The Idea of You by Robinne Lee

The Idea of You by Robinne Lee

SUMMARY

When Solène Marchand, the thirty-nine-year-old owner of a prestigious art gallery in Los Angeles, takes her daughter, Isabelle, to meet her favorite boy band, she does so reluctantly and at her ex-husband’s request. The last thing she expects is to make a connection with one of the members of the world-famous August Moon. But Hayes Campbell is clever, winning, confident, and posh, and the attraction is immediate. That he is all of twenty years old further complicates things.

What begins as a series of clandestine trysts quickly evolves into a passionate relationship. It is a journey that spans continents as Solène and Hayes navigate each other’s disparate worlds: from stadium tours to international art fairs to secluded hideaways. And for Solène, it is as much a reclaiming of self, as it is a rediscovery of happiness and love. When their romance becomes a viral sensation, and both she and her daughter become the target of rabid fans and an insatiable media, Solène must face how her new status has impacted not only her life, but the lives of those closest to her.

MY REVIEW

I had so maaany expectations from this book and in the end I did not really like the story.
If you follow my reviews, you will probably have noticed that I don't mind big age differences between the two main characters of a romance story. I actually prefer older women-younger men stories and 15-20 years are definitely a good age difference for me ;)

So, why did I not like the story???

One word: PRETENTIOUS

***some spoilers***

There is this 40 years old woman so French, so sophisticated, so educated, so beautiful, so perfect, so world travelled, so indifferent (especially to her teenager daughter that she has just started realising that she is a woman).
And there is this 20 years old man so British, so famous, so rich, so mature for his age, so pretty, so perfect, so world travelled, so unconcerned about how his decisions can influence so many people (the fans that they never expect that their idol can behave like a human being, and also his older girlfriend who is full of fears about what people think).

Thus in the whole book you have these two people who meet other people who are friends with other people and who live the high life who travel all around the world who make love like they don't care and there is no tomorrow.
Until they have a few moments of tension.
And then they are back meeting other people who are friends with other people and living the high life keep travelling all around the world and making love like they don't care and there is no tomorrow.

And there are the discussions about art, the chic dinners, the flutes of champagne, the french, the swimming pools.

Apparently none of these two lovers will be crumpled and brought to his/her knees (except maybe in the end Haynes and this happens with so much coolness and detachment that I wanted to scream).

And then there is the actual ending, which made me want to throw my ebook reader to the opposite wall. This is not a way to end a romance novel!

So, I was actually wondering why there is all this drama in the first place? It was just a trivial fling after all.