This request comes from Shana:
I’ve been rewatching Last Tango in Halifax and craving small town older adult romcoms with a similar whimsical vibe.
Amanda: I think Megan Bannen’s fantasy books have a small town feel and older characters.
Sarah: Would BK Borison’s books work for this?
I think the Lovelight series ( A | BN | K | AB ) might fit very well.
Amanda: I don’t know if the characters are older than 20s? Someone please let us know in the comments!
Sarah: Oh good point. Definitely small town and much whimsy.
Shana: Well, that makes me want to read them anyway.
Are there any romances you’d recommend? Drop them in the comments!
For F/F, I’d recommend Elena Graf’s Hobbs series. Lots of older couples, and it ought to be sponsored by the Maine tourist board. Some of the themes get quite heavy, but then so does Last Tango in Halifax!
I like most of that series by Megan Bannen but I disagree that it’s a good fit for this ask. the characters aren’t as old (or when they sort of are are still not in the same stage of life) as the main couple in Last Tango in Hallifax.
I know a lot of the times “older characters in romance” are anyone out of their 20s but for this ask we’re talking 60s at the minimum and even then that’s younger than the main couple.
The Switch by Beth O’Leary, a granddaughter and grandmother switch lives and I think both find romance. Lots of small town and found family elements. Do Me a Favor by Cathy Yardley, both are in their forties, she’s widowed, he’s divorced and lives on the family farm with his parents and grown kids.
I loved the Magical Midlife Madness series by KF Breene. Great characters
Oh! Julie and Romeo by Jeanne Ray. Rival florists whose families have been enemies for years. A charming love story with lots of family. Julie and Romeo are adults with grown or near-grown children. Set in Boston, but with a small town feel about it.
Freya Barker’s Northern Lights series has older protags (early-to-mid 40s) and is set in a small town.
The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle maybe?
I never saw Last Tango in Halifax (because I was scarred by Last Tango in Paris and while as far as I know there is no connection there aren’t words for how little I want to do with any last tangoing).
GRANDDAD’S CUP OF TEA by Amy Rae Durreson. This is a M/M slow burn short story about two men in their seventies. Set in small town England it is delightful.
Stepping to a New Day by Beverly Jenkins features a lovely romance between two characters in their sixties. It’s the seventh book in the Blessings series, set in the fictional small town of Henry Adams, Kansas.
Seconding Cathy Yardley’s Do Me a Favor and also recommending Role Playing, one of my favorite grownup romances.
Tarah Dewitt’s first two Spunes, Oregon books features 30+ year old protagonists and definitely have a touch of whimsey.
Jess K. Hardy’s first two Bluebird Basin novels have mature characters in a small town setting in ski country. They deal with some serious issues (substance abuse recovery) but they aren’t heavy-handed. The third book has younger MCs and is more angsty than the first two.
If you like your whimsey Spy vs. Spy style, check out Crusie’s Rocky Start series about a tiny community of retired government agents just off the Appalachian Trail. There is a body count in these books, however.
Actually, Rocky Start is Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer.
I just recalled another favorite with mature MCs and a rural Vermont setting. The MMC is a mean grouch, but he does have his reasons, while the widowed FMC is a delight. They find themselves teamed up on a reality tv cooking show, and the food and cookery is scrumptious.
There’s also Fresh Catch, the first of Kate Canterbury’s Talbot’s Cove series. MCs are a tech ?illionaire adrift on his sailboat and a local pillar of the community who rescues tech guy and subsequently trades him lodging in exchange for labor on his lobster boat.
I know Penny Watson wrote some romances w/older protagonists. APPLES SHOULD BE RED and TASTE OF HEAVEN.
@jeanette: the title, characters in 70s and small town England has sold me! Wait wasn’t there a country Milan novella about two women in 60s set in regency England I want to say? Anyone remember the title?
Jane Porter’s Modern Love series was wonderful. Firting With Fifty, Flirting With The Beast and Flirting With Fire. Not too much whimsy but all the characters are 49-50 mature adults. These were a nice change of pace from the typical romance.
@juhi
Courtney Milan wrote “Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure” which features two women over 65 (73 and 69 to be exact). However, most of the novella takes place in London.
I second @Jill Q’s Penny Watson recommendation! Here’s the blurb for APPLES SHOULD BE RED:
Recipe for Thanksgiving Dinner:
Start with 62-year-old politically incorrect, chain-smoking, hard-cussing curmudgeon.
Add 59-year-old sexually-repressed know-it-all in pearls.
Throw in a beer can-turkey, a battle for horticultural supremacy, and nudist next-door neighbor.
Serve on paper plates, garnished with garden gnome.
Tastes like happily ever after.
My Cat Cafe sweet romance novels are set in a small town. One book has characters over 50, and two have characters in their 30s and 40s. They’re not necessarily romcom, but they are lighthearted and whimsical.
I’m currently reading Megan Bannen’s The Undermining of Twyla and Frank (book 2 in the series) and the narrator (Twyla) is 53. I’ve been having a lot of Thoughts about her character, who is about the same age as me.
On one hand, the story feels grounded in her age and stage in life via periodic mentions of how she feels about her middle-aged body or how it has changed, interactions with her adult children, and ruminating on her past. I appreciate that. But a few parts have felt off to me, for example one point where she has trouble bending/kneeling down, or another where she is quickly winded by a run while her 20-ish coworker is not.
Her character is a Tanrian Marshall who patrols outdoors all day, riding a horse-Iike creature and until recently, fighting zombies. She’s still alive so she must’ve been fairly good at fighting and/or escaping. I don’t buy that she’d have trouble moving or running simply because she is 53.
I think I’m feeling sensitive about this because, until recently, I thought that my body degrading with age was something that couldn’t be helped. I had a moment where I crouched down to access a cupboard and had to pull myself up with my arms, since my legs were not enough, and someone said to me, “That’s what happens when you get old.” But then a friend disputed the idea, and my sister nudged me into trying (very mild!) strength training at the gym, and I can now squat down and up again, hands-free. I’m glad someone set me straight.
So I wish Twyla’s middle-aged-ness had been handled a little differently. I’m still liking the story, and I’m waiting to see if she has any revelations about herself as it ends.