“He sees me”

First of all, thank you so much for the ARC NetGalley. This book was amazing. Jennifer Hartmann has done it again giving you all the feels and just the right amount of spice.

🌶️🌶️

Reed + Halley

-forbidden romance
-secret relationship
-best friends dad
-slow burn age gap
-single dad

yall. i am TORN IN PIECES DEADDDD over this book!! jen did it again! she took all the broken, fragile & raw pieces of my heart…THREW THEM IN A BLENDER TO BREAK INTO FINE DUST….just to someone make paper mache out of it all somehow to bring it back together. did i love this book? well…in the famous words of halley like the comet….”it’s my favorite.” 🙂🫠😭

Halley and Reed meet one night and the sparks fly! This book reminded me of Birthday Girl which I love. I loved both of the main characters. Perfect Age Gap/Forbidden romance!

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for the arc of this book.

Didn’t finish this one around the 30% mark. I was struggling and couldn’t get into the storyline at all

Hartmann’s writing always pulls me in, and this was no different. It had strong emotions, good character development, and kept me hooked the whole time. I’m giving it 4 stars because it was well done, even if some of the themes made me a little uncomfortable at times.
It’s not for everyone, and I wouldn’t recommend it without a heads-up, but if you like emotional reads that push some boundaries, this might be for you.

Halley & Reed
Age Gap
Secret Romance
Best Friends Dad
Found Family
Slow Burn

A good friend told me months ago that I needed to read this, and for some reason, it's taken me until now to do so. Oh my. I am obsessed.

Jennifer has written some phenomenal books, but I think this one might just be my favourite of hers 😭

From the very start, I was captivated by Halley and Reed, needing to know more about each of them and their back story.

When Halley learns who Reed is, I was so giddy kicking my feet realising just how forbidden this one was going to be 🤭

This is the true definition of a slow burn romance at it's finest, and it shows that love is not always straightforward, but when it's real then it's definitely worth fighting for ❤️

This is an absolutely incredible read & listen, the narrators are simply fantastic. If you're on the fence about picking this one up, don't hold off like I did, dive in straight away 🥰

I will forever wish I could read this book for the first time all over again. 😭😭😭 Halley and Reeds story was beautiful!!! FIVE STARS. Bravo!

3.5 stars rounded down to 3 stars. This book was so well written and could easily be a 5 star for so many people but unfortunately the subject matter was just too uncomfortable for me. If you are not a fan of age gap romances, I would definitely steer clear of this one - this was my first and will definitely be my last of this trope.

The characters were loveable and you definitely grow attached to them, but there are also definitely moments where you want to scream at them!

Oh my gosh. The slow burn was chefs kiss and I couldn’t put this down. The way Jennifer tells Halley’s story is so well crafted that it immerses you in the character as if you are the character and I loved it. The Halley and Reed were just sooooooo perfect for each other.

Firstly, let me say that I am the worst at reading a blurb, adding a book to my TBR, then never reading the blurb again before I start the book. I like a surprise; however, in this case, it wasn't the surprise I wanted.

Who knows why, but my brain thought this was an old woman, younger man story. It was not.

In fact, it was a MUCH younger girl (17 when they meet) and him in his mid-30s. I think if the FMC had been in her mid-20s, I may have liked this more, but it gave me the ick a few times. The FMC even fails her last year of high school and has to repeat it.

I know there are heaps of people who love age gap romance, and I've enjoyed a few along the way, but this was a miss for me.

3 stars

Please check trigger warnings before reading this.

Thank you to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love everything this author writes. It was so angsty and entertaining. I am so happy I had the opportunity to read it. Definitely a recommendation.

The first 50% of this book had me in an absolute chokehold. I was kicking and screaming and so giddy for this age gap romance. Somewhere along the way, the book took a turn….not in a negative way.. just with my emotions. I then started being pissed off at every character. All of them were gonna catch these hands….but then they flipped the script AGAIN and I ended up loving the conclusion this book came to. Not my favorite Jennifer Hartmann book, but definitely a great read overall - especially if you like steamy age gap romances.

There's very few things in life that are absolute certainties, and me reading a Jennifer Hartmann book and sobbing like a baby is one of them. OLDER exceeded all of my expectations. Very few books manage to make me cry but I just couldn't hold back while reading this. The last 30% or so had me an absolute emotional wreck - Reed and Halley's story is so heartbreakingly beautiful that I couldn't put it down despite the mess it had me in.
Jennifer is such an incredible author - her characters, her world-building, the storylines - I'll never not get excited every time she releases a new book. Now, if I could only get her to write a story for Whitney and Radley...

