Top 75 Older Woman/Younger Man Romance Novels
ATTENTION READERS: New Romantic Fantasy, The Chamber of Curiosities is now available on Amazon. Be the first to read and review the novel, set in an ancient carnival. The gothic tale features a a sensuous older woman/ younger man romance.
In The House on Black Lake heroine Alexandra Brighton is obsessed with charismatic Ramey Sandeley, a man she met in her early thirties, who is now, as is she, in his forties. However, it is young French artist Andre Labat, a man twenty years her junior, who teaches her about the fragile nature of love and trust, and guides her to bare her darkest secrets and desires. Another character, Luna, is well into her sixties and uses her sex appeal to allure men of all ages.
It is natural for mature women to be drawn to younger men, as they provide greater reproductive prowess, progressive knowledge, and more vibrant protective mechanisms. Society finds derogatory names for women who dare enter into these unions as there is fear by older men that they will be left alone, abandoned for young bucks biting at their heals.
Following are 75 novels featuring mature woman and younger men. Many feature minor age differences. But, I am including these unions, as the romance community (many thanks to Amazon) feel representations of age and status difference are considered unique in context of their cultural history. The list is in no particular order.
Renaissance
1. Return to Night by Mary Renault - 11 years difference
2. To Please a Lady by Susan Johnson - spinster fights against being wooed to marriage
Georgian
3. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (7/91) -- Time Travel -- Claire is older than Jamie.
4. Pleasure Me by Monica Burns - courtesan is 12 years older that 29 year old lord
Traditional Regency
5. A Promise of Spring by Mary Balogh - h is 10 years older and serious demeanor - mismatched love
6. The Ramshackle Suitor by Nancy Butler
7. The Bishop's Daughter by Susan Carroll
8. The Dower House by Carola Dunn - story of house for widows and young girl looking for new life
10. An Immodest Proposal by Patricia Oliver - 5 years younger, less educated, charming
12. The Bumblebroth by Patricia Wynn -Widow is drawn to the man she chose to wed her daugher
Regency
13. To Wed a Viscount by Adrienne Basso - Widow sets out to marry deceased fiancee's younger brother to save house
14. Anthology: In Praise of Younger Men by Jo Beverley, Cathy Maxwell, Jaclyn Reding - stories feature mature women with younger men
15. The Stranger I Married by Sylvia Day - widow's MOC turns passionate when husband returns from exile
16. A Talent for Sin by Lavinia Kent - three times a widow with man in early 20's
17. Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas (6/01) -30 year old finds love with 25 year old
18. Victor by Julia Templeton -Erotica - widow is 38, hero is 10 years younger.
19.The Duchess' Lover by Julie Beard - heroine is 40, hero is in late 20's
20. Sleeping Beauty by Judith Ivory - Courtesan is 8 years older
21. Rebel Baron by Shirl Henke -h 36 - H 30
22.Brazen by Susan Johnson - h is thirty-five with children and as experienced as younger lover
Frontier - Western - Americana
23. Tiger Lil by Ellen Archer Victorian -
24. Summer Fancy by Anne Avery - 1895 Colorado - tall, plain women finds love with young farmer
25. The Spirit Path by Madeline Baker 1872 -Hawk 25 and Maggie 32
26. Loving Mercy (Zebra Debut) by Teresa Bodwell 1860s Kansas and Colorado
27. The Randolph Legacy by Eileen Charbonneau - 1810s Virginia Post-American Revolution - 9 years difference
28. Anthology: The Invitation by Jude Deveraux 1920/1930s
29. The Rainbow Season by Lisa Gregory
30. Last Chance by Jill Marie Landis - 1894 Montana
31. Courting Miss Hattie, Wild Oats, and Simply Jess by Pamela Morsi
32. Midnight Confessions by Candice Proctor [New Orleans, Civil War] - Widow is 30 and 5 years older than yankee marshall, who is 25 years.
33. From Fields of Gold by Alexandra Ripley (11/94) -- 1900s-1910s - woman is nearly 30 when barely 20-year-old agrees to marry her.
34. Christmas Day Family by Cheryl St. John - (A) A Western Winter Wonderland - Marvel Anne is 33 and Dr. Seth Paxton 26.
35. The Tender Texan by Jodi Thomas -German widow needs husband to claim land in new world - offers $100 to man to marry for one year - the taker is a boyish lad, but also a seasoned gunslinger
Historical Fiction - Historical Mystery
36. Farrier's LaneThe Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Mystery Series - Late Victorian England - Charlotte's mother, 53-55 ,meets her longtime lover, Joshua, 40, in this book.
Contemporary - Romantic Suspense
37. The Last Time I Saw Paris by Elizabeth Adler. When her surgeon husband tells her there's another woman, Lara Lewis, 40-something, decides to invite a much younger man to go with her on a trip to Paris she had planned for she and her husband as they retraced their honeymoon.
38. Convincing Silvia By Erin Aislinn - Silvia is 46 and Andy is 35. e-book short story.
39. Night Magic by Charlotte Vale Allen ( The secondary character Kitty is 10 years older than Hal. Kitty is/was the housekeeper/nanny for Marissa and Hal is Erik's personal assistant.
40. The Man in the Black Leather Mask by Evangeline Anderson - Erotica - Attorneys Jacqueline (Jax) Emerson and Ryan Cutler: 10 yrs difference.
