Romance novels don't all need happy endings. I've said so, over and over since I adopted the genre. This story has no happy ending, and to lift a quote from the cover, it slayed me.

We watched the movie adaptation of this about a week ago. During a mid-show snack run, I looked up the author, Robinne Lee, online and realised I already owned this book, although I hadn't read it.

I enjoyed the film, though I didn't like the ending much—no spoilers here. I needed something new to read, so I decided to start the book that night—unusual for me as it's usually the book or the movie, never both.

Solène Marchand is 39 years old. She is a divorced, single mom to twelve-year-old Isabelle when she takes her daughter to a backstage meet-the-band event at an August Moon concert.

August Moon is a "boy band"—five British guys adored by millions of teenage girls the world over. Hayes Campbell, aged 20, is singer, songwriter, and the guy who put the band together. There is an immediate spark between Solène and Hayes, one that leads to them meeting again soon after the event. They both flirt, and she resists taking things further until she doesn't. The romance between them quickly becomes hot and heavy.

Other than a few lines of dialogue and a pivotal scene or two, almost nothing in the book matches events in the movie. I loved this because it soon became apparent that I didn't know what was coming for the couple.

The book is Solène's story and told solely from her point of view, which is how I like my romance. I enjoyed the slices of her life between each encounter with Hayes, and while I have no frame of reference for being a single mother and/or running an art gallery, everything felt right.

The chemistry between Solène and Hayes is potent and delicious. The sex is fantastic, varied and plentiful, but I most loved the banter between them, in public and in private, and if you get a kick from filthy talk, you're in for a treat here.

And the ending? Well, it makes this not a romance by the popular definition of the term. It left me gutted. But that's life, I guess. If you can handle a downbeat conclusion, then know that the couple's journey is romantic as hell, and I have no hesitation in recommending it, whether or not you're familiar with the very enjoyable movie version. ( )

I read this because it is coming out as a movie in a few weeks and a couple people I follow on IG really liked it.

I was immediately engrossed in the story and the writing but the plot points quickly became repetitive and I grew bored. I was hoping there was a big payoff at the end, but I didn't find that to be so.

I'll be interested to see how much they changed in the movie. And I'm not sure I'll buy the actor who was cast as the MMC in the movie. ( )

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. ( )

One of my favorite romances ever. It subverts as many romance tropes as is embraces. It's sexy and sweet and dramatic and seriously hot, and as much as it is the stuff of fantasy, and not real in the least, these are people I know.

I read so many romances where people get together with their girlfriends to eat junk food and watch reality television, and god knows that is not anything I have ever done or ever want to do, nor is it something any of my friends do. The book is filled with art world people. They are insular, for sure, but smart, well-travelled, well-educated, passionate about communicating in new ways. Luckily some of my friends are very much of that world, but willing to slum it with me. When we are together we do the things they do in the book, and talk about the things they talk about. And I love the way Lee talks about art. I am passionate about art. It is tied with friends and reading it the sweepstakes for what I spend the most non-wage-earning time on, so this is great for me. The main character, Solene is a 40 year-old art dealer who owns an LA gallery specializing in selling works by artists from historically underrepresented identities (she is also a mother of a tween and the ex-wife of a lawyer.) Not surprisingly, art is very central to the narrative. Yes there are references to brand name artists that anyone not in a coma knows like Picasso, Monet, and Van Gogh and to artists all reasonably informed people would know, like Basquiat, Hockney, Nevelson, and Twombly, but also knowledgeable reference to current art darlings like Damien Hirst, Takashi Murakami and Kara Walker. I especially adored the description of Olafur Eliasson's work. Lee is gifted at describing how the feelings that resonate from art are erotically charged (I am not referring to erotic art, I am talking about art that evokes sensory response.) There's a reason they keep you away from Henri Moore's work at the museum. People see Moore's work and feel the need to stroke it. I feel the same about Eliasson and others. I want to live in Eliasson's instillations. wrap myself in the cold mist of the best Pollack canvases, smell the flowers and decaying plant matter in the Water Lilies and curl at the feet of Jennifer Packer's subjects and settle in for a chat. That Lee gets this, and gets it onto the page is a wonder to me. Also, the relationship between Solene and Hayes, the boy-bander 20 years her junior who is the male lead, is not kitschy or creepy in the least. It is hot as fire, there are wonderful conversations about all sorts of things, and an embrace of great sex, great food, great art (as mentioned), great toiletries (really), great clothes, and a stark look at the good and bad sides of celebrity. And from page one you know it is going to break your heart. And alas it does. This book! Gorgeous. I made myself read slowly so I could savor it, and that is something I never do with romance. It is worth noting that Lee is a fantastic writer. This is not written like any romance I have ever read before. Lee and I are both former lawyers, and good lawyering requires evocative declarative writing that persuades without getting flowery. Perhaps surprisingly this really works in romance. Brava Robinne.

ETA:I just googled and saw that Gabrielle Union has optioned this and it is being turned into an Amazon movie. As I was reading I saw Rashida Jones and perhaps Joe Alwyn or a Twilight era Pattinson in the leads, but it appears it is going to be Anne Hathaway as Solene (name changed to Sophie, apparently French names are too exotic) with a script from Jennifer Westfeldt (no male lead yet identified but they have upped him from 20 to 24) . We shall see. ( )

4 stars

It's not often that the roles are reversed in age-gap romance. I appreciated that as a woman who he always dated younger. Live for those no ents when Harry, someone e
Wise beyond his years, falls I love. It happens. Love doesn't care about if it's socially accepted.

The ending ruined the story for me. I was expecting more. Very disappointed. I feel like it cheapened the story. ( )