Included on The Skimm’s 2020 list of Eight Books Both You and Mom Will Love “The sleeper hit of the pandemic . . . . There is no escapism like reading about a nearly middle-aged woman embarking on a glittering, global love affair with a thoughtful young sex god . . . . It’s electric, triumphant to read.” —Vogue.com “An OMG page-turner.” —Gabrielle UnionSolène Marchand, the thirty-nine-year-old … Union
Solène 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, she’s more eager than ever to be close to Isabelle. The last thing Solène 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 Solène and Hayes navigate each other’s worlds: from stadium tours to international art fairs to secluded hideaways in Paris and Miami. For Solène, it is a reclaiming of self, as well as a rediscovery of happiness and love. When Solène and Hayes’ romance becomes a viral sensation, and both she and her daughter become the target of rabid fans and an insatiable media, Solène must face how her romantic life has impacted the lives of those she cares about most.
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This will be one of those rambling, I’m in awe, I don’t know what to say to do any justice to this story kind of reviews…. So please bear with me.
I love reading. Love books. I’m at over 150 books read just this year. While I enjoyed a lot of them, there are very few that truly stood out for different reasons. Stories that I just know that I will remember, recommend, and reread years later.
The Idea of You by Robinne Lee is THAT STORY.
I’m not gonna sugar coat it, I was hesitant at first. The whole boy band and reverse age difference premise of the book piqued my curiosity but also it made me uncertain if it was for me.
So I added it to my TBR and decided to pick it up later, figuring I’d probably never get to it. Earlier this week, I decided to pick it up since the blurb never left my mind. I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW INCREDIBLY HAPPY I AM THAT I FINALLY DID. This book, this story, these characters… Top read for me this year!!! Abso-fucking-lutely AMAZING. I’m BLOWN AWAY.
When I met Solène and Hayes I was still tentative. But as the story unfolded I was completely taken. It was almost like magic, you know that moment when you realize that you are reading something that will change who you are a little bit when you finish that last page. It’s THAT STORY. The one you want to tell all your friends about, the one you make your husband listen to <– sorry babe. The one that makes you want to start a book club in your neighborhood and talk about it over wine. The story starts with Solène, a 39-year-old divorcee, taking her daughter to meet the boy band all the teenage girls fawn over. Her daughter and friends are besides themselves with excitement and Solène watches it unfold. As they meet the members of the band, she is struck by how charming and personable they are. One, in particular, seems to have an extra dose of charm: Hayes. She brushes him off as a boy in a teeny bopper band. He’s half her age, why would he even register on her radar? The answer? He doesn’t. Sure, he’s handsome, but anyone with eyes could see that. Throughout their first encounter, Solène humors Hayes and his seeming advances. Why would this boy be flirting with her? But when he convinces her to meet him for lunch, the story takes off galloping. Solène and Hayes meet in different corners of the world for a literal whirlwind romance that left me breathless and anxiously turning the pages. Solène balanced her daughter, her successful business, and her relationship with Hayes. How could she keep everything afloat as she fell deeper and deeper with Hayes? This book made me a complete basketcase. I was on the edge, chewing my nails off, and enjoying EVERY SINGLE minute of it. I thought I was going to get somewhat of a taboo love story but it was MORE SO MUCH MORE. The wisdom, the powerful message about sexism, aging, JUST BEING A WOMAN, for me personally, was life changing. As a mother of two girls, there were so many times I yelled out THIS SO MUCH THIS!! I highlighted the heck out of the book because, Robinne Lee, your words, gosh they are EXTRAORDINARY, STUNNING & CAPTIVATING. You gave me and your readers a heroine that is strong, selfless, and fiercely independent yet still loving and sexy as hell. A mother, a friend, an ex wife, a lover but still HERSELF!! She is truly INCREDIBLE and I can honestly say she’s become one of my favorite female characters I’ve ever read. And Hayes…. So UNEXPECTED, so not what I bargained for when I read about the twenty-year-old boy band member in the blurb. I’m gonna be honest I fell hard for him and his charms and swagger. There were times I felt myself forgetting he was only 20 because he was so… Everything. He was mature, debonair, alluring, and, decidedly so fucking sexy!! “You afraid?” he asked. I nodded. “So am I. But I’m all right with that. If I get hurt, I get hurt. It happens, right? Someone always gets hurt. But I don’t want to miss out on us because I was afraid.” Ms. Lee created a PHENOMENAL and BRILLIANT story about fame, aging, complex women issues in today’s day and age when no one is safe from social media and it’s keyboard warriors. When we all thrive to be perfect—the perfect wife, the perfect mom, the perfect woman, etc and in the process we become our own enemies as we lose ourselves and who we are in order to make others happy. Her characters feel so real, they’re surely out there in the world somewhere. I want to look for them and find them and hug them hard. <– told you I’m a basketcase!! “I’m falling in love with you. I’m just going to put that out there, because I can.” The Idea of You is a love story, a very unique one, but, for me, it was also a love letter. A love letter to all women out there today. A poignant modern day love story with an incredible message that left me with an aching heart. Even days later, I can’t stop thinking about these two beautiful characters. Thank you Robinne Lee for this beautiful experience
One of the best romances I have ever read. Absolutely phenomenal.
