How to Date a Younger Man

By: Kendall Ryan

Narrated by: Christian Fox, Emma Wilder

Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's Summary

Tips for Surviving a Fling with a Sexy Younger Man

First, you’d think as a thirty-something-year-old woman, I’d be immune to Griffin’s flirty comments and six-pack abs. You’d think that his carefree playboy attitude, or the fact that he’s still finishing grad school would deter me.

You’d be wrong.

If you accidentally bang your best friend’s younger brother, here are a few important tips...

One: Do not brag to your friend about how well-endowed her brother is. 

Two: Do not go back for seconds (or thirds).

Three: Do not let him see your muffin top or jiggly behind. And definitely don’t let him feed you cookies in bed. Cookies are bad. Remember that.

Four: Act like a damn grown-up and apologize for riding him like a bull at the rodeo. And do not flirt with him when he laughs at said apology.

Five: This one is crucial, so pay attention.

Do not, under any circumstances, fall in love with him.

©2020 Kendall Ryan (P)2020 Kendall Ryan

Ok

This book was ok. For some reason the author wrote a 33 year old like she was pushing 80. While ten years is a big age difference, it often felt like the heroine dismissed the hero a lot by telling him he wasn’t ready for all the things she was, while being mad when he decided things that didn’t include her.

While this read is super tropish, neither the H/h were all that memorable. Age gap where the woman is older is usually my jam but for some reason people have it in their heads you die at 29.

Cute read just didn’t wow me.

Layne and Griffin

This trope of books is not usually my favorite as so often I don't like how the characters are portrayed but since I love Kendall's books I jumped in anyway. She did an amazing job of portraying Layne as a strong, career oriented woman, who still wants a husband and kids, Griffin was always mature beyond his years but in the few years the book takes place, he really grows up and into himself, proving how much the age difference doesn't matter. Griffin knows from day 1 that Layne is forever but it takes her time to realize this. Years of a deep rooted friendship leads to a deep rooted love unlike any other. Kendall Ryan did an amazing job with this book.

2.5 Stars

I'll start with the good. I listened to this one via audiobook, and the narration was stellar!
Regarding the bad; I'm quickly coming to the realization that I don't like this type of story. The ones where the couple are 'passing ships' who never connect until the end. The way this book was broken up into the highlights of these two over the years let me know their history but didn't help me feel their connection. And while I felt the love by Griffin, I never really got there with Layne.

Slow Burn

This is the first book I've read by this author and it is definitely a slow burn. Griffin is immediately attracted to Layne but has to settle for friendship when Layne places him in the friend zone due to his age and she's his sister's best friend. I enjoyed seeing their relationship unfold but at times Layne seemed immature. Griffin may be younger, but he's more emotionally mature, even with his cocky attitude. It's a cute story but I feel like it could have used a bit more depth to their relationship.

Christian Fox and Emma Wilder do a good job narrating this one.

Storyline is lackind

I was looking forward to this book because there aren't many in this trope. The woman in the story seemed very immature and wouldn't believe what she was told over and over. She was so frustrating. The narrators were good, though.

Wasn’t my favorite by this author.

Sadly this just missed the mark for me. I didn’t female narrator’s male voice impersonation. Sorry started out great. And just sort of fell flat. By middle it was just too full of angst and emotional immaturity for the woman’s age. I found myself rolling my eyes.

If I could return it, I would. Which is sad, because I adore Kendall Ryan. I would really love to see her revisit this story. Def could benefit as a duet.

not bad

nothing really gripping here, the FMC confused me at times with her overlooking the mmc for dumb reasons. I did find it refreshing that the female was the older one that needed to work on herself. a decent listen and narrators were good, but nothing stands out story wise too much.

It was ok even for a credit

I totally fell in love with Griffin but Layne was hard to take at times.
I think the explanation at the end helps but arrrgh! Griffin too young? How about immature but stuck up Layne? She made so many assumptions and it was frustrating. This was quite a slow burn it surprised me. Read it to get to know Griffin, he is a sweetheart and worth hearing his thoughts.

An plus to the narrators!!

I loved this book and look forward to reading her others. The narrators were
outstanding.

Great narrators!

Layne Anderson's birthday just got interesting. She's a thriving corporate lawyer with her own firm in LA and she's been tense. Work is demanding and she's been feeling the pressure of her biological clock, but she can't seem to find Mr. Right. So, when her assistant gifts her a birthday massage and the masseur is a gorgeous 23-year-old, she can't deny she got a little flustered. She gets even more so when he asks her out. She politely declines but she can't stop thinking about him. Well, it was a good thing she declined because the next time she sees him, he's being introduced to her as her best friend's freshly graduated baby brother! 

Told in time jumps, we see them become friends (though Griffin has been pining for her all the time) and finally cave in to their attraction. It's a surprisingly low angst story and the biggest conflict is between Layne and her feelings - she has a hard time being the "older woman". Griffin does have some growing up to do, but he's the sweetest cinnamon roll and we root for them from the start. Cute (and spicy) book.

Narration: I confess I picked it up because Emma Wilder and Christian Fox are two of my all time favorite narrators and you can't pass a dream team audiobook! They are, as expected,  amazing in this one! Pick the audiobook!

Representation: younger man/older woman

Christian Fox and Emma Wilder for the win!

Full transparency, this book didn’t really appeal to me. I’m not a huge fan of older woman stories, I don’t know why. But this had a fabulous narrator pairing so thought I’d give it a go, and I loved it. It is one of my favourite Kendall Ryan stories ever, top five for sure. Funny how that happens, isn’t it?

I will say that the blurb makes the book sound completely different from what it is. It makes it sound like they meet and have some fun before finding out he’s her friend’s brother, but in actual fact, it is a slow burn romance and years pass before they get together.

Layne is a serious business woman. She knows what she wants, she’s just having difficulty getting it. Enter Griffin, he’s everything she shouldn’t want and when she finds out he’s her friend’s brother, well, she puts him firmly in the friend zone. But some rules are made to be broken, if she could just get out of her own way, she could find something pretty spectacular.
Griffin is a sweetheart, he knows what he wants and what he wants is Layne. He’s always there when she needs him. I felt so bad for him at times because although he held his own, he always felt like a lost puppy following her around and waiting for any scrapes she would throw his way.

Layne and Griffin have excellent banter, which is a huge plus for me. I just love it. Although this is more of a slow burn romance, they had great chemistry all through the book from the moment they met but once they finally give in, cue fireworks and explosions. The build up was pure perfection, the sexual tension palpable. I thought my phone was going to melt.

Christian Fox and Emma Wilder were absolutely fantastic. It’s been a hot minute since I last listened to Christian Fox so I wasn’t sure how that was going to go with the character being younger but he nailed it. Drunk Christian Fox is the best thing I’ve heard all week. And Emma Wilder is perfection for this character, she performed the vulnerabilities she was experiencing so well. If I was to have a fictional narrator girlfriend, it would be Emma! The production was great with no issues to note.

Really really annoying

I am usually a sucker for the older woman younger man trop, but the telling of this story was aggravating: the female lead could not stop whining about her age I’m not having a baby and not having a permanent man. I presume they ended up together. Couldn’t finish it because her complaining was so offputting. Adopt a baby already will become a foster mother there’s lots of kids you need the law of a parent. Could not finish this one. Two stores for the writing and five stars for the performances but the rest of it a real turn off.