Everything went wrong. And then she went gray.

At 47, newly divorced makeup artist Lela Bennett is dreading her next steps. Dating. Meeting people. Not letting herself go. But then she runs into Donovan James and tries something different—sleeping with her sexy crush from college. Unfortunately, in a post-orgasm stupor, Lela confesses she was in love with Donovan all those years ago. He responds by leaving while she sleeps. The next morning, her gray hairs are practically taunting her. She knows she has to get it together. Forget men. Embrace her age. Own her gray.

Donovan James is a marketing genius, but his ex-wives will tell you—nothing freaks him out like feelings. Three years after his one-night stand with Lela, he’s focused on his daughter’s lifestyle company but unprepared to meet the face of their new beauty brand. It’s Lela. With stunning silver locks and new confidence, she’s no longer swayed by his charms. When the business starts booming, the universe seems intent on throwing them together time and again. And suddenly, two people convinced that romance was behind them are wondering if love could be what’s next.

Titles in the Never Too Late series include — Gray Hair Don’t Care —♥— Brooklyn Monroe Wants It All —♥— It’s A Widow Thing —♥—

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Title:  Gray Hair Don’t Care
Series:  Never Too Late #1
Author:  Karen Booth
Genre:  Romance, Seasoned Romance
Published:  February 8, 2021
Publisher:
My Rating:  4.5 stars

At this point in time, Gray Hair Don’t Care has been out for about a year or so.  I actually read it soon after release, but life happened and it didn’t get the review it deserved from me back then… so here we are now a year later and I’m still in love with not only Gray Hair Don’t Care but with Lela and Donovan as well.  The other thing is that this story has grown into a series, Never Too Late, which I’ll be catching up on over the next few weeks.  Everything you really need to know before picking up this novel can be found in the cover description blurb – but that doesn’t tell you how this story feels or the emotions that it brings out in the reader, especially readers of a certain age group.

Donovan and Lela have a history, beginning as college classmates.  Friends and lovers occasionally, yet each had moved on to marry other people, in Donovan’s case a few “others”.  And now, in her late 40s, Lela finds herself divorced with a whole new set of dating rules and not the greatest self-esteem when she runs into Donovan again.  When history repeats itself once again, they fall into bed and have great sex, Donovan leaves without waking Lela up…again.  Lela will take something precious from that morning after.  The decision to accept herself, her sparkly gray hairs and all, and step out to change her life, making herself and her needs first not last.  She’ll open a business, become successful at what she does, and finds that she’s ready to branch out – right into the business that Donovan’s daughter owns.  She and Donovan are about to encounter each other about 3 years after he up and left in the middle of the night… and is he ever in for a surprise.

I absolutely adored Lela.  Yeah, life handed her some crap but she handled it.  She took the best of herself, improved on it, accepted herself, flaws and all, and grew herself into a beautiful, successful businesswoman who rocks her gray locks.  This time when Donovan encounters Lela he’s not going to find the same woman who lets him get away with his non-emotional nonsense.  This time he’s going to have to work for her attention, leave some of his own baggage behind and trust in those emotions he’s having to finally acknowledge.  They might now be working together, but things between them are about to change – and it’s about time.

I found Gray Hair Don’t Care to be empowering, fun and flirty, dedicated and serious, a rom-com one moment, a serious look at life after 40 another moment.  I loved watching Donovan grow, to see him embrace his emotions, even when he didn’t quite know what to do with them.  But it was Lela that I enjoyed the most.  Never Too Late, indeed.

I own a Kindle edition of this title.

Available in print or for the Kindle (as these stories are in KU at the time of this review)