Another winner for Lyssa Kay Adams! I fell in love with the 'Bromance' series and was thrilled to finally get The Russian's back story. As always, Adams manages to balance not only a steamy romance, but smart characters facing REAL and interesting problems in their lives. I loved Elena's character, she was headstrong, smart, and stubborn and found her and the Russian's connection to be heartfelt and sweet. Who wouldn't want the couple who grew up as childhood friends to make it? And of course, all of our favorite bookclub members make appearances, providing hilarious color commentary and just the right amount of feminist bravado.

Having read the rest of the series, as soon as I heard the next one was about the Russian, there was no way I was going to miss it. Isn’t It Bromantic? manages to add fun and humour to an otherwise frustrating (and often heartbreaking) situation, with a little bit of intrigue as well. It focuses on two very hurt, and often insecure, characters (Vlad and Elena) trying to make sense of their crumbling marriage while also dealing with their own personal crises.

The most notable strength of this book is the character development. The characters are incredibly relatable and are written in a way that makes you feel like you know them personally. The banter between friends, the mistakes made, the personal struggles they go through, and especially the awkwardness of certain situations, all add to that “everyday” sense.

I would have liked to see Lyssa Kay Adams go into more detail with Elena’s journalism subplot. While the romantic relationship is obviously the main focus of the novel, there’s a lot of potential with the journalism storyline that I don’t think was fully taken advantage of. Given Elena’s strong personality and sense of justice, it would have been nice to see her have a more active role in that subplot, and to drag Vlad into it earlier in the novel rather than just at the end.

I love this series and Isn’t It Bromantic? is definitely one of my favourites. I hope to read more about the Bromance Bookclub in the future.

Wow, just wow. This story is the 4th installment of the Bromance Bookclub and it is, in a word, fantastic. Vlad, also know as the Russian in the first few books, has always been the comedic relief. From is gastrointestinal issues, to his priority that each member of the bookclub has a successful Grand Gesture, we didn’t know much about his story, other than his giant heart, soft & tender spirit, and that his wife, Elena, was noticeably absent from his characters story in the first books.

And wow, do we get a book that does this gentle giant justice. Vlad’s life, and especially his marriage to Elena has been thrown a rather doozy of a curve ball, or in hockey terms, assessed a 5 minute major and got him tossed into the penalty box. But our big, tender hearted hero is not out of the game.. yet.

In true Bromance Bookclub style, the men of the Bookclub rally around each other to offer support, guidance, while quelling the “masculine” ideologies and also serving up a good lecture or two when Vlad’s own insecurities creep into his potential for happily ever after. But is it too late? Will ghosts from each Elena & Vlad’s past be too great to overcome? Or will there truly be a happily ever after?

I loved everything in this book. Vlad has such a tender heart, and may be one of the most surprising characters in the whole bunch. He has so many layers, and as the story unfolds, you see just how special of a character he truly is. And would it be a Bromance Bookclub book without the amazing cast of secondary characters? Well, all of our old favorites are back, and we have a new group of ladies introduced too.. The Loners. I hope each and every character in these books gets their own story.. especially our sweet Colton!

Thank you for and ARC in exchange for my honest review. This title will be released on July 20, 2021

This is yet another delectable romance from Lyssa Kay Adams, focused on my favorite club member Vlad! Watching him and Elena work out their marital strife while reading excerpts from The Promise was so beautiful. They're both such softies and the communication was far better than in most romcoms. And as usual, the subplot is amazing! I'd probably read an entire series about the Russian, but I await Colton's tale.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

I had no right to be as excited as I was for this book, considering how much of a letdown I thought books 2 and 3 were. But I couldn't help it! Childhood friends in a marriage of convenience, now estranged and on the precipice of divorce if only Vlad can convince her of his true feelings ?!?!

C'mon.

I was ecstatic to get an advanced copy of this one, and started it immediately. Fortunately, I am not disappointed. Vlad is the resident goofball and comedic punching bag of the series, so I was worried I would struggle with him as the romantic lead in his own book, but I wasn't. Lyssa Kay Adams does a shockingly good job developing his character and adding nuance and complexity. I felt completely in love with him. (It doesn't hurt that he's a hockey player.)

Elena is a new character to the series, but I'm impressed with how well-incorporated she is over the course of Isn't it Bromantic?. Her story has surprising heft and emotional weight and I was all in on how it would all play out.

Vlad and Elena have heaps of chemistry. And I loved that Adams included a virgin male lead in one of her books. I was pleasantly surprised.

