This was a super cute, very original read. The premise of a group of men getting together to form a book club in order to understand the women in their lives better was compelling. This is also a second chance romance, which is my catnip.

This couple is married, with twin girls, and are also dealing with frequent separations due to Gavin’s job as a MLB player. There is some bedroom issues, which leads to a big confrontation between them, which happens before the book begins.

There is palpable chemistry between this couple from the moment they step on page and I truly enjoyed watching them navigate their feelings and expectations, while trying to figure out their authentic selves. It worked for me. The anger, the exasperation, the attraction and connection, all of it felt real and authentic. This couple worked hard on their marriage and it I really enjoyed it.

I liked the added comedy that the secondary male characters brought to the story. Especially at the very end. I’m very much looking forward to reading their stories.

I rarely butt-in on reviews, but I really enjoyed The Bromance Book Club. Initially, I wasn’t interested in reading it but when I saw another reviewer going on about how much she enjoyed it, I decided to give it a try. And I’m glad I did. It wasn’t anything like I thought it was and I’m a total sucker for a marriage-in-jeopardy romance.

Personally, I would definitely have given it a Top Pick with 4.5 Stars. I think it’s a fantastic debut!

Bev

___________________________________________
3.5 Stars

A good debut, with a few flaws.

I wanted to love this story, it was good and second chance romance is one of my favorite tropes, but it missed the mark. Before I talk about the misses, let’s talk about the loves.

Baseball, check. Our hero, Gavin Scott is a major league baseball player. He’s not the playboy or the womanizer. No, Gavin is a married man who’s marriage has imploded in the worst of ways. With his wife asking for a divorce there’s only one way to get her back, at least that’s what his fellow teammate tells him. The way is through the Bromance Book Club, men who have used romance novels to learn the what not to do’s and the to-do’s with their wives.

Now, my feminist heart is thinking traitors, trying to use my favorite books to woo women. But no, reserve judgment I say. I learned quickly that these men who are helping Gavin have realized the magic of romance novels and how deep that magic can go, including the growth it produces.

On the opposite side of the spectrum we have Gavin’s wife, Thea, who had a set out of twins right out of college, never got to finish her degree and became a housewife. She’s been living for her kids and her husband for far too long. After the couple’s big blow-up about her orgasm faking, prior to book start, she realizes she needs to find herself again.

So many elements in this book fit the phase of life I went through not too long ago, trying to figure out who I was besides a mother and a wife. So I easily related to Thea and even her headstrong, protective sister. Thea has her own baggage from growing up in an unstable household, divorced parents… naturally she hoped for better, but refuses to cater to Gavin’s ego. There is plenty of internal and external conflict, of both Gavin and Thea having to re-evaluate their expectations around their marriage and start talking a bit more instead of taking for granted every aspect of their life together.



Set against a seasonal, timely back dropoff of Thanksgiving and the holiday season this is a good read to release in November. I liked that aspect, I enjoyed the growth of the characters, and could appreciate The Bromance Book Club for all it’s splendor.

What didn’t make it all fabulous, I didn’t like the hero. This goes against the grain I’m sure of other reviewers, but Gavin is an asshole, an ego-infused, stubborn butthead. I would have wanted to divorce him too. Even as the book progressed, I didn’t like him. By the end, I came around to the fact that not every book hero is for me, and he made his amends to Thea, though I would have made him suffer longer. Another element I didn’t enjoy is how Thea’s relationship and resolutions with her father played out. The absentee father is a big part of Thea’s internal conflict and it feeds her big fears, but in the end that conflict resolved with little effort and I wanted something more, still trying to put my exact finger on it.

Overall, this book was good. It’s got humor, heartache, relatable characters with plenty of current, modern life thrown in. I believe a Bromance Book Club is a real possibility, this is me wishing more dudes would read romance, and while this hero isn’t my favorite I’m interested to see what the author cooks up next. For readers who enjoy Alexa Martin.

