finished reading

I am not sure why I finished this book.  I guess I was curious about how it would work itself out.  Let me explain--the premise is a May-December romance with the female being older and the twenty-year-old is a member of a boy band. not one chapter that went by that his age wasn't mentioned.  It's an open-door romance.  And honestly? I got bored with the repetitive sex scenes.  Yes, Solène meets up with Hayes whenever she can and they have steamy reunions--he's a virile twenty!--but I wanted more of the banter that made them fall in love.

I liked Hayes Campbell a lot.  He's a mash-up of Harry Styles and Prince Harry.  An unabashed beta male.  I also liked the banter and flirtation between Hayes and Solène.  I liked that Solène has a thriving career as an art dealer.  I liked the glimpse of boy band fandom and the celebrity that is a consequence of talent.  I liked the secondary characters.

From the publisher:

Solène Marchand, the thirty-nine-year-old owner of an art gallery in Los Angeles, is reluctant to take her daughter, Isabelle, to meet her favorite boy band. But since her divorce, she’s more eager than ever to be close to Isabelle. The last thing Solène 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 and genuine relationship. It is a journey that spans continents as Solène and Hayes navigate each other’s worlds: from stadium tours to international art fairs to secluded hideaways in Paris and Miami. For Solène, it is a reclaiming of self, as well as a rediscovery of happiness and love. When Solène and Hayes’ 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 romantic life has impacted the lives of those she cares about most.