Does age matter?

Have you ever thought about how the age of the heroine in romance novels factors into your selections and enjoyment?

Once upon a mills & boon time every heroine was twenty-two.
For me, these days, reading about a 22 yr old falling in love forever kind of makes me roll my eyes in derision. Cause I look back on me at 22, and well the words "you know nothing John Snow, I mean Jane Cousins, you know nothing" - spring to mind.
And I didn't. Though at the time I thought I was mature and street smart - cue another eye roll.
I hadn't had enough life experiences at 22 yrs of age, in fact I was just getting started on discovering who I really was.
Certainly there are a lot of mature 22 year olds out there, thanks to culture and early life lessons - but I wasn't one of them, and that has certainly coloured my thoughts on how old a heroine should be in a romance.

There are always going to be exceptions to my rule. I have read copious novels where the heroine is younger but damn if she doesn't deserve her HEA. But then I've tossed just as many books on my dnf pile because of how unbelievable and immature I found the heroine and her epic romance.

And there is also the added complication of how old the hero is. Too often I find myself asking - isn't she a little young for him? Double that and add a cherry on top when we are talking about fantasy and the vamp/shifter is over a hundred years old plus. Too often I find there is an ick grooming factor that I just can't shake - unless the writer is beyond awesome.

Of course historical novels invariably have young heroines. If anything most authors have done us the courtesy of ageing them up a few years, as 16 yr olds getting married was very much the norm, but I doubt few readers want to deal with that reality. And more often I note many authors are ageing their heroines up, making them on the shelf blue-stockings, so we the readers can more happily relate to the 24-26 yr old heroines. Smart.

Personally, when I am writing my heroines, I tend to age them 28 - 50 plus yrs old. I just find older heroines interesting. They've had the opportunity to make mistakes. Get to know themselves. And hopefully have come to the conclusion that whether single or part of a couple their contribution to the world is valuable.

I don't see their HEA as them settling for anything, instead I hope that their true love ends up being their best friend and life partner.

The fantastic thing about being a reader right now, is that when it comes to romance, there is such a vast variety on offer. There are many YA and NA (New adult) epic tales out there by talented writers who will totally suck you in to their romances and make you ship for them.
But the older I get, perhaps the more cynical I have become, because when I read those tales I often think, give the heroine another ten years and will she still be happy with that HEA of hers?

What about you? Do you have age preferences when it comes to your heroines? Like me do you find yourself getting pickier as you get older?