Reviews with content warning for Stalking - The Idea of You

Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

The Idea of You by Robinne Lee

42 reviews

enchantingreads_rosyreviews's review

emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.25

“Love is this very precious thing, Izz. It’s this precious, magical thing. But it’s not finite. There’s not a limited amount of it out there. You just have to be open to allowing it to find you. Allowing it to happen.” I was not entirely sure that I believed this, but I needed her to.

To be completely honest, I read this book simply because the movie was coming out. I didn’t know what to expect because I didn’t know it existed. However, once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down! The author writes solely from the FMC’s POV, leading the reader into a world of name-dropping artists, designers and brands, while taking us along a whirlwind affair with a rockstar as they trek all over the globe. The whole world feels sophisticated, which I assume will translate well in its film adaptation. But it’s the romance between these two characters, Solène and Hayes, that sucks you in from the start! Although it seems like the world and their own minds doubt their union’s strength, they can’t help the magnetic pull towards one another. Their relationship grows organically and beautifully… I can’t wait to see the movie because I liked this book.

"...being scared and torn, at the same time elated that I’d found someone who had taken the time to know me, and all the little things that made me so very happy. And how I did not want to let him go... Love, she said, was not always perfect, and not exactly how you expected it to be. But when it descended upon you, there was no controlling it."

🎤

This book was not what I expected: I predicted it would be a fun story about an older woman living out a fantasy everyone has about dating a young boy bander. I hoped there would be some discussion about the double standard of older women dating younger men (they're "cougars" & are belittled in society) as opposed to older men dating younger women (who are celebrated as being "the man" & their masculinity gets a boost). I wanted to live in a fancy, celebrity world with lavish parties, backstage access, hotel suites, and private planes. Which this book definitely delivered.

However, it surprised me because it felt like a realistic version of this fantasy playing out. Both characters were forced to examine their identity in society: a single mom, career woman, dating a younger man & an overworked younger man dating an older woman, adored by thousands of fans, dealing with imposter syndrome or feeling like he's not being taken seriously. But they also had to deal with the realities of their relationship & everything that came with that: constant trotting around the globe, media & fandom attention, questioning the reality of feelings developing & managing how those closest to them were dealing with their relationship. And I appreciated this surprising realistic spin on a fantasy dream. It felt like Robinne truly and honestly answered the question: what if he saw me from the stage and we fell in love?

Content Warnings

lauren_shilling's review

Go to review page

emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

This is absolutely a five star review, but I want to start it off by saying that this is not at all a perfect book. However, I loved it so much, and I think it deserves five stars for the emotional response I had to it. Sometimes you just have to give a book five stars for the reading experience, not the book itself, because in the end, to me the experience is the most important part of reading. I wanted the movie with a friend and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it, so I wanted to read the book. The book surprised me, because the tone is very different than the movie. To me, this book is less of a romance and more of a contemporary story that happens to center on two people falling in love, if that makes sense. It also feels intelligently written to me. The author clearly has a well rounded view of humanity in general, as well as fame and how it can be both positive and negative, and I really enjoyed unpacking it all. There were a few plot points that bothered me because it felt like we weren't treating them with the full range of emotions and impacts they should have, but overall, I feel like it was written by an intelligent person with intelligent thoughts about the subject matter discussed and the characters the book centered on. I also really enjoyed learning about the dynamics between certain characters, including Solene and her ex-husband, Solene and her daughter, Hayes and Oliver (though I'd have loved to get more information about this, but I also understand why we didn't), and the band in general. I found all of the characters to be well rounded and consistent, and they felt very real to me. I felt a whole range of emotions reading this book too. I really loved it, and though it isn't perfect, I enjoyed it very deeply. It gave me one of the best reading experiences I've had in a while. It also got me out of my reading slump, which was had been dragging on for almost four months now, so I am very grateful for that!

Content Warnings

kmsander4's review

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I had hoped I'd be able to look past the 1D fanfic-ness of this one but it reeks of the band and Harry. And while I'm a fan, it felt weird in this context. Weird enough that I kept calling Hayes Harry.

The storyline is fine but just fine. I won't run and tell anyone to read it, but I'm glad I finally dove in so I can watch the movie now and compare all of the changes they'll inevitably make.

Content Warnings

queencleo's review

Go to review page

emotional funny medium-paced

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

3.25

I don't know how to rate this because on the one hand, it's smutty 1D fanfiction and I DID NOT KNOW THAT and it's got all the hallmarks of Fifty Shades and I hate it, zero stars

But on the other hand, I can't wait to watch the movie and look it's well written, even all the sex, and I got so invested in the drama and then I just ended and what? No thank you, that's heartbreaking take your 5 stars

Read if you like 1D. Read if you like fanfiction. Read if you like Fifty Shades of Grey. Especially read if you liked If This Gets Out. Read if you love a good monologue about invisible women, the double standards of age gap romances, or about the elitism of art

Content Warnings

britwalsh16's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I liked this book, I really did, I’m glad I read it, especially before watching the movie, & now I can’t wait to watch the movie. But just there’s something about it that’s left me unsatisfied.

Obviously I expected them to break up in the end, and as much as I got to the point where I wasn’t sure if they actually were going to end up breaking up or not, it still didn’t surprise me when they did.
But I feel like we just needed more. Like an epilogue of both of them finding love again years down the road or just something more. What happened? Like we didn’t get any closure. The relationship ended, & then a paragraph later, the book was over. What happened? It just feels incomplete.
The paparazzi don’t just go away over night, everything didn’t just go back to how it was before. Solene probably got more threats & crazy fans blaming her for breaking Hayes’ heart. Nothing is that simple. So what happened. Where’s the closure and the ending? 🤔

Content Warnings

hyena's review

Go to review page

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

mrsmoy's review

Go to review page

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

triple_m's review against another edition

Go to review page

slow-paced

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

3.0

The beginning of this book definitely grossed me out, with how often Solene thought of Hayes as a “little boy.” The age gap is pretty extreme and I don’t really think the gender roles being reversed makes it any less inappropriate.

This book was way too slow. While Solene did have valid concerns, all she did was wallow in them and ultimately never made a damn decision about anything. So much of this book was spent inside her head battling the same issues over and over and over again.

I never really felt like they fell in love, nothing seemed that special about their connection besides great sex.

And then, the ending…

what’s the point of reading a romance where the characters end up utterly heartbroken and alone? And the complete lack of epilogue was crazy.

I think with some edits this could’ve been a compelling literary fiction novel. Robinne Lee has talent as a writer, but this book is not romantic.

Content Warnings

elderwoodreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book really pleasantly surprised me! I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would especially because last year I read a book heavily influenced by this one and hated it. The ending was a little abrupt for my tastes but the book overall was excellent. Super fun and light read that still explores real emotion.

Content Warnings

sassper17's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

More...