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.

Ok when I first heard of this book I was a little iffy. I wasn't sure where the plot was headed, but it sounded like some super juicy gossip that one might hear in the tabloids. And that's exactly what this book was like.
I really did love the writing style. For this to be about something I wasn't even sure I'd like, it still sucked me right into the story. So much so that I downloaded it to my phone and was reading it in the lulls at work. I was hooked and wanted to see just how far they would take this thing.
As for the romance, I really did enoy seeing them together. It was always fun, fresh, and exciting. I hated that she kept second guessing herself tho. Hayes was such a good guy and she went back and forth too much on him. But at the same time, I could definitely see her internal struggle. I'd be lying if I said I couldn't. But when it was hot, it was definitely hot.
Unfortunately I didn't like the pacing. It seemed like once their relationship got going, it kind of drug on. I ended up having to read some passages over and over because I got lost along the way. But overall it wasn't really bad. Definitely gave it more of a real life feel because of the sneaking around and all. Also the ending wasn't what I was expecting, but again, so much more believable that way.
I hope Lee ends up writing something else for the two of them. Maybe an epilogue or something. Just to see what happens to them in the end. Like for real, for real lol

I love the idea of this story so much. I'm such a sucker for "rockstar romances," and I like the way that this one switches things up a bit and includes a younger star and an older women. This also seems to consider the reality of how a relationship like this would look and the pressures the couple would deal with. I'm also sure it would be addicting, and I'm excited to see a lot of positive reviews! However, I am very much an emotional reader and absolutely cannot do a romance that doesn't have an HEA. I must admit that I didn't see the "not a traditional HEA" note until after I said accepted the NG widget. I will also admit to having started this and then peeked at the end - because I need assurance that romance driven books will have HEAs. All that is to say, I couldn't get through this story knowing the end was looming, and I know I'd be destroyed (not in a good way) if I'd gone in not knowing what was to come. To me, how a contemporary romance ends and where I can imagine the characters going (together) in the future is a very important piece of how I react to the story. If THE IDEA OF YOU ends up having a sequel with an HEA, I'll definitely come back and read this entire book. Again, THANK YOU St. Martin's Griffin for sending me this title!

Nicely done. This is a highly entertaining read that captures the fantasy I'll bet more than a few women have. Solene and Hayes make an interesting couple. Their back and forth is realistic, their concerns logical, and the relationship, while odd to outsiders, completely believable. This is escapist fiction- and I enjoyed it more than I expected I would. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a very good debut and I'm looking forward to more from Lee.

The Idea of You is a love story with a twist between a rock star and a woman next door. Robinne Lee has created two interesting characters who are almost twenty years apart in age. Solène is thirty nine, she is recently divorced and the mother of a teenage daughter. Hayes is twenty and a member of a world famous boys band. They meet during a fan meet-and-greet session organized after a concert. What starts as a harmless flirtation quickly becomes a passionate love affair. Their journey is a bittersweet one, there are a lot of circumstances that pull them apart, despite their intense chemistry.

Hayes is a hottie with millions of fans. His life is consumed by touring, writing music and recording it. He has developed a kind of character-splitting between his celebrity self and his authentic self as a survival technique. With Solène, Hayes is sweet and open with his feelings, he knows what he wants. Solène can’t ignore his celebrity, she isn’t prepared for the side effects of fame, the media frenzy and the lack of personal privacy. She feels uncomfortable being seen with him and wants to keep their relationship a secret as long as possible. Her story with Hayes should be a meaningless fling, a way to move on after her divorce. But she is falling hard for the real guy behind the star.

What transpires between them was brilliantly written. Right from the first page, I was fully invested in their poignant story. I was transfixed by their dilemma, their intense chemistry and their heartbreak. I rooted for them and I hurt for them. I recommend this book, even though I didn't get the ending I wanted. This is a story that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

Wow! I am totally blown away by how amazing this book was! So much more than I was expecting! This book had well developed characters and a really great story. I couldn't put this one down once I started. Highly recommend!

Solène Marchand never aspired to being just a simple housewife. She all she ever wanted was to put her Ivy League education to good use and give a voice to female artists from all over the world. And it was this desire that inevitably caused the breakup of her marriage.

Now she focuses on raising her young daughter and carving a niche for her art gallery. Until all of that is abruptly turned around after a concert on a sweltering Las Vegas night.

The second we were left alone Hayes turned to face me. “Look, I’m not going to ask you how old you are because it’s impolite, but I want you to know there’s very little you could say that’s going to deter me. And I really don’t give a damn what people like Max think. If I did, I wouldn’t have asked you here. So no, in case you’re wondering, I’m not turning back.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay,” I repeated.
“Good. Cheers.”
“Thirty-nine. And a half.”
Hayes lowered his glass of Pellegrino, revealing a huge smile. “Okay. I can work with that.”
Dear God, what was I getting myself into?