~ Landra

I'm not usually a fan of second-chance romances where the couple is already married, but this was an enjoyable read! The characters are relatably flawed (no perfect hero or heroine here) and often make dumb choices. I did wish we got more of the book club and their methods for helping the club members, simply because I think the idea of a romance book club for guys is amazing! Also, I kept reading about how this book was super steamy but honestly, there's no actual 'action' until the very end of the book so the promise of steam was not fulfilled! Overall, this was a fun, quick read.

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams is a fun and quick read about a group of successful men who use romance books to help them with their relationship issues. Gavin is initiated into the group after his wife Thea reveals news about their marriage that has him reeling. The members of the book club coach Gavin through his heartbreak and steer him towards a possible reconciliation with his wife. There are plenty of laughs along the way. A sequel is due to be released in 2020. I'm curious which direction the sequel will go in. Read and enjoy!

The Bromance Book Club was one of my most highly anticipated books of 2019. I squealed when I got an ARC in the mail and somehow I managed to put off reading it until the weekend before its release. Of course, once I cracked the book I was a goner. I straight up did nothing else until I finished it. Y’all, I love a good one-sitting read and this one was absolutely delightful.

Who doesn’t love the idea of having the man in your life read romance novels as a sort of instruction manual? I mean, book boyfriends are the best boyfriends, right? So maybe the flesh and blood men can learn from them. 😉 The feminist tone spoke to my soul and the banter between the men was hilarious. The bromance between Gavin and his friends was perfection. And “book boner”? I die. Absolutely hilarious.

As much as I smiled and giggled my way through the biggest part of this book, there were definitely some heavier moments that brought some very real emotions. That wasn’t entirely unexpected though. I mean, Thea and Gavin were considering divorce after all. I was all up in my feelings more than once while reading The Bromance Book Club. Just how I like my romance, by the way. Thea and Gavin were the absolute best. Their story made me so happy.

The Bromance Book Club is one of the most charming books I’ve read in a long time. I’m totally in love. I can’t wait for more from this series. It’s off to such a strong start. I want books for all of Gavin’s bros — and Thea’s sister, Liv. (I haven’t looked yet, but I suspect book two might be about Liv and one of Gavin’s boys. Fingers crossed anyhow.) I’m putting this book on my must reread soon list because it was just that darn good.

Favorite Quotes:
“Men are idiots. We complain that women are so mysterious and shit, and we never know what they want. We fuck up our relationships because we convince ourselves that it’s too hard to figure them out. But the real problem is with us. We think we’re not supposed to feel things and cry and express ourselves. We expect women to do all the emotional labor in a relationship and then act confused when they give up on us.”

“Romance novels are primarily written by women for women, and they’re entirely about how they want to be treated and what they want out of life and in a relationship. We read them to be more comfortable expressing ourselves and to look at things from their perspective.”

“If the masses of women like something, our society automatically begins to mock them. Just like romance novels. If women like them, they must be a joke, right?”

“A woman remembers every time a man winks at her, because we love winking. It’s like catnip. Wink at us, and we roll over and start purring. You haven’t winked at me in a long time.”

“Romance novels might be the manuals, but Pinterest is where they post the pictures.”

“I’m at your mercy, Thea. From the moment I first saw you, I have been half a man, because you’ve always held the other half of me.”

Gavin Scott is a Major League baseball player for the Nashville Legends. While his professional life may be going well, his home life is not. Gavin’s wife, Thea has kicked him out of the house and asked for a divorce. When some of his teammates get wind of this, they invite him to join their book club, but this isn’t just any ole book club. They read romance novels and use the knowledge they learn from the books to improve their own relationships with their wives and girlfriends. Will Gavin, with the help of his new book club pals, be able to save his relationship?

Lyssa Kay Adams has created such a fun romantic novel with a unique twist. Gavin and Thea are experiencing some issues within their marriage that has caused both of them to pull away for different reasons. I love how the author delves into the different viewpoints of why this marriage started to fall apart instead of just putting the blame on one character. You become aware within the novel that both characters have their “backstory” that they need to work on within themselves in order to save their marriage.