I really enjoyed this && it completely wrecked me ! There was grief & healing in a really beautifully written way. It was honest, tender, and just all around relatable. Just two broken people finding pieces of themselves in each other.

I absolutely adore Jennifer Hartmann and will read anything she writes and I REGRET NOTHING!!!

So when I heard she was writing an age-gap romance, I just knew I needed it immediately.

Older did not disappoint. Age gap, and a secret forbidden romance along with found family and so much angst we’re always going to be amazing but Jennifer made it so much more than that.

I thought the friendship between Tara and Halley was just beautiful, Whit is the mother we all deserve and Ladybug is the goodest girl. And reed… well, he was REED 😍.

Not all love is easy, as Older clearly demonstrates, but it reminds us that the journey to a HEA is worth it.

4.5 stars!

Everyone always talks about Jennifer Hartmann's books and now I get the hype! If you enjoy forbidden romances, best friends father... this one would be perfect for you!

The beginning of the novel dragged a little bit and I was a little disturbed with the main character being 17 when she meets the love interest, overall this was an engaging read but the beginning just gave me an overall ICK that I couldn't shake.

Wow! I loved this book so much. An absolute emotional masterpiece. She beautifully captures the rawness of grief, healing, and forbidden love with such authenticity that it clutches your heart from the very first page. The connection between the characters is intense, beautifully messy, and so real that you can’t help but root for them despite the odds stacked against them. Every chapter is filled with aching vulnerability, tender moments, and breathtaking storytelling that stays with you long after the final page.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My God, what a story! I'm obsessed and this is the best thing I've read since the beginning of the year and definitely deserves more than five stars

—

“I just wanted to say thank you,” she said softly.
I swallowed hard, the feel of her pressed against me lighting me on fire.
“For what?”
“Everything. For using your free time to train me, while getting nothing
in return. For turning me into a fighter, making me strong and capable. For
believing in me when I didn’t even believe in myself.” Nuzzling closer, she
continued on, her grip on me tightening. “For helping me look for Ladybug,
then going back out to pick her up in this blizzard. For giving me a safe
place to spend the night.” She sighed. “Just…for everything.”

—
✍️
The story is beautiful and emotional even though it is taboo. It’s constantly kept me on edge and made me uncomfortable because I know of a similar story. I know what things people who fought against social norms, prejudices, family, friends faced. The hardest thing is to fight against yourself because you know that what you feel is honest and real and you have to think logically and rationally.

—

“You risked too much.”
“You’re worth it.” Shifting in his seat, he inched forward, his grip on
my hand tensing. “No one’s ever stood up for you like that before, have
they? No one’s ever fought. And that’s bullshit. You deserve to have
someone in your corner, fighting like hell for you. For your honor, your
worth. I want to be that person.” He stared at me with an intensity that
etched lines across his entire face. “I’ll be that guy…even if that’s all I’ll
ever be.”

—-
✍️
I really liked the chemistry I felt between Tara, Halley, Reed and Witt because the story is not easy at all.

—

“Yes.” Reed stopped pacing, coming to a dead stop a few feet away. He
stared at me, jaw clenched tight, hands balled even tighter. “Yes, Halley,
I’m in love with you. I think I proved that when I threw myself under the
bus and completely destroyed my relationship with my daughter to protect
you. To keep her from hating you,” he gritted out. “So, yes…I love you. I
love you fiercely, wholly, selfishly and unselfishly, more than I ever fucking
should. I love everything about you, from your smile, to your perfect heart,
to the way your hair always slips from your ponytail when you’re running
or sparring and hides those eyes I’ve been enamored with since the moment
I first saw you. I love how you take every picture like it’s the only one
you’ll ever take, how you love like it’s simply a way of life, and how you
cook from your soul because it makes everyone around you so goddamn
happy. I love the strength you pulled from nothing, from bare bones and
rock bottom, and how you choose to dance through life with grace and
courage, finding music in every soundless shadow, when anyone else would
have laid down and died.” He choked out the last words, emotion catching
in his throat as his chest puffed with the weight of each breath. “Now…tell
me how that changes anything.”

3.25/5⭐️

I’m usually a fan of age-gap romances, but something about this one just wasn’t hitting for me. Even though this was supposed to be an emotional read and a slow-burn romance, the relationship itself felt like it was still lacking. I feel like their relationship still felt super surface level honestly, but I’m not entirely sure what was missing for me. Also, I feel like it was reiterated so often that they had an age-gap and their relationship was inappropriate, that really just killed the vibe and made me uncomfortable reading. Maybe this one just wasn’t for me and the writing style wasn’t my fav!