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kellyyoungbl's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars
While overall a good story with strong characters, it was a bit drawn out. I found myself skipping ahead a lot.
While overall a good story with strong characters, it was a bit drawn out. I found myself skipping ahead a lot.
anzhelikali's review against another edition
5.0
Karina Halle once again created a soul-crushing contemporary romance that was full of steamy passion and forbidden love, deliciously sexy, yet super cute. In addition, it’s a sports romance, which is always a huge plus, at least for me. The main characters were so well-rounded and so well-written. They had a particularly unique feel to them (Alejo felt very much Spanish, I was pleasantly surprised). I loved an age-gap aspect in their relationship, and I appreciated that a female character was much older, once for a difference. And I absolutely adored the setting for the story. The food and drinks, the sightseeing and the free Spanish lessons, the excitement of the football games made it feel excitingly real. I simply couldn’t put this book down, and highly recommend you check it out.
Read more at: Anzhelika.online
Read more at: Anzhelika.online
hoosieratheart12's review against another edition
5.0
So swoony
Ah I have no words for how much I love Thalia and Alejo
Ah I have no words for how much I love Thalia and Alejo
agrandromance's review against another edition
5.0
Thalia and Alejo's story is a beautiful and heartfelt romance. It is passionate and angsty with incredibly beautiful locations (I want to go to Madrid now). Their love is forbidden as, they work together and, a little taboo, as, there is an age gap (Alejo is 17 years younger than Thalia) but love defies logic and their passion for one another is endless. Both characters are note-perfect as romantic leads. They are both sympathetic and passionate without behaving in any manner that makes you want to throw the book or your kindle. :)
This is a damn, sexy book as only Karina Halle can write! It's one of her longest but the only way I noticed it was that I was unable to finish it in a day. It's pacing is superb. It's very well plotted and very satisfying. One of my favourite romantic dramas from Karina thus far. Sooo worth the wait. And it was so gratifying to re-visit Vera and Matteo from Love, In English!
I would love to see Luciano as the main character of a book. Perhaps he can find love after all? I hope he meets someone in Lisbon...
This is a damn, sexy book as only Karina Halle can write! It's one of her longest but the only way I noticed it was that I was unable to finish it in a day. It's pacing is superb. It's very well plotted and very satisfying. One of my favourite romantic dramas from Karina thus far. Sooo worth the wait. And it was so gratifying to re-visit Vera and Matteo from Love, In English!
I would love to see Luciano as the main character of a book. Perhaps he can find love after all? I hope he meets someone in Lisbon...
things_i_read_lately's review against another edition
4.0
This book immediately sucked me in. I loved the setting and descriptions of Madrid, and the ‘behind the scenes’ world of Euro mens football. The chemistry and
ladybalbuena's review against another edition
5.0
i LOVED how passionate and consuming this book was. Alejo was the perfect amount of romantic without coming off as a immature child. I love that she did not make him to be immature but grown beyond his years.
laughlinesandliterature's review against another edition
4.0
Thalia and Alejo were just heart-wrenching. I really loved this book, and I honestly felt for Thalia. Maybe it's because I'm older now but I felt for her having to be the pragmatic and practical one. It was so draining to see how hard she was trying for both of them. I loved Alejo and he was a good man, but so naive and unaware to how the business world works. It was honestly hard to read at times because I wanted to shake him and ask how he thought things were going to end! But in the end their love prevailed and they found a way to make it work. I really loved it and it made me feel all the feels! 4 out of 5 stars.
ladylexicon's review
5.0
AHHH!
What a Rollercoaster of emotions! Everything about this book pulled me in, from start to finish! All I want is more Thalia & Alejo!!! So happy I read this novel!
What a Rollercoaster of emotions! Everything about this book pulled me in, from start to finish! All I want is more Thalia & Alejo!!! So happy I read this novel!
profromance's review against another edition
5.0
Overall Grade: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
There is nothing like reading a romance about a forbidden relationship. For me, I both hate turning the page while feeling a deep need to turn it. I know as the page turns more is revealed, and the hero and heroine are always one step away from discovery and the potential destruction of their relationship. When an author writes this type of romance well, you feel it deep in your stomach. It makes your heart race. It makes you feel alive as you progress through their story. Even more, what makes a forbidden relationship romance important is its resolution. For most of these types of romances, the characters realize their happy ending, and the tension you felt as you read the “misses” of their relationship is released into the happiness for the characters. Karina Halle’s The Younger Man (TYM) epitomizes this situation.