Hayes Campbell is the twenty-year-old “swagger one” from the world famous British boy band - August Moon. He’s all dimples and heartbreaking sensuality.

His life is an endless cycle of recording and performing under the intense scrutiny of the tabloid press. But behind the scenes, he’s wise beyond his years and longs for a true connection to someone who can see beyond the rock star veneer.

What starts as only a brief affair soon becomes a passion that neither can control. In the harsh light of day, Solène must share him with the world and the world can be a very vicious place.

He turned when I opened the glass door, his eyes brightening. I’d removed everything. “Hiiii.”
“Hi yourself.” I stood there, drinking him in. All of him.
And feeling everything.
And then I said it. “I love you.”
Hayes froze, a confused look on his face, water streaming down his long torso. “Are you saying that because I’m naked?”
“No.”
“Are you saying that because it’s my birthday?”
“I’m saying it because I love you.”
He was quiet, weighing the moment. And then he smiled, wide. “What took you so long?”
I laughed. “I was just making sure it was you, and not the idea of you.”

The Idea of You is so much more than it first appears to be. On the surface, it’s a scorching hot romance where the chemistry between the characters is so tangible that you can actually reach out and touch it.

But if you look just a little deeper, you will discover that Robinne has also given us a harsh and yet poignant look into how the world perceives women as we age.

I was both empowered and broken by every nuance of this powerful debut novel and it’s now a book that I will measure others by for a long time to come.

Because a love as pure and true as this one can only make the world a more beautiful place…

A haunting and aching read. It was a beautiful romance. You can't help but fall in love with Hayes and be devastated for this couple. I'm still in mourning, but understand the reasons why the author went in the direction she chose. Still... is there any chance for a sequel so we can a HEA for this deserving couple?!

Sophisticated, alluring, and extremely passionate!

This is a thought-provoking, intriguing novel that reminds us that women can be confident, powerful, intelligent, attractive, sexual beings at any age and that being famous often has many drawbacks.

The prose is genuine and raw. The characters are authentic, honest, multi-layered, and appealing. And the plot sweeps you away into an engaging saga about motherhood, independence, responsibility, age disparity, stardom, art, seduction, desire, lust, love and unquenchable chemistry.

This a wonderful debut for Lee. It’s an exquisite love story with palpable emotion, strong narration and an ending, which I logically understand but still wish was different, that will resonate with you long after you finish the final page.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 out of 5 stars

The Idea of You by Robinne Lee is the story of Solene Marchand and Hayes Campbell. They are from two different worlds. The first among these is age. Solene is almost 40 while Hayes is 20. To add complication Hayes is a popular musician who is in the public view and has his life dissected by the minute and all the added drama and difficulty that come with that. I enjoyed very much how The Idea of You was filled with witty banter, cultural and music references both old and new and a plethora of passion. Solene is a fashionable, divorce mom with an art gallery specializing in pieces by female and minority artists with a 12 year old daughter, Isabelle. When her ex-husband cancels on a trip to Vegas where her daughter has tickets to see the hot new British boy band, August Moon, for a pre-concert meet and greet, she ends up being the chaperone. Hayes is the 20 year old founder of August Moon and witty an wise beyond his years. Playful banter between Solene and Hayes both at the pre-concert and a back stage event, leads to his visiting her gallery in Los Angeles, which leads to lunch, which leads to more.

This is a May-December romance where both of them are in their element and bring out the passionate best in each other. Yes, there is the ongoing theme that she is old enough to be his mother, but nonetheless Haylene (Solayes?) is a "ship" that is fun, passionate, and loving, spanning many cities in multiple countries with rich art and musical references. These two characters are written to be together. Of course problems arise when you have the rich and famous involved, or more accurately their fans and the paparazzi. The issues that they end up having to deal with are heart wrenching and difficult, yet realistic. The balancing act, and the choices, and the attempt at normalcy are all well woven into The Idea of You. I really did like the story and the characters. My one wish is that there would have been a more active fight to combat the issues head on, rather than just giving into Hayes policy of ignoring public personal issues as the best way to get by. Once you add in more people to the equation (children), that practice doesn't work, and I wish that Solene would have taken the initiative to push Hayes to tackle their problem rather than letting it fester unattended, with unfortunate results.

Overall, although there were some ups an downs, which is true in life too, I enjoyed The Idea of You and would recommend it. Keep in mind it will be a bit of a roller coaster and tear jerker, but one that was a good ride and read.

(I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book I received for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open and honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.)

