Welcome to Litsy!

In love with the idea of this bench but concerned it‘s not actually comfortable.

I loved every character and the entire story- I did not like my tears at the end. The story revolves around a 39-year-old woman named Solene, who unexpectedly becomes involved with a much younger man, a 20-something pop star. Lee skillfully navigates themes of age, maturity, and societal expectations, creating a compelling narrative that challenges conventional notions of romance. Now onto the movie ❤️

24-5 Aug 24 (audiobook)
It would be disingenuous of me not to give this a pick - I finished it in 2 days. But the ending did not invoke any emotion from me. How else could it have ended? I have a hard time picturing Solene and Hayes, even knowing the casting. I cannot imagine finding myself in love with a 20 year old. The idea is a bit icky. I expect the age gap is similar to Jane Eyre or Emma, which having read recently also make me uncomfortable

This was better than I expected. The beginning was a little slow and it picked up and I wound up really liking it. It was a little bit steamy and had an interesting story. I liked the age gap and the realistic vibe of this book. It ended not how I would have expected which I also appreciated. Pretty good!

6.5/10

😠

Eh, not sure about all the hype and I prob won‘t watch the movie. Lots of sex, if that‘s your thing you‘ll like the descriptions but I‘m not into super spicy books. Age gap romance✔️, full of lust✔️, and some wannabe feminism that doesn‘t quite land✔️. Massive heartbreak everyone sees coming but them. Book #46 in 2024

Re-reading after watching the movie. The book is cooler in tone, and a lot more graphic. Movie is warmer, with a lot of details changed.

Admittedly, I was curious about this one - it‘s hard not to see the ads for the movie everywhere you go! I enjoyed the beginning and the end (oh my about that!) but the middle really dragged for me. There were so many details and aspects of the relationship covered that it just seemed to bog down. I‘m not a voracious romance reader, so that explain my feelings. 🤷🏻‍♀️

NSFW scenes aplenty, so if you listen to this like I did, beware!

#StorySettings @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
#ArtGallery

One of the main characters in this book owns an art gallery. There are several scenes that take place in the gallery.

This gave me “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” vibes. It was good tho.
I‘m gonna watch the movie tomorrow.

This book has mixed reviews and upon finishing I get it. It is all character driven and it is a slow moving story. It reminded me of Bridges of Madison County expect it was longer. I thought the author did a decent job of describing life on the road with a rock band, the paparazzi, crazy fans, etc. In my opinion, this could have been better if the story was condensed. Still enjoyed. 4⭐️

#LitsyLoveReads #LitsyLove @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

"I suppose I could blame it all on Daniel."

Loved loved loved 🥰 the book 📖 so much in lock down & being a huge Harry styles fan (who is loosely based on ) listened to his playlist whilst reading it . Anyway hubbie and I watched the film 🎥 last night & not disappointed! Ann Hathaway fantastic ! And so beautiful 🤩 and Nicholas Galitzine is a dish 🤤😆 recommend it 👍🥰

Heads up, You can listen or read for free if you have Kindle Unlimited or an Audible subscription before you watch it. I think I just might have to check it out.

Recently read the book and loved it, so I‘m hoping to like the adaptation!

Watching this because I‘m a sucker for punishment…(it‘s not going well) 🤣

Sophisticated 40 y/o Solène enters into a fling with 20 y/o Hayes, member of a world famous boy band, the band Solène‘s teen daughter is obsessed with. The pair face many obstacles, the age difference being only the beginning. Can‘t wait to see the new movie! And I couldn‘t resist including my pic with Nick Carter, who I met at a con last summer. He‘s my all-time fave boy band member! Well, now he‘s second to HS. ?

This book just left me indifferent…It was too predictable, too dramatic, too meh.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

37% in and I don‘t see this going anywhere…Someone tell me this gets better 😐

Oh, I don‘t know, I think I‘m too old to make it make sense for a 40-yo mother of a 14-yo to start a thing with the 20-yo star of the British boy-band her daughter fawns over. Honestly I didn‘t seem as though Solene was having real world fun - I mean outside great sex, then talking to her boy-toy about said great sex. I‘m am though intrigued to see Anne Hathaway take on the role in the adaptation of this story..

Fun read but I found it hard to believe with the age difference and the boy band popularity! Lots of explicit sex too!

#TitlesAndTunes #SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll
Very readable, enjoyable fantasy about a sophisticated older woman & a spectacularly beautiful, immensely charming, unbelievably mature 20 year old leader of a world famous boy band. The woman & the descriptions of fame were all very convincing but, delightful though the character was, the boy was just too good to be true. There was masses of (oddly unerotic) sex, some drugs, but not what I call rocknroll.

#TitlesAndTunes #SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll

The song was easy this time - Life In The Fast Lane covers all 3 components. I‘ve gone for the Party Boys version because it‘s rockier and it‘s Joe Walsh on lead vocals (clock him in the cork hat 🤣) I wanted to choose novel rather than a classic rock bio or a rock critic type book, and this one sounds like it fits. Thanks to @Books_et_al for putting it on my radar at just the right time.

