Best of 2025: 13 Book-to-TV Adaptations That Wowed Us

There were many new and returning book-to-screen adaptations during 2025.

These plentiful riches featured summery beach vibes, like E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars on Prime Video, the sexy sports series Heated Rivalry on HBO Max, and Andrea Mara’s thriller All Her Fault on Peacock.

It also included additional seasons of Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty, and Maxton Hall, adapted from Mona Kasten’s Save Me.

While Prime Video has established itself as the streamer with the most young adult adaptations, almost every service featured some popular ones this year.

If you crave young adult romance, sizzling chemistry, on-your-seat thrillers, or period drama, we’ve got an adaptation for you.

These are easy, addictive binges with something relatable and entertaining for everyone.

We Were Liars – Prime Video

E. Lockhart’s YA book, We Were Liars, was transformed into one of the best adaptations thanks to a talented cast and showrunners who understood family drama and young love.

Both the book and the Prime Video version showcased the secrets lurking behind the perfect facade of the Sinclair family.

The book focused more on the teens – Cadence (Emily Alyn Lind), Mirren (Esther McGregor), Johnny (Joseph Zada), and Gat (Shubham Maheshwari).

The TV adaptation developed those intricate relationships, but also dug into the older Sinclair marital issues and ghosts.

While the novel skipped more time between Cadence’s accident and her amnesia, I appreciated that there was only one summer between them on the TV version.

The heart of the novel remained the same, and the actors’ connection showed how sweet and tragic young love is when you come from different worlds and are expected to uphold appearances.

Heated Rivalry – HBO Max

Heated Rivalry will make you swoon with the sizzling chemistry between Ilya (Connor Storrie) and Shane (Hudson Williams).

Playing on opposite hockey teams, everyone pitted them against each other, but these two hotties have been secretly sleeping together for a while.

Their sultry looks and connection sell this series, even as the streamer effectively uses time jumps to speed up the pacing, getting to the meat of the story and depicting this compelling romance across multiple years.

The series is not only a faithful adaptation of the books, but it also manages to elevate and enhance the source material with how it chooses to bring the characters to life.

Illya and Shane’s chemistry crackles on screen, but so do the fear, confusion, and pain that linger beneath the surface. The series also adds depth to Shane’s characterization — his experience and pressure as a man of color and his neurodivergence.

And it adds more depth and layers to Illya’s experience with an ailing father and the pressures of providing for a family that doesn’t support who he is.

It also made some fun additions, such as seeing Ilya’s witty texts on screen, which added to his and Shane’s flirtatious nature, expanded roles like Svetlana, and streamlined Scott and Kip’s story in a way that enhances the show’s narrative and Illya and Shane’s primary love story.

All Her Fault – Peacock

All Her Fault packed a psychological thriller and convoluted family drama into one. While I loved Andrea Mara’s novel, Peacock’s adaptation perfectly expanded family relationships and female empowerment.

Marissa Irvine (Sarah Snook) experienced a mother’s worst nightmare with the abduction of her son.

It was a thrilling adaptation, but I hated that it blamed only Marissa and Jenny (Dakota Fanning) for Milo’s disappearance, even as more cracks were revealed in their marriages.

The series excelled when it expanded on Peter Irvine’s role and his siblings, showing his need to be in control and how that contributed to his son’s disappearance.

I loved how the series showed both Marissa and Jenny more empowered, taking back their lives, growing in support of each other, and in motherhood.

The Buccaneers Season 2 – Apple TV

Many fans fell in love with the Buccaneers Season 1, and now these fierce, fun-loving American women practically run England.

Nan married Duke Theo Ushant, but neither of them was happy. They’re both in love with other people, which is always soapy.

Nan also married Theo to protect her sister, Jinny, who’s wanted for kidnapping her unborn child.

The Apple TV series shows that Nan would sacrifice anything for her sister. The siblings’ bond is just as important as her relationship with Guy and Theo’s with Lizzy.

These young women are often forced to mature quickly as they deal with romance, birth, and duty, themes any woman will resonate with.

Forever – Netflix

I grew up on Judy Blume, and while I never imagined seeing a modernization of Forever, Netflix surprised me with how well the creator, Mara Brock Akil, updated the material.

The 1975 novel focused on white teenagers and practicing virginity. It’s become one of the most banned books for teenagers because of its honest subject matter, which, as an English major and book lover, infuriates me.

Showrunner Mara Brock Akil chose to highlight two Black teenagers, Keisha (Lovie Simone) and Justin (Michael Cooper Jr.), to offer an honest look at young Black love, with teens balancing school responsibilities and family obligations.

She modernized it by adding social media and sex tape scandals, as those are issues teens deal with, but also kept some teenage innocence.

Netflix’s version also expanded Justin’s role so viewers understand how much pressure he feels interacting in a white world, something the series touches on sensitively.

The Better Sister – Prime Video

Alafair Burke’s The Better Sister was another domestic thriller that I devoured and couldn’t wait to see adapted for television.

I was delighted with Prime Video’s version because they took the source material and made the characters even more layered while keeping the core mystery the same.

While the novel primarily focused on Adam Macintosh’s murder, the show expanded it to also explore the complicated relationship between his wife, Chloe Taylor (Jessica Biel), and her sister, Nicky (Elizabeth Banks).

Fun fact – Nicky was married to Adam first, and Chloe now raises Nicky and Adam’s son, Ethan, who was the number one murder suspect.

The sisters reunited to protect Ethan, and many old wounds surfaced. Biel and Banks excelled at playing estranged sisters, and this adaptation expanded on Nicky’s backstory and history of abuse and addiction.

