Problematic Summer Romance

Age-gap romance novels include a significant age difference between the romantic couple as a main source of tension. Interpersonally, this tension can manifest as a power imbalance or an issue of maturity. Externally, the relationship often draws derogatory comments about how one partner is old enough to be the other’s parent, as happens in Problematic Summer Romance. As in Conor and Maya’s situation, the male lead is often older, but this is not always the case. Typically, the gap is driven both by the age gap itself and a disparity in lived experience. When the members of an age-gap romance are both older, the gap ends up feeling smaller because there is less of a disparity in how much they have experienced. With younger characters like Maya and Conor, the gap initially feels larger because she is 23 and he is 38. However, this age gap can be offset by factors such as the younger character experiencing hardship or trauma that makes them grow up quickly, as is the case with Maya. Though Problematic Summer Romance is free of taboo or inappropriate dynamics between the main couple, the age-gap trope also includes more controversial romances, such as in Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas, in which a 19-year-old girl gets involved with her boyfriend’s dad, and Praise by Sara Cate, which explores sexual and professional power dynamics between a younger woman and her ex-boyfriend’s father, who owns a sex club.

At its core, the age-gap romance trope explores how love can transcend conventional boundaries of time and experience. It aims to appeal to readers who are drawn to emotional intensity, heightened stakes, and the slow dismantling of barriers rooted in power, fear, or self-doubt. In books like Problematic Summer Romance, the trope becomes less about the age itself and more about the emotional negotiation between characters—how each person comes to see the other as an equal, despite (or because of) their differences. The trope also allows for internal conflict, particularly when one character, like Conor, must unlearn inherited fears and trust that the relationship is based on consent, not control. This emotional unraveling and rebuilding is what gives the age-gap romance its lasting dramatic appeal.

Though age-gap romance has flourished in contemporary fiction, the trope has deep roots in literary tradition. Classic novels such as Jane Austen’s Emma (1815) feature romances in which the male lead—Mr. Knightley—is notably older than the heroine, Emma Woodhouse. Their age difference is not the central conflict, but it underscores the dynamic of mentorship, growth, and eventual romantic equality that characterizes many age-gap stories. Similarly, in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847), the brooding Mr. Rochester is about 20 years older than Jane, and the novel grapples with questions of power, experience, and autonomy. The age-gap trope has long been used to explore emotional development, especially for young female protagonists navigating the expectations of adulthood and desire.