Honestly, as I was reading TYM, it felt as though I was moving slowly through the pages. Halle does a brilliant job of slowly building the story between Thalia and Alejo. Yet, at the same time, she compels you forward. These characters are special for two very reasons. Here’s the deal:
For me, Alejo is the true star of this book. Honestly, THE STAR. From the first chapter where we meet him, I fell. Vi Keeland wrote a book earlier in the year, All Grown Up. Like TYM, it’s an older woman/younger man taboo romance. What I found interesting about that book, as well as in The Younger Man, is the hero, who is obviously younger than the female, is more emotionally mature than the heroine who has many more years on him. It’s been astounding to read this type of hero. As Keeland did, Halle easily accomplishes this with Alejo’s background. It makes sense that he’s mature for a twenty-three/twenty-four-year-old. What I love about him is his ability to feed Thalia’s soul. He’s a lion in bed. When these two couple, it’s hot AF, like steam up your glasses hot. Yet, what Alejo does that I love in swoony heroes is he sees
Thalia, and he feeds her emotional need. It’s this part of his character that I fell in love with the most. Yes, he’s an attractive, talented professional soccer player, but it’s his emotional depth and his ability to use that depth to help Thalia heal and find her strength again that is the highlight of this book.
Thalia. Halle crafts her character to remind her readers to live in their truth, I think. Thalia has endured loss in a variety of ways, and it has left her unmoored. It would be reductive to say that Alejo “completes” her or makes her less broken. Because that isn’t the reality that Halle is creating here. Instead, as she finds internal strength again through her career and with the inspiration of Alejo, Thalia heals. She holds the power over this; Alejo simply supports and recognizes her in a way that challenges her to see herself more distinctly. I think it’s Halle’s way of showing us that a true love inspires; it doesn’t fully define you.
As a reader, how do you know you should be reading Karina Halle’s The Younger Man? Well, this reader, for one, isn’t a soccer fan. I’m intrigued by it, but I don’t tune in to watch it. However, I was entranced with Halle’s storytelling of this world. I found myself looking up teams and players for reference. Secondly, I am interested in the older woman/younger man trope as I don’t see it written often enough. Given the breadth of age for romance readers, I find that we should read this trope more often. For me, finding yourself represented in romance seems essential. No, I’m not youthfully beautiful in my late 40s, but I recognize the struggle to determine my happiness and my future characterized in Thalia. That’s my intersection with her representation. I imagine there are plenty of women like me who would love to find some part of them in the characters or the story. And this sub-trope, I think, would go further to make that connection. Halle has written this well. Thalia and Alejo are 100% believable, and you can’t help but root for them as they struggle to find their happiness together.
Yes, there were several times when, like one would do when watching a horror movie, I wanted to peek through my fingers at the page. I invested myself easily into Alejo and Thalia’s story because Halle insisted it be so with her storytelling. Knowing that pain would be a part of their romance, still, I forged ahead, and it has a huge payoff in the end. Halle has crafted a story in The Younger Man that forces us to recognize the truth that “love is love is love” whether it’s between an older woman and a younger man or whether it’s a love for ourselves.
There is nothing like reading a romance about a forbidden relationship. For me, I both hate turning the page while feeling a deep need to turn it. I know as the page turns more is revealed, and the hero and heroine are always one step away from discovery and the potential destruction of their relationship. When an author writes this type of romance well, you feel it deep in your stomach. It makes your heart race. It makes you feel alive as you progress through their story. Even more, what makes a forbidden relationship romance important is its resolution. For most of these types of romances, the characters realize their happy ending, and the tension you felt as you read the “misses” of their relationship is released into the happiness for the characters. Karina Halle’s The Younger Man (TYM) epitomizes this situation.