I am obsessed with this book. One of my top favorites of this year … and ever. Smart. Sexy. Gorgeous writing. I’m making everyone I know read it.
One of the best books I’ve read this year! Still thinking about Solene and Hayes weeks later.
This book was different from any romance I’ve read so far this year in a really refreshing way. We get the beautiful divorcée mother hoping for a second chance at love; we get the swoon-worthy pop star à la Harry Styles; but we also get the harsh realities of love and motherhood and fame and a relationship with a significant age gap. While this isn’t the fun beach read with the guaranteed HEA, it will make you laugh, cry, and think.
The Idea of You isn’t the type of book I’d normally pick up, but Taylor Jenkins Reid (author of Daisy Jones & The Six) called it “the most exciting and intoxicating love story I’ve read in years” in a BookBub blog post, so this obviously went right to the top of my TBR pile.
Solène Marchand, the novel’s protagonist, is a beautiful, almost fortysomething divorcée with a young daughter, Isabelle, who’s obsessed with the latest British boy band, August Moon (think One Direction). When Solène gets roped into taking Isabelle and friends to meet the band before a concert, she never expected one of the band, 20-year-old Hayes Campbell, to come on to her. Her daughter’s “in love” with him, he’s almost half her age, and he’s über famous; Solène on the other hand is a sophisticated adult with a flourishing career and no time for games. Does that stop the two from falling into a whirlwind romance? Absolutely not.
Lee writes the most compelling scenes between Solène and Hayes, and their electricity alone sets them apart from other fictional romantic couples. Their significant age gap has the potential for icky moments (think Tampa by Alissa Nutting), but Hayes’ maturity (which was honestly a bit unrealistic at times) did away with my fears of this very quickly.
I enjoyed the novel’s structure, which followed Solène and Hayes on their various meetups around the globe (West Hollywood, Anguilla, Paris, etc.), and the plot doesn’t get stale even when the two are on opposite ends of the world.
Overall, this is a sometimes fun, sometimes tragic read that I’ll be thinking about for a while. I recommend this one to romance readers who are looking to spice things up plot-wise and fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Robinne Lee is absolutely BRILLIANT! The Idea of You activated a myriad of emotions and thoughts in me. It has taken me days to gather my thoughts and feelings about this book so I can put them in writing.
The dynamics of this book are off the charts. It gives witness to relationships on so many levels. It speaks of family connections:
husbands, wives, children, fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, sisters, and brothers and their interactions with each other. It sings of lovers, young, old and in between. The Idea of you hums about friendships new and established. It challenges the notions and boundaries about so relationships and what it takes to have success in maintaining these relationships The Idea of You forced one to focus on need versus want when dealing with those to whom we are connected.
Despite the fact that this book shows us a relationship straight out of a steamy fantasy, it has extremely realistic tones. The problems faced by the characters are true and recognizable to the average person.The happiness, angst, awkwardness, despair, and love these characters feel is tangible. The issues they face when dealing with the perceptions of themselves and how others perceive them are ones we battle with in the real world.
Robinne Lee has a way of writing that is fluid and delicious. Many of her words and phrases are lush, slightly decadent and lend themselves to the subject matter of the book. In addition, there are times when there is such a sweet sincerity to the lines which goes straight to the heart. It is the raw passion of the writing, however, that seeps into the soul which makes this book so powerful.
The Idea of You is much more than a light romance or a beach read meant simply to entertain. It goes beyond the feel good qualities into the realms of reality which make a reader question perceptions and life choices.
THE IDEA OF YOU – Robinne Lee – 5 STARS
Solène is 39. Mom to 12-year-old Isabelle. Divorced. Art Gallery owner. And right now she’s backstage at a Las Vegas concert hall seeing him for the first time: Hayes. Twenty-year-old pop superstar; singer in the boy band AUGUST MOON!
This boy has put his mega-flirt-hat on and Solène can’t help but flirt back! She could be his mother!!!
