The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
6 — Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Are you a hopeless romantic who is
always reading about all things love?
Whether you’re single or in a relation-
ship this Valentine’s Day, the Daily Book
Review has you covered. Some of these
books are fantasy, while others are con-
temporary romances that deserve all the
hype. With a wide variety of romances
and tropes galore, here are six books we
think you’ll love.
“Love and Other Words” by Chris-
tina Lauren
“Love and Other Words” by best
friends and co-writing duo that go by the
pen name “Christina Lauren” will not
only bring you to tears but will restore
your faith in the friends-to-lovers trope.
Macy Sorensen is the woman with a
plan. All she needs to do is focus on her
job, marry her older (and financially sta-
ble) fiancé and, most importantly, shove
the mere thought of Elliot Petropoulos to
the back of her mind. Her plan goes per-
fectly fine until she runs into him for the
first time in 10 years.
After Macy’s mother died, her father
bought a summer house outside of San
Francisco where she spent all her week-
ends and summers growing up — with
Elliot. Forever holed up reading and dis-
cussing words together, the two formed a
seemingly everlasting friendship. When
their friendship turned into something
more, it wasn’t long until everything was
ruined in just one night.
Told in dual timelines — starting from
the moment Macy and Elliot meet as
teenagers to when they meet again as
adults — “Love and Other Words” is a
heartwarming story of second chances,
first love and loss. As we root for Macy
and Elliot to find their way back to each
other, we too are left yearning for love
that can withstand the test of time.
— Ava Seaman, Daily Arts Writer
“Take a Hint, Dani Brown” by Talia
Hibbert
“Take a Hint, Dani Brown” by Talia
Hibbert tells the story of how one woman
who doesn’t believe in romance finds her-
self in a fake relationship with her friend
from work after they accidentally go viral.
As a PhD student, Danika Brown is
a focused, career-driven woman. She
has no time for relationships, especially
after the way things ended with her last
girlfriend. Besides, she’d rather have
something casual with no commitment
required. Ex-rugby player Zafir Ansari
works as a security guard at Dani’s uni-
versity. Although he has a brooding exte-
rior, he is a hopeless romantic who just
wants his own happily-ever-after. His
heart, however, has been guarded ever
since an accident that left his family dev-
astated.
Dani and Zaf are just friends, but after
Zaf heroically saves Dani during a fire
drill and the rescue is captured on video,
the two go viral. With everyone — includ-
ing the universe — encouraging them to
make it official as #DrRugbae, they start
to fake-date. Zaf needs the publicity for
his children’s sports charity, and Dani
could certainly benefit from the friends-
with-benefits situation they agree upon.
What do they have to lose?
This hilarious and sexy contemporary
romance explores the idea of vulnerabil-
ity in relationships while also tackling
heavier topics like anxiety and griev-
ing the death of loved ones. Filled with
diverse and loveable characters, “Take a
Hint, Dani Brown” is the rom-com you
won’t want to put down.
— Ava Seaman, Daily Arts Writer
“It Happened One Summer” by
Tessa Bailey
“It Happened One Summer” by Tessa
Bailey is perfect for anyone looking for
a fun and spicy romance in the vein of
“Schitt’s Creek.”
Piper Bellinger is a Los Angeles
socialite known for her partying and
short-lived relationships. After her lat-
est adventure goes awry and she ends up
behind bars, her stepfather puts his foot
down. He sends Piper and her sister Han-
nah away for the summer to learn some
responsibility in a small fishermen’s town
where their late father grew up. When the
sisters arrive, they meet the local fish-
ing boat captain, Brendan Taggart, who
doesn’t take a liking to the newcomers
but can’t seem to stay away from Piper.
Brendan is too grumpy for her, and Piper
is too spoiled for him — they are the per-
fect match.
As Piper finds herself living in a mouse-
infested apartment above their father’s
old dive bar, she sets out to restore the bar
to its former glory and prove to everyone
around her, especially Brendan, that she’s
capable of making something of herself.
