Romance Novels Featuring Older Couples
This list is for the older people out there. The people who love romance but don’t want to read about hand-holding and first kisses. The romance novels on this list feature older couples who are finding love later in life.
Sometimes it’s hard to lose yourself in a story when you can’t relate to the characters – their struggles and experiences – never are these differences more glaring than when reading about characters in a different phase of life.
There is a huge difference in the experiences, expectations, and outlooks of young adults, new adults, adults and older adults especially with regards to relationships. The is a certain connection that develops when a character is similar to you. A sense of empathy a camaraderie that forms with the similarities.
The sense of clarity and recognition when you see a situation the same way as the character and can say you would have reacted in a similar manner makes for an enjoyable read. I would argue this connection is the difference between a good book and an amazing story.
One thing I’ve found as I’ve gotten older is an increasing desire to read about characters my own age. As someone with decades of experiences and lessons learned the hard way it’s sometimes difficult to read about characters in different phases of their lives. I’ve found there is a lack of romance novels featuring middle age couples or people later in life falling in love.
Romance Novels with Older Couples
- Characters with established lives. People who are settled, who have a career and experiences.
- Maturity consistent with their age and experience level.
- History: they should have failed relationships or reasons for avoiding them. Perhaps even children from a previous partner.
Romance Novels Featuring Older Couples
A PROMISE OF FIREFLIES
by Susan Haught
400 Pages | Four Carat Press | January 27, 2016
Check Prices
Military | Romance
View Synopsis
Questions never asked don’t always remain unanswered.
Ryleigh Collins is content–until her marriage collapses, her son moves to another state, and her mother’s death fracture her idealistic bubble.
As she sifts through her mother’s belongings, Ryleigh discovers a blood-stained journal and an odd letter with no idea who wrote them, or why her mother kept them hidden. Questions raise more questions, and she wants nothing more than to flee the mounting turmoil. Read More
ABSOLUTION
by Kaylea Cross
326 Pages | Wild Rose Press | December 12, 2010
Check Prices
Mystery | Romantic Suspense
View Synopsis
A lifetime of regret…
After legendary CIA contractor Luke Hutchinson unknowingly trained the man who would become the world’s most dangerous terrorist, he has no choice but to hunt him across the globe. Driven to complete that final mission, he fears his enemy has targeted the only woman Luke has ever loved. Unfortunately for him she’s his ex-wife, and already facing another deadly threat he can’t protect her from. Read More
Related: Spring 2019 Reading List
DESERT ROSE
152 Pages | Fire Star Press | November 6, 2018
Check Prices
Small Town | Contemporary Romance
View Synopsis
A secret life is the best protection against love…
Men love Rose Badger, and if the other inhabitants of dead-end Blake’s Folly, Nevada, don’t approve, she couldn’t care less. With a disastrous marriage far behind her, settling down is the last thing she intends to do. Isn’t life for fun? Doesn’t a stable relationship always mean predictability and boredom? Read More
DO OVER
by Mari Carr
92 Pages | December 26, 2017
Check Prices
Steamy | Second Chance | Romance
View Synopsis
Sometimes once is not enough…
After twenty-five years of marriage, Faith Wainwright wonders what she’ll do next. Her kids have moved out and sometimes she feels so distant from her husband, Troy.
Right before their anniversary, Troy gives Faith an unexpected gift: a journey through their hometown to reenact all their “firsts”. Read More
Related: Most Anticipated Books of 2019
GEODUCKS ARE FOR LOVERS
274 Pages | May 13, 2013
Check Prices
Women’s Fiction | Second Chance
View Synopsis
A second chance at a first crush.
When I met my best friends in college, the lives ahead of us felt infinite and charmed. Twenty years later, divorced and living on a quiet island with my dog, I’m all too aware of how fleeting life is. With our official reunion coming up as fast as the tide in Useless Bay, I invite them to come spend a weekend catching up first. Read More
Related: These Books Will Make You Laugh
SLEIGHT OF HAND
Julie Rowe
362 Pages | Entangled Publishing | January 28, 2019
Check Prices
Romantic Suspense | Office Romance
View Synopsis
CDC nurse Joy Oshiro is stressed to the breaking point. College students are dying and no one knows why. And her new partner Dr. Gunner Anderson is frustratingly annoying–and sexy, but mainly just plain annoying–and proving difficult to avoid. He spent three years with Doctors Without Borders, and disillusioned is just the tip of his issues.
They’ll need to learn to trust one another if they have a chance at figuring out who is behind the attacks. Read More
THE SWEETEST THING
by Jill Shalvis
348 Pages | Forever | April 1, 2011
Check Prices
Women’s Fiction | Divorce
View Synopsis
Two Men Are One Too Many . . .
Tara has a thousand good reasons not to return to the little coastal town of Lucky Harbor, Washington. Yet with her life doing a major crash-and-burn, anywhere away from her unfulfilled dreams and sexy ex-husband will do. As Tara helps her two sisters get their newly renovated inn up and running, she finally has a chance to get things under control and come up with a new plan for her life. Read More
TREADING WATER
by Marie Force
370 Pages | HTJB Inc. | October 23, 2011
Check Prices
Women’s Fiction | Contemporary
View Synopsis
Love is the last thing on Jack Harrington’s mind when he sets out to meet Andi Walsh’s flight. Recently back to work after spending more than a year tending to his comatose wife, Jack is focused on getting through each day and caring for his three daughters. However, the moment he sets eyes on Andrea Walsh, the interior designer who has come to decorate the hotel his company is building in Newport, Rhode Island, Jack begins to wonder if Andi might be his second chance. Read More
WICKED BURN
by Beth Kery
343 Pages | Berkley | December 2, 2008
Check Prices
Super Steamy | Billionaire | Romance
View Synopsis
He wanted all of her and did she ever let him have it.
Vic Savian knows what he wants when he sees it. And what he wants is his sexy neighbor, Niall Chandler. When he finds her in the hallway of their building being harassed by an aggressive suitor, Vic steps in and finds himself greatly rewarded.
Sleeping with her gorgeous neighbor when she didn’t even know his last name was the craziest thing Niall’s ever done. Now, she can’t seem to get enough of Vic or the uninhibited passion he stirs in her. Read More
Related:Best Biographies Ever Written
WILD MAN
528 Pages | Forever | December 11, 2012
Check Prices
Divorce | Romantic Suspense
View Synopsis
She’s about to walk on the wild side . . .
While filling the display case in her bakery, the bell over the door sounds and Tessa O’Hara looks up to see the man of her dreams. Within thirty seconds he asks her out for a beer. But after four months of dating, she discovers he’s an undercover DEA agent-and he’s investigating her possible role in her ex-husband’s drug business. For Tess, this means their relationship is over. Read More
Related: Short Non-Fiction you can Read in a Day
WRANGLED AND TANGLED
331 Pages | Berkley | November 1, 2011
Check Prices
Steamy | Cowboy | Contemporary Romance
View Synopsis
Janie Fitzhugh and Abe Lawson have long been divorced and living apart. Now she’s back in town, a changed woman-making cattleman Abe want to wrangle an invitation to her bed…
To get his dream ranch, Renner Jackson has partnered with spoiled daddy’s girl Tierney Pratt. She thinks she can handle this cowboy, but Renner won’t make it easy. Read More
As always,