Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - The Idea of You

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.

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stillmuseum's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

Excellent novel exploring fame, art, compatibility, desirability as it relates to aging, and so much more.

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hellokaley's review

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lighthearted slow-paced

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

1.5

I read this one for book club and it was picked because of the upcoming movie… you can’t go wrong with Anne Hathaway, right? Oh man, I pretty much hated it the whole way through.

She’s a 39-year old mom and he’s a 20-year old boy band pop star. Besides being so incredibly far fetched, I was so annoyed that this was the book’s entire story and personality. Age gap concerns came up over and over and over again and it got really old. The characters were completely unlikeable and honestly, I barely knew them- their personalities were so sparse through the whole book and I did not care about them at all. There was a lot of sex, but I found this to also be so poorly written.

There were very strange and repetitive subplots that never actually panned out- the TAG Heuer watch thing and the constant “are we going to use a condom?” which thankfully didn’t end up an accidental pregnancy trope, but neither of these things seemed to make a difference in the actual story.

I’m sure there will be members of book club who enjoyed this one, but it was not my cup of tea.

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read_with_nicki's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

3.0

This started out as a fun light romance that felt like it would get you out of a reading slump, but as it neared the 300 page mark it just felt repetitive and drawn out. I also felt the ending was predictable and quick, but also felt like there was no time for closure. Strong start but weak ending.

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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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maddisonjane's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

I did not expect to love this book so much. I was hooked right from the beginning, I felt like I knew the characters personally and I was really rooting for them! I loved the representation of a 39yr old mother who is rediscovering herself. I loved Hayes and hope there’s a sequel so we can find out more about him as a person and how he grows in the future. Thank you Robinne for writing the story I didn’t know I needed!!

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thatswhatshanread's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense fast-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

5.0

I would like to personally thank Robinne Lee for ruining my life by writing a story so intensely close to my fangirl daydreams that I fear I will never, ever recover.

“The Idea of You” did me in. I knew from the moment I discovered who the book was inspired by (iykyk), that I would have a total book hangover from it. For this reason, I think I put off reading it for awhile. Allowed myself some time to come to terms with… the idea of it.

The idea being that the FMC, a divorced mother of a tween, gets completely swept up in a globetrotting, all-consuming romance with the 20-year-old lead singer of the hottest boyband in the world. The very same one that her daughter is infatuated with.

Even if this wasn’t about Harry Styles—I mean, Hayes Campbell—I would have devoured it. Lee’s writing is so hypnotic, emotional, sexy, candid, witty, zealous. It felt like reading very well-written gossip, a fever dream, how the pages oozed with fame and lust and heartbreak and fantasy. The characters and their thoughts melting into your skin.

Time ceased to exist while reading this, and yet also caught up with me far too soon as I began to reach the end. Why must stories like these end? It’s really quite rude, but I guess I’ll live to read another day, somehow.

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