I also really enjoyed the scenes where Gavin is with his book club friends and teammates. I found myself giggling on several occasions at the back and forth between the guys which added some comedy relief to a sad topic. It felt like I was a fly on the wall in their club.

This book was delightful! I was actually surprised and sad when it was over. I wanted to continue reading about Gavin and Thea, but especially missed “the boys” as I started to affectionately refer to them in my head, especially Braden Mack! I would definitely recommend this for anyone that enjoys a good romance novel with a quick pace.

“Nothing on Earth is as strong as a woman who is good and fed up.”

What a delight! The author hit a home run with this refreshing and modern romantic comedy about a Major League baseball player who secretly reads romance to help his faltering marriage. This book celebrates healthy relationships in funny, sexy way not always seen in modern romance novels.

Thea and Gavin Scott married after an unexpected pregnancy, and Thea is left feeling unfulfilled in her marriage. Gavin is blindsided when Thea suddenly declares that she wants a divorce. He is determined to repair his marriage and takes the surprising step of joining a secret book club with his friends. They are reading a romance novel! This delightful story alternates betweens passages from the historical romance, Courting the Countess, which might be the key to story and the main characters.

“You guys read romance novels?”

“We call them manuals.”

I love books about married couples so this story was right up my alley. If you love a second-chance romance you will love this book. Thea and Gavin are a modern couple with real life problems. I loved the whole idea of the book club made up of Gavin's fellow athletes! This is a very unique and heartfelt story that I highly recommend. Often highly-publicized books don't live up to all the hype for me but I am happy to say that 'The Bromance Book Club' lives up to all the excitement. The author has created a down-to-earth couple and a romantic hero who is an absolute gem. The story is sexy, adult and witty. And I loved the message that it's never too late to make positive changes in your life.

Romance fans will love the meta comments about the genre and will enjoy reading snippets from the book club's Regency novel. All in all, this book was pure reading enjoyment. And I am happy to say that I can't wait to read the next book from Lyssa Kay Adams!

Summary: Gavin Scott an up and coming baseball star has recently been confronted with the news that his wife has been faking orgasms for almost the entirety of their marriage. Devastated and hugely embarassed to learn that he hasn't been pleasing his wife he moves into their guest room. His wife Thea, fed up with his refusal to talk about it kicks him out and asks for a divorce.
Gavin, still madly in love with his wife is terrified by this prospect and his friends invite him to The Bromance Book Club, a club where men read romance novels to help them reflect on their marital issues and how to fix them.

CW: marital struggles, divorce

This was a brillant second chance romance novel and I absolutely adored it!!
Gavin was such a wonderful man, I couldn't believe how much I ended up loving him. I was scared about how his character would land, I thought he might be some absurd, absentminded and bumbling husband stereotype but he was such a well realized character. His flaws and emotions were so well developed and literally from the very first page I was rooting for him unabashedly. When his friends see him fumbling they swoop in to the rescue wit the help of the book club Gavin forms a plan to woo his wife all over again. As laugh out loud hilarious this book was a times it also was so sweet and emotional.

When his wife Thea is introduced I fell for her too, a girl from a damaged home life who throws her lot in with an up and comming athlete, she feels like her life has been put on hold in favor of Gavin's career and the revealation about her faking the big O is just the moment where she reaches her boiling point.

Seeing these two develop as individuals while trying to find their way back to each other was a beautiful and hilarious. I loved seeing the exploration of these characters and their motivations, their flaws and their strengths, it was all amazing to me. I adored their family.

The side charcters were amazing too!! I loved Gavin's teammates and the other book club members. Del and Braden were so awesome and funny. Thea's sister, Liv, was incredibly frustrating at times and she was overly involved in Thea's business but I understood where she was coming from, she was just trying to protect Thea from making the same mistakes their mother made...but still so frustrating. I feel like her charcter can be redeemed though because I understand her intentions weren't simply just to be bitter she thought she was being helpful. I trust the author to make me love her in the next book.

