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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Vi Keeland’s All Grown Up is a fun and flirty take on the forbidden age-gap romance, filled with steam, wit, and just the right amount of drama. While I usually like my novels to cause me a little more pain (I’m a sucker for damage and tragedy), I thoroughly enjoyed the light-hearted and romantic nature of Val and Ford’s story. Their chemistry, paired with the unique conflicts, made this a 4 star read for me.
All Grown Up is the perfect steamy beach romance to touch on all of your emotions.
Vi Keeland did a great job crafting All Grown Up’s main characters, and they were just as enjoyable individually as they were together. I love when book characters have well-rounded, dynamic personalities, and Val and Ford are just that.
Valentina Davis (nee Di Giovanni) is strong, intelligent, compassionate, and ambitious. She has lived the last twenty years entirely for her son and her husband, and after divorcing her high school sweetheart, Val is finally learning how to be independent and live for herself. Her determination to become a teacher is empowering, and her struggle to open herself back up to love after being hurt is humbling.
Ford is mature, protective, confident, and sexy-as-sin. The man is HOT. His attitude has just the right amount of cockiness, he’s a smart and successful business owner, and after losing both his parents at 19, he’s also the caring and protective guardian to his younger sister. Ford is a seriously swoon-worthy hero.
Oh, and did I mention that he’s equal parts ROMANTIC and ALPHA? Yep. *swoon*
Though Val is 38 and Ford is 25, their personalities mesh really well together, and their chemistry is HOT. Seriously steamy. And after twenty years with her douche-canoe of an ex, Val definitely deserves the sexy, sensual romance that Ford offers.
Val and Eve’s friendship is another thing that I really enjoyed about this novel. The dynamic between these two women was exactly what you would hope for from two people who have been friends since childhood. Eve is hilarious, and she acts as Val’s witty, feisty hype-man who speaks the truth when necessary and always has her friend’s back. And Val’s My Turn List that Eve helps create? It is *perfect*. The goals on the list seemed to authentically fit a woman in Val’s situation. It was just the right combination of serious (become a teacher, plant a flower garden) and silly (wear sexy lingerie, have a threesome) to be believable, and it went a long way in making Val a relatable and realistic character.
I loved all of the above things, but I think what ultimately made this novel a 4 star read over a 3 star read for me was the unique conflict woven into the plot. I really appreciated how the conflict was NOT typical of other age-gap romances. Is Val bothered by the age difference? Yes. Does she try to deny her feelings for Ford because she thinks he’s “too young”? Yes, of course. It’s to be expected in the age-gap romance trope. HOWEVER, the central conflict of the novel is much more complex and unique, and it was expertly crafted.
.
While I wasn't 100% in love with the ending, and the novel didn’t wreck me in the way I usually crave, the unique conflict, steaminess, and likability of the characters earned All Grown Up 4 stars from me.
Check out my blog for more reviews like this one! http://britsbooksandbevs.home.blog
Bookstagram: https://www.instagram.com/brits.books.and.bevs/
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All Grown Up is the perfect steamy beach romance to touch on all of your emotions.
Vi Keeland did a great job crafting All Grown Up’s main characters, and they were just as enjoyable individually as they were together. I love when book characters have well-rounded, dynamic personalities, and Val and Ford are just that.
Valentina Davis (nee Di Giovanni) is strong, intelligent, compassionate, and ambitious. She has lived the last twenty years entirely for her son and her husband, and after divorcing her high school sweetheart, Val is finally learning how to be independent and live for herself. Her determination to become a teacher is empowering, and her struggle to open herself back up to love after being hurt is humbling.
Ford is mature, protective, confident, and sexy-as-sin. The man is HOT. His attitude has just the right amount of cockiness, he’s a smart and successful business owner, and after losing both his parents at 19, he’s also the caring and protective guardian to his younger sister. Ford is a seriously swoon-worthy hero.
Oh, and did I mention that he’s equal parts ROMANTIC and ALPHA? Yep. *swoon*
Though Val is 38 and Ford is 25, their personalities mesh really well together, and their chemistry is HOT. Seriously steamy. And after twenty years with her douche-canoe of an ex, Val definitely deserves the sexy, sensual romance that Ford offers.
Val and Eve’s friendship is another thing that I really enjoyed about this novel. The dynamic between these two women was exactly what you would hope for from two people who have been friends since childhood. Eve is hilarious, and she acts as Val’s witty, feisty hype-man who speaks the truth when necessary and always has her friend’s back. And Val’s My Turn List that Eve helps create? It is *perfect*. The goals on the list seemed to authentically fit a woman in Val’s situation. It was just the right combination of serious (become a teacher, plant a flower garden) and silly (wear sexy lingerie, have a threesome) to be believable, and it went a long way in making Val a relatable and realistic character.
