“Addictive like all Kylie Scott books, you’ll swoon, laugh, ache, put your life on hold, and compulsively read until the wee hours of the night—only to reread the whole thing the next morning. Perfection!” – Katy Evans, New York Times bestselling authorReturning home for her father’s wedding was never going to be easy for Adele. If being sent away at eighteen hadn’t been bad enough, the mess she … bad enough, the mess she left behind when she made a pass at her dad’s business partner sure was.
Fifteen years older than her, Pete had been her crush for as long as she could remember. But she’d misread the situation—confusing friendliness for undying love. Awkward. Add her father to the misunderstanding, and Pete was left with a broken nose and a business on the edge of ruin. The man had to be just as glad as everyone else when she left town.
Seven years later, things are different. Adele is no longer a kid, but a fully grown adult more than capable of getting through the wedding and being polite. But all it takes is seeing him again to bring back those old feelings.
Sometimes first loves are the truest.
“Sexy as hell, heartfelt and funny. This book takes you on a beautiful journey.” —Tessa Bailey, New York Times Bestselling Author of Getaway Girl
“Utter perfection! Page by page, this book consumed me. Infused with Kylie Scott’s unique style, she delivers a love story full of emotion, character and humor like no other. A must read!” —Devney Perry, bestselling author of Tattered
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When Peter first met Adele, he’d only just started working for her father who owned a construction firm. She was there for the school holidays and only sixteen; Pete was fifteen years her senior. This friendship between a teenager and a man in his thirties made me uncomfortable and left a bad taste in my mouth.
During that first summer, Pete took Adele under his wing and she soon developed a crush on him and it continued until she turned eighteen and it all came to a head but didn’t end well. Adele was left brokenhearted.
Fast forward seven years and Adele has returned home for her father’s second wedding. She’s not been back since she left for college.
Peter was moody, grumpy and defensive right from the first page, but we soon get to find out why.
Adele is still harbouring feelings for him, though and when he spurns her one time too many she decides to go back home. This causes Pete to finally crack and things get heated.
Pete’s behavior afterward is deplorable and I was seriously doubting whether I could keep going with this book. There is no real connection between Adele and Pete, their chemistry was completely absent to my mind it just felt so contrived and forced.
Reading this book, seemed like a good idea at the time, sorry for the pun and use of the title, but I’m sorry to say, I was wrong. Readers of Kylie Scott might disagree with me, but sadly, this wasn’t the book to make me a fan of her writing, but as others have rated it highly, I’m sure this is my fault rather than the author’s. Not everyone is going to love every book, as we all know but for me, it just didn’t hit the spot.
Holy Jesus….this was my first “age difference” romance and I am SOLD! Kylie Scott has been killing the standalone game and this did not disappoint. Returning home for her father’s wedding shouldn’t be a big deal. But Adele is stuck staying with his friend and business partner, Pete. Bad news? She’s been terribly in love with Pete for years and now that she’s older, she’s not quite sure what their relationship will be like (especially considering how badly it ended 7 years before).
Adele is the strangely cool combination of old soul meets modern age impulsiveness. She’s not afraid to speak her mind to anyone, especially to Pete. They used to have an honest and open friendship despite their age gap, and Adele fell for him as a friend and as a man. But Adele isn’t stupid and she knows the walls that Pete has built won’t come down easily. When a night of high emotions turns an argument into one steamy night, their worlds change forever. Not only does Pete have to come to terms with his feelings towards Adele, he has to come face to face with a future he never planned for with her.
I LOVED Adele. She may be my new hero. She’s sassy and has no filter but it makes her strong and dependable. I can easily fin myself relating to her and that new adult age of wondering just where you’re headed all while trying to grasp on to anything real. Pete is a tough man and he obviously struggled throughout the whole story to come to terms with is own emotions. But I think Scott handled his “revelation” beautifully and it made me smile so big! Once again, another real and relatable romance from Scott and I can’t wait to see what she come up with next!
Disclaimer: I’ve never read a Kylie Scott book that I haven’t loved, so I went into this book with high expectations. It met every single one of my expectations plus some. Age-gap romances can either be really good or really bad and I was so happy that this goes in the so good category! There were lots of things I liked, so let me list a few:
1. Adele. She is someone who has spunk as a teenager and the perfect sense of humor/spunk as an adult. I loved her cracks towards Pete when they first see each other after so many years. I like that she is brave enough to show her face after the teenage embarrassment. I also liked that as the story progressed, she didn’t just roll over, beg, or give up. She reminded me a lot of my friends and is someone I would love to hang around with.
