A rip roaring romp of a read!
Effortless writing, makes for effortless reading.
Oh so bingeable.
I'm SOO glad the movie got it's Hollywood ending though.

Oh gosh, this one wasn't for me at all. I succumbed to the hype without really caring if it was actually for me, so I DNF'd this one at 23%. Nothing to do with anything other than personal taste.

Wow! I can't believe I delayed reading this for so long. Such an amazing and relatable book, more than just a romance novel but raises important questions about the identity of women as they get older, the double standards between men and women. Loved the story, loved Hayes and loved the journey!

I really should have stopped reading this much earlier, and I'd promised myself this year that I would DNF books that didn't bring me joy. But here we are, and I finished the whole book.
This book drove me mad. A 39 year old woman falls for a 19 year old pop star, and all she can do is keep saying to herself, "I can't do this! He's too young! I'm too old! I'm so old! I knew he was a world-renowned pop star, and yet I can't deal with him being a world-renowned pop star!".
God. Even the sex couldn't save this for me. It just made me cringe.
Ok, I'm completely the wrong audience for this. I'm a 50 year old woman who, if, for some utterly bizarre reason, a 20 year old found attractive and wanted to shag their way around the world with - I wouldn't feel a single teeny, tiny bit of guilt! (Best not tell the husband this, but he knows where he stands if Dave Grohl ever came knocking on the door 🤷🏼‍♀️).
So, if you like boy bands, explicit sex, severe maternal guilt, and a dose of self-loathing, this may well be the book for you!
Sorry, I'll try harder to DNF in future...

This book was one that made me feel equal parts uncomfortable and swoony, like I loved the little romantic 'sweeping off feet' moments, but it also felt SO uncomfortable.

I can't be the only reader who imagined One Direction as the band in question, but the storyline was crafted so well!

A great book, and it was interesting to read about an age gap with the FMC being older! I really enjoyed!

A great cover for a great book. The concept is brilliant, and trying to balance her life as a mother and someone who wants to find love. Really think this book appeals to a wide audience too.

I loved The Idea Of You by Robinne Lee. I probably read it more for the gossip factor of it but I really enjoyed it. I was definitely hooked on Solene and Hayes' story. I loved the bits in particular about art and women in art. What people find valuable in terms of entertainment we consume. Aside from the spicy love story of an older woman and a young man in a boy band, there were definitely interesting other elements to consider. But ultimately this is a very hot romance and I loved those bits too! I've since bought myself a copy and some of my book group have decided to read it based on my raving!

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

This was a bit of a weird one for me! I picked it up hoping for summery vibes and it kind of delivered? But not in the way I really wanted…

I didn’t mind the relationship really but it was just too on the nose and fanfiction-y for me! It was sooo obvious that only people who have been living under a rock would miss the inspiration drawn from a certain band.

It was all a little too pretentious for me as well, the characters didn’t seem to have many real flaws they were just irritatingly clingy and indecisive.

The smut was WAY too much for me! Seemed like every other page, and whilst not that badly written I needed a break…

I’m glad for the ending, even though it was unsatisfying really, it fit well with the premise and I was glad to see some decisions being made!

I’m not sure I would read this author again but I can see why so many like it.

3 stars

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin for my e-ARC xxx

The concept of this story sounds like something you’d see in the tabloids or a fan fiction and that’s why I was so intrigued to read it. It was enjoyable and refreshing

Im a sucker for any book involving music and i loved the sound of this one but unfortunately it wasn't for me. I found it quite cringe and struggled to get through it. Not for me but hasn't put me off trying something else by this author.

Solene is begrudgingly taking her teenage daughter and her friends to a meet and greet and concert of the hottest boy band. She had other plans, but couldn’t step in when her ex-husband had a last minute work commitment.

There she meets Hayes, one of the members of the band, and at the concert after party there is a bit of flirting. Harmless flirting, she doesn’t frequent his circle, he is a pop start who is never in the same place for more than two days and he is half her age. Not that he doesn’t think that is an issue.

This book took me back to my teenager years and my obsession with Take That. Solene is living the dream as far as I am concerned and enjoyed reading their story and their steamy encounters, but also the challenges they faced and the reactions to their story.

I LOVED this book! Soléne, a 39 year old mum takes her daughter to meet her favourite boy band. The last thing she expects is to make a connection with one of the members. So begins a passionate, genuine relationship which spans the world on a global scale.
It is a forbidden love story and I can’t stop thinking about it! I loved Hayes and Soléne together even though it broke my heart. Such an emotional journey that captivated me from the start. 5⭐️

Oh dear. I stuck with the story until the end in the hopes that it would get better, but it didn’t. I thought the characters were pretentious with sexism and ageism at play here. The ex-husband can get away but then criticises the ex-wife for doing similar things later on. I thought the characters were self-indulged with some awkward writing style. I think it could have been edited down too. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for me.

Entertaining, racy but somewhat unbelievable... still i enjoyed it and why not wonder what if?! My thanks to netgalley an erc of this book in return for my honest opinion!

This was not my usual genre to read, I did struggle with parts and I didn't find it as enjoyable as I had hoped but nevertheless it was well written and a good book just not to my taste. This has no bearing on the author or their work
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion

I absolutely adored this book. You really do want nothing but the best for the two main characters, it's stylish, it's hilarious in places it's just got to be read.

I picked this book up after I saw it appear on several of my bookish friends' 'Best of 2021' lists.

This was a generally fun read with interesting things to say about how 'older' women are treated by society. I wanted to keep turning the pages and there was a lot of glamorous escapism and witty dialogue to keep things interesting.

I found the open door scenes to get a bit repetitive and, for me, this started to undermine the genuine romantic connection that we were supposed to believe these two characters had. It was difficult to identify with either of the protagonists and the pacing felt a little off at times (a long middle section and a hurried fizzle out at the end). This often did not feel like a "romance" novel and it did not have a satisfying ending. That said, I did enjoy the book and I would read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free advance copy of The Idea of You in exchange for an honest review.

After seeing a lot of hype around this book I was keen to give it a read. And even though I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, it didn't live up to the hype for me.
It did give me Taylor Jenkins Reid's Daisy Jones vibes to an extent but almost mashed up with something like Fifty Shades Of Grey.
And I can see it being a beach read style of book, if that's what you're looking for.
There were parts that I did enjoy and others that I wasn't all that sure about.
And then the ending. Let's just say, that really cemented it as a 3 star read more me and not any more.
I was expecting an epilogue or something to wrap things up properly but that never came.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.