All Grown Up

Hands Down, All Grown Up is the BEST ROMANCE OF 2019 💗 Ford Donovan is a Romance RevelationIf you do nothing else to soothe your soul this summer, you must read All Grown Up, a uniquely modern, deeply resonant, hopelessly romantic story, from the brilliant storyteller and wordsmith of love Vi Keeland.All Grown Up is a love letter to Keeland's fans and anyone who savors true love’s journey, who enjoys wry humor and a dirty mouth, who relishes in the great conversation between men and women with love in their hearts and lust on their lips.I fell in love at the first flirt in this delightful modern fairy tale. You will too.I was not expecting the charmsicle that is Ford Donovan. Entirely unique, Ford is like no other leading man I’ve read before. The lists of the perfect book boyfriends are long and varied, but rarely does one come across a hero who’s far from perfect, yet so immaculately well-suited for the heroine. His mind, it’s filthy and wise, funny and charming, and patient.Ford may be an invention, but he’s truly the perfect tonic to the steady diet of alphajerks that star in so many of the romances we read. I literally fell for him during the first online exchange from Donovan620. Ford does an amazing job of transforming how Valentina sees herself. It’s a pleasure to read their every interaction, from playful to provocative. Ford’s dirty texts, his lewd mouth and his persistent attention wheedle away at Val’s self-recriminations.No one writes people falling in love in modern times as well as Keeland. Here, she TELLS a STORY, and at the same time, she serves up texting, online dating, the Hamptons summer scene, divorce, climate change and coming of age angst. And in a delectable filthy flourish, Ford schools us in the real value of post-it notes.She has her go-tos queued up as well: the signature humanness, humor and unslaked need—that spine tingling, gut-twisting NEED that makes All Grown Up impossible to put down. Vi's in a different league, writing a Romance of the Times. Only she can upend the trendy tropes (like she's teasing us: here's a hot teen... who grew up)—to deliver a genre-bending age gap romance with a cougar and c.nn.l.ng.s in the blurb.Read this book immediately.All Grown Up is a unique and very sensual love story too, with an addictive narrative and hot sexy times that leave you breathless. The plot is so taut, and these aren’t just sexy moments, these are soul-stealing scenes that light up all your emotions and give you a great ride. I am stuck in the afterglow of this lovely story. It’s a beautiful bubble to be in.Frankly, I think there are more highlighted passages on my kindle than unhighlighted (chapter 4 is a tour de force in romance writing). A rarity for me. And that’s the thing. There’s not a wasted word here. Every scene, every passage has a moment. And the entire spell-binding relationship that grows out of those opening online chats consumed me. Ford and Valentina stayed with me. It’s so unique and adult.First and foremost this is a great story, rooted in reality with memorable characters that leave you breathless and craving more pages. You almost relish the massive book hangover that follows.Hell, at times the story was sooo good, it was like Keeland was showing off. She could run a master class of backstory, real stakes, and these entirely flawed and relatable women and men falling in love. Not to mention the setting and comedy and angst. swoon!There are so many monikers to describe Keeland and the whole package that is All Grown Up. She’s the badass queen of everything. She’s the world’s best cover-picker. I mean come on, who puts that human smokeshow, Christian Hogue’s back on the cover? When I saw it, I thought to myself, “Is there licking? There better be licking.”—Only she can get away with C.nn.l.ng.s King on her book cover. That blurb is filthy, and it’s a small taste of the exciting story inside.If I had one note, a post-it, it would be to give me a break. It's almost impossible to choose between Ford Donovan and Bennett Fox. All Grown Up and We Shouldn't are the TOP READS of 2019. xoxoYou must know:Ford Donovan is the hobbit of book boyfriends: He's the "One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them." sigh... Ford, Ford, Ford.It's true.

Loved this book! It was extremely cute! Loved the ending!! It also had a plot as well as some mild spiciness. Will be reading more fromthis author!

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 (for reasons I will remain quiet about so as to avoid spoilers), 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.