2. I loved Pete and Adele’s friendship when she was a teenager. He was truly a friend to her without it being creepy. I also loved Pete and Adele’s interaction as adults. She gave as good as she got and didn’t let him pull his usual shenanigans because by the time she sees him as an adult, she knows him and his issues too well as a friend and isn’t afraid to call him out. Their back-and-forth was fantastic; so funny and sharp, it truly felt like you were looking at people who had been friends for years. It made me want to root for their happiness!
3. Shanti. She is the best stepmoms of all stepmoms. I feel like if it weren’t for her, there would probably not have been a Pete and Adele.
4. The heat! This book will melt your panties off! There is one scene in particular….whoooo boy, someone grab me a fan because it is HOT!
Overall, I really wish I wouldn’t have read this book so fast; these characters were great and their chemistry was perfection. It’s one of those books I didn’t want to end because I enjoyed Adele and Pete so much!
3.5 STARS (4 for publishing)
7 Years after being sent away, Adele returns home to see her father get married. Adele learns that she will be staying with Pete, her Dads business partner which leaves an awkwardness in the air since he is the reason she had to leave all those years ago.
Okay so this is the first Kylie Scott book I have read in a while and I usually thoroughly enjoy her books but this one left me somewhat a little disappointed. Don’t get me wrong I did enjoy it enough to get to the end although I’m going to admit I think it’s been a while since I hated a character so much like the way I hated Pete, which by the way is not necessarily a bad thing because it means the author did her job and evoked feelings from me, and whether they are good are bad feelings doesn’t really matter in my eyes.
There was no chemistry with these characters. Pete was as cold as ice and I just didn’t get him at all. Adele seemed immature and to me she tried to hard in my eyes because I wouldn’t have gave a man like that the time of day.
Overall though if you can get past those barriers it is an entertaining read and the writing is flawless as it is with any Kylie Scott book. I did love the plot line but I just needed that chemistry to appear sizzle a lot more.
Kylie Scott takes second chance and enemies to lovers and combines them into the BEST THING EVER with It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time! I swear I could not put this down once I picked it up. If it wasn’t the angst bringing on a back and forth that had sexual tension so thick you could cut it with a knife it was the explosive chemistry that they put off heat the requires a fan. Add in some serious feels to that too making for an unputdownable read.
Pete and Adele have some serious chemistry. I was not exaggerating when I said it was explosive. With a complicated past and an age difference between them there were a more than few hurdles in their way that they battle through. And boy do they battle. Both stubborn, both still helplessly drawn to each other, and both trying to keep themselves in denial. The tension between them is something I’m normally not a fan of, but with Kylie Scott’s incredible writing bringing these characters to life I found myself craving it. These two had me glued to the pages dying to know what was going to happen next as I fell in love with them.
5 Star Review by Jodi for Ruby Red Romance Review
Kylie Scott is an amazing author. Her stories are realistic and make me feel things beyond just normal happiness. This story is no exception to that. I’ve fallen in love with her no matter what she writes, but I think this is my favorite story by far. It was so full of emotion, heart, feelings, and drama. I loved getting a glimpse back at Adele and Pete. It was amazing to watch their relationship evolve into so much more.
Adele, I loved her. She’s loved Pete since she was young. But she’s grown now. Her childish ways are in the past, but are they really? Adele has never been able to get over Pete and I think that’s want draws me to her. She’s tired to move on, but it’s hard.
Pete will always see Adele as his best friend’s daughter. The age difference alone is enough to make Pete not want to get involved, but there’s a problem with that. Pete got involved a long time ago. Then he hurt the one person he ever truly loved. There were times I wanted to beat the hell out of Pete, but I understand his reasoning for things.
Pete and Adele where everything I wanted them to be and more. I sincerely loved this story and I hope you will check it out.
“There are a lot of very good reasons why we shouldn’t be doing this. Problem is, I don’t really seem to care.”
It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time by Kylie Scott is a sexy new standalone that packed quite a punch in the emotions department for me. My stomach was is in knots the whole time with all of the angst that bled through the pages. After reading the blurb and finding out that there is a 15 year age gap between our hero and heroine, I got even more excited. As you know, I’m all about having a taste of the forbidden…a dash of taboo. Keep this in mind if the age gap thing bugs you, Adele is 25 and Pete is 40. Not too bad in my book, but it’s not for everyone.
