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REVIEW: THE IDEA OF YOU BY ROBINNE LEE


Author: Robinne Lee

Genre: Women's Fiction, Contemporary

Publication Date: June 13, 2017

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.

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I will start off by saying that as an avid reader and self proclaimed Bookaholic my dream is always to find and read books that stay with me long after I've finished them. Ones that I can't let go of for some reason or another. Ones that may even keep me up late at night thinking about the characters even after their story has ended.

In fact I can count on one hand the number of books that have me obsessing over every little detail. And now I had another to my list.

The Idea of You by Robinne Lee has completely grabbed a hold of me. And for me the biggest impact of it happened when I finished it. Now that might sound a bit weird and maybe, I'm not explaining it right. I will try to process my thoughts as best I can.

Let's start with this storyline, she's 39, Divorced, and a single mother to a young teenage girl. He's 20, in a larger then life boy band. Intrigued?? Already judging the story?? If the answers to those questions are yes, then you are where I was when I first heard about this book.

That was all I knew and I chose not to read the blurb. I had a few book friends raving about it how good it was and it convinced me that I need to try it out. I went and got a sample and started reading. By the time I got to the end of the sample, there was no doubt that I needed to see how their story went.

No doubt it would be filled with a ton of angst, perhaps some shocking moments and perhaps some drama. Hayes and Solene on paper don't make sense. They are in two completely different worlds, are at two completely different stages in their lives. But the heart wants, what the heart wants is how the saying goes.

From their initial meeting to their secret rendezvous' together I could feel their passion. Hayes is charming and flirtatious and it was hard not to fall for him. As a 40 year old woman myself, I could see how Solene would be enamored. I could feel that pull. And I sat here reading, cheering her on as a woman. She held herself with grace, and honestly go her !!! We live in a world still where ageism is still very prevalent. It's ok for an older man younger woman, in fact often times the man get's praised. But when the opposite happens, it's scandalous and taboo. Such a double standard. ugh. But I digress...

This storyline has it's ups and downs, the doubts swimming in your head especially if you are Solene. The what am I doing here? We can't be doing this? And I felt her thoughts. I devoured this book, savored every encounter, every embrace, every declaration shared. And I couldn't put this book down.

The relationship between Hayes and Solene to me was LOVE, just LOVE those feelings that you can't ignore, that are so very powerful and almost at times overwhelming. Their moments together full of passion and I gobbled it up, every single moment of it.

But there are those other things in life that also can't be ignored and what happens when you can't ignore those others things. Where does that leave you. And that is this story.

I honestly have no idea if I even conveyed half of what I wanted to when it comes to how I feel about this book. I can tell you that this book has shot straight to the top of my all time fav reads list. I can't stop thinking about their story, their love, their lives. In fact, I'm pretty much obsessing over it. It will be awhile before I can move on.

This was an AMAZING story and I'm utterly obsessed with it. I hope we get more from this very talented author.

Robinne Lee is a Los Angeles-based actor, writer and producer. A graduate of Yale University and Columbia Law School, Robinne was born and raised in Westchester County, New York. As the daughter of Jamaican parents of African, Chinese, British and Arawak Indian descent, Robinne has long had an affinity for travel and the arts. Her past endeavors include working as an Editorial Assistant for ELLE Magazine, both in New York and Paris, writing celebrity profiles for the now defunct youth culture magazine, TELL, and running a music management company.

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Robinne has numerous acting credits in both television and film, most notably opposite Will Smith in both Hitch and Seven Pounds, Don Cheadle in Hotel for Dogs, and Jennifer Garner in 13 Going on 30. She recently completed shooting Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, playing Christian Grey’s trusted COO, Ros Bailey.

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An inactive member of the New York Bar, Robinne has served as a producer on various independent films and regularly speaks on panels regarding the roles of women and actors of color in the industry. She is an avid runner, a mediocre ballet dancer, and a huge fan of cheese.

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Robinne currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.

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The Idea of You is her first novel.

 

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