41. Garden of Scandal by Jennifer Blake - Beautiful recluse Laurel Bancroft hires Alec Stanton, more than 10 years younger, intelligent, talented and passionate, to help her redesign her garden.
42. Enchanted Cottage by Linda Bleser - Liz Riley discovers an enchanted cottage where time stands still. She wakes up to find her youth restored, and her passions ignited by the owner of the cottage - a man she believes is young enough to be her son.
43. Love in Another Town by Barbara Taylor Bradford- h is 15 years older
44. Ladies' Man by Suzanne Brockmann - almost 10 year difference.
45. The Defiant Hero, Into the Night, Out of Control, Breaking Point, Trouble Shooters Series -by Suzanne Brockmann -Navy seals - multiple character story lines
46. What You Won't Do For Love by Wendy Coakley-Thompson -Disillusioned Chaney Braxton 36-years-old, meets 28-year-old "tadpole" half black, half Korean veterinarian Devin Rhym, who may be young, but he's got an old soul.
47. The Object of Love by Sharon Cullars - Interracial - Sean Logan, 21-year-old white male, and Lacey Burnham, 42-year-old black mother of his deceased, but ghostly and angry, ex-best friend, Calvin.
48. The Last True Cowboy, What the Heart Knows, Night Falls Like Silk, by Kathleen Eagle by Kathleen Eagle.
49. Bound to Please by Lilli Feisty -Erotica - Ruby Scott, event planner is 37, Mark St. Crow is 29 and plays the piano, rock star.
50. Reunion by Therese Fowler - Lue Reynolds is 9 years older than Julian Forrester.
51. Confession by Elizabeth Gage - an unhappy and betrayed wife falls for the young fiance of her only child.
53. Under the Wire by Cindy Gerard -h 10 years older than h 40s/30s. She was his first and only true love and when she left seventeen years ago, she took more than his heart.
54. The Price by Joan Johnston - Secondary Romance - she is 53, he is 35
55. Love Becomes Her by Donna Hill - he is a basketball millionaire more than half h's age
56. Leaving Normal by Stef Ann Holm - 9 years difference - Hispanic Hero
57. Romeo and Julia by Annie Kimberlin - 10 years.
58. Fallen From Grace by Laura Leone - h is 35 and author of a medieval mystery series, H is 26 and a male prostitute.
59. Call it Paradiseby Mary Jane Lloyd - successful advertising consultant has prominent attorney,as a lover. She meets younger owner of ad agency and their attraction intensifies.
60. A Minor Indiscretion by Carole Matthews - 38-year-old wife and mother of three has an affair with a gorgeous street artist 15 years her junior
61. Tim by Colleen McCullough - Mary is a 40-something unremarkable spinster, while Tim is 25-year-old mentally retarded young man who looks like a Greek god.
62. Dancing at the Harvest Moon by K.C. McKinnon
63. A Rhythm Divine by Judy Mays - 13 years
64. She'll Never Know - by Hunter Morgan -A victim of amnesia handsome lifeguard 10 years her junior. And then the first memory flashes return.
65. Bewitched by Constance O'Day-Flannery - Successful career woman falls in love with a lawyer from turn-of-the-century America. He is younger and angry for being jettisoned a hundred years forward in time.
66. Flirting With Forty by Jane Porter - divorced mother of two vacations in Hawaii for 40th birthday. Depressed with flabby middle-aged prospects poolside, she finds herself drawn to a younger, tanned and sexy surf instructor.
67. One Summer by Karen Robards - a Kentucky school teacher takes a former student under her wing after he is paroled from prison for a crime she does not believe he committed. Their love causes tongues to wag in the small town. Suspense.
68. Family Blessings by LaVyrle Spencer - a woman answers the front door to learn her son has been killed. The person offering the news is a police officer and also her son's best friend. The young man becomes a surrogate sibling to her to other children and a friend to her. Gradually their love turns to passion and when he proposes she must confront the judgments of others.
69. Anything For Love by Janelle Taylor - Widow is 47; hero is much younger ex-football star
70. Snowfall at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs - veterinarian is ten years younger than international lawyer.
71. Anyone but You by Jennifer Crusie - light, funny playful - Woman turning 40 looks forward to new life away from stuffy ex husband and suburbs. New life in her own aparment in city brings the "puppy" she desires, and a gorgeous 10 yrs younger E.R. doc sends her hormones raging.
72. Meandar Scar by Lisa Lickel - woman's husband disappeared 7 years ago. A neighbor, nearly young enough to be her son, returns from law school and helps her with paper work to declare husband dead. Story follows process of loss, grieving, and the transformative power of love, as well as the hurdles a mature woman/younger man relationship can face.
73. Naked in the Rain by Debra Marhowitz -43 year old woman picks up 23 year old stud in bar and takes him home for the night. They become fast friends and she provides him motivation and direction while he helps her come to terms with ghosts of past. Sexy, omance, suspense, pathos.
Alternate World - Science Fiction - Fantasy - Futuristic - Vampire - Paranormal
71. Primary Inversion by Catherine Asaro
72. Ritual of Proof by Dara Joy
73. Alternate World - by Susan Grant
75. The Object of Love by Sharon Cullars
A mature woman with a younger man is the perfect match.
