I feel bad about saying this but I think the show is better than the book in this case. It isn't perfect, but at least it's entertaining. I watched the show first, though, so maybe I'm biased. 
 This book isn't horrible or anything, it was just so bland. I didn't really care about most of the characters and nothing much happened in the story. Also, the romance drama seemed to take over the story to the point where it felt like it was the focus and the plot was pushed to the side. 
 It was an interesting idea, just poorly executed.