Admittedly the ending and the big romantic gesture felt a bit rushed in the ending but honestly I didn't mind because there was nothing I wanted more than for Gavin and Thea to be together again.

Summary
Gavin is devastated when he discovers that his wife has been faking it - not just in bed but with life in general. But he handle the knowledge poorly pushing Thea to ask for a divorce. Gavin's teammates assure him they can help - join their secret romance book club and learn the secrets to win her back. In the bookclub, the men read historical romance novels to gain insight into how to communicate and romance their wives.

Gavin is leery but will do anything to save his marriage. And he has just 5 weeks to prove to his wife their relationship is worth saving. But it'll take a lot more than flowery prose and grand gestures to win her over.

Overview
➸ POV - Third person omniscient

➸ Gavin Scott - 2nd baseman for the Nashville Legends, Has a stutter, Father, Husband to Thea, Fighting to save his marriage

➸ Thea Scott - 26, Painter/Artist, Mother to twin girls, Sister to Liv, Wants a divorce, Feels like she has been faking it for years.

➸ Content Warnings: Martial struggles, Divorce

My Thoughts
I was blown away by how fun, clever, and witty this book was! Not only is this a unique and fun premise but the dialogue and quips had me laughing out loud. I loved the banter and dynamic between the teammates as well as the chemistry between the main characters. I am so glad we're getting more books!

I loved Gavin's character. He was so flawed but I loved watching him grow and acknowledge his short-comings. Anyone in a long term relationship knows how easy it is to become complacent or take your significant other for granted. So I loved seeing that represented in a book. I also loved the speech impairment representation with Gavin. Speech disorders are so common yet I've never read about a character with one. So it was great to see that represented in such focal way.

Gavin and Thea's relationship felt so realistic. They were both ridiculously stubborn and flawed but (as a married person) I related to them both so much. I loved getting to see both sides of the coin and realizing along with the characters that neither of them was 100% right.

Liv, Thea's sister, was absolutely intolerable though. I'm SO excited for book two but I found her obnoxious and extremely self-centered. So hopefully her character is redeemed in the sequel.

The ending of this book did bring this down just slightly for me. I felt like there were a few too many unnecessary conflicts introduced way too late into the book. In my opinion the entire concluding conflict could have been excluded and this book would have hit the mark just hard. I always love a grand romantic gesture in romance, but this one felt a little pander-y, and I wish it had occurred just a little sooner.

Overall this book was such a good time! I loved the style, the characters, and the swoony romance. These MC's had so much chemistry and I was rooting for them from page one. I can't wait to read more from this world and author in the future!

This review is live on Goodreads and posts to my blog on 11/13/19 at 9am!

I really enjoyed this story. The fact that Gavin's teammates gathered to help him try to save his marriage is definitely not something you'd hear about on a regular basis. Maybe this could be the start of a new trend? Once I got going, I had a hard time putting the book down. The sarcastic banter between his teammates and the bitchiness of some of the WAGs kept me entertained. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

The Bromance Book Club was not your typical romance, it is about a group of men who decide to read Romance novels as a manual to how to improve their relationships with their wives and girlfriends. The structure of the book is such that we read along in the historical romance novel with Gavin, but the historical romance is the weakest part of this book. What I think is strong about this novel is the realistic way in which two people can fail to be vulnerable and honest in a relationship. I thought this novel revealed two people in a marriage who both loved but hurt each other. And how they try to get back to who they once were together.

The boys in the book club are cute comedy, but what I loved the most was the second chance relationship.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

A solid debut romance that takes on a marriage in trouble plot with great secondary characters and earnest feelings. Gavin and Thea are both frustrating and endearing, their fears and miscommunications making their marriage woes relatable and their path to a HEA hard-won and worthwhile.