I loved all of the above things, but I think what ultimately made this novel a 4 star read over a 3 star read for me was the unique conflict woven into the plot. I really appreciated how the conflict was NOT typical of other age-gap romances. Is Val bothered by the age difference? Yes. Does she try to deny her feelings for Ford because she thinks he’s “too young”? Yes, of course. It’s to be expected in the age-gap romance trope. HOWEVER, the central conflict of the novel is much more complex and unique, and it was expertly crafted.
Spoiler
The only thing I didn't like was the fact that the novel ended with a pregnancy. Personally, I felt like a pregnancy wasn't necessary for the HEA. The wedding was a great note to end on. The way Val announced to Ford was adorable, though, and I LOVED his reaction, but I still could have done without it.While I wasn't 100% in love with the ending, and the novel didn’t wreck me in the way I usually crave, the unique conflict, steaminess, and likability of the characters earned All Grown Up 4 stars from me.
Check out my blog for more reviews like this one! http://britsbooksandbevs.home.blog
Bookstagram: https://www.instagram.com/brits.books.and.bevs/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/britsbooksandbevs/
medium-paced
ENG
from time to time both of them seemed to be more childish than mature.
from time to time both of them seemed to be more childish than mature.
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Cute story
Cute story. Not overly angsty. Hero’s back story is compelling. Her story is, too, actually. Low drama with high heat.
Cute story. Not overly angsty. Hero’s back story is compelling. Her story is, too, actually. Low drama with high heat.
Valentina isn't ready to get back into the dating scene. At 37 and even 2 years after her divorce she doesn't know where to start until her best friend Eve takes the first step by setting up an outrageous Match.com profile for her. That's where she strikes up a playful conversation with a 25 year old Donovan. It's easy to talk to him, he's smart and witty, that's until on their first date she realizes he's not just any Donovan, he's Ford Donovan, the neighbor boy from her beach house who played with her son.
I'm going to say the snarky thing to get it out of the way by saying I knew how unrealistic this was based on Ford being the president at a Real Estate company at 25. He inherited the position from his father and it seems like Valentina is also fairly rich from her alimony since she can afford to take college classes and chill at a summer house. Maybe it's their financial situations that makes the 12 year age gap a little less of an issue.
That said I really did enjoy the story. I'm not quite Valentina's age, but still after reading stories about 20-something girls finding their happily ever after it's good to see someone in their 30's getting that as well. I have the same issues that she does when it came to dating someone younger than me and thought it was really interesting to see it play out.
Ford is really mature for his age and while at the beginning of the book he was just ending his wild days, you could see they were still there under everything. It was good to see that he matured over the course of the book even though a certain passage early on suggested that there would be some serious relationship at the end of it. I didn't pay much attention to it.
The story was really believable, aside from the things that I touched on earlier on in my review. I can see how it would happen. Valentina and Ford had both grown up way too early and they complimented each other. It showed the obvious issues of the age gap, like how people would judge you in public, but it was really cute. I think this was my second Vi Keeland book and I'm going to be picking up more from her in the future.
I'm going to say the snarky thing to get it out of the way by saying I knew how unrealistic this was based on Ford being the president at a Real Estate company at 25. He inherited the position from his father and it seems like Valentina is also fairly rich from her alimony since she can afford to take college classes and chill at a summer house. Maybe it's their financial situations that makes the 12 year age gap a little less of an issue.
That said I really did enjoy the story. I'm not quite Valentina's age, but still after reading stories about 20-something girls finding their happily ever after it's good to see someone in their 30's getting that as well. I have the same issues that she does when it came to dating someone younger than me and thought it was really interesting to see it play out.
Ford is really mature for his age and while at the beginning of the book he was just ending his wild days, you could see they were still there under everything. It was good to see that he matured over the course of the book even though a certain passage early on suggested that there would be some serious relationship at the end of it. I didn't pay much attention to it.
The story was really believable, aside from the things that I touched on earlier on in my review. I can see how it would happen. Valentina and Ford had both grown up way too early and they complimented each other. It showed the obvious issues of the age gap, like how people would judge you in public, but it was really cute. I think this was my second Vi Keeland book and I'm going to be picking up more from her in the future.
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
I loved it. it is very steamy and detailed. love the attitude of both characters. i had shake my head moments at the cuteness and laugh out loud moments.
VI KEELAND DOES IT AGAIN! She delivered another heart warming romance with a whole ton of chemistry! This book followed Valentina and Ford. Valentina was a divorcee with a son in college. She was someone who deserved to be happy and be in love after missing it all when through her last few years of marriage and after her divorce. Ford, might just be my new favorite Vi Keeland man! He was younger than Valentina, he is hot, an owner of a company and an amazing older brother to his sister Bella. Seeing him with her was so incredibly cute and makes me wish I had an older brother who cared for me lol. Reading about Ford and Valentina was so much fun. Their chemistry was there from the very beginning and I just couldn't wait for them to get together. The angst in this novel was just perfect and made their chemistry and love worth the wait.
Nov 2020, listened to the audiobook!
Nov 2020, listened to the audiobook!
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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:
No