I’m going to be honest and tell you that it did take me a minute to warm up to Pete. I wasn’t a fan of the way he treated Adele one minute to the next. But eventually, he won me over with his protectiveness over her. You could tell he was fighting his feelings when Adele came back after all of those years, and he seemed to hate himself for it. He has always been a loner with different women coming and going out of his bed, but Adele threatened that way of life. He was comfortable with her, always has been. Adele, on the other hand, I freaking LOVED HER! She was so sassy, beautiful, quick-witted, and sarcastic. But I’m not surprised by this because Kylie Scott has always created wonderful, relatable, and strong heroines. Together these two were oil and water, but they ran HOT every time they were near each other. I loved the banter between the two. I loved how she put Pete in his place on several occasion, and don’t even get me started on the angry sex. I mean HOT DAMN, people!
Another thing to point out, I loved the supporting cast of Adele’s dad and Shanti, her new stepmother. These two were a riot and a half! All in all, I enjoyed the hell out of this book. Yes, it had a slow start for me, but as I continued to read, I started falling more and more under Ms. Scott’s spell. The hero grew on me and by the epilogue, I was a goner. This book had impeccable writing, an amazing cast of characters, and an even more intriguing storyline. I loved the drama. I loved the sex. I loved the emotion. I think this was a real WINNER!
I have been trying to write my review for It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time for several days now. I’m almost at a complete loss to express how much I absolutely loved this May-to-December romance. To me there’s absolutely nothing that’s taboo about the fifteen year age gap—actually, I love that there’s such a gap.
Pete and Adele were sorta thrown together back when Adele was in her teens. Spending the summers with a workaholic father didn’t bode well for any summer fun—that’s where Pete came in, starring as the overbearing, fun, older brother. But in Adele’s mind, Pete was more than a substitute older brother, he was the man she developed a massive crush on—a crush so big, that when she finally made her move, it was seven long years before she laid eyes on Pete again.
And Pete had only changed for the better. Maturity and age look damn good on him. At twenty-five, Adele’s no longer a little girl, she’s all woman, and she’s bound and determined to make him see her that way. Maybe. First Pete needs to get over himself and lose the attitude. Which makes for some interesting, stilted conversations.
But when he does, holy hell, do the sparks fly, panties hit the floor and all that lust and longing break loose. And I freaking L-O-V-E-D it! I loved how Adele stood right up for herself. Loved how she really didn’t let Pete get away with being an ass. Loved how once Pete finally gave in to all those long-buried feelings that he just couldn’t hold back any longer.
Honestly, this is now one of my favorite—if not favorite—books by Kylie Scott. It’s fun, flirty, snarky, swoony, sexy AF and a damn good read. It’s fantastic, actually!
If it hadn’t been for the author, I might have passed up this book as soon as I saw the title. It didn’t do anything for me, and even after reading I feel like it belies the depth of the story. Fortunately, I knew what to expect from Kylie Scott, so I read the book and knew this was a story with a ton of potential. This book was angsty and fun, and I found myself holding my breath and stifling a laugh in turn.
Adele was fascinating. She was crass and unforgiving, while still being sweet and vulnerable. For all her bluster, she had been thoroughly destroyed by Pete’s rejection when she was younger, and it showed through that cracked façade of snark she wore like armor. I loved her brash honesty and ability to keep her head held high when it was painfully obvious she just wanted to let herself crumble.
I’m not sure how I feel about Pete since this book was told in single perspective we never got to see his thoughts. I could make some assumptions, but I still had so many questions about him, and this is one book where I think having at least a couple of chapters in his POV would have added so much to the overall experience of the novel. I did, however, sense his struggle, even when she was a teenager. Their connection was strong from the off, and there was no denying they would be something special if only he’d give in to the pull.
I loved Adele so much, and my heart hurt for her so badly by the way she kept getting so thoroughly crushed by the love of her life. I’m always a sucker for a friends-to-lovers romance, which is the best way to describe It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time. Adele and Pete had a connection that transcended age (there are no questionable situations in this title) and carried through years of not speaking. No matter how hard one or both of them tried to refuse it, they kept coming back to each other for the comfort and understanding they couldn’t find elsewhere.
I adored the plot of It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time. It was heartwrenching, angsty, fun, and fraught with unmasked desire. I was deliriously happy that there wasn’t any extra action in this book beyond navigating the pitfalls of Adele and Pete’s complicated and historied relationship. The flashbacks lent an interesting view of how deep their relationship was from the off and gave great insight into Pete’s affection for Adele.
