The Idea of You was a bookstagram darling when it came out a few years ago — ostensibly fan fiction about an older woman meeting a Harry Styles-type pop star when bringing her daughter to one of his concerts and falling for him? Tantalizing. And now that it’s being turned into a movie with two appropriately attractive leads, the book is sure to see even more traction. If you’re into the idea of a similar May-December romance, check out the following books!
Still Life With Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen
Rebecca Winter was a photographer whose work made her an unlikely heroine for many women. Her career is now descendent, her bank balance shaky, and she has fled the city for the middle of nowhere. There she discovers, in a tree stand with a roofer named Jim Bates, that what she sees through a camera lens is not all there is to life.
Kulti by Mariana Zapata
When the man you worshiped as a kid becomes your coach, it’s supposed to be the greatest thing in the world. But Sal starts to wonder what she’d seen in the international soccer icon. She isn’t prepared for this version of Reiner Kulti who shows up: a quiet, reclusive shadow of the explosive, passionate man he’d once been.
40-Love by Olivia Dade
When a wave strips Tess of her bikini top, desperate times call for desperate measures. Enter that flirty Swede in the water nearby. Lucas, a former tennis pro now giving lessons at the resort, fled there after the painful end to his career. But he’s finally ready to move on with his life — and after a few late-night sessions with Tess, he’s eager to prove he’s the ace she wants. But she’s 40, and he’s 26. And they only have two weeks together before Tess returns to her life in Virginia.
Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
After getting divorced, Helen lets her annoying, much younger brother talk her into a survival course. When she discovers that her brother’s even-more-annoying best friend is also coming, she can’t imagine how three weeks in the remote wilderness of a mountain range will be anything other than a disaster. But somehow the people who annoy her the most start teaching her the very things she needs to learn. Like how sometimes you just have to get really, really lost before you can even have a hope of being found.
Part of Your World by Abby Jiminez
After a wild bet, Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause: Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who’s 10 years younger than her and as casual as they come — the complete opposite of sophisticated city-girl Alexis. And yet their chemistry is undeniable. Bringing Daniel into her world is impossible, and yet she can’t just give up the joy she’s found with him either.
Laws of Physics by Penny Reid
Mona is a smart girl who figured everything out a long time ago. She had to. When your parents are uber-celebrities and you start your Ph.D. program at 19, you don’t have time for distractions. Which is why Abram, her brother’s best friend, is such an irritant. Abram is a supremely gifted musician, and has absolutely nothing figured out. He does what he feels, when he feels, and — in Mona’s opinion — he makes her feel entirely too much.
Ellen Whitfield is senior publicist at Books Forward, an author publicity and book marketing firm committed to promoting voices from a diverse variety of communities. From book reviews and author events, to social media and digital marketing, we help authors find success and connect with readers.
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