I have loved Vi Keeland’s writing since I read ‘Throb’ years ago. When I saw this I knew I had to download it immediately. I was not disappointed!⁣ ⁣All Grown Up is an age gap romance, although where we typically see the male main character being the older of the two, in this story our female MC Valentina is older than Ford by 12 years.⁣ ⁣So much about Valentina resonated with me (Erin) after coming out of a similar relationship last year. I loved her approach to finding herself, doing things for herself that she had previously curbed to appease someone else – simple things like singing in the shower!⁣ ⁣Ford is exactly how you might imagine him to be after seeing the cover of the book, and the way Valentina describes him, the cover definitely lives up! Ford’s a young real estate hot shot and through a work related project signs up for a dating profile, where he matches with Valentina. He seems wise beyond his years, and shows maturity in his pursuit of Val that is born from his personal circumstances. I really liked Ford. While he does have this maturity about him he also shows a vulnerable side too.⁣ ⁣Along with everything else about this, I also love the setting. The story is mainly set between Manhattan and Montauk. Manhattan is one of my favourite places to be and after watching a TV series based there, I’d love to visit Montauk. I loved the description and really felt like I could immerse myself in the story.⁣ ⁣As always, I’m looking forward to reading more.

I like and recommend this intriguing and well written story by Vi Keeland. It features two lovely characters who have a significant age difference between them. It also charts the problems and joys they encounter as the romantic relationship they try to deny or reject develops.Still attractive and gorgeous. At thirty eight Valentina Giovanni Davis is now divorced after twenty years of marriage to the same man with a resulting son. Her ex, being unfaithful in choosing to have a long lasting affair with a younger woman. Because of his marriage. Had he missed out on other relationships?And Valentina's friend Eve is adamant that she now needs to get back onto the market and get 'laid'. So unknown to Valentina, Eve puts her profile online at Match.com and activates it.Then Valentina as Val44 and Donovan602 start messaging each other. It appears that they make a strong connection and have similar attributes. Eventually they agree to meet. But... Donovan, incredibly turns out to be Ford Donovan who previously use to babysit Valentina's own son Ryan at their Summer home. He is twelve years younger than herself and now GROWN UP!!!!Ford is young, yes young at twenty five, gorgeous and wealthy. He is the owner of a successful real estate business that he inherited, when both his parents were killed in an accident. The courts also gave Ford sole custody of his sister who is six years younger than himself.Circumstances have forced Ford to grow up quickly. He is very mature for his age and was smitten with Valentina from their first meeting and sees no reason to stop them going out for a meal or dating. To convince her that it is ok for them to be together, he researched famous couples where the male was younger. She however, puts up endless reasons to prevent them coupling. He is too young for her! She has items on her bucket list to complete and more...Well, intimacy does not happen for a long time and when it does it is awesome. But what are the odds? When she eventually realises she is head-over-heels in love with Ford he walks away in his misguided opinion that she needs space to find herself after her divorce.And what happens next when two hearts collide and refuse to let go? READ AND FIND OUT.

Vi Keeland sure knows how to conjure up the ideal Alpha Male, and the lovely unsure adorable female, that develop the most adorable chemistry together. Valentina is a 37 divorced lady with a 19+old son. She has lost all herself esteem thanks to her ex-husband cheating Ryan. Her friend Eve decides after much pushing to sign her up with a dating agency. Match. Com. Ford Donovan a very mature for his age 25 year old just so happens to join the dating Match. Com and communicate via text a lady that interests him. The story unfolds. It is full of humour, emotion and uncertainty by both individuals, although Ford is by far the more mature and ready to commit. Age is only a number, and in society in general it is often seen to be okay for much older man to date a female, but not so the other way round. Val is one of this school and feels Ford’s age is a minus she cannot bridge. The story flows well and as in all of this authors books , is a fabulous pleasure to read. The ending is as great as all the novel content, but the journey there is full of pot holes, memories and misconceptions. The characters are believable, supportive and all play great parts in a great story. Well worth 5 stars, and a superb standalone.

I loved this book so much I bought both the ebook and the paperback! Valentina is trying to start again after her divorce and her friend Eve signs her up to a dating site. Ford is trying to look synthetic marketing aspects of a website when he finds Valentina's profile. They hit it off over text and when they meet up realise they know each other. Their younger man, older woman story enticed you in and gives you hope for the warm HEA these two obviously deserve. An absolutely addictive read that is both humerous and romantic. Definitely worthy of more than one read through and more than 5 stars!

I started this story not expecting to like or enjoy it as much as I did as it started off as a slow burn romance to begin with but erupted into fiery inferno. I had just finished another older woman/younger man romance which I absolutely loved called The Forbidden Man by Karina Halle. This story All Grown Up was recommended by a reviewer who read The forbidden Man and said that this story was better. I found them to be equally good as each other but in different ways and would highly recommend both.