As I said earlier, my wish for this book would have been to get even the tiniest glimpse into Pete’s head. I felt I knew Adele so well; she was so straightforward it wasn’t hard to understand her motivations and compulsions, whereas Pete played everything so close to the vest it was hard to get a great read on him. I feel like his would have been the more interesting head to get into and I would die to get my hands on an alternate POV from him.
Good Lord!!! When Kylie Scott decides to write forbidden she doesn’t pull her punches. I absolutely loved It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time!!! This novel was so fantastic and sexy with an emotional punch that hit me right in the feels! It was honest, refreshing, real and so addicting. I could not put this down!!
In all honesty, this may be my favorite Kylie Scott novel to date! It was funny, sexy as hell and just the perfect story of two people on a journey where their past and present collide in a spectacular fashion. And ohhh the fireworks we saw!!!! Pete and Adele had fiery chemistry and their emotional connection was just as HOT. She was strong and sassy and the perfect match to his stoic and broody nature. I loved how the author effectively used flashbacks to showcase their growing friendship and connection leading up to the incident that broke them. It was beautifully written and such a perfect balance between then and now.
To label this novel just a taboo romance would not do its brilliance and outstanding emotional depth any justice. This was a heartfelt love story that goes beyond their age gap and connection with her father. It was without a doubt an intense love story with all the swoony moments that left me gasping for more, balanced with all the smart and witty banter we’ve come to expect from a Kylie Scott novel. I never wanted it to end! Bravo! 5 stars! ~Ratula
My last book by Kylie Scott was her Stage Dive series and I was so thrilled when the opportunity came to read something new by her and she did not disappoint.
I love this age difference between the main characters. I was laughing so hard when she tried to make him spill his worst sex stories. I even like that (to me) she was more mature in the relationship department. And I LOVED when he finally admitted to himself and everyone else what she ment to him. But most of all I loved that she wouldn’t settle for (just) friendship with Peter.
This one was a really enjoyable read
***Review copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads Blog***
We’re in Australia. It’s summer and very hot.
Adele drove the looong way up the coast to her dad’s wedding. She hasn’t been home in seven years.
Back then – during her 18th birthday party – she kind of did something stupid that destroyed her relationship with her dad and her friendship with Pete. Pete was working for her dad back then and he was mega nice to her when they met for the first time when she just turned 16. And they became friends. Every time Adele visited her dad, Pete took her to the beach, the movies, and they talked about everything. Adele had a huge crush on Pete. Which Pete did not return. There wasn’t anything creepy about their friendship. They were just best friends.
But now she’s back. A pretty 25 year old woman. What hot 40 year old guy could resist that? Add in the complication that she’s staying at his house because her adorable new step-mom turned her dad’s house into wedding-central.
Let the fun times begin!!!!
What will happen with Adele & Pete?
Will there be a Happily Ever After??
READ THE BOOK TO FIND OUT!
Aww, that was adorable.
I wasn’t a fan of the age difference. 15 years is a lot. 10 would’ve been enough for the story. I kind of have a hard limit at around 8-12 years. I don’t like it when the guy is too much older.
But alas … it was that way here. And Pete is an amazingly hot guy for his age!
He’s kind and sweet and grouchy, and he’s also a bit scared of the whole situation. He doesn’t want to disappoint Adele’s dad and he’s not doing serious anyway. He doesn’t have the best idol in his own dad.
But Adele is not making it easy for poor Pete – prancing around in her bikini and talking about stuff that she shouldn’t talk about with him …
This was such a fun story about coming back home and getting that second chance, that never really was a first chance in the first place.
Adorable. Funny. Sweet. Very sparky and sexy. But also some serious moments.
I adored Adele & Pete. And Dad & Shanti & Adele’s besties were great too. Great romance!
But … oy. I could never live in Australia. First of all … the HEAT! And then … the creepy crawlies. How does Australia even have citizens living there?? HOW??? WHY???? RUN PEOPLE!! I’m sure Germany will take in a few more refugees!
IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME was an adorable and fun love story! Run to your nearest amazon for your own Pete – this one is MINE!!! (Finally a book hero my age!!)
I received a copy from the author for review purposes.
For me the perfect 5 star read hits me in all of the feels. It gets me so wrapped up in the characters that I have to react out loud to their antics. This story did all of that. I was wrapped up in Adele and Pete their story had me laughing, swooning, and crying at times. Adele is on the top of my list of favorites of Kylie’s characters. She has me laughing so hard at times. Pete frustrated me. I just wanted to shake him. He received several out loud lectures from me throughout the story. You will want to grab this book and get wrapped up in the story.