Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - The Idea of You

I got pretty much what I was expecting with this book - middle aged woman falls for young, hot, British boy band member and they embark on an epic romance across the globe while navigating the pitfalls of fame (ahem, crazy fangirls, anyone?). There isn’t much depth here, but as long as you go in knowing that, it can be a good palette cleanser between more serious books or help get you out of a rut. I read it quickly and at times the dialogue was difficult to get through. It could have been intentional on the part of the author to express the difference in emotional intelligence and maturity between the two characters, but Hayes (our leading man) felt like every dude bro you ever met at a college party. He has a very limited vocabulary (I wished I’d counted the number of times he just said “Hiiiii” in the book) and a one track mind for… ahem. The spice was good and I respect the fact that the author swerved on the stereotypical Hallmark movie ending. There were some plot lines that were left just gaping at the end but if you’re able to turn your brain off enough, I suppose it was fun.

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daniela_cruz's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Did I read this book just because the movie is coming out? Yes
Was it enjoyable? Yes

Em geral gostei deste livro devo dizer que é definitivamente 18+ e acho que acabou num lugar estranho foi fanfiction all the way and at the end BAM reality check. A racionalização da age different foi weird a autora desculpa a a MC repetidamente dando Spotlight à situação... Se existe uma age gap e ela está bem com isso o suficiente para dormir com ele à volta do planeta também devia saber as consequências desse ato. Achei que a filha dela era irritante mas faz sentido she's a 13 year old girl

Em geral a fun little smut books *definitely not about Harry Styles* 🫣🤫😉

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graciesbooknook's review against another edition

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challenging emotional lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

2.5/5

3.5/5🌶️

When I saw the preview for this movie, and heard what it was about, I was immediately interested. I read After in high school and loved everything about it, so I was expecting this to be similar. In some ways it was, and in many others it was not.

I didn’t mind the reverse age gap in this book except for the unrealistic descriptions of a 20 year old boy’s body and behaviors. The whole rockstar romance trope is right up my alley and I absolutely ate it up.

There was a lot of name dropping, city dropping, and brand dropping in this book that really brought me out of the story. It felt like a lot to think about and keep track of, and I didn’t enjoy reading about the materialistic aspect of life in Los Angeles.

At the beginning, the spice in this book was tastefully done and I thought that it seemed really mature. It quickly got redundant and repeated every 10 pages. The MCs had such a tangible connection both emotionally and physically, but the countless mentions of their public sexual escapades became tiresome.

The ending of this book wrecked me. I was not expecting it despite hearing some rumors about the conclusion. When I read the last chapter, especially the last half of it, my stomach literally hurt and was in knots. I considered increasing my rating based off of how much this book made me physically feel, but I wish that it hadn’t been rushed through.

My favorite line from this book was: “"I love you," he said. Without qualifiers, without conditions.

He allowed it to sit there and wash over me. Warm, like the Caribbean sun.

"You don't have to say anything," he said; apparently, I hadn't.

"Just know that I do."”

I will definitely, without a doubt, watch the movie when it comes out. I’m excited to see how the page to screen feel is, and I find myself hoping they change the ending.

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rhyanreads's review against another edition

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sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

You should read this book if you are a One Direction Fan or a Harry Styles fan. I absolutely fangirled over August Moon and Hayes Campbell. Throughout the book, there were small hints of one direction, i.e., their album titles and some of the song titles. The description of Hayes is quite literally a description of Harry Styles. I enjoyed the elements of rock star life and imagining what life is like when not on stage. I would have liked this book more if it was from Haye's perspective. Solène was so insufferable to me. I could not stand her. If you were playing a drinking game every time she mentioned how old and decrepit she was at 40 years old, you would need your stomach pumped by the end of the book. She really could not get over the fact he was 20, and she was 40. If it was that big of a deal, then don't date him. She complained about that way too much.

Also, I'm not trying to be rude, but is Solène stupid? The way she doesn't seem to understand that she will go under a microscope when she is "secretly" dating the leading man of one of the most popular boybands? After everything that happened, she thought no one knew. They were in public, and she thought no one had any idea. PLUS, she was surprised that the fans were mean to her. LOL, does she live under a rock? She has a 13-year-old daughter who I imagine fits the kinds of crazed fan mentioned, so she should know what is to come.

Her daughter Isabelle was another character I could not stand. She lost her marbles when she found out her mom (age 40) was dating Hayes (age 20). Like, hello, little girl, that is illegal. However, I can't blame her because I wished I had married many famous boy band members when I was 13. But she should have gotten over that real quick with what happened afterward.

Overall I hated Solène because she wasn't ready to live the rockstar wife life like I am.

PS: this is spicer than I knew I was getting into and I recommended it to my book club HAHA🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️

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jamie_rich's review against another edition

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emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

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shamelesslyash's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense fast-paced

3.5

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