This week at work is really doing my head in! Bring on the long weekend!!!
This book was perfect for the sort of week I‘ve been having - fun, spicy and very readable. 😊
It took an age for the hold to come into the library, so long I can‘t now remember who recommended it - if it was you - thankyou! 😊
#52books23 #contemporarysetting

This was surprisingly good and I don‘t really like romances. A 40 year old divorcee has an affair with the 20 yr old lead singer of a world famous boy band. It sounds sordid but the characters are relatable and it‘s really romantic till you get sucked into his world of fame and fans. It‘s got an interesting plot too with Devil wears Prada vibes. Very readable.

This was surprisingly good and I don‘t really like romances. A 40 year old divorcee has an affair with the 20 yr old lead singer of a world famous boy band. It sounds sordid but the characters are relatable and it‘s really romantic till you get sucked into his world of fame and fans. It‘s got an interesting plot too with Devil wears Prada vibes. Very readable.

#aestheticallymatched
Being with a global superstar in this book, many a meetings took place at the airport.

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.
A forbidden love story I can‘t stop thinking about! I loved Hayes and Soléne together even though it broke my heart. Such an emotional journey that captivated me from the start 5⭐️

Book 39

Without doubt the best romance book 📕 I read in 2021 in my top ten #favouritereadsof21

I‘m unsure on this book, in parts I really enjoyed it and in others it really dragged.

Well this is a super sexy classy read . It‘s so refreshing to have an older female protagonist and a younger male lover , Wev had it the other way around in fiction for years so glad it‘s now becoming the norm and more accepted , no one blinks at an older man and younger woman ! Anyway it‘s very difficult for an author to create believable chemistry between two characters and make it classy , it is a wonderful read pure escapism !

I could not be more excited to bring you this bonus episode of the Brit Lit Podcast!

The Idea of You held my attention in a way very few books have been able to of late and it took my heart. I love it so much.

Robinne Lee and I talked about her origin story as a fanfic writer, why she made her main character French, why love stories that don't end happily have such a big impact on us, and a whole lot more.

It's a delight! Don't miss this one.

Well. Ahem. Think a beach-read version of Daisy Jones & The Six but steamier and with a less cool boy band…Couldn‘t put it down and for all the romance (!) it was also a very smart read in parts, managing to make me feel oddly anxious throughout, and touching on the invisibility of being a woman approaching middle age and the cult of celebrity and fandom. Also just very good fun haha

Don‘t know if I‘d recommend it, but I liked it a lot, in large part because I love reading about how rich people live. When I came across the name of a hotel or shop or artist, I‘d Google it so I could better picture this world. It also helped to be forewarned that the story would not end happily.

Here we have a 40 year old woman and a 20 year old boy band star falling in love with each other. It‘s an interesting premise, but doesn‘t really deliver any kind of emotional jolt. Lots of sex though!

❐ Overall Rating 4⭐ | Narration 😁 = Very Good
At its core, this is a story about finding love when you least expect it...with someone, you never would‘ve seen yourself with. A relationship with so many things against it; including a significant age difference with someone who is not only famous but also a teen idol for your daughter. One that comes with paparazzi and the whole world watching and analyzing your every move. ⬇ ⬇

This was one part bubblegum fluff, one part VERY steamy sex, one part exploration of female identity, and one part heartbreaking love story. I expected the fluff, the rest of it caught me off guard and I found myself far more invested in Solène and Hayes story than I anticipated. The peek behind the scenes of the life of a pop star; the ongoing discussion of what women give up in trying to balance being wives, mothers, career women; the ⬇️

Book hangover alert! This was so good and so heartbreaking at the same time. Have Kleenex handy and find a comfy place to read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️?

Today, I‘m suffering from a huge book hangover because of Hayes and Solène. This book was sexy, smart, and thought-provoking, and I don‘t know when I‘ll get over that ending.

This book is painfully pretentious and over-written, but entertaining enough for quarantine.

What a STEAMY romance!! Some have mentioned their distaste for the age difference in this book, but I‘ll just say SO many of these same people LOVE books where the male character in the relationship is way older than the woman.

The theme of female empowerment in this book is strong, and the idea of an older woman maintaining her sexuality is wonderful to see in a romance novel! ☺️

My book club chose this one and it isn‘t one I normally would have read on my own. That being said, holy hell I couldn‘t put it down. I enjoyed the story and my only gripe is with how it ended. Robinne Lee‘s debut was wonderful and I really do hope she does a follow up with Hayes and Solène.

????

Bravo, Robinne Lee, bravo. You took this middle-aged, married mother of 3 on a torrid love affair that had me seriously pondering a young lover. (Shhhh...don't tell my husband😉) However, I think you just might be a sadist. 🤔

This book left me with a serious book hangover and I'm sure I'll be thinking about it for days, at the very least.

I would recommend. Wasn‘t crazy about the ending though

Very naughty. Very good.

My book club does #NaughtyNovember every year, and I wish this had been our pick (instead we'll be reading Mastered by Her Mates😮). This was fun and sad and sexy. I would love for there to be a sequel, but I also liked how it ended so realistically.

I'm pretty sure the blame (credit?) lies with you, Littens, on how I discovered this book. I've loved the idea of May/December romances, esp with the elder being a woman, since Donna Love and Matthew Cory on Another World (I am still devastated that they didn't work out). So far this book is working for me as long as I don't actually think of how it's based on Harry Styles, because even now he looks like a high school kid and that is not my jam.

I was skeptical to pick this up because it didn‘t sound like my style, but with recent rave reviews I was curious. Nope, it wasn‘t for me.