I wasn't sure if this was my kind of book however after reading no more than a few pages I was hooked. The story is light and funny and it's over to soon! Would definitely recommend!

This was the first time in a long time that I was approved and then immediately felt the need to pick it up. I’ve been slacking with netgalley and this lit a fire under me. I could not put it down and ended up reading until midnight to finish it.

A crucial factor for my enjoyment was that the book had the exact right amount of humour and steamy scenes. They balanced well and considering it is about a husband trying to fix his marriage, the steamy scenes ramped up accordingly. The fact that there were a number of fantastic just kissing scenes was the icing on the cake. I mean I don’t know about you, but I think if they’d just jumped into bed and not had those tender moments it would have ruined the realistic element for me.

You’d think reading about a couple rekindling their relationship might not have you quite as invested as reading about a couple falling in love for the first time, but you’d be wrong. The relationship being already established and the steaks being that little bit higher but added to my investment. I was constantly rooting for them and their little family.

Thea was fiercely independent and she didn’t give in easy. I appreciated her strength and how she decided it was time for her dreams too. I also enjoyed that not all the “blame” for the problems in their relationship lied with one person. They both had work to do to be able to let each other in again and to resolve their issues from the little things and working up to the big stuff.

There were moments where the guys in the book club discussed feminist issues that was the only part that felt ever so slightly forced as I just don’t see many men having that discussion. But boy would it be great if they did! It switched gears from light hearted and full of banter to serious very quickly and it read a bit like a feminist manifesto or speech. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed the commentary and the idea of men so passionately helping to fix each other’s marriages, it just didn’t feel totally plausible for me and felt like it just needed some rewording. But hey, this is fiction after all, so why not!

As for side characters, the guys were all mainly hilarious. Particularly, I hated and loved Mack in equal measure. He was cocky and arrogant, but also he was entirely himself. He was totally in tune with himself and often hilarious (especially in one bathroom scene!). He seemed to have the most personality and be the most developed, but still there was so much to learn about him. I definitely cannot wait to read the next book in the series which follows him, it will be an intriguing one.

At this late stage in the year, I didn’t expect to read a new favourite but The Bromance Book Club has gone and done it! If you like a good romance that will tug at your heart, don’t waste any time and grab a copy for yourself now.

This was so much my jam. I mean it's really good. Gavin is a great hero - he knows he's messed up, he doesn't know how to fix it and he hasn't realised that more is wrong than just the bedroom issue. His pro-sports career gives him a legitimate reason to have not noticed some of the stuff that's been bothering Thea - and once he realises what's happened, he pulls himself together and makes changes to do better and be better. Thea is an attractive heroine - she's a young mum who's given up a lot because of her husband's career but who still has goals and ambitions. You understand why she reacts the way that she does and why she feels so strongly. She's changed herself so much to fit in with Gavin's life and the players' wives and she wants to find her own identity again. It's wonderful to watch it all unfold.

The only thing that I didn't like was the resolution to the bedroom side of the story. Nothing really changes really in *what* they're doing in the bedroom - so you don't really understand orgasms weren't happening during sex for Thea in the first place - or why she started being able to come again. I'm not the first person to spot this - and lots of other people have explained it better than me and have gone into more detail. It didn't ruin my enjoyment of the book, but it is a shame and an opportunity missed.

I voluntarily read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and joins are.mine and unbiased

Loved the concept, the story and the characters
A great read
Thoroughly enjoyed

The concept of this book is a great one - men forming a book club to help support each other as they try to rescue their relationships. I thought it was well carried out. The issues in Thea and Gavin’s relationship seemed realistic, and they eventually realised that they both needed to work at their relationship.

There were some good humorous parts to this story - mostly down to the bromance book club. I did notice a few spelling/grammar errors, and sentences that didn’t make sense, but not too many. Probably most of them will have been removed in the final version.

I enjoyed this book, but there was something about it that just didn’t quite click with me the way some books do.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5. What I loved about this book was the premise was unusual … a group of Nashville baseball players in a book club, reading classical romances with an aim to help one of them win back his wife. It was an interesting read for sure, and I loved the second chance love story aspect of it, and how it alternated between point of views of wife, Thea and husband, Gavin. I also loved the characters, all of them! I did find the story a little drawn out in parts. However, that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this - especially the book club element was hilarious (I wish there had been more!). It’s a great addition to the awesome contemporary books we’ve seen this year - I’d recommend it, And I’m looking forward to the next instalment.

