I have not stopped talking, or thinking, about The Idea of You by Robinne Lee since I read it. And with the movie releasing on Prime Video in less than two weeks – it felt like the perfect time to profess my love for this book in a review.
The Idea of You
by Robinne Lee
Genre: Romantic Fiction
Pages: 384
My Rating: ★★★★★
Solène is a thirty-nine-year-old art gallery owner and single mom living in LA. When she takes her twelve-year-old daughter and friends to see their favorite band and ends up back-stage, Solène has an instant connection with charming, handsome lead singer, Hayes Campbell.
But there’s one small problem. Hayes is an international superstar, and only twenty-years old.
Their initial secret, flirty meetings grow into a real relationship that spans the globe, but can their relationship endure the age difference and his superstardom?
I am typically not a fan of age-gap romances (especially when the gap is this wide), but when I saw the trailer for this movie, I knew I had to read this book. The concept of a nineteen year age gap with an older woman feels totally fanciful and maybe a little weird, right?
Shockingly, no.
The author manages to weave this sensual, charming romance into the story of a nearly middle-age woman reclaiming her sexuality and rediscovering herself. It’s fun. It’s sexy. It’s magic. It’s wistful. It’s a great love story, but it’s also a story of society’s views towards woman once they become mothers or reach a certain age.
Though the enduring theme of womanhood and desirability as a mother nearing forty felt like the most important piece of this book, the romance is what hooked me. Without a doubt. The chemistry between Solène and Hayes is palpable. You can feel it from their initial encounter in the meet-and-greet tent to the flirty, witty conversations that follow. It’s brimming with electricity and the tension of will-they or won’t-they act on those feelings.
There are elements of familial drama. Solène co-parents with her ex-husband and his new (young) wife. Her daughter is also closer in age to Hayes than she is to him, and their relationship triggers a flurry of papparazi, so it definitely adds some conflict.
This is not your typical contemporary romance. I would argue this is falls more in the romantic fiction genre. The themes are deeper, the love is heavier, the stakes are higher. Have tissues ready.
And if your eyes are still bugging out over that 19-year age gap with an older women – remind yourself this happens with Hollywood men all the damn time and no one bats an eye.
The countdown for the movie release on May 2nd has begun for me. Considering it’s starring @nicholasgalitzine and @annehathaway, I already know that no matter how much it deviates from the book, it’ll be a hit.
Looking for more romance recommendations? Check out my list of the best second-chance romance books. Happy reading!
