Romance Novels with heroes and heroines finding love well into their forties, and older, has become a popular niche in the romance genre. As readers age, their reading tastes mature, and that means reading more romances featuring main couples in the prime of their lives, which for most is beyond forty.

 

Here are 4 romance novels with the hero or heroine finding passion, enjoying sex and falling in love in their forties, and in some cases their fifties and sixties:


Pushing 30 by Whitney Gaskell, published by Bantam in 2003. As Ellie Winters’ thirtieth birthday looms closer, she starts to feel lost. She’s just broke up with her boring boyfriend, hates her job, and is the last of her high school friends who are single. One night as she rushes to the drugstore with her pet pug Sally, another dog accosts her. The owner is television news anchor Ted Langston, who ends up flirting with her. When he asks her out for dinner, she accepts. She doesn’t care about the difference in their ages, which is almost twenty years. But when Ted finds out that Ellie is closer to thirty, and not forty as he first assumed, he rejects the idea of any future dates, even though the attraction between them is very strong. Heartbroken, Ellie tries to move on, but after a few more run-ins with Ted, she can’t help but wonder if they’re meant to be.

Pushing 30 is a delightful chick-lit with an endearing heroine in Ellie. She’s a woman who deserves happiness, which comes in the form of Ted, a much older man who can’t get Ellie off his mind.

There’s not many romances featuring an almost twenty year age gap between the main couple, but the way Whitney Gaskell writes the Ellie and Ted romance, it’s pure gold. There are many laughable, yet sweet moments for Ellie as she tries to prove to Ted that age is only a number in the game of love.

Lucy Gets Her Life Back(Single Mons, Second Chances #2) byStef Ann Holm, published by Mira in 2006. Lucy Carpenter is a forty-five-year old divorced mother of two boys looking to start over. She feels Red Duck, Idaho might be the perfect place to reinvent herself as a personal chef for the upscale skiing community there. Lucy needs some help and guidance to make her dream become a reality, turning to lady’s man and retired pro baseball player Drew Tolman. Drew is more than willing to lend Lucy a helping hand after getting a taste of her culinary talents that has him hungry for more for more from the passionate chef, who makes him reevaluate his life in a new way.

Lucy Gets Her Life Back is all about second chances, not only for Lucy, but for Drew. Lucy has to start over after her marriage ends. Drew has a secret seventeen-year old daughter he never acknowledged, who he wants a relationship with. Both their personal issues gives weight to what at first may seem to be a lighthearted small town romance. The sensuality factor here is very subtle, but it doesn’t take away the pleasure of Lucy and Drew falling in love.

No More Wasted Time(The Mathews Family #1) by Beverly Preston, self-published in 2012. A year after losing her beloved husband of twenty-five years to a heart attack, forty-four-year old Tess Matthews goes to Bora Bora to lay spread her husband’s ashes in the ocean. A mother of three college-aged children, she is still heartbroken that their father is gone forever. The trip is a reminder of all the good times she and her husband shared. She wasn’t expecting any type of romance, but when she ends up sharing a boat ride with Tom Clemmins, a forty-nine-year old A-List Hollywood actor, she can’t deny her attraction to him. Even more surprises are in store when he feels the same, and soon they’re having a steam affair that doesn’t end after Tess’s vacation is over. Tom wants a shot at a relationship with Tess even though she’s definitely not the type of women he’s dated in the past.

No More Wasted Time proves that romance isn’t dead of a woman in her mid-forties who has the ultimate fantasy with a handsome older celebrity actor. Tess has a second chance at love with the perfect gentlemen in Tom, who wines and dines her with amazing results. Equally sweet and steamy, this is one couple readers will root for as they try to make their relationship work even though the odds may be against them.

Soul Deep(I-Team, #6.5) by Pamela Clare, self-published in 2015. FBI agent Janet Killeen is recovering from a sniper bullet that tore through her hip. After 20 years in the field, she will now sit behind a desk because of her injury. She decides to take a week-long vacation at a B&B in Colorado. But a horrible snowstorm derails her plans. She forced off the road and stuck in her car overnight, until she is rescued by a man she thought she would never see again- Rancher Jack West. He offers his home for her to recover for the night, and then welcomes her to stay on his ranch for the rest of the week. He’s very attracted to her, and they share a kiss, but Jack doesn’t push because the eighteen year age different between him and Janet is an issue. Why would a younger woman be attracted to him? They slowly bond as Jack shows her around the ranch. But when one of Jack's prized horses is hit by a stray bullet, and then one of his ranch hands is attacked and also shot, he is on high alert, because who is out to do him wrong? As Janet aides him in his investigation they both give in to temptation, which leads to a lot of yearning on both sides for something more than just a week long love affair.

Sixty-three-year old Jack proves that sexiness doesn't stop at a certain age. The way he's portrayed is exactly what a romance hero should be. He's kind, understanding, works hard and is very dedicated to his home and family. He’s a prime specimen of a man, and perfect for Janet. Their "courtship" is a very slow build that leads to some hot times. A not to be missed mature romance.