Family secrets are never what you think they are.

Lone Bright River – Peacock

In 2025, it was all about gritty thrillers and family drama, and Peacock has begun adapting them beautifully, including Liz Moore’s Lone Bright River.

I’ve loved Amanda Seyfried for years, and she portrayed Mickey with such emotion and determination as a cop determined to stop an opioid crisis.

She strives hard to solve these cases and keep an eye on her sister, Kacey, who also struggles with addiction.

Things get complicated when Mickey responds to an overdose call, and she thinks it’s related to other sex worker deaths.

It feels like her partner, Eddie, would prefer to forget this women, so Mickey investigates quietly with the help of an old partner, Truman. As they grow closer, they uncover secrets no one would have expected.

Both the book and series showcased Mickey’s relationship with her sister, Kacey, and highlighted the struggles people face with drugs and poverty. 

Thursday Murder Club – Netflix

Some of our TV Fanatic writers loved this cozy mystery series, and I could see why.

It brought together veteran actors such as Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, Sir Ben Kinsley, and Celia Imrie as four senior citizens who join forces when a murder hits too close to home.

This crime caper was hilarious as the senior sleuths used their quirky abilities to solve three murders during the two-hour film.

We don’t want to spoil too much, but we’ll say they stayed pretty faithful to Richard Osman’s first book, except that the villains dabble in fake passports and illegal immigration rather than drug rings.

The murderer remains the same, and it’s entertaining to watch these four chase criminals and solve crimes.

Providence Falls – Hallmark Channel

Providence Falls is the only offering that didn’t air on a streaming service. The trilogy, written by Jude Deveraux and Tara Sheets, was perfect for the Hallmark Channel, since it offered different perspectives on love, fate, and destiny.

I’ve always been a sucker for that inner battle between true love and fate, and seeing Liam and Cora’s journey play out in 1844 Ireland to the present day won me over.

I’m a massive fan of Evan Roderick and loved that in the TV version, Finn and Suzette’s roles were increased, so we saw their love story and their friendships with Liam and Cora develop more.

The angels also had a larger role in the TV version and were much funnier, as Agon started shipping the couple and Samael wanted to enforce the rules.

Providence Falls is a must-see for fans of The Way Home or Timeless.

Maxton Hall: The World Between Us – Prime Video

Maxton Hall was the superior YA series in 2025 since it showcased losing a parent with care and highlighted recovery, including showing James in therapy.

Winning Ruby back wasn’t the sole reason for James’ inner work, and we appreciated that this series focused on other coming-of-age themes besides just the romance.

Prime Video does stray from Mona Kasten’s material for dramatic purposes. And most of them work out for the best.

James’ accident adds higher stakes and deeper emotional fallout for the characters. Similarly, his therapy gives him more depth as a character and leads to richer moments, including that speech at that gala that is totally different than what we got from the books.

There are a few key changes that deepen the show’s narrative compared to that of the books, but it’s the way in which the actors bring this story to life onscreen, along with setting the perfect moments with the best scores, that make this adaptation one of the best.

Maxton Hall knows how to bring crucial moments from the books to life

The series has lots of drama, including Lydia’s unexpected pregnancy and Ruby’s losing it all because of James’s father. These issues were dramatic but still seemed like themes more people would relate to, and we loved the series and cried with these teens.

Ransom Canyon – Netflix

Netflix’s Ramson Canyon quickly captured hearts and made us want to toast “Texas Forever.”

While Jodi Thomas’s book series felt more like an anthology with only a few characters returning, Netflix established a gritty western drama with complex family ties and a riveting love triangle.

In the book, Staten Kirkland (Josh Duhamel and Quinn O’ Grady (Minka Kelly) had plenty to deal with as Staten coped with losing his wife and son, without adding an interloper.

Netflix added Davis Collins (Eoin Macken), who was a blip in the books, and showed how Randall’s accident affected the entire town.

The series excelled by adding buried secrets and expanding layered relationships. Yancy Gray and Lucas Russell have become fan favorites because of their layered performances, and we can’t wait to see more.

My Life With the Walter Boys Season 2 – Netflix

My Life With the Walter Boys ran into a problem many book-to-screen adaptations do. Ali Novak wrote the book as a standalone and later wrote a sequel, but it didn’t quite align with Netflix’s Season 2 script because they were written simultaneously.

The love triangle between Jackie and the two brothers grew weary, and Jackie was most enjoyable when she found her voice as a leader.

My Life With the Walter Boys Season 2 also threw George and Katherine financial and medical hurdles, leaving George’s health in the air in the finale.

While we hope he survives, especially after everything Jackie’s been through, it was refreshing not to have the entire arc be about teenage angst.

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 – Prime Video

Jenny Han’s third book in The Summer I Turned Pretty had some issues. In some ways, I was impressed by how well it followed her novel, but if we read the books, the love-triangle verdict wasn’t a surprise.

Prime Video’s adaptation added plenty of moments, but it still seemed like Belly jumped between the brothers too quickly.

The book allowed us to see Jeremiah and Belly’s relationship and engagement more clearly, whereas the adaptation seemed to throw chaos at them fast.

It also felt like Conrad never truly grew, despite attending therapy. I wanted to see him do the work for himself, not just to win Belly back.

I wish we had seen Belly study overseas earlier and choose herself. She’s young, and they could have gone off-script for a bit before doing a reunion.

Which one of these is your favorite? Vote in our poll below and comment below with your thoughts.