We had this book picked for book club in our store last year and I simply adored it. This tale is not for everyone, but it was for me. During discussion I think that the ladies in my book club had a hard time with the cheating in the story, and the age difference but it being fiction of course did not bother me. I loved how it felt like a huge nod to french cinema, and to finding what makes you truly happy. Can't wait to read more from Leesa Cross-Smith.

I enjoyed a lot of this book. The age gap really threw me. I thought the main character went on a self imposed hiatus from a man she loved for not a great reason. This is a very scenic book in Paris and loved all the food and scenic references. I think I'm just not the right audience for this book though considering her relationship with her husband and her affair.

The narration on this book was quite good, both narrators were excellent with great inflection . However, I feel like the audiobook is not the best medium for me to consume this novel since it goes back and forth in between thoughts, time frame and situation all in a short span of time. I will continue reading the actual book

Ended up DNF-ing this. Got about 30% of the way through which is when my bookstagram friend said it gets good. I think I will pick back up and restart when I am in a better mindset.

Half-Blown Rose by Leesa Cross-Smith gave me major “The Idea of You” vibes. The storyline was very similar. An older woman has an intense love affair with a younger man, and there’s a big focus on music, art, and French culture. It’s set in Paris! The writing was very romantic, soft, and sensual, but the pace was extremely slow-moving. The plot was uneventful, and I felt bored at times. Also, I wasn’t a big fan of the protagonist, so it was difficult for me to form any kind of connection to this novel. Honestly, if you’re on the fence about reading this one, I’d probably just skip it.

This book is about a woman named Vincent. a forty four yo Black artist who moves to Paris after her husband's betrayal, starts teaching art classes at a museum, falls in love with a man 20 years her junior. This book is also about Paris, moonlit strolls along the Seine, about colors, flowers, smells, music, food, about trains, about family and about lust.

Vincent has a happy marriage and everything shutters when her husband of 25years writes a semi autobiographical book that reveals a secret, that he has a child in Ireland who Vincent knows nothing about. What's worse is she finds out by reading his book, like everyone else. So she packs and moves to Paris to her parent's apartment. She teaches an art class and cannot resist the intense and unexpected attraction towards one of her students, Loup, a man only 5 months older than her own son.

This sensual romance surprises Vincent too. She stills loves her husband and says her affair with Loup is not a revenge. and it really reads like that. This is not an artsy version of Idea of You. I am comparing the two because apparently these are the only reverse age gap romance I've read. Their relationship starts in Paris (Part 1) the they go to a month long European vacation, (by train, indeed very European form of travel), and their connection gets stronger (part 2) and everything gets very complicated and messy.

In addition to this romance storyline there is also a lovely relationship blossoming between Vincent and Sully (Cillian's son) through emails. Vincent is very warm and welcoming to him and one of her biggest sources of hurt and anger toward Cillian is about what Sully missed out on. That he didn't get to be part of their family, didn't get to know his siblings due to Cillian's cowardice.

I liked the prose and the structure of the storytelling. The story is told partly through 3rd person POV, and through Vincent's journal entries and instead of flashbacks we get chapters from Cillian's book. I liked the audiobook narrators. Vincent is a very emotional person and the narrator delivers that perfectly. She has a beautiful voice and she is great at accents, both Irish and French. But I have to admit the writing is truly beautiful in some places and I so wanted to highlight those passages I'd have read over and over if I could.

I also am not a very musical person but I wish I knew those songs because there are playlists in this book that accompany and heightens the feelings in the story.

Did I love the book? Honestly I am not sure. It was not a page-turner. it started stalling in the middle. it took me a whole week to listen to. I am also very conflicted about adultery being romanticized, (call be a prude) and I kind of hated the ending.

I read and listened to this book at the same time- which I think helped but if I had just listened, this book would have been slightly difficult to keep track of and it was incredibly difficult to get over the fact that the main character was a female and her name was Vincent. Overall, this book was incredibly entertaining. Your main character is living in Paris following her recent separation from her author husband after he revealed a large secret in his book without telling her first. This book was incredibly well done as we follow a 44 year old women who is thrown into a sudden adventure far away from her old life- and how she discovers so much about her self. This book has so many layers, definitely recommend if you love books about a later in life self love journey- and also an age cap romance as she falls for a 24 year old.

This book is an intimate portrait of a woman whose marriage is at a crossroads when a secret her husband has hid for over 20 years comes out. Taking some time Vincent decides to go to Paris for a year to work on her business and to teach while deciding what is next for her and her life. While there, Vincent, starts making friends and then meets Loup, a man 20 years her junior, and they start something Vincent is not sure she wants to end.

At the core, this book is all literary fiction. There is not a lot of plot, but a narrative of a woman taking back her life and figuring out what will make her happy.

This is the third book I have read from Leesa Cross-Smith and I am 100% in for any book she writes in the future. Her writing is simple, engaging and unforgettable. This is a slow burn of a book, but oh so satisfying.

Thank you NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing and Hachette Audio for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really really liked the author's last book, This close to okay, but unfortunately I found this newest novel way too slow-moving to keep my interest! Told from the perspective of Vincent, a mid-40s woman grappling with secrets that were revealed in her husband's latest book. Not sure if she can forgive him for not telling her about a child he fathered as a teen before leaving Ireland, Vincent is taking time away in Paris to regroup. While there she gets embroiled in an affair with a much younger French man, Loup, and has to decide if she wants to reconcile with her husband or see what might happen with Loup. Very character driven, this book might appeal to fans of The idea of you or The perfect find. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ALC!

This book is exquisite. The audio narration is lush and flowing. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital and audio copies of this fabulous book.

Very relatable charcters. At time I did not agree with Vincent and times I did. She lived for a moment and sometimes future responsabilities makes us to forget to live now at the moment. Noone should be judged for living in the moment.

Did not finish this audiobook. I have enjoyed some of the author's earlier work, but could not get into this one on audiobook. The narrator didn't work for me here.

I couldn't get through five minutes of this audiobook, the narrator sounds like a little girl on helium. It was just too painful to listen to. The story may have been wonderful, but I couldn't bear to listen