I loved this book and read it one sitting! Loved the fact that the male hero Gavin joins a book club with his friends to get his marriage back on track and the romance back into his marriage to Thea!
Lots of romance and sex scenes! A few laughs out moments too! Looking forward to book 2

If you are looking for a fun, quick romantic read but with a unique twist, then look no further. The book tells the story of Gavin and Thea whose marriage is on the rocks and are on the brink of divorce. Gavin is determined to find a way to win back his wife, and in step his friends and the Bromance Book Club, formed for the men to read romance novels in order to better understand women. The author cleverly weaves excerpts from the historical romance the men are reading into the story. This is a great fun read that will be both make you laugh and move you at times. The characters are well developed - both Thea and Gavin are flawed, but you cannot help but root for them to find their happy ever after - and the story kept me entertained.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the concept here and would recommend people to read this book. The title is slightly misleading in that it implies bromances - ie romances between men - but it is not that at all. It about a group of men who get together when their romances get into difficulties and read romance novels to give them hints as to how their women would like them to behave - and what they could say!
An interesting idea and hey do consider one book in particular, but it might have been nice to find out a little more about the other books they had read ad why and who, choose them.
The issue is that these are men who are archetypal alphas, with women usually falling over themselves to be with them, and thus have never had to actually woo a woman. So when their partner decides that is not who she is, or never was, they find themselves unable to respond in a suitable manner and need to learn different behaviour and speech patterns.
It has some fun situations but does bring up the basic problem, particularly in the US I believe, of the hero worship of sports stars, which means that these men fail to fully grow up and take responsibility as they have never needed to. They are cushioned by the clubs that they play for and the people hired to ensure that they have everything that they need and that any trouble is just magicked away. So they are spoilt.

Gavin Scott is a millionaire baseball star, recently separated from his wife, and mother to his twin daughters, Thea. After three years of marriage Gavin discovers his wife has been faking it in bed, ironically after she has an orgasm. Humiliated Gavin retreated to the spare room, then gave her the silent treatment; which led to the separation.

Cornered in his skanky hotel room where he is drowning in a bottle of whisky, Gavin is introduced to the top secret men's book club where they read historical romances and learn how to understand women. Armed with his new-found knowledge, can Gavin woo his own wife?

I read several reviews of this before it was released and loved the premise of a group of high-powered businessmen and professional athletes reading historical romances as an insight into what a woman needs. Reading the book did not disappoint, it had everything I would expect from a second-chance sports romance with that added layer of historical romance. I also liked that the blame for the failure of their marriage was spread between Gavin and Thea, not just the wife as so often happens.

Overall, I really enjoyed this funny romance and I will definitely be looking to read the second book in the series.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley via the publisher (after I had bought my own copy) in return for an honest review.

This is a brilliant romance *yes that means steamy sex scenes* about a husband who, with the help of his make book club, uses romance novels to teach him what his doesn’t understand about his relationship.

I absolutely loved this book, such an original and clever idea, one that men should actually consider!!! It was so easy to read (and even harder to put down).

I thought the characters were all likeable and easy to relate to. The story develops at a fast pace which I loved (a lot of these types can get too caught up in the build up) and there were lots of genuine laugh out loud moments.

I would recommend this to anyone who wants to escape into a book for a few hours and come out with a smile.

Bring on book 2!!!

Thanks to netgalley for the arc in exchange for honest review

Loved this book! A fun and entertaining read.

I liked how it is told from both Gavin and Thea's point of view, so you understand what they are both keeping from each other. A great range of supporting characters too.

Looking forward to the next book in the series

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review – thanks so much to Netgalley for sending this to me!

The Bromance Book Club is a book I’ve been excited for ever since I heard about it. Following a group of baseball players who form a romance-reading book club to help them figure out how to fix issues in their relationship, it’s a rom-com with both heart and humour, and it’s now one of my favourite romances of the year.

We begin with our disgraced hero Gavin who has just discovered that his wife has been faking her orgasms for their entire three-year marriage. Mortified and taking it extremely personally, Gavin goes off in a sulk, setting off a chain-reaction that seems doomed to end in divorce. Enter the denizens of the Bromance Book Club, here to save the day – along with the help of a salacious historical romance novel and a whole lot of fart jokes.

First of all, I can’t remember when I last laughed out loud at a book. The humour in this book ranges from toilet humour to ironic quips about the patriarchy, and it was a joyous reading experience. One of my favourite running gags is when Gavin accidentally internalises the voice of the protagonist of the romance novel he’s assigned to read, and whenever anything goes wrong he starts muttering things like ‘pukestocking whey face!’ and ‘you coddle-woppled worm fart!’ Ridiculous? Yes. But sometimes it’s the little things.

