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walkitoutI decided to make a good faith effort to find out what is actually out there. Perhaps there _is_ a subgenre and I just don’t know about it!
There are lists.
https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/12-romance-novels-with-older-main-characters.html/
https://allaboutromance.com/aar-loves-seasoned-romances-completed/
https://finerthings.com/older-women-as-main-characters-romance/
https://www.women.com/kelleyobrien/lists/romance-novels-about-older-couples-082919
The term “seasoned romance” appears, and apparently includes any romance in which one or both of the protagonists is over 35; I didn’t include lists that had characters in their 30s — I’m looking specifically for 50 +/-; many of these focus on late 40s and up.
Several books appear on multiple lists (Courtney Milan’s _Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure_, _Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand_, both of which I own; _Royal Holiday_ by Jasmine Guillory, who I’ve been reading lately, but I haven’t read this one, so now I’m thinking about it). Jennifer Crusie’s work appears, which I own and have loved. The Crusie — for that matter, _Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand_ — are _not_ recently published! The BookRiot list is a little better, and included Olivia Dade’s _Teach Me_, which my friend K. recently read, really loved and we talked about at length on the phone call that started this thought process and research.
I made a good faith effort to find something to try, and _Apples Should Be Red_ sounded like fun, and short, so I went to buy it on Amazon … only to find I already owned it, since 2017. Again, _not super recent publication_. My sister bought that one, so I asked her what she thought of it. Her recollection was vague but mostly positive — it was funny, she said. So I gave it a try, and bailed out, because while I do love f bombs, I _don’t_ love it when people use the r-word (equivalent now would be developmentally delayed) as an insult. When the first words out of the Hero’s mouth are that, and he’s smoking a Marlboro, I’m out. Maybe he quits; maybe he becomes a better human being, but I sorta doubt it, and honestly, I’m not looking for _that_ kind of book, either.
There are several LGBTQ+ books on the list, some of them appearing on multiple lists, and I may yet read one or more of those. They are actually a delightful solution to the problem of: how can we make _this_ relationship be Special / The One (NOT required for a romance, and in fact one of the obstacles facing novels with protagonists who are Mature, shall we say). Answer: the were flexible enough to conform to social pressure to marry het, but now have a Second Chance at love with a same sex beloved they knew when younger. Delightful!
Another issue that crops up is the difference between _age_ and _birth year_. I probably don’t really want a contemporary that is edging onto becoming a historical. Altho it’s a little depressing that the boomers couldn’t get it together to have more selection when they hit this age.
Finally, there is at least one younger author writing older protagonists, which would be awesome, except she’s got contemporary people barely older than my age who are fans of movies that my mother liked. *sigh*
In any event, the duplication across lists, the issues I’m seeing with the entries on the lists, and the fact I’ve read as many as I have — these are things that make me feel like I have in no way misunderstood the situation.
There are lists.
https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/12-romance-novels-with-older-main-characters.html/
https://allaboutromance.com/aar-loves-seasoned-romances-completed/
https://finerthings.com/older-women-as-main-characters-romance/
https://www.women.com/kelleyobrien/lists/romance-novels-about-older-couples-082919
The term “seasoned romance” appears, and apparently includes any romance in which one or both of the protagonists is over 35; I didn’t include lists that had characters in their 30s — I’m looking specifically for 50 +/-; many of these focus on late 40s and up.
Several books appear on multiple lists (Courtney Milan’s _Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure_, _Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand_, both of which I own; _Royal Holiday_ by Jasmine Guillory, who I’ve been reading lately, but I haven’t read this one, so now I’m thinking about it). Jennifer Crusie’s work appears, which I own and have loved. The Crusie — for that matter, _Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand_ — are _not_ recently published! The BookRiot list is a little better, and included Olivia Dade’s _Teach Me_, which my friend K. recently read, really loved and we talked about at length on the phone call that started this thought process and research.
I made a good faith effort to find something to try, and _Apples Should Be Red_ sounded like fun, and short, so I went to buy it on Amazon … only to find I already owned it, since 2017. Again, _not super recent publication_. My sister bought that one, so I asked her what she thought of it. Her recollection was vague but mostly positive — it was funny, she said. So I gave it a try, and bailed out, because while I do love f bombs, I _don’t_ love it when people use the r-word (equivalent now would be developmentally delayed) as an insult. When the first words out of the Hero’s mouth are that, and he’s smoking a Marlboro, I’m out. Maybe he quits; maybe he becomes a better human being, but I sorta doubt it, and honestly, I’m not looking for _that_ kind of book, either.
There are several LGBTQ+ books on the list, some of them appearing on multiple lists, and I may yet read one or more of those. They are actually a delightful solution to the problem of: how can we make _this_ relationship be Special / The One (NOT required for a romance, and in fact one of the obstacles facing novels with protagonists who are Mature, shall we say). Answer: the were flexible enough to conform to social pressure to marry het, but now have a Second Chance at love with a same sex beloved they knew when younger. Delightful!
Another issue that crops up is the difference between _age_ and _birth year_. I probably don’t really want a contemporary that is edging onto becoming a historical. Altho it’s a little depressing that the boomers couldn’t get it together to have more selection when they hit this age.
Finally, there is at least one younger author writing older protagonists, which would be awesome, except she’s got contemporary people barely older than my age who are fans of movies that my mother liked. *sigh*
In any event, the duplication across lists, the issues I’m seeing with the entries on the lists, and the fact I’ve read as many as I have — these are things that make me feel like I have in no way misunderstood the situation.