Older woman, younger man, age gap romance has quickly become my favorite subgenre of romance to read and write. And I’m so excited to see more Black romance authors writing this trope! Here are few of my favorites old and new!
How Stella Got Her Groove Back by Terry McMillan
This is the OG fave. Who knows, maybe it’s the book that set me on this path to writing and reading older woman/younger man stories way back in. It was one of my favorite books, while I haven’t read it in a while, it probably still is.
Stella Payne is a Superwoman who has everything--
except a man to rock her world, something she's convinced she can well do without. On a spur-of-the-moment Jamaican vacation she meets Winston, a man half her age, and finds, to her dismay, that her world is indeed well and truly rocked. Stella soon realizes that she's come to a cataclysmic juncture in her life, one that forces new and difficult questions about her passions and expectations.
This was very much one of my favorite reads of 2021. I’m greedily and thirstily waiting for the sequel because I need to know what Liza and David Marcus got up to when the holidays were over!
Tis the season for giving thanks in the best way.
A recent transplant to the DC area, Elizabeth "Liza" Anderson is invited to have Thanksgiving dinner with her co-worker's family. After an enjoyable evening, she finds herself going back to retrieve something the next day--only to be faced with six-foot-three delicious inches of temptation.
David Marcus is the crowned prince of the Collins family. Due to a gross miscommunication, he missed the Thursday evening feast with his family for the first time. However, he stumbles across something far more appetizing the next day when he lays eyes on Liza.
The reasons to not give in to temptation are obvious.
But just a taste won't hurt, right?
Fuck Around & Find Out by Nicole Falls
This synopsis is lean but the book is not. This novella packs all the steam. Get into it.
for ebonée and floyd, the unexpected is affirming.
A fire claims her bakery, but the young special investigator sent to determine the cause just might scorch through the barriers around her heart…
Regina Parker has four loves: her family, friends, business, and her community. A serious relationship hasn’t been on her radar since she became a widow. Life is exactly how she wants until it all goes up in smoke. Literally. The attractive outsider called in to help is a distraction she doesn’t need.
Firefighter Alec Hodge is eager to spread his wings and the assignment in Madison Island, GA gives him the chance. A suspicious blaze may have brought him to the small town, but enigmatic Regina keeps him coming back.
Sparks fly. Passions ignite. But when revelations hit like a backdraft, the newly kindled relationship could be snuffed out before it really has a chance to burn.
I’ll Catch You by Farrah Rochon
Since his rookie season, Cedric Reeves has proudly worn the title of the NFL’s Bad Boy. But when his agent drops him at a critical time in his young football career, the league’s favorite troublemaker finds himself in more trouble than he bargained for. Cedric must find a new agent before his contract comes up for renegotiation at the end of the year, and it looks as if his only hope is…a woman?
Payton Mosely knew becoming a sports agent wouldn’t be easy, but the struggle to be taken seriously in the male-dominated field is harder than she ever imagined. What she needs is a star. When she convinces New York Sabers hotshot running back Cedric Reeves to join her roster, Payton sees her chance to make Mosely Sports Management a rousing success. But only if she can resist falling for her devastatingly handsome client’s irresistible charm.
Not Even if You Begged by Francis Ray
Widow Traci Evans happily sits in on meetings with the lovely ladies of the Invincible Sisterhood solely because they reached out to her first. A loner, Traci feels for the first time she belongs. All of the official members are sweet older women who have lost the love of their lives, their husbands. Unknown to them, Traci is more angry than she is grief-stricken because her husband died in the midst of cheating on her with another woman.
Her husband's deception has hardened Traci's heart so much that even close friend and next door neighbor Maureen can't convince her to open it again. But when a playful kiss with Maureen's gorgeous son Ryan turns passionate, Traci starts to rethink everything she knows about love.
Heart Stealer by Delaney Diamond
The last thing he wants to do is play bodyguard to the woman who broke his heart.
As the wife of a pioneer in the field of biotechnology, Katherine Stallworth had an up-close view of the ugly underbelly of corporate espionage and the cutthroat nature of competition. When her husband is murdered and her life threatened, she turns to Raheem Miller, the one man she can trust—despite their sordid past.
Years ago, Raheem fell in love with Katherine—older, sophisticated, and way out of his league. And nothing has changed. While he’d rather avoid this assignment, he’ll never forgive himself if anything happened to her. In the middle of conducting an investigation into her husband’s death, he discovers a conspiracy that could rock the very foundation of the United States.
Now he must bring the culprits to justice while keeping Katherine alive and his desire in check. Easier said than done.
That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert
This one is heavy on the angst so make sure you get your heart ready before you read it!
She wants a fake relationship. He needs something real.
If there’s one thing Rae can’t stand, it’s pity. She’s forty, frazzled, and fed up—so attending an awards ceremony alone while her ex swans about with his new wife? Not an option. To avoid total humiliation, Rae needs a date of her own. And her young, hot-as-hell new best friend is the perfect candidate…
Zach Davis, king of casual hookups, has a secret: the notorious womaniser craves emotional connection, and anonymous encounters leave him feeling hollow. After years of performance, Zach’s desperate to be himself. So why does he agree to play Rae’s fake boyfriend? And why does it feel so easy?
When the line between pretence and desire blurs, Zach’s forced to face an unexpected truth: there’s nothing phoney about his need for Rae. But the jaded divorcée’s been hurt by playboy men before. Can a weekend of faking it prove that Zach’s for real?
Family betrayal haunts new love…
Delilah Johnston and Griffin Kelso ring in the New Year with revels and romance. But once the champagne runs dry, the differences between them crash the party.
With a divorce, raising her daughter, and a corporate job in the rearview mirror, forty-something Delilah is ready to indulge herself with passion and a new life. Yes, she agreed to help her ex-boss Griffin launch his new business, but that’s temporary. The tantalizing heat between them, however, isn’t—or so she hopes.
Nearly ten years her junior, Griffin jettisons his playboy ways and sets his sights on Delilah. He aims to build a personal legacy with her by his side. But when his father’s health problems—and the older man’s scheming wife—call him home, he can no longer ignore the betrayal and pain of the past.
He finds refuge in the always willing and wise Delilah. But the more he leans on her, the more she wonders: when is it her turn?
Family drama knocks the couple off course into a tangle of secrets. Can Delilah and Griffin find a path forward together? Or will a shocking revelation divide them forever?
Two to Tangle is a sexy, seasoned BWWM romance with family drama and a May-December surprise. It continues the love story of Delilah and Griffin that began in the holiday novella, Christmas for Two, but can be read as a stand-alone.
This one while short was an achingly sweet slow burn with a Juneteenth theme!
As a cultural anthropologist for a renowned Black historical society, May documents stories that tell the culture and history of a people. And as an adoptee, she is haunted by the fear that the history she will never discover is her own.
But when an assignment lands her in South Texas to investigate the origins of a very unusual family name, May finds herself drawn to a much younger man who seems--at least in some ways--to be a refreshingly wide-open book.
Soon, their deepening connection has May questioning whether she’s had it all wrong. Maybe she’ll never learn the story of her past, but could there still be time to write an unexpected and surprising future?
I hope you find something that you enjoy on this list!
If you’ve read other age-gap, older woman, younger man romances written by Black with one or more Black characters, please share in the comments! ⬇️
Xo, Tasha
