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The Idea of You
The Idea of You: A Novel | Robinne Lee
46 posts | 61 read | 45 to read
"Captures what fame looks like, and how it affects us all...a fun, juicy love story!"--Elizabeth Banks Solne Marchand, the thirty-nine-year-old owner of an art gallery in Los Angeles, is reluctant to take her daughter, Isabelle, to meet her favorite boy band. But since her divorce, shes more eager than ever to be close to Isabelle. The last thing Solne expects is to make a connection with one of the members of the world-famous August Moon. But Hayes Campbell is clever, winning, confident, and posh, and the attraction is immediate. That he is all of twenty years old further complicates things. What begins as a series of clandestine trysts quickly evolves into a passionate and genuine relationship. It is a journey that spans continents as Solne and Hayes navigate each others worlds: from stadium tours to international art fairs to secluded hideaways in Paris and Miami. For Solne, it is a reclaiming of self, as well as a rediscovery of happiness and love. When Solne and Hayes romance becomes a viral sensation, and both she and her daughter become the target of rabid fans and an insatiable media, Solne must face how her romantic life has impacted the lives of those she cares about most.
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review
marleed
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Mehso-so

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..

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Injeanious
Pickpick

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

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CarolynM
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Pickpick

#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.

CarolynM Thanks for putting it on my radar @LeeRHarry It was a fun read. 8mo
Cinfhen Sounds like a fun read🤩 8mo
BarbaraBB Your review made me smile 💛 8mo
See All 7 Comments
LeeRHarry Nice review- I had fun with it too, glad you enjoyed it. 😊 8mo
Cupcake12 I really enjoyed this last year. They are making a movie too 8mo
CarolynM @Cupcake12 Do you think Harry Styles is too old for the part now? 8mo
Cupcake12 @CarolynM definitely not! He would be perfect! 8mo
59 likes2 stack adds7 comments
blurb
CarolynM
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#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.

BarbaraBB Thanks Carolyn, adding your song to what is becoming a great playlist 🎶 9mo
Cinfhen Fabulous song and book sounds great! 9mo
Centique So many memories with this song! Great pick 👍 9mo
44 likes3 comments
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Books_et_al
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Pickpick

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

Cinfhen This sounds fun!! Sorry about work 😫 10mo
Books_et_al @Cinfhen thanks 😊- I have my personal development assessment with my boss in a couple of weeks where things will need to be said. 10mo
See All 10 Comments
Cinfhen PREACH XXXX 10mo
squirrelbrain I‘ve seen this book around a lot…. Stacking now after your review. Ugh for work though - nearly the weekend. 😒 10mo
Caroline2 I really enjoyed this book too. 👍 10mo
Librarybelle Stacking…sounds like a perfect escape read! 10mo
LaraReads This looks really good! 🕶️ 10mo
CarolynM Oooh! I might have found my book for #SexAndDrugsAndRockNRoll #TitlesAndTunes 9mo
Books_et_al @CarolynM I definitely had a good time with it 😊- I‘m struggling with next month‘s prompt myself 🤔🤷🏼‍♀️ 9mo
26 likes3 stack adds10 comments
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Caroline2
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Pickpick

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.

83 likes1 stack add
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Caroline2
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Pickpick

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.

squirrelbrain Sounds good! 😁 2y
Caroline2 @squirrelbrain A bit of light relief! 😆 2y
65 likes2 comments
blurb
Cupcake12
The Idea of You | Robinne Lee
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#aestheticallymatched
Being with a global superstar in this book, many a meetings took place at the airport.

Clwojick Great match! 2y
MidnightBookGirl Love it! 2y
26 likes2 comments
review
Cupcake12
The Idea of You | Robinne Lee
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Pickpick

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⭐️

MidnightBookGirl I really enjoyed this book too, which surprised me! 2y
27 likes1 comment
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damselsgotballs
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Book 39

16 likes2 stack adds
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Karons1
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Pickpick

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

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Kathfidler
The Idea of You | Robinne Lee
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Mehso-so

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

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Karons1
Pickpick

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 !

2 likes1 stack add
blurb
BookishClaire
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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.

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JillR
The Idea of You | Robinne Lee
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Pickpick

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

TrishB lol! Great review. 2y
bookandbedandtea I read this expecting an easy, even fluffy, palette cleanser and was surprised that it has so much depth. (Was also surprised by how much steam it had!) 2y
JillR @TrishB 😊 2y
39 likes1 stack add4 comments
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AileenRR
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Pickpick

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.

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Lesliereadsalot
Mehso-so

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!