Secondly, I loved the relationship in this book – and I mean I really loved it. Second chance romance is a trope I’m rapidly coming to adore, and it was done so well here. Seeing the two of them rebuild their relationship, relearn each other and create stronger foundations for the future was an absolute pleasure. I came to really care for Gavin and Thea, and all the little things about them – even when they were being difficult. Particularly Gavin. I wanted to bang that man’s head against a wall, but in the most loving way possible. Like COME ON, dude. Sort yourself out.

I liked how the book confronted the fact that both Gavin and Thea had issues, and both needed to commit to working on them if the marriage was going to last. I also loved seeing them work as a team, coming together and changing things for the better. Basically, I adored this story from cover to cover, as is probably evidenced by the fact that I read it in one sitting and was unable to continue with my day until I’d finished it. I also found myself nodding and highlighting so many passages that made me sigh wistfully, because damn, there were some truths in here. This is what I want from my romance… and my relationships. Take notes.

*“The difference,” Malcolm said, “is to make her want you, not prove how much you want her.”*

Other fun stuff to mention – I loved the WAG drama and how Thea decides to stick up the proverbial middle finger, because she’s done playing that game. The sisterly bond between Thea and Liv was A+ and I loved how it developed. Everything in here just worked, and I am so excited for the next book in the series. Long may it continue!

At the end of the day, this book made me feel warm and fuzzy. It was like being hugged, but in a sexy way – what more could you want? 4.5/5 stars

The Bromance Book Club, Lyssa Kay Adams

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Romance

Y'know, so very often books promise “you will laugh out loud” or maybe “gut clenching humour” and I find that actually they don't, the humour is forced and more slapstick than comedic. This one promises nothing and yet was incredible. Clever subtle humour at times that had me smiling gently, and at other times ? I was snorting at the mental images.

Wonderfully written, you feel for both characters, and I adored them even if I could see where they were harsh with each other in expectations and of course, saying just the wrong thing at the wrong moment!
Gavin, he was wonderful. Top baseball star, dad of adorable twin girls, and thinks he has the perfect marriage and then....That comes out. Poor guy, all this while he's been thinking he's keeping his wife happy sexually, and then suddenly he finds out she's never reached the big O. He (IMO) over reacts, a mix of feeling humiliated I guess, and feeling that she's lied to him the three years they've been married.

Thea, suddenly found herself pregnant early in her relationship, and twins demand all your time. She loves Gavin, that's clear, but feels an outsider in his closed Baseball world. I can see that, many wives/partners grow up alongside their partner, from junior ranks to the big time but Thea got dropped straight in, and it feels like she's always trying to blend in, to belong, and yet never really fits. Of course there's the classic mean girl, the type who says one thing while making it clear its not praise but an insult, Rachel, wife of one of the other stars, and I do love a character like hers. I wish she had a bigger part. I love the drama that follows people like her.
Then with the arrival of the twins Thea's own career has ground to a halt too. She adores Gavin so how do you say “actually Gav, you've not hit the spot” and when? Once you've let that magic, hidden moment pass its gone. How can you respond when he says “why didn't you tell me before?” and so it becomes a long secret.
The book club guys, they were just wonderful. I love First Rule of Book Club, you don't talk about Book Club. The sheer silliness of modern day men, bug Alpha males, taking tips from fictional Regency Lords and their problems. And yet it was working...I guess times never really change. I love the way they convinced themselves the book was relevant to modern society, the way they used words to parallel it to modern feminism...and of course the wonderful Regency style insults and phrases that pop into Gavin's head. It was the little touches like that which add so much depth and fun to the story
Its one step forward and two back for Gavin as both he and Thea learn slowly about the issues from their own pasts that have influenced their marriage. If they had dated for longer then maybe they wouldn't have had issues, would have known more about each others triggers but...the twins came.
I think my favourite bit was the night Gav was looking after the twins and the book club lads had a meeting at his house. Thea and sister Liv came home early to find decorated beards and hair, big burly guys with painted nails, and of course The Russian and his stomach and flatulence issues. I actually had tears of laughter at the mental images in my head.
Its a great read, lovely romance with incredible humour that was just perfect for me, fitting to the story, not squeezed in regardless for a cheap laugh as in so many books. I look forward to the next in series.

Stars: Five. A wonderful read, romance, humour and sharply modern issues that were helped with ancient advice....

Arc via Netgalley and publishers

The Bromance Book Club is about a famous baseball star who’s wife kicks him out and tells him she wants a divorce. Neither of them really want one but they need to sort out there problems first. Gavins friends all rally round him to help resolve his marriage problems by telling him about the secret bromance book club. This is where men resolve their marital problems through the medium of regency romance novels. Furthermore Gavin tried to woo Theo using the regency romance for guidance and the assistance of his friends although his sister in law is trying to break them up.