I honestly don't know what it was about this blurb that had me so interested, but I'm really happy that I read this book. I'm usually never eager to pick up a book with an older heroine but something about this called to me and I couldn't stay away.

I loved the emotions that this book brought out in me. A woman nearing her 40's and a Rockstar half her age? You can only imagine the skeptics that were there and ready to criticize them. But I loved how they handled it and the strength that they showed with their relationship.

I really liked reading about both of these characters, no matter their ages, and I'm glad I didn't let the age-gap stop me from picking this one up. My 3 Star rating comes from the ending and I just wasn't satisfied with it so it made my rating go down some. I wish I could have rated it higher since I liked these characters so much, but the overall happy feeling of the book lessened at the end.

Bottom line, this is an emotional and intriguing story that I would not hesitate to recommend.

This was a very good and well written book. I loved watching the characters grow over the time of the story and I will be picking up more from this author soon. I have found another new author of this year and I can't wait to get this in a finished copy. This is one that give the romance and contemporary reader everything they could ask for.

When my friend Sarah over at The Book Traveler sent me a link to The Idea of You, I wasn't sure what I was getting into. A boy band member and an established woman with a teen - this sounded like heartbreak in a less than the time it takes to sing a chorus. But I can't resist a story about a boy band, and I'm glad I didn't!

At 39, Solene has a career she has worked hard for, a tween daughter, and an ex-husband who's moved on. She's relatively content, something that quickly shifts when she meets Hayes Campbell. Hayes is a 20 year old starter of August Moon, which will remind you of One Direction right down to the obsessive fans and OTP shippers. They're both easily likeable, with Solene being so real that you could see her as your neighbor or in your circle of friends. Hayes, while relatively mature, is a 20 year old guy who has figured out how to use the attention to his advantage and not let it get to him. It's easy for a reader to judge Solene for the age difference, something the book explores. Ageism is alive and real in nearly all of the characters in the book.

While the age difference is hard to ignore, the true meat of the story comes in the exploration of Solene entering Hayes' world of fame and how that impacts a person. In the age of social media, a celebrity never gets a down moment, and neither does anyone they are close to. As you can imagine, this complicates their relationship when the world learns of their relationship. And it is a relationship, as real as one can be with the pair living in completely separate worlds. They get hot and heavy, something Lee doesn't shy away from.

It's hard to imagine the story ending with your typical romance book, since this isn't your typical romance. Readers will leave the story satisfied.

**4.5 Stars**

The Idea of You was unlike anything I have ever read before. Powerfully classy and elegant, Lee's narrative felt intensely personal and real. Solène jumped from the pages and told her story in such a fashion that it felt very much in-the-moment, as if she were next to me and regaling me with her life's tale. Even with the slow start, I'll admit I kept reading out of curiosity, but before I knew it I couldn't stop devouring it.

I had some trepidation prior to reading in regards to the idea of an older woman with a younger man simply because it's not something written about much, but I needn't have worried as Lee took such care with creating two very different characters that rarely fit the persona of their age and instead they transcended any sort of role or stereotype placed on them. As a divorced mother of a pre-teen, Solène seemed to invent poise and self-assuredness, but it didn't take long for boy-bander Hayes to expose the raw sexual power she carried within. That fiery magnetism and his confidence in what he wanted allowed her to let her baser desires overrule her more logical side and that gave me the ability to connect to him and his pull, for me to be attracted to the idea of him.

The Idea of You carried with it real life issues and topics ranging from age gaps in relationships to teen obsession with celebrities, all wrapped into a story that pushed against barriers and norms in a very real, informative way. Lee had a unique way in telling their story, not sensationalizing it, but instead artfully portraying the draw and love and connection these two shared; even their drawbacks and struggles. I'm honestly surprised I fell so hard for this story and its characters, and that ending will forever stick with me.

Solene Marchant, a divorcee and single parent, is a partner in an art gallery. She is intelligent and cultured, not the type to get involved with a singer half her age. Then again, Hayes isn't the typical boy-bander. When a fling becomes something more, when they both start to fall in love, there are possibilites. But there is also the challenge of living in the spotlight, with constant intrusion by international press and social media.
The Idea of You provides a fascinating picture of two worlds in collision, which explores social attitudes towards an older woman dating a young man. The intimate scenes however, while being well imagined, were so frequent they lost impact by the end of the novel. - a pity as the plot and characters were excellent.

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 ☺

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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!!!

Robinne managed to write an amazingly beautiful story! And 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 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 on is MINE!!!