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AudiobookingWithLeah
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Pickpick

❐ 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. ⬇ ⬇

AudiobookingWithLeah It‘s also about facing some hard truths and figuring out what you want out of life...even at the ripe old age of 40 (←that was a little bit of sarcasm). The parts of this that were the actual story, were really quite good and relatable, it just needed a tad less sex.
3y
21 likes1 comment
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bookandbedandtea
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Pickpick

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 ⬇️

bookandbedandtea ⬆️ phenomenon of women becoming "invisible" after 40 or so; the exploration of the same behavior being acceptable or not depending on whether a man or woman is doing it: I found a lot more to think about in this book than I imagined would be there. 3y
BookishClaire Right? So good, and so many ways it was actually pretty deep! 3y
bookandbedandtea @BookishClaire I was so surprised at how good it was! And that ending wrecked me. 😥 3y
BookishClaire @bookandbedandtea yes! The ending made it a five star read for me. 3y
21 likes4 comments
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KristiAhlers
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Pickpick

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

aa_guer2021 It‘s on my TBR. Thanks for the warning! 🙂 3y
KristiAhlers @ruskigurl16 you‘re welcome. I read this one in one sitting. So good. 3y
bookandbedandtea Heartbreaking is right! 😢 3y
30 likes3 comments
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ICantImReading
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️?

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.

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DrLReads
Mehso-so

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

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em_books
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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! ☺️

ICantImReading This is on my TBR for this month!! 😃 3y
10 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Airykah13
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Pickpick

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.

????

17 likes2 stack adds
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StrayCat13
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Pickpick

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.

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ChristinaWATP
Pickpick

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

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Chars
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Mehso-so

Very naughty. Very good.

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MidnightBookGirl
The Idea of You | Robinne Lee
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Pickpick

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.

33 likes1 stack add
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MidnightBookGirl
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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.

48 likes2 stack adds
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Eringogreen
Panpan

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.

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baes
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5 Stars

A book about a 39 year old mom who meets a 20 year old pop star. Not a book I‘d normally choose. Sounded cheesy....And it kind of was at times. BUT it was actually pretty good. That ending though....

An epilogue into the future would have been nice. I‘m over here a bit peeved about that lol.

Anyways, I recommend to romance fans. It has a little bit of every emotion.

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Lauren.Archer
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Pickpick

Boy oh boy, what a find. Thank you to the Bad on Paper podcast for selecting this for their June Book Club Pick or I would never have found The Idea of You. This is a gem of book. I know this is two years old, so maybe I am late to game, but if you haven't read this, please do.

For my full review please visit: http://obsessedbookaholic.com/2019/07/31/the-idea-of-you/

57 likes2 stack adds
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Lauren.Archer
The Idea of You | Robinne Lee
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Pretty good week of reading. Check out my recap at: https://obsessedbookaholic.com/2019/07/29/weekly-reading-round-up-july-29-2019/

Hope you all had a great week also.

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Lauri-B-Reading
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“We have this problem in our culture. We take art that appeals to women—film, books, music—and we undervalue it. We assume it can‘t be high art. Especially if it‘s not dark and tortured and wailing. And it follows that much of that art is created by other women, and so we undervalue them as well. We wrap it up in a pretty pink package and resist calling it art.”

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silentrequiem
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My June reads!

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mona91
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💔💔

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mona91
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Pickpick

"Love, she said, was not always perfect, and not exactly how you expected it to be. But when it descended upon you, there was no controlling it."

Chars This is the perfect thing to say when someone‘s having a tough time in a relationship. Often there are no words- this passage gave some. Loved it! 4y
4 likes1 comment
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erinreads
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Whoops. 🕵️‍♀️🤭

tjwill 😩 5y
81 likes1 comment
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erinreads
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Taylor Jenkins Reid said this was one of the most exciting and intoxicating love stories she‘s read in years, so I snagged this from the library earlier this week. And now this is a fun way to spend my Sunday! Also, I might have to go listen to some One Direction when I‘m done. 😂

Bookcation74 I just recently read this one and LOVED it! 5y
silentrequiem And bought! 5y
71 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Jeanne_S
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Pickpick

Good

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Jas16
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Pickpick

I picked this up because it was on someone‘s top #romantsy books of the year list and I had never even heard of it. I fully expected to bail because a book about a woman who has an affair with a pop star half her age she meets while bringing her daughter to a meet and greet sounded like it was going to be eye roll inducing. Instead I devoured it and have a last minute addition to my top romance reads of the year list.

66 likes3 stack adds
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MilenaM
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Pickpick

I want to spread some love for The Idea of You, one of the best books I‘ve read this summer. It‘s a smart, sexy modern love story with a mature, sophisticated heroine and a swoon worthy hero. I had so many feels while reading this book! ❤️😍😱 #TheIdeaofYou

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wonderlandchick
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Pickpick

I got wrapped up in this way more than I expected. I would definitely read more about Solene and Hayes.

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AnnieReads
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Pickpick

This was such a well-written book. It follows the love affair between a woman and a pop star half her age. Incredibly sexy but also very emotional. We see the full life cycle of the relationship - beginning to end.

16 likes1 stack add
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intothehallofbooks
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Pickpick

So fun to read! Solene and Hayes are unlike the typical love interests we often see. Solene: confident, stylish, established in her career, not quirky or clumsy. Hayes: young, confident, intelligent, not alpha male. I love how Hayes pursued her and encouraged her to not keep the relationship a secret from her daughter. Such great chemistry.

This is technically a fiction story but it has romance and family. I'm excited for more from this author 💯

booksandcats13 I'm intrigued by him not being a jerk alpha male... might have to look into this. Thanks 😊! 7y
55 likes2 stack adds1 comment