Adele returns to Australia for her father's wedding seven years after an eighteen-year-old confession ended in humiliation. Pete, fifteen years older and now her father's business partner and best friend, is still part of the family circle; adult attraction must contend with the history of their earlier friendship and his repeated retreat.
This assessment recommends the book for readers who want an adult reunion, Australian setting and family-focused push-pull. It also preserves the strongest objection: some readers experience Pete's friendship with teenage Adele as inappropriate regardless of when the romance begins.
A witty adult-return age-gap romance with a vivid heroine and useful family texture, undermined for some readers by Pete's treatment of Adele and the uncomfortable history of their teenage friendship.
Provisional Eikna score: 3.2/5. Four core dimensions cover 85% of the quality weight. Ending satisfaction and reread appeal remain unscored; heat is excluded. Researched editorial assessment; no firsthand reading claimed. Evidence confidence: moderate.
A numeric heat level has not been established. Read the review’s heat and content discussion for attributed descriptions before choosing. An unknown level is not a closed-door or no-spice promise.
The heat-level guide explains detail and frequency; the glossary entry for spice separates sexual content from quality.
The romantic outcome is not established in this summary. A romance label does not independently confirm an ending. Consult the discussion before choosing if closure is essential.
For the difference between romantic commitment and wider plot closure, compare HEA, HFN and cliffhangers.
Standalone or continuing-series status is not established in this summary. Read the existing format and series guidance for any available context; do not assume a missing series entry means the book stands alone.
The series-order guide explains what to check when a complete romance belongs to a connected world.
| Title | It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time |
|---|---|
| Author | Kylie Scott |
| Inspected edition | US CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform paperback · ISBN 9781985848559 · 314 pages |
| Publication scope | Published 2018-08-07 · checked 12 October 2026 |
| ISBN-13 | 9781985848559 |
| Edition page count | 314 pages |
The author or publisher evidence identifies the work. Publication dates refer to the stated edition or release scope, not automatically the first appearance of the story. Unknown identifiers and formats are left open.
The author explicitly tags the work Dad's Best Friend/Age Gap and verifies a fifteen-year gap.
The central romance occurs after Adele returns as an adult, but the flashback friendship is essential context rather than disposable backstory.
Angel Reads values Adele's growth and the supportive expanded family around the wedding.
Pete's position as business partner and best friend means his choices affect more than the couple, while his emotional distance repeatedly hurts Adele.
All About Romance explains that Adele and Pete spent substantial time together before her failed proposition at eighteen.
Selected DNF testimony views his closeness with her as a teenager as inherently troubling. The assessment does not dismiss that boundary because physical romance comes later.
Supportive readers enjoy Adele's honesty, humor and the Australian family setting.
Dissent finds the couple bland, Pete unworthy, and parts of the secondary characterization stereotyped.
The author, publisher audio page and independent critics report on-page sexual content. No numeric heat score, scene count or timing audit is asserted. All About Romance. Angel Reads.
Fifteen-year age gap, father's-best-friend boundary, close adult/teen friendship in backstory, alcohol at an eighteenth birthday, repeated rejection, family conflict, stereotypes and explicit sex appear in inspected sources. Notes are attributed and non-exhaustive. All About Romance. Angel Reads. Selected StoryGraph DNF criticism.
Best for readers who want dad's best friend, adult return, first-crush history, Australian setting and family wedding proximity. Avoid if a thirtysomething man's close friendship with a teenager, repeated rejection or stereotyped side characters are hard limits.
Supportive criticism values Adele, family texture, wit and setting. Dissent questions chemistry, Pete's behavior and the propriety of the earlier friendship. That history is a central decision point, not a footnote.
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The inspected publisher and author material assigns no numbered multi-book series. This record uses a self-contained work label and does not infer wider continuity.
The inspected Amazon product identity matches the stated title and edition. Confirm the selected format before buying; current price and stock are not established.
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The inspected Bookshop.org product is Paperback. Its title, author and ISBN 9781985848559 were checked; current price and stock are not established.
Quality scale: 1 substantial weaknesses; 2 weaknesses outweigh strengths; 3 mixed; 4 strengths outweigh limitations; 5 exceptional sustained strengths. Half points are allowed. Weights: romance 30%, characters 20%, writing 20%, emotional impact 15%, ending satisfaction 10%, reread appeal 5%. A provisional overall score divides the supported weighted sum by its supported weight and rounds once to one decimal. Heat is descriptive and excluded. These scores express the evidence-based judgment explained in this review.
3.0
Provisional dimension score: 3.0/5.
3.5
Provisional dimension score: 3.5/5.
3.5
Provisional dimension score: 3.5/5.
3.0
Provisional dimension score: 3.0/5.
On-page sexual content is reported; calibrated intensity remains unknown.
Unscored; reactions do not establish a work-level ending judgment.
Unscored; enthusiasm does not verify repeat reading.
Adele returns to Australia for her father's wedding seven years after an eighteen-year-old confession ended in humiliation. Pete, fifteen years older and now her father's business partner and best friend, is still part of the family circle; adult attraction must contend with the history of their earlier friendship and his repeated retreat.
The inspected publisher material presents a self-contained central romance and assigns no numbered series position. Eikna does not infer a broader shared-world guarantee.
Firsthand critics report on-page sexual content. Eikna does not infer a numeric heat level, scene frequency or timing from another site’s scale.
The facts table uses the US CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform paperback, ISBN 9781985848559, with 314 pages.
No work-level ending classification is asserted. Ending satisfaction and reread appeal remain unscored.
Only the four core quality dimensions are supported. Heat is descriptive and excluded; ending satisfaction and reread appeal remain unknown.
For another adult family-friend return with work consequences.
For a direct match with darker lifelong-family history.
For a direct match where the older lead's family role is even more explicit.
The contemporary romance collection includes this book among other choices. Compare those options if its premise appeals but a limitation gives you pause. The Dad's best friend romance books explains the surrounding reading route and what to check before choosing.
A witty adult-return age-gap romance with a vivid heroine and useful family texture, undermined for some readers by Pete's treatment of Adele and the uncomfortable history of their teenage friendship. Best for readers who want dad's best friend, adult return, first-crush history, Australian setting and family wedding proximity. Avoid if a thirtysomething man's close friendship with a teenager, repeated rejection or stereotyped side characters are hard limits.
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Checked 2026-10-06. The How this assessment was researched preserves attributions and research limits. Unknown details do not establish absence. Purchasing links use our account.