Is Purple Hearts based on a book? The romance novel behind the movie explored

If you are a fan of the classic enemies-to-lovers trope in romance movies, Purple Hearts might just be the right watch for you. The Sofia Carson and Nicholas Galitzine starrer is a story about two very different individuals who decide to fake a relationship for mutual benefit. And then, as expected, things turn real.

It is a tale as old as time but made new with relevant elements. If it all sounds familiar, it is probably because the source material is a relatively popular novel.

Purple Hearts is an adaptation of Tess Wakefield’s novel of the same name

Purple Hearts is based on Tess Wakefield’s first young-adult romance novel of the same name. The book was originally published on April 25, 2017.

Set against the backdrop of a flawed healthcare system in the country, the novel portrays a budding romance between a U.S Marine (Luke Morrow) and a second-generation immigrant waitress (Cassie Salazar) who dreams of being a singer-songwriter.

Talking about the writing process of the book in an interview, Wakefield said:

“I was going through a terrible break-up when I wrote Purple Hearts, so I had to learn how to set aside heartbreak and write a romance. Not easy. Took several drafts for Purple Hearts not to be a bitter mess.”

Directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum, the film adaptation was described as a “romance for the ages” in an interview with Variety.

“Purple Hearts’ provides hope that two people with such differing world views, stuck in the same place, forced to fight the same fight, might be able to learn a little about each other’s beliefs, get over their own bullshit, start to understand each other and just maybe fall in love,” Rosenbaum said.

Alloy Entertainment produced the film and initially owned the distribution rights. However, Netflix acquired the global rights for the film in August 2021 and released it on July 29, 2022.