This will definitely be added to my romances I reread shelf.

Fun as always. So glad the Russian finally got his own book. I actually could have down without the book within the book part. That just made me roll my eyes. But now I hope we get more from the underground cheese peddler.

Such an excellent romance and a great addition to the Bromance Book Club series! I loved getting to know Vlad even more - I'm so happy he has figured out his gluten allergy and that he's working on his relationship with Elena. Meeting her, watching her get to know all the guys in the club, and even getting introduced to the Loners, was such a wonderful experience. As always, I zoomed through this book in one day and I cannot wait for the next installment in the series. I'm getting some vibes from Colton and Michelle.....

It’s no secret that I have enjoyed all of Lyssa Kay Adams’ book, but I especially love her Bromance Book Club series. They are laugh out loud funny, yet they manage to include complex subjects like failed marriages, sexual harassment, and family secrets. Isn’t It Bromantic is no exception.

Elena and Vlad have a modern marriage of convenience. Elena wants out and Vlad wants a genuine marriage—what could go wrong?

Elena is wounded but strong. She’s used to being overlooked and ignored. While she’s convinced she doesn’t deserve Vlad, she doesn’t let anyone—not even Vlad walk all over her.

Vlad (also known as the Russian), may be my favorite character in the entire series. He’s just adorable, and he’s writing a romance novel! (I may have cheered when I read the tagline for the book: With his passion for romance novels, it was only a matter of time before Vlad wrote one.) This man seriously believes in romance, and he’s determined to have one of his own.

The Book Club bros, meddling neighbors, and a dog and cat who just show up every day for Vlad’s attention add to the humor. And seriously, the Cheese Man had better get his own book.

Isn’t It Bromantic is smart, heartfelt, and hysterical. You will laugh and cry—sometimes in the same scene. Lyssa hit a grand slam with the fourth installment of her series.

Well, it did it, this book made me love Vlad. I thought this was such an adorable story. Vlad has always been one of the sweetest characters in the series, and since we got less bathroom humor (not really my thing), we got to know more about Vlad, and his story was so interesting. There's a part of me that doesn't want the marriage to work out and to follow one of the guys fall in love *again*, however, I really liked this story as a second chance romance, as we didn't know much about either character.

I think what kept this from being a 5-star read for me, was the pop-feminism. Don't get me wrong, I love that Adams is not only filling her book with these important messages, but it making her male protagonists communicate these messages and holding each other accountable. Like that is really great. But there is a point where I feel like I'm also getting sexism mansplained to me. I also feel like there are times where the partners are in the wrong or don't fully communicate and placing the blame solely on the men kind of misses an opportunity to have a deeper conversation about communication.

I also thought that the journalism subplot went in such a predictable and cliched way that it kind of took me out of the story, but that just be me.

But if you're a fan of the series, you're going to enjoy this installment. It was really sweet, super fun, and definitely a nice balance of laugh out loud funny and genuinely heartwarming.

This was, by far, the best book of the series! I have always wondered about the Russian's life and his relationship with his non-existent wife, and this book hit it out of the park!

Vlad Konnikov, endearingly referred to as The Russian by his friends, is the most brawny and kindhearted of the bunch in The Bromance Book Club. There has always been an air of mystery regarding his wife Elena-- for most of their marriage, she's been off studying for her master's degree in Chicago. Although Vlad has always been a deep romantic, he's been hiding a secret... his marriage to Elena is one of convenience, and his love for her is unrequited. Not even Vlad knows it's far more complicated than that! Every book in Adams's Bromance series is brilliant, and Isn't It Bromantic? is certainly no exception! Readers have been anticipating a fulfilling happy ending for their favorite Russian hockey star since the beginning, and they're in for a sweet romantic rekindling as rare as tvorog cheese. You'll know precisely what I mean if you treat yourself to this novel!

This story follows the same sequence of all the other Bromance Book Club characters but it was such a pleasure to read “The Russian’s” story. I loved that Vlad himself was an author, writing a story within the story. There was a lot of cultural discussion of Russian food that really added to the narrative. It made me want to try all the food! I really do appreciate the way the author talks about toxic masculinity. Read if you want a book about a sensitive man and a marriage of convenience. I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley, thank you to them. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A super fun read, I loved the development of the characters. The ending was a little too fast paced, but a great slate of characters and slow burn!