“It Happened One Summer” is a worth-
while summer romance sprinkled with
authentic self-discovery and characters
with chemistry that dance across the
page.
— Ava Seaman, Daily Arts Writer
“Five Tuesdays In Winter” by Lily
King
(TW: sexual assault)
Lily King’s fifth novel is just as enam-
oring and well-delivered as her previous
work and perfect for anyone hoping to
read about love but also loss, grief and tri-
als.
“Five Tuesdays In Winter” features
10 short stories all focusing on differ-
ent characters who are written with
immense care and complexity. Among
other enthralling characters, the reader
learns about a bookseller who tries to
love again, a mother-daughter pair work-
ing through a loss and a woman pulled in
two different directions when it comes to
her love life. “Five Tuesdays In Winter”
doesn’t just cover romantic love — though
there’s plenty of that — but rather looks at
desire and the need for love at all costs,
whether platonic, familial or unrequited.
This book isn’t an easy read — far from
it. Some of the stories are difficult to read
as the characters are overcoming the
sometimes violent events of their past and
present. However, what shines through is
King’s ability to leave the reader hope-
ful, not only for the characters, but for
humanity itself.
— Isabella Kassa, Daily Arts Writer
“Carry On” by Rainbow Rowell
For fans of Harry Potter, “Carry On” by
Rainbow Rowell is the romance that J.K.
Rowling never gave her readers.
Simon Snow is the “chosen one”
returning to wizarding school for his last
year. While everyone is hoping Simon
can save their world from the evil Insidi-
ous Humdrum, Simon is upset because
he just went through a breakup and his
vampire roommate Baz, who he claims
is his “nemesis,” has been absent for the
first two months of the school year, much
to Simon’s dismay. The story really begins
when Baz makes his entrance and joins
forces with Simon to help defeat evil —
all while the pair become “friends” and
eventually, more than that.
If any of that sounds familiar, you’ve
probably read Harry Potter. While “Carry
On” can stand alone just fine, it is bet-
tered with some background knowledge
because it’s essentially well-written fan-
fiction — superior to anything you could
ever find on Wattpad. While the plot is
interesting enough, what really shines
through is the relationship between
Simon and Baz, which is every bit as
romantic as a good enemies-to-lovers
trope should be.
— Isabella Kassa, Daily Arts Writer
“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue”
by V.E. Schwab
“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue”
stands out not only as a solid addition to
the fantasy fiction genre but also as a love
story worthy of the hype it has received.
Told in flashbacks between early 1700s
France and present-day NYC, “The Invis-
ible Life of Addie LaRue” spans many dif-
ferent historical events and time periods.
When Addie LaRue is forced into a mar-
riage she doesn’t want, she makes a deal
with the god of the night that will allow
her to escape the nuptials and give her
all the time and freedom she desires, on
the condition that no person will ever
remember her — until someone does.
“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” is
a testament to the power and intimacy of
truly being known by another person and
is a perfect read for someone seeking an
epic love story with plot to back it up.
— Isabella Kassa, Daily Arts Writer
Six romances to read this Valentine’s Day
Marketing films the ‘Spidey’ Way
‘Murderville’ is comedy gold
Writer’s Note: Spoilers for
“Spider-Man: No Way Home”
ahead.
Today, it is hard to imagine a
blockbuster movie hitting the
big screen without an extensive
promotional campaign. From
interviews to ad spots to teas-
ers and trailers, production
houses make sure that going
into the weekend of its release,
everybody is talking about their
movie. Having said that, until
not too long ago, films didn’t
consider an extensive promo-
tional campaign a priority, much
less a crucial part of their suc-
cess.
That all changed in 1975 when
the marketing team at “Jaws”
released a poster that would
reverberate around the world
for years. At the time, “Jaws”
looked like it was going to be
an expensive disaster, with the
movie taking 159 days to shoot,
almost three times longer than
what was planned, and its pro-
tagonist, a robot shark, barely
working. In order to rescue what
seemed like a lost cause, Univer-
sal, the production house behind
“Jaws,” poured over $1.8 million
into the film’s marketing cam-
paign — an amount that took its
production budget up to $9 mil-
lion, more than any other movie
released that year. The result:
It went on to become the first
American movie in history to
cross the $7 million mark, pav-
ing the pathway for how produc-
tion houses market their movies
to this day.