But can an almost 40 year old lady and a world famous superstar half her age have anything real and lasting? Solène’s daughter and the rest of the world think NOT – once they find out….
WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH SOLÈNE & HAYES?
WILL THE WORLD GIVE THEM A CHANCE AT A HAPPILY EVER AFTER??
READ THE BOOK TO FIND OUT
I loved this book!
I knew from the sound of the blurb that I was probably going to like it – because there’s nothing I love more than Rock Star Romances! BUT – this was sooo much better than I could’ve ever hoped for. I was a tiny little bit skeptic about Solène being so much older than Hayes, but pfffff, once I met both of them, I didn’t care about the age difference at all.
I’m 39 myself and I just jumped right into this book and became Solène for a few hours! I was right in there living this amazing adventure. All those amazingly adorable & sexy & emotional & just beautiful moments in hotel rooms in New York City, at a pool in the South of France. All the ups and downs of such a complicated new love. All those new feelings and fears.
I just loved reading this story. Poor Solène is feeling all those things you would think she is feeling… that she’s way too old, that it’s going to hurt her daughter, her family, her business, that she’d be ridiculed by friends and the media. But Hayes is so much more mature than that number 20 in his passport might let you think at first. He’s so sweet and kind and sincere and British – let’s not forget the sexiest things about him: his posh, sexy, British accent! And his young, mega-hot body!! No wonder she couldn’t resist, but the longer it goes on, the harder it gets … this wasn’t supposed to last. This was supposed to only be … lunch.
We hope all through the book that there will be a happily ever after, but of course we’re also not really sure if Solène and Hayes ending up together would be that HEA for everyone involved. But we sure hope so. But we know what happened with Demi & Ashton!
The story has all the amazingness of a rock star romance, but we also have so much more in there. Life as a divorced mom. A business owner. A woman in the Los Angeles business world. The whole fantasy part of it: that this would never in a million years happen to us. But we can still hope that it could … Thank you for that Robinne! (Not that I plan on seducing a boy half my age any time soon! For my tastes he could’ve been a bit older 😉 or just make me a bit younger!)
There’s sooo much in here; if this was a movie you wouldn’t know where to look first! I also realllly want this to become a movie one day!!!
It’s definitely a book that stays with you for a while. I was up until 3am to finish it – and now – a day later, I still get these images in my head. Scenes from the book. Hayes smiling by the pool in France. Solène and Hayes walking through whatever city they were in at the moment. The phone calls – the texts – the sexy times. *sighs* I never wanted this story to end!
Robinne managed to create an amazingly beautiful story! So perfectly written too! And it’s her first!!! Jeez – I’m almost afraid to see what will come out of Ms. Lee’s typewriter next!!!
THE IDEA OF YOU was such a beautiful & sunshiney lovestory. About finding yourself again – starting the next chapter of your life – hard decisions – beautiful places and people. Amazing book. Run to your nearest amazon for your own Hayes, because this one is MINE!!!
P.P.S. Yes, I have to admit that I imagined Harry Styles while reading. Only without those weird tattoos. I was never a fan of him and his boyband years, but he’s definitely making up for it now with his new amazing song, so it felt totally okay for me to see Harry in Hayes! It’s also totally okay for a 39-year-old blogger to fantasize!
P.P.P.P.S. I also LOVE the cover. The colors, the lipstick, the Hayes-in-the-glasses-detail. LOVE IT!
This is one of those books that, even months later, I still think about. I loved everything about it from the first page to the last. And yes, I cried when it was over, but I think it was the ending that made this book so poignant and memorable and so realistic. Now I NEED a sequel.
Best romance I’ve read in years. Maybe ever. But if you’re looking for an HEA, look elsewhere. Almost perfectly written.
I have just finished The Idea of You by Robinne Lee and I still cannot see clear enough to write a review. THE TEARS WON’T JUST STOP. My heart is squeezing so painfully. And all I want to do is sit in a corner, rock like a baby and scream for hours.
What happens when a forty year old woman meets a twenty year old boy? And sparks fly? Well let me elaborate a bit. Solene isn’t just any forty years old woman. She is successful, elegant, independent, graceful, witty, smart, cultured and every kind of brilliance running a successful art gallery for artists of color. Hayes Campbell isn’t any regular twenty years old boy. He is member of the super popular pop band August Moon. He is just so DREAMY. SIGHHHHH. He is sweet and cocky and charming and passionate and intense and full of humor and caring and attentive. And in the eyes of world and press media, they are all kinds of wrong.
