Another really great installment in the series! I thoroughly enjoyed Colton and Gretchen's story. I really appreciated that the conflict wasn't about either one of them messing up - it was about their own baggage, but everything still came from a place of love. Really excited for what comes next for the Bromance Book Club!

The men of the Bromance book club are back and readers will not be disappointed! This is Colton's story and his trope is opposites attract - sunshine and grump. Gretchen Winthrop does not have time for anything but work and refuses to let anyone get close to her. When she has an unexpected night with Colton she runs and manages to avoid him for a year but now she needs something from him. Colton could have any woman except the one he wants, Gretchen. Now she shows up and he is determined to figure her out and be a part of her life. But relationships are rocky and the men of the Bromance book club are there to provide support and of course they have a book that applies. A story of love and family, the one you are born into and the one you create.

This was another super fun addition to the Bromance Book Club Series. Love the continued breakdown of toxic masculinity stereotypes, its predictable but very comforting.

Here's what I love most about these: I think it's super rare in any book to show a group of male friends openly expressing their feelings for each other, communicating about their emotions, and being affectionate with each other. Yes, there are pieces in here that are similar to every other book in the series, but who cares?

This is probably my favorite story in the Bromance series so far! I loved Colton as a side character, and hearing his story was wonderful! I like how both Gretchen and Colton were an opposites attract trope. Unlike some of the other books in the series, I didn’t roll my eyes waiting for the cheesy, and frustrating he doesn’t like me/she doesn’t like me moments to end.

I love this series so much and I hope Adams writes a million more of them.

Colton and Gretchen are such a great grumpy/sunshine pairing and the book contained both laugh out loud moments and moments of deep emotional heft. I loved this book every bit as much as the previous. Highly recommend!

I've read all of the Bromance Book Club books so far and I could not wait to learn about Colton and Gretchen.

Wow! They start off intensely and that's where they stay as they navigate their newness with each other, her family's elitism, the speed bumps in his career, and their resistance to relenting to carnal desires at the drop of a hat.

Colton has to be one of the sexiest characters Lyssa has written so far. The dude is seriously swoon worthy and Gretchen is totally worth swooning over.

All of the previous characters of the series are here, offering unbending friendship, never ending support, and practical advice in the most Bromance ways possible.

With a great mix of sauciness and sincerity, A Very Merry Bromance is the perfect addition to the series and a great reason to complain of a book hangover.

Loved it.

Bromance book club is back and still great! Lyssa Kay Adams does it again but with a holiday twist. Great characters and lovely story. Highly recommended and will be purchasing a copy for the library.

These books are so much fun! You get character development, emotionally engaging romance, witty dialog, and a happily ever after that has been earned.

Christmas in July ARC: A Very Merry Bromance by @lyssakayadams ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Okay, I know it isn't July anymore but I took a week off and it is still part of my July posting schedule so get ready because I saved the best for last! Every time I read one of the Bromance Book Club books I say it's even better than the last but this time I think it's actually my favorite of the bunch so far! Country music star sunshine chasing after grumpy lawyer with family issues who hates Christmas? I would love to see this one as a movie--set at Christmas, family drama, a very intense villain character, I laughed and cried while reading... What more could you want?

Colton, the country singer, had a one night encounter with lawyer Gretchen at their friend's wedding a year ago and he can't stop thinking about her. She ends up back in his life, so he tries to get her to enjoy the holidays and give him another chance while she tries to get him to become the face of her estranged family's new whisky brand to get the money she needs to keep helping people.

Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypub
@berkleyromance for the advanced copy. Make sure to read this one when it comes out Nov 1/22!

#ChristmasInJuly #ARC #VeryMerryBromance #HolidayRomance #