On Jan. 17, exactly one month
after its release, “Spider-Man:
No Way Home” beat “Avengers:
Infinity War” to become the
fifth-highest grossing movie in
the U.S. box office, making more
than $650 million. As of Feb. 3, it
sits fourth on the list of highest
grossing films in the U.S., mak-
ing over $730 million. Presum-
ably, those $730 million will go a
long way towards making up for
the reported $202 million spent
by Marvel on the film’s market-
ing. Although it is commonplace
for movies to use the wide range
of social media sites at their dis-
posal for promotional purposes,
the latest installment in Peter
Parker’s misadventures pulled
out all the stops, raising the
question: How much marketing
is too much marketing?
The answer varies from one
situation to the next, but the
marketing campaign for “No
Way Home” most definitely
split opinions before its release.
Between
the
movie’s
Twit-
ter and Instagram, the Official
Daily Bugle TikTok and the
countless
interviews,
trail-
ers and promo videos posted
by Sony and Marvel, fans were
treated to a barrage of content
in the weeks leading up to the
film. In the 40 days before its
worldwide release, the movie’s
Instagram made 59 posts, and
has made a further 63 since,
averaging roughly three posts
every two days. Even online
communities far removed from
the world of comic book mov-
ies found the likes of Tom Hol-
land and Zendaya popping up on
their screens, with the duo mak-
ing appearances at the Ballon
d’Or (aka the Oscars of the soc-
cer world) and even interview-
ing players from Tom Holland’s
favorite soccer team. Spidey fan
or not, if you were on the inter-
net in the month leading up to
the movie, at the very least you
heard about it.
There is an argument to be
made that such an extensive,
in-your-face promotional cam-
paign could discourage some
viewers from avoiding them
and potentially even the movie
entirely. Prior to watching the
film, LSA sophomore Arjun
Arora said, “I haven’t seen any
of the trailers. I don’t know any-
thing … and I actually like that.”
Nevertheless, Marvel and Sony
were well aware of who made
up the majority of their fanbase:
the comic book community.
A community that thrives on
speculation, ardent fans of the
webslinger and the Marvel Cin-
ematic Universe welcomed the
barrage of posters and movie
footage Marvel and Sony sent
their way. From YouTube to
TikTok, the internet was rife
with theories and predictions as
fans looked into every frame and
charted out every possibility to
such an extent that the online
community became pseudo mar-
keting officials themselves.
What added to all of the
excitement were the leaks — an
eventuality Marvel and Sony,
with all their experience over
the years, knew was inevitable.
However, the spoilers might
have worked to their advantage
this time around. People weren’t
complaining about the amount
of promotional content being
released, because with every
piece of content that did not
confirm their rumors and sus-
picions, the anticipation grew.
For example, although Alfred
Molina’s (“The Da Vinci Code”)
return as Doc Ock had been
leaked months before any real
marketing had begun, Marvel
and Sony were still able to capi-
talize on it. Between this leak
and the release of the movie’s
first trailer, fan speculation
regarding the return of not only
Doc Ock, but a litany of old Spi-
derman villains, was sky-high.
“No Way Home” obliged, and,
with said trailer, confirmed all
the rumors floating around,
resulting in the most successful
opening 24 hours a trailer has
ever had. It was the perfect way
to kickstart a marketing cam-
paign that would remain flaw-
less from start to finish.
Yes, a set of innovative post-
ers would do the trick. Even in
today’s time, not every market-
ing campaign needs to be as in-
your-face as “No Way Home”
was, and not every marketing
campaign requires the use of
social media. However, Marvel
and Sony showed just how ben-
eficial it can be to a movie’s suc-
cess, commercially and in terms
of popularity. Not only that, they
wproved that if your campaign is
well planned, bombarding fans
with promotional content isn’t
all that bad an idea, especially
when theorizing is one of their
favorite pastimes. Peter Parker
may be “Public Enemy No. 1” in
the Spiderverse, but in the real
world, the headlines were lov-
ing him.