What I loved about this story is the author gave Solene a very successful and enticing career that made it possible for her to meet Hayes all over the world. The logistics were handled beautifully and so the feel was very real. I could actually see them hiding and having secret meetings and stolen moments without feeling sceptical. And THE ANGST! This is probably the angstiest and most real story I read in a long time. The author touched and explored the complexities of this near impossible relationship beautifully. The guilt. The insecurity. The preasure of real world. And in middle of the chaos, I felt this inspiring and thrilling feel of pure love. They had something special that just captured my heart. They had those warm, happy and sickeningly sweet moments those left me breathless. They also had this raw, volatile and dirty passion. It was a treat. Almost too much for my heart. And the author then decided to break mine completely at the end. Did that really happen? I am still dazed and shocked.
The Idea of You by Robinne Lee is that kind of enchanting and unforgettable romance that will compel me to get back to it repeatedly. Time will pass but the effects of this story will remain forever in my heart.
Status : Code Red – Highlighted A Must Read!
I cant stopped my mouth to scream. Actual screamed like NOOOO I dont want it to end. Can it be more beautiful than a consuming love? YES, Solene and Hayes had an epic love. IT loved me to my very core, burned my skin with fiery love, hurt me like a piercing ice.. and breaking me like pieces of glass..
Robinne had bewitched me with her words within the lovestory. I was abit skeptical but boy she had proven me wrong! Solene and Hayes… the age gap.. the perception… Hayes, he knows how to woo and court a woman..
How can you fallen inlove at age 39 years? This is real.. raw as it can be. Solene deserved her happiness.. 20 years old boyfriend? Hell yeah!
This love story will pull you apart. The challenges of dating a 20 years famous boyband were complicated. Robinne, you had suprised me.. truly.. I loved it so much 🙂
I literally just finished this minutes ago so I’m a complete mess at the moment. But what a ride! This is easily one of the BEST books I have ever read. This story consumed me. I loved everything about this book. I couldn’t get enough of Hayes and Solène. The banter between them is charming, witty, and fun. The characters, the setting, the storyline – everything is just perfect. This book is perfection. I’m going to reread it now about a hundred times but please do yourself a favor and read this book.
“The fact that we continuously equate beauty and desirability with youth. That we beat ourselves up instead of embracing the inevitable.”
I really needed to read this book. The messages portrayed were incredibly validating and empowering. I am approaching middle age much too quickly for my liking while simultaneously residing in an area highly populated with university students. I do not recommend the combination. There are times when I feel completely invisible. No, I don’t need to turn heads for self-worth, but I think we can all agree that as human beings it’s nice to be registered. To be seen. It’s been an eye-opening experience about how our world works, about double standards, about undervaluing women, and these are the messages threaded throughout Robinne Lee’s debut novel.
In The Idea of You, our divorced, almost forty-year-old heroine is romantically pursued by a famous young man many years her junior. Everything’s legal, don’t worry, but the age difference is on everyone’s mind and that is the focal point of this book. It creates internal/external situations that promote self-reflection, and when we acknowledge our own judgments we can start to change them. It teaches that women remain desirable, strong, and sexually viable as they age: there is no end date. It calls out gender-based double standards. It empowers women to block out all the patriarchal noise and build the life they want. When we change our thoughts, we change our world. This. This is what I needed.
With gorgeous settings, soul-soothing art, and a perspective I didn’t expect, The Idea of You was a surprisingly sophisticated romance that I thoroughly enjoyed. I’m almost sorry I didn’t read it sooner but timing is everything, right? Check it out.
For what it is (easy, beach or vacay read), it’s one of the better ones. Well-done steamy scenes, realistic Mom angst, fun celebrity voyeurism. Perfect for summer.
I absolutely loved The Idea of You, I was grinning and swooning at almost every page. And when I wasn’t grinning, I was feeling emotional and teary. I can’t believe that Robinne Lee is a debut author, her writing is exquisite. She conveyed perfectly the feeling of falling in love, the giddiness and the rush of emotions that comes with that, and the heartache and the torment that comes when new lovers are separated and missing each other.
The main characters are complex, interesting, and very likeable. I loved Solene. She is funny, smart, and successful, but also very relatable. Despite her beauty and success, she often feels self-doubt like so many women in a society where woman’s value is placed on her beauty and her age rather than her accomplishments, and where women past certain age become invisible. Solene is a woman you would want to be or have as a friend. And Hayes, oh Hayes, my new book boyfriend! He is sweet, sexy, and just perfect. He is a member of a boy band but he has a depth of character that really surprised me. I haven’t swooned so much over a fictional hero in a long time.
