"All Grown Up" by VI Keeland: A Heartfelt Story of Love and Self-Discovery

MelanatedBookJunkie: Storyline
💥💥💥💥

Character Development
🌻🌻🌻🌻

Angst Level
😰😰

Chemistry
🧪🧪🧪🧪🧪

Steam
🥵🥵.5

Humor
😂😂😂

Overall
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A reverse age gap? I’m here for it! This was such a great book! I really loved this story and all of the characters! This was a cute story! It made laugh and swoon. It was incredibly well written and it’s impossible to stop once you start. Ford and Valentina were both amazing characters. Their chemistry was off the charts despite a 12 year age gap. I was rooting for them both the entire time. This story is a great palate cleanser.

I highly recommend you check out this story!
This is the first book I’ve read by Vi Keeland and it won’t be the last.

United States on Oct 09, 2023

EliseMarie: Going into this book I was actually expecting it to be a bit more taboo and for Ford to be about 21 and Val to be about 40. But their ages were actually 25 and 37. Yes, it's an age gap but nothing that dramatic in my opinion and the only ones who made it a problem were the two characters themselves, or more, Valentina. It was still a solid and entertaining read and a good romance.

United Kingdom on May 08, 2021

Erin Kirsty: 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...

United Kingdom on Jun 09, 2020

Daniela S.: "All Grown Up" beleuchtet mal eine Thematik die an sich immer noch recht selten in Büchern gesehen wird und auch in der Gesellschaft selbst wird immer noch etwas abschätzig geschaut, wenn eine Frau einen (wesentlich) jüngeren Mann als Freund oder gar als Mann hat.
So auch Valentina die "recht" frisch geschieden ist mit 37 Jahren, nachdem sie fast 20 Jahre mit ihrem Mann zusammen war und jetzt für sich einen Neuanfang wagt. Nicht nur beruflich, sondern sich auch in das Abenteuer Dating stürzt.
Dabei wird sie tatkräftig von ihrer besten Freundin unterstützt, die sie prompt bei einer Dating-App anmeldet.
Und genau über diese Dating-App lernt sie Donovan kennen. Die Nachrichten die die beiden austauschen sind witzig und irgendwie scheint zwischen den beiden alles zu stimmen. Ihr ersten Date ist so niedlich, weil Valentina so nervös ist, dass sie sich gar nicht ins Restaurant traut, aber Donovan einfach mal den Kellner mit ihren Getränk rausschickt, damit sie ihr beide ihr Date per Telefon durchführen können.
Letztlich traut sie sich in Restaurant, nur um dann überrascht zu werden, dass Donovan eigentlich Ford ist, der Nachbarsjunge von ihrem Ferienhaus. Der...

Germany on Feb 16, 2020

Marian Chawner: 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...

United Kingdom on Jul 22, 2019

Kindle Customer: 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...

United Kingdom on Jul 17, 2019

Brit *My Little Book Nook*: 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,...

United States on Jul 11, 2019

KC Caron: Hands Down, All Grown Up is the BEST ROMANCE OF 2019 💗 Ford Donovan is a Romance Revelation

If 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...

United States on Jul 07, 2019