Honestly, as I was reading TYM, it felt as though I was moving slowly through the pages. Halle does a brilliant job of slowly building the story between Thalia and Alejo. Yet, at the same time, she compels you forward. These characters are special for two very reasons. Here’s the deal:
For me, Alejo is the true star of this book. Honestly, THE STAR. From the first chapter where we meet him, I fell. Vi Keeland wrote a book earlier in the year, All Grown Up. Like TYM, it’s an older woman/younger man taboo romance. What I found interesting about that book, as well as in The Younger Man, is the hero, who is obviously younger than the female, is more emotionally mature than the heroine who has many more years on him. It’s been astounding to read this type of hero. As Keeland did, Halle easily accomplishes this with Alejo’s background. It makes sense that he’s mature for a twenty-three/twenty-four-year-old. What I love about him is his ability to feed Thalia’s soul. He’s a lion in bed. When these two couple, it’s hot AF, like steam up your glasses hot. Yet, what Alejo does that I love in swoony heroes is he sees
Thalia, and he feeds her emotional need. It’s this part of his character that I fell in love with the most. Yes, he’s an attractive, talented professional soccer player, but it’s his emotional depth and his ability to use that depth to help Thalia heal and find her strength again that is the highlight of this book.
Thalia. Halle crafts her character to remind her readers to live in their truth, I think. Thalia has endured loss in a variety of ways, and it has left her unmoored. It would be reductive to say that Alejo “completes” her or makes her less broken. Because that isn’t the reality that Halle is creating here. Instead, as she finds internal strength again through her career and with the inspiration of Alejo, Thalia heals. She holds the power over this; Alejo simply supports and recognizes her in a way that challenges her to see herself more distinctly. I think it’s Halle’s way of showing us that a true love inspires; it doesn’t fully define you.
As a reader, how do you know you should be reading Karina Halle’s The Younger Man? Well, this reader, for one, isn’t a soccer fan. I’m intrigued by it, but I don’t tune in to watch it. However, I was entranced with Halle’s storytelling of this world. I found myself looking up teams and players for reference. Secondly, I am interested in the older woman/younger man trope as I don’t see it written often enough. Given the breadth of age for romance readers, I find that we should read this trope more often. For me, finding yourself represented in romance seems essential. No, I’m not youthfully beautiful in my late 40s, but I recognize the struggle to determine my happiness and my future characterized in Thalia. That’s my intersection with her representation. I imagine there are plenty of women like me who would love to find some part of them in the characters or the story. And this sub-trope, I think, would go further to make that connection. Halle has written this well. Thalia and Alejo are 100% believable, and you can’t help but root for them as they struggle to find their happiness together.
Yes, there were several times when, like one would do when watching a horror movie, I wanted to peek through my fingers at the page. I invested myself easily into Alejo and Thalia’s story because Halle insisted it be so with her storytelling. Knowing that pain would be a part of their romance, still, I forged ahead, and it has a huge payoff in the end. Halle has crafted a story in The Younger Man that forces us to recognize the truth that “love is love is love” whether it’s between an older woman and a younger man or whether it’s a love for ourselves.
marureviere's review against another edition
5.0
5+++++ STARS
ALEJO ALEJO ALEJO. ALEJO ALEJOOO. THAT'S IT. THAT'S THE REVIEW.
I'm kidding.
I have the biggest smile on my face right now. I'm also a bit teary from giddiness. GAAAAHHH.
THIS WAS SUCH A WONDERFUL BOOK. I immersed myself into their world and it's goddamn beautiful. One of the best love stories I've read in awhile. ALEJO was so wonderful!!! This man. HE WAS INCREDIBLE. My god. Book husband material.
Thalia was amazing too!!! She was so likeable, and I felt for her. If only more people valued her for who she is. She deserves all the love she was given. She deserved Alejo.
I loved them both and I loved this story. I read this as slowly as I could, but alas, it's over.
I wanna read it again!!!!
Ugh. Massive book hangover.
One of my top reads this year (and that's saying something since I've read almost 800 books this year alone).
ALEJO ALEJO ALEJO. ALEJO ALEJOOO. THAT'S IT. THAT'S THE REVIEW.
I'm kidding.
I have the biggest smile on my face right now. I'm also a bit teary from giddiness. GAAAAHHH.
THIS WAS SUCH A WONDERFUL BOOK. I immersed myself into their world and it's goddamn beautiful. One of the best love stories I've read in awhile. ALEJO was so wonderful!!! This man. HE WAS INCREDIBLE. My god. Book husband material.
Thalia was amazing too!!! She was so likeable, and I felt for her. If only more people valued her for who she is. She deserves all the love she was given. She deserved Alejo.
I loved them both and I loved this story. I read this as slowly as I could, but alas, it's over.
I wanna read it again!!!!
Ugh. Massive book hangover.
One of my top reads this year (and that's saying something since I've read almost 800 books this year alone).