Murder mysteries have been
a popular genre in the main-
stream for a long time. From the
first Sherlock Holmes book, “A
Study in Scarlet,” to the hit film
“Knives Out,” the archetype
of the story remains consis-
tent: someone is murdered, an
investigation ensues with hints
pointing toward the true culprit
and then a final gathering with
all the suspects convenes and
a murderer is declared. There
may be a couple unexpected ele-
ments in the story, but mostly
they follow this outline. Netf-
lix’s new show, “Murderville” is
no exception. However, it has its
own twist: improvisation.
The show drops the audience
in an old-style police station,
with homicide detective and
main character Terry Seattle,
played by Will Arnett (“Bojack
Horseman”). Seattle opens with
a grizzled-detective monologue,
alluding to classic openings for
the genre. However, in the third
shot, the audience sees he is
driving a pickup-style Camaro,
and from then on it’s obvious
this is not your normal murder
mystery. Seattle’s internal solil-
oquy is then interrupted by the
police chief (Haneefah Wood,
“Nurse Jackie”) to briefly dis-
cuss the aftermath of her and
Seattle’s divorce. Arnett is abso-
lutely fantastic in his role. He is
quick-witted with his one-liners
and joke setups, especially dur-
ing his satires of internal dia-
logues and classic police banter.
He is able to play out any scene
to get some laughs, but the main
draw of the show is the wide
variety of celebrity guest stars.
There are a total of six celeb-
rity guest stars, one for each
episode
released,
including
Conan
O’Brien,
Marshawn
Lynch, Kumail Nanjiani, Annie
Murphy, Sharon Stone and Ken
Jeong. This isn’t a completely
new idea — iconic series like
“Scooby-Doo” also featured a
number of guest stars ‘playing
themselves,’ but the most inter-
esting part about this show is
that the guest stars have to com-
pletely improvise every line.
The audience gets a wide range
of experiences from each guest
star. O’Brien, famous for his
comedic talk show, was a great
opening for the show. It was
obvious that he had experience
on television and knew how to
follow an improvised scene, but
surprisingly it was legendary
retired Seattle Seahawks run-
ning back Lynch who stole the
show. He was absolutely hysteri-
cal, throwing out quip after quip
and keeping pace with the scene.
Knowing that it was improvisa-
tion made it even more humor-
ous because it seemed like he
was just being himself. Addi-
tionally, Arnett’s over-the-top
acting next to the cool and calm
Lynch made each scene a joy to
watch.
Sometimes, the hilarity and
absurdity of the show gets to
the actors, and the audience is
able to see them break charac-
ter. The first time it happened,
as Terry Seattle covered his
mouth to hide his laughter in a
serious scene, I thought it was
an editing mistake. However,
as the show went on, it became
a regular occurrence, with some
characters laughing out loud
and having to restart their sen-
tences. This is similar to bloop-
er reels on sitcoms, which can
often be funnier than the actual
show.
If you are looking for a grimy,
hard detective show like “Sher-
lock,” this is not the show for
you. While there are definitely
aspects of classic murder mys-
teries, like searching to find
clues left by the murderer, it’s
much more light-hearted, due
in part to the show’s improvi-
sational nature. It is important
to note that the entire show is
not improvised; there are set
backgrounds and scenes, and
some jokes were a little too per-
fect. Also, some episodes were
funnier than others, with the
guest stars ranging from mildly
humorous to making me laugh
out loud. Still, “Murderville” is
a genuinely hilarious show over-
all, and you should go watch it
right now.
This image is from the official website for “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” distributed by
Sony Pictures Releasing.
Design by Sarah Chung
ISABELLA KASSA & AVA SEAMAN
Daily Arts Writers
RUSHABH SHAH
Daily Arts Writer
MAXWELL LEE
Daily Arts Writer