AHHH WOW. I am SO excited for everyone to read this book because it may be my new favorite. The Russian (Vlad) has always been my favorite side character and it made me so happy when I found out he was getting his own story. This book was a marriage of convenience, and childhood best friends thrown in and wow they were done so well. I loved watching them realize true feelings and getting to truly know each other again. Elena was so great and I understood her apprehension towards things in the beginning. I loved seeing bits of the side characters as well as new ones being introduced (speaking it into existence - a book about Colton in the future???) I also really love how this book covers toxic masculinity and really allows the men in the book club to be their true selves because they’re all so supportive and great. anyways, I have this book preordered already and I am anxiously awaiting the release!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley For this EARC in exchange for an honest opinion!

This is a wonderful addition to the Bromance Bookclub series. The Russian and his wife's story is incredibly touching and left me smiling the whole time. Absolutely love this series and was happy with this book.

The latest installment of the beloved Bromance Book Club follows the beloved Vlad Konnikov (AKA the Russian) as he recuperates from a broken leg sustained in a hockey game. His leg isn't the only thing he wants to recuperate, however, as his estranged wife Elena returns to Nashville from Chicago to help nurse him back to health. Will Vlad be able to win back the heart of his wife? Or will he lose her for good? The stereotype busting, toxic masculinity calling out, big-hearted men of the Bromance Book Club definitely have something to say about the latter option. You'll be sure to charmed all over again with Isn't It Bromantic? !

From the beginning, I loved the Russian. I wanted the Russian to have all the best things in life because he just seemed like this gentle giant of few words. And he was definitely a gentle giant, but this series has made it out to seem like this man knows no more than 20-50 English words and now, here he is, with so much more to say. It just paints such a contrasting picture of what his personality is like. However, I still loved Vlad. He was so sweet and pure and I just wanted him to have a good life and couldn't wait to see how his story played out. He had so much love around him and all he wanted was the love from his best friend and his wife.

Vlad and Elena were dancing this dance for a while. The lack of communication was rough on my head and I think that's why I didn't enjoy this as much as I had hoped. The end was mostly chaotic as it was just event after event and the book just powered on instead of spending some time on it. I would've loved to have this actually read out like a slow burn because it could've been comparable to Mariana Zapata's Wall of Winnipeg and Me. I'm glad it was its own thing and it does well on its own, but I very much believe the ending needs to be slowed down a little bit and expanded on. The whole end crisis was like three pages and then she figures herself out but then BAM a new plot twist? It was a lot.

I'd give this a solid 4 stars or like a very high 3. I can't quite decide.

First of all, Thank you to Berkley romance and Netgalley for the ARC of Isn't It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams the Fourth Installment in the Bromance Book Club series.

I know I say this about every Bromance book after I read it but it was definitely my favorite one of the series, so dare I say they are just getting better and better as she writes them. I also just found out that there is going to be 6 books total in this series so there will be more bromance to come!

I thought this one was a lot more fast paced then the others and had some more realistic action happening, but also some great development with all of the characters. We finally got the mysterious Russian's story and what was going on with his wife for the past few years.

A friends to lovers and marriage of convenience trope was very well written with humor and lots of love per usual. I hope everyone loves this book as much as I did and I can not wait for the other 2 books of this series for the remaining bromance boys.

~3.75 stars

First off, thank you NetGalley for a free eArc in exchange for a honest review.

This was such a fluffy, sweet romance! I loved learning more about Vlad and finally meeting Elena. The pacing and plot were great, but I felt like some elements of the book were a little too cheesy. I would’ve loved to see more throwback scenes of them as teenagers too, but that’s ok! Overall, I thought this story was super cute.

Ohhh how I have waited for this book!! And I was not disappointed. I love The Russian. I really enjoyed seeing his character progression through out the course of this series and I was so happy to hear that he was getting his own book. Lyssa Kay Adams has an amazing way of writing romantic comedies that can somehow be light hearted while at the same time having some very serious content. Isn't It Bromantic definitely fits that bill. We've known Vlad since book one but all of us have been waiting to find out about his mysterious wife. I honestly wasn't sure what to except from Elena but I ended up really liking her character and I really liked her backstory and the past that she and Vlad shared. There were lots of different romance tropes through out the book, marriage of convenience, forced proximity, and I loved them all. As always I enjoyed how the book club members talk about romance and how meta it is.
I really loved that this story was a twofer with a story within a story. I loved that we got to see Vlad's hidden debts. As always the book had a lot of humor and I did literally laugh out loud a few times.
Over all it was a very enjoyable, quick read and definitely an asset to the Bromance series. I'm hoping they'll be more books coming soon.