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P.S. I will put a few thoughts into a Spoiler thingy - my thoughts about the end - Happy or not? And about a few other little things! Please don't read it if you don't want to be spoiled![ The end. Yeah. We do not get a happily ever after for Hayes and Solèlen. Nope. I cried sooo hard while reading - especially the end! I so wanted them to work out. I think the message about the book was that you should not be sexist, racist nor ageist. But then Robinne goes and sends Hayes off into the world to live the life of a young guy. Which I totally understand, but I sooo wanted it to be different. With a little baby Hayes and a wedding and Hayes driving his step-daughter to school. But I can still keep on hoping that Robinne will write another book for them! An epilogue novella! I also think that the book could've been made into a 2-book thing. There was so much in here that was only touched briefly, and with two books this could've been a huge thing. Maybe even three books!! And maybe we could've made Hayes 23 and Solène 34 and bam - not as bad anymore! Yes, I will keep on dreaming that there will be such a trilogy one day.
Another tiny little thing that bothered me a bit. Those 'serious' parts that were talked about a lot - about how woman stop being seen once they're over 40 and all the artists of color stuff in the gallery. I know that it's a huge thing, especially in America, but it was a tiny little bit too preachy for such an amazing romance. But that's the only thing I didn't love-love. Oh, yeah - and the end! ☺ But I still loooooved the book. I totally understand the end. Solène didn't want to keep on hurting her daughter and she didn't want to burden Hayes with an old wife. (hide spoiler)]

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.S. Did you know that fictional Hayes and Solène have their own real-life twitters??? Check it out - they're posting real Hayes and Solène-y things! I LOVE IT!
HAYES' TWITTER
SOLÈNE'S TWITTER

"Hello August Moon" are the first three words of my favorite Michael Jackson song, but they mean so much more now.

OK, so here I am. It's 6 in the morning and I just finished reading The Idea of You. I'm sobbing and my heart feels so heavy.

First of all, Mrs. Robinne Lee sure does have a way with words. Her writing style pulled me in and it felt like I was there. At every concert and in every hotel room during every conversation. Solene and Hayes made me laugh and cry, they made me angry and happy. I was on edge one minute, excited or nervous about what might happen next. At one point my mother approached me in the living room sometime last week and asked why I was gripping the side of the couch so hard. I told her I was reading, but she still looked confused. The next minute, I was relaxed. Smiling to myself or laughing out loud at something one of the characters had said.

I have to admit that it took a bit longer than usual for me to finish this book, but only because I looked forward to reading a bit more of it each day. I knew that after the stress of finishing up a 4-8 page essay for school, that I had The Idea of You to look forward to. I never wanted it to end, and now that it’s over, I don’t know how to feel.

Please, read this story so you can experience all of the same emotions that I have. I love the characters in this story just like I love my own mother, and no, I'm not exaggerating. These characters are in my heart now, and they’re going to be there forever. A really good story always sticks with you.

I absolutely loved this book! From the minute I started reading it, I couldn't put it down.

I enjoyed the story of Solene and her journey of sexuality, love, and taking a chance. It was beautifully written. I felt like I was I was there with them, around the world, and in love and navigating their way through life. Robinne balanced the need for fantasy and reality so well. I know this would never happen but it gave enough hope to think that maybe, just maybe, it could.

The story kept me up at night, and wondering about what would happen all day long until I could pick it up again. It was raw and real and touched my soul.

Light, frothy fiction with a surprising amount of heart and intense love scenes that linger long after you've finished reading. It's an enjoyable bit of women's fiction with surprising depth.

While this book was overtly explicit in places, Soléne's tone made the book a lot of fun to read.

If you're not comfortable with a relationship with a significant age gap, then don't read this, simply put. I thought this book did a great job of exploring the double standard of age relations and for confronting why many of us have an inherent opposition to a specific type of relationship between two consenting adults.

Soléne was an intriguing character simply in the way she handles herself. On one hand, she has a really fantastic job that she's persevered at for years and has found a lot of success with, even in a challenging world, but on the other hand she seems to be constantly worrying about needing to have a man in her life and how she's too old to find a new man. I did adore her tone and realism, however. She had a lot of dry humour and deadpanning that highly amused me.

I had a lot of fun also seeing the person behind the face of a boy band. There's a moment where the band is nominated for a Grammy award that really struck me--Hayes was so genuine in that moment. He had a tendency to believe that he could buy whatever he wanted, also, and in a way he grew up through this book.

I adored the emotions of first love, of motherhood, and of being thirteen, which were all realistically and adeptly portrayed. Isabelle was a standout character; I could see myself several years ago in her and in the way she handled the relationship. She was surprisingly mature yet very real.

Kudos for the Kehinde Wiley reference--I enjoyed the art gallery aspect of this book a lot. And that ending, wow. There was a lot of very explicit scenes which wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I was able to read through them.

Though it wasn't a complete standout, I enjoyed this book for the depth of emotion the characters felt.