I cared not for the tired catty "WAG" subplot and didn't really need the inclusion of the historical novel story that Gavin was reading. That's my personal preference. I also found the quick resolution to Thea's orgasm "problem" frustrating. I encourage everyone to read Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life.

On the flip side, Gavin's stammer was lovingly portrayed as something he lives with and has fears about, and Thea's support of him was beautifully done.

All in all, this was highly readable and I look forward to more books in this series. If only men were able to find emotional connections with each other and talk about their relationships openly and without fear of being belittled or "unmanned." I'll definitely be pressing this book in to the hands of my spouse!

I finally finished! You all might be wondering what took me so long, right!? Well I just needed to take those extra moments to pace myself. I've realized I've been doing that a lot recently with reading and that in doing so, I have a greater appreciation of the book.

It was hard for me not to feel a little frustrated with Thea, the heroine. Due to her own experiences as a child, she was extremely jaded and could not overlook the mistakes Gavin made. I feel like he deserved a second chance instantly and I rooted hard for him from beginning to end; however, the story wouldn't have taken the course it did if Thea was quick to give him that chance, sigh. How bittersweet 😭

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams was such a bubbly, laugh-out-loud, second chance romance filled with angst, two cute little girls, and a full batch of emotions!! Enough said about the wonderful characters involved throughout. This book wouldn't have been what it was without them all. That being said I need Mack's book right now, PLEASE. Thank you so much Berkley Romance!


*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Berkley through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

These illustrated covers always get me. This time though I mostly got what I expected. THE BROMANCE BOOK CLUB is the dream of every reader - men that read books? Damn! But men that read ROMANCE?? Seriously! Can it get any better?



Below you'll find my thoughts on the story, characters and romance. I know some of it may sound like I didn't like it all that much that it deserves the 4-star rating but there are these books that I enjoy immensely despite the niggles. THE BROMANCE BOOK CLUB is one of those.

This story begins when Thea and Gavin's romance is over and their marriage is on the rocks. When baseball pro Gavin found out that his wife had been faking it in bed for the length of their marriage he is distraught. He feels betrayed and hurt, his reaction, while not stellar is understandable - he moves out of the marital bedroom and gives Thea the silent treatment for a month. Until Thea has had enough and she tells her husband to move out. Which Gavin does.

You would think that this is a rather easy issue to solve - the love between them is still there and this is what the author does extremely well. There is no doubt in my mind that the two main characters love one another. But once you open that can of worms you can't put the lid back on and it becomes apparent that this is only a symptom of their troubles and not the root.

I loved Gavin. Without reserve. With his stutter and readiness to fix what he thought he broke he is as endearing as they come. He is prepared to do anything to get his marriage back on track, even read *gasp* romance! This is where The Bromance Book Club comes in. His friends convince him that reading romance books will help him understand women better, give him more insight into their emotional life and the tools to win the love of his life back. While he is skeptical in the beginning he soon sees some progress.
He tasted like toothpaste and whiskey and a shot of long-lost dreams.

But when it comes to love and feelings it's often one step forward two steps back and at times I wanted to shake Thea. She said in the beginning that there are two parties in a relationship and they are both at fault but she sure didn't act like it. For most of the book refused to take on responsibility for their troubles and made it seem like the whole fault laid at Gavin's door. That didn't make me happy because this guy was trying so hard and at some point I wanted Gavin to throw the towel and see where that leads him. Yet, I can't say Thea was unlikable. There is a certain realism to the way she acted and I didn't have to like it.
“I’m trying to put us back together, Thea. Can’t you meet me halfway?”

I was glad to see that, eventually, Thea realized that Gavin was one of the best men she'd ever met and that Gavin stopped letting Thea get away with everything. When they both started working on their relationship they got to know each other anew, opened up to one another and overcame what separated them.
“You need to stop focusing all your attention on the fact that she faked it and start asking yourself why the fuck you didn’t notice.”