I was very invested in Solene’s and Hayes’ story and didn’t want this book to end. I was daydreaming about the pair of them long after I finished the book. The Idea of You is an emotional roller coaster and a smart, thought-provoking love story. I am certain it is going to be one of the best books of the summer.
Speechless……….. what an amazing book!!!
It’s been a few days since I finished The Idea Of You and still I’m having a hard time writing the review… as it really took my breath away.. a book that will leave you with so much to think and so much to learn..
A great story, with so much message. it was painful at times to read but it is the reality somehow of what we’re going through ..
Solene was a beautiful woman living in LA, she was a very successful art dealer, divorce, with a teenage daughter who was in love with a boy band and their members.. Solene wasn’t looking for a relationship, she wasn’t looking for love.. she felt happy with her life.. but nothing was written, she didn’t see him coming, his life, his age, he was something very unexpected, something that it would change her life forever..
“being a mother did not have to mean no longer being a woman. That she could continue to live outside the lines. That forty was not the end. That there was more joy to be had.”
Hayes, he was a 20 year old guy in a boy band trying to figure his life.. a guy who was more mature than any other men around him. he was handsome and tall and his taste in women was diffrent. he had a “type” until a night that “Type” showed up at one of his concerts.. he didn’t expect her,
he didn’t saw her coming, but his life was about to take a turn, he would never had seeing coming..
The love between Hayes and Solene starts slowly building on.. with a lot of resistant at first from Solenes side.. but with time, their chemistry, their love starts to show up more and more, making their age difference less evident to them.. the need to be together, the constant missing each other.. their love was very strong, raw and very passionated..
“I’m falling in love with you. I’m just going to put that out there, because I can. Because you told me I couldn’t if I was sleeping with anyone else, and I’m not, so there you have it…”
So much to say about this book.. it really spoke to me, made me feel every emotion of the characters, the pain the happiness, how they were struggling to be together, trying hard to silence the noise and the world around them..
The idea Of You touches a subject that a lot of women in these days are suffering.. the constant pressure of society and media to look young, good and perfect… the constant judgement towards women about how to behave, who to date, what to dress and how to act.. in the story of Hayes and Solene we get to see both sides.. how society can’t see a woman dating a younger man but for a man is very acceptable to date a young woman..
“It grated on me. That no one would question him moving on. Him marrying and impregnating someone more than ten years his junior. Because that’s what divorced men in their forties did. His stock was still rising. His power still intact. Daniel had become more desirable, and I somehow less so. As if time were paced differently for each of us”
I never felt the age difference between Solene and Hayes whenever they were together. it was something beautiful.. The age difference was evident to the world but not to them..
“how women of a certain age cease to be seen. How society sweeps them under a rug, ignores them, discards them once past their prime.”
Robinne’s words made me feel the sadness, the worry, all the emotions and the pressure Solene was feeling during the whole journey of their relationship.. it was hard to feel how she was alone in this.. her feelings didn’t matter for many of the people who were close to Solene, because still the age difference was more important for society than the love they have.. she was a warrior, an amazing heroine, a character to admire for all what she fought, to keep what made her feel alive..
“I don’t think you should give a fuck about what people may or may not think of our age difference. Furthermore, if our ages were reversed, no one would bat an eyelash. Am I right?”
One of my favorite moments of the book is when Solene finally broke down with Isabelle, because in that moment Isabelle finally sees all her emotions.. it was very painful to read but it was also time for her to have some kind of a break down with someone who really love her and care for her..
“Love is this very precious thing, Izz. It’s this precious, magical thing. But it’s not finite. There’s not a limited amount of it out there. You just have to be open to allowing it to find you. Allowing it to happen.”
So many other great characters. Isabelle was also a very strong character, she was reluctant at first of Solenes relationship with Hayes.. but once she finally “accepted” she fought hard to support her mother in her on way.. Oliver, he is going to intrigue you, and make you doubt about everything.. Lulit, Daniel so many to mentioned that made this story so perfect..
I wish i could say more about The Idea of you without giving spoilers.. but is a book every women should read.. definitely is one of my favorite books now!!
Looking Forward for Robinne to find the time and the inspiration for the sequel.
Beautiful and Emotional
I loved this powerfully emotional, swoony story. The book really left me torn up and emotionally raw. So many ups and downs. The audiobook was beautifully narrated by the author. She really helped me connect to the story with her amazing storytelling!
This amazing work of women’s fiction was totally worth the tears and nowhere-near happy ending.
Omg this was excellent. The writing was magnificent and the end, just awesome. Sad, but the struggle was real. Great book.
6 incredible love stars