MAAS
A prequel to Maas's popular Throne of Glass series, The Assassin's Blade is a collection of short stories that follow Celaena Sardothien the year prior to the first novel, explaining with each tale how she met one of her allies and eventually ended up in the Endovier salt mines.
While this book gives you a deeper look into the mind of Celaena, as well as background on her friends (and enemies), it also tells the story of her first love. And all I'm going to say is SAM CORTLAND DESERVED BETTER, GODSDAMNIT!
THE FAULT IN OUR STARS BY JOHN GREEN
Like Nicholas Sparks, pretty much anything John Green writes is sure to tug at your heart strings and evoke a tear or two...thousand.
In this book-to-film, we watch Hazel and Augustus develop one of the sweetest, most tragic romances upon meeting at Cancer Kid Support Group. Both are more than they appear to be, with big-thinking minds and passionate hearts that allow them to share a life's worth of adventure and love in a short amount of time.
ME BEFORE YOU TRILOGY BY JOJO MOYES
Another book-to-film many of you may already be familiar with, Me Before You follows Louise as she reenters the job market and becomes a caretaker for bitter young Will, a once-vibrant and adventure-seeking businessman whose accident resulted in him becoming paraplegic. Despite his rude demeanor upon meeting the quirky, ambitionless Lou, he eventually warms to as her passion rubs off and he teaches her how to dream big things for herself.
Of course, if you've seen the movie or read the first book, you know that *spoiler alert* none of this is enough to keep Will in this lifetime with Lou. And the deep-belly sobbing doesn't stop with the ending of book one. The subsequent installations see Lou struggling to cope with Will's death and make a life for herself—or even find the will to (bad pun not intended).
But when chance encounters with a young girl who claims to be Will's long-lost daughter and a kind paramedic force Lou to face the world, she finds it full of opportunity and does what Will always wanted her to: just live.
P.S. I LOVE YOU BY CECELIA AHERN
Since we're on the topic of heartbreaking books-to-film, I CANNOT leave without giving a shoutout to one of my all-time favorites: P.S. I Love You.
While the book and movie are radically different from each other as far as setting, family structure, and relationships, the main plot is the same: Holly, a young widow, begins receiving letters with plans from her late husband, whose goal is to help her move on after his death.
Part of me would chose the film strictly for Gerard Butler's humor and singing, but the book is honestly just as good in its own way. And I rarely say that.
There you have it, book lovers! Which of these books have you read? Have you seen the movies? Which ones made you cry the hardest? Come gush with us in the comments!