Which brings me to something else that drove me a little batty - Thea's sister Liv. What a spiteful, hateful bitch. She was horrible to everyone except the couple's twins. I have so much dislike for her I have no idea how the author will make me love her because she'll be the heroine of the next book in this new series. I'm happy to give her a chance though because like I said, even though I was irritated about some aspects I truly enjoyed this book.

Gavin's group of friends was awesome. They were like this unorganized, loud-mouthed, good-natured bunch of guys who ribbed each other which included some toilet humor. Mack, the guy who surprised me the most in the end, was a riot. He made me laugh so many times and I can't wait what he will do with Liv.

THE BROMANCE BOOK CLUB is a second chance romance that started out with a lot of humor but became a lot more serious and deeper as I progressed. If that is your jam don't hesitate to pick this up!
She was his wife. The love of his life. And for three years, he had failed to make her feel this way. To make her feel safe enough to be open to feeling this way. He had failed her so many ways, so many times. He wasn’t failing her again.

I loved the twist of having 2 novels in one in The Bromance Book Club. Following Benedict & Irena's story along with Gavin's and Thea's was a unique story device that I have never seen before. The dual perspective also made the book interesting and loved the idea of men using romance novels as inspiration for their own lives. I have a suspicion that this isn't the last we will see of the book club members and I hope we get to see future books about their lives. I did struggle with Thea's character until close to the end when you start to really understand the root of her fears and problems. Until that turn it's hard to sympathize with her since Gavin is trying so hard and getting little in return. This is a book that you read and want to discuss with your girlfriends in the hopes that you'll find your own Gavin who bends over backwards to woo you. Lots of fun and a fresh take on getting a second chance at love.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! What an amazing surprise. Second chance romances are my favorite and this one was amazing.

I just loved Thea and Gavin and Gavin’s attempts to win his wife back and fix their marriage. The guys were so awesome with the reading of the romance novels and their advice to Gavin on how to fix things. The fact that there were guys who were not afraid to read romance novels or get in touch with their feelings in order to save their marriages was incredibly sweet and it made me so happy. I also started to wish the romance novel within the book was a real book. Ha. I loved the characters in this book and how they were two people who made mistakes, but obviously loved each other. The character growth was phenomenal. There was so much baggage on both sides and I loved how they worked through their issues and their backstories. The ending was just absolutely perfect. I have no complaints about this book! I will be reading more from this author for sure.

I adored this book SO much! It had all the humor, friendships, romance and showed the work to the couple’s HEA.

We start from Gavin’s POV, where he’s shaken to his core to find out his wife has been faking the Big O for their entire marriage. he does not handle it well and his wife, Thea ask for a divorce.

As Nashville Legends second baseman, he’s put his all into the game but thought he had a solid marriage. He’s stunned by Thea’s revelation but is sure he can get her back but of course goes abut it all wrong and pushes her further away.

His teammates see him fumbling along and bring him into their secret club where they read romance novels to learn what the women in their lives want, need and use them to help communicate better.

Oh man, did I love Gavin’s friends and their willingness to help him but also to see things from Thea’s pov. The romance book club could have been used as a gimmick – and it does make for a lot of laughs – but it never stoops to making fun of the genre or it’s readers. This aspect was so brilliantly done that I hope it somehow sweeps the nation and becomes a thing in marriage counseling/communication. Not to mention how well it tackles misogyny and toxic masculinity without missing a beat or getting preachy.

The club chooses a Regency title called, Courting the Countess, for Gavin and excerpts from this story alternated between Gavin and Thea’s chapters – giving a blueprint for how things went wrong and how they could move forward.

Gavin is so clearly a good guy and husband who still adores his wife. If I had a nitpick it would be with this. He’s so awesome (and introduced to the reader first) that Thea comes off as too harsh. But once you get to know her better, she’s someone I think we can all relate to. They married quickly after her pregnancy and she was swept up into Gavin’s lifestyle and being a mom that she lost most of what made her Thea.