The synopsis of the book drew me in for a good romantic read.

For the couple it is an emotional roller coaster. It is all really funny with the bromance clubs spin on things and all that transpires within the club and book.

It is a great easy read well written and well set out.

I loved it.

A fun, quirky cheesefest of a novel about men who try to impress woman and/or improve their relationships by forming a bookclub and reading romance novels. IT's a unique and fun premise and a lot of fun.

It's a bit of a sporty setting too as the man in the novel is a baseball player already married with two children and a great life....but his marriage is in trouble and so the man gets together with his teammates and they get him to join their bookclub so he can better understand women and how to impress his wife by understanding what makes her tick better.

Comedy of course ensues and it;s a funny read. IT makes a nice change that this is a romance about a man and woman who are already together and that it;'s from the man's point of view. What I also liked is that it's not all too cute - Gavin has a speech problem and I can't say I've read much about this in a novel recently and certainly not one of this kind. IT's a serious problem and can ruin your life, but Gavin portrays what it's like to live with one, well.

Wife Thea is also interesting and she admits she is also at fault so the book is how to mend a marriage in many ways - through books! Get your husband to read to see what women want and how they think. If all else fails, it wil keep them quiet and occupied!

A professional baseball player with two beautiful children, a gorgeous wife and a great career, sounds perfect doesn't it? Yet when Thea, the wife of famous baseball player, Gavin, asks for a divorce, it leaves Gavin heartbroken and in great despair. Enter Gavin's friends and teammates who help him save his marriage by welcoming him into their book club so that he can understand women and what makes them tick.

This story is one of the cutest chick lit / romance books I've read in 2019. It is definitely one of my favourite books of the year. I adored the humour, the premise is fresh and cute and the antics that Gavin implements to win Thea back made me laugh-out-loud more than once. I enjoyed Gavin and Thea as the protagonists of the book. Due to his stutter, Gavin makes for a shy and humble character which only brings out his sweetness and genuine sense of humour but unfortunately does not have a clue when it comes to his woman. Thea is a strong and gutsy woman who doesn't fit in with the other baseball wives and throughout their marriage has lost who she is.

I enjoyed the character development of both Gavin and Thea and how they realised the work that they both needed to put into their marriage. They realised their faults and in the end were reminded of what made them great as a couple. The only part I did not enjoy was Gavin's grand gesture. It was quite cringeworthy, random and a tad inappropriate. It did not sit well with me but not enough for me to knock off a star.

Fantastic, funny and full of aww moments that will have you smiling ear to ear.

My reading has been a little slow this month but I was hooked into this book from the first few pages and I couldn't put it down until I finished it! This was a different kind of romance read than what I usually read as it follows a couple staying together rather than getting together and it also has a mini-story within the actual story. I really liked both of these elements and it made it unique and kept it interesting.

This is technically a sports romance but it didn't take centre stage which I was really happy about personally as I know nothing about sports but I love a good sports romance. This was a fun, emotional and a new take on a second chance romance. I typically hate most of the second chance romances I read but I really enjoyed this and will continue the series. I really felt for both Gavin and Thea throughout the book as they worked and struggled to figure out their issues.

I loved the idea behind these baseball places having a book club where they read romance books and there were some funny moments, like Gavin discovering the world of a certain social media platform. This was my first book from the author and I cannot wait to read more, I love Lyssa's writing style! Can we get men reading romance more often like this group, please? I loved them.

I straight-up devoured this book in one sitting. It ticked all the boxes for me and I loved the emotional range it took me through, from laugh-out-loud moments to real tear-jerking scenes.

I really like how the book starts right in the middle of Gavin’s disaster – we’re drawn straight into the world of the Bromance Book Club and introduced to the brilliant and quirky characters from the get-go. Gavin is a gorgeous character who is desperate to stay married to the love of his life even if he doesn’t know how to win her back. He stumbles, he out-right messes up, but he won’t stop trying to keep his family together. I’m a sucker for a grovelling man who is head-over-heels in love, and that’s exactly what Gavin is.

Thea I knew I was going to like immediately. She’s pretty bad-ass even if she doesn’t feel it and her reasons for wanting to re-start her life are so valid and relatable it hurts. Her and her sister, Liv, have a great dynamic, with their own reasons not to trust in love (side note: can’t wait for Liv’s story next…).

If you like second-chance romance, love-struck men, meta-discussions on feminism and romance (yes!), and a dash of sport, this book is absolutely for you.