She grudgingly let’s Gavin move back in but only to prove that it’s over and they agree to date rather than jump all in. It was really sweet seeing them fall back in love and really listen to each other – not just play the blame game. They both needed to make changes and do the work.

It’s interesting how both Thea and Gavin’s parents marriages had an impact on them in totally different ways. Gavin’s parents marriage seemed perfect to him so he felt like a failure by having any problems while Thea came from a broken home and didn’t trust people to stick around when it got tough. Thea’s sister was aggressively against Thea and Gavin's reconciliation and really pissed me off at times. I thought she overstepped but a) I got it. She has baggage too and was just being overprotective and b) Thea didn’t stand for it. She made her own choices. I ended up having compassion for her sister and hope she gets a book! There was a hint of who her love interest would be and boy will that be a doozy! lol But girrrrrrlllll BACK OFF! lol

This is one of the few romance novels I’ve read that showed a truly messy marriage with bad sex *gasp* so that couldn’t be used as a crutch or easy way out to solve things.

This is being marketed as a rom-com and there are LOTS of laughs! but this one hit me in the feels a lot and felt much more emotional than I was expecting.

The Bromance Book Club was funny, with relatable problems and solutions using a a very clever take on the romance genre and tropes.

So maybe – rom-com with a gut punch?

I really liked this book. This read is a delightful combination of cuteness, sweetness, humor and deep emotions. I found myself fluctuating between laugh out loud moments and instances that will simply have your heart melting. I loved Gavin so much and I thought Thea was easy to connect with and super relatable. In my opinion the things that really made this a book not to be missed were the adorable storyline idea behind it and Gavin. A very, very good read.

The focus on the after-effects of the conflict and the way back is something not seen before in romance. This focus really opened up the book and plot options for the author to explore. However, I do wish there had been more work put into the resolution. It worked for the story, but it also felt as though something was missing.

First off, this is a super hetero-normative book. And that's the whole point, because it's about the ways that men and women are socialized to conduct themselves in a marriage. While I'm bisexual, I'm a woman married to a man, so this book was intensely relatable. I'm reviewing it from that standpoint, so YMMV.

In a recent piece, the author talked about deconstructing toxic masculinity in romance novels and I suggest you read it. The Bromance Book Club is the first in a series about men who read romance novels and help each other to improve the way they relate to women in order to have better relationships. On the surface, you might think it's gimmicky, but then you look under that and wonder why? Why is the idea of men speaking to each other about their relationships a gimmick? Why is the idea of a man working to become a better partner so unimaginable?


Thea has just asked for a divorce and Gavin has moved out. Their relationship went from 0-60 really fast due to an unplanned pregnancy (with twins, OMG) and then his baseball career took off. Thea's been parenting largely by herself for three years, losing her identity by slow but steady degrees. Most mothers -- especially stay-at-home parents -- I know have deal with this to some extent, but Gavin is oblivious. When he finds out that Thea's been faking orgasms, it's a HUGE DEAL for his ego. (Ugh, men.) But of course Thea's been faking her entire marriage and life for three years, so she's just done. Gavin has to work hard to save his relationship and he messes up a lot. (Thea has some learning to do as well, but the majority of the work is Gavin's.)


This book is funny. I laughed a lot. How rare is that? Pretty dang rare.  The book club is funny, but there are also these passages from a regency romance as Gavin reads and then the hero of the story starts calling Gavin these ridiculous insults in Gavin's mind. I really appreciated that Gavin's stutter was never a source of humor, it's just part of who he is.


It's also seriously sexy, but I never got the "after all these years they still wanted to bang all over the house and everywhere all the time" feeling that a lot of epilogues contain.

All in all, I can strongly recommend this one, but I'm sure it will be more relevant to readers who are in a marriage between a man and a woman.



Content Warnings: parental abandonment, narcissistic parent, sex, unplanned pregnancy in the past, hero was bullied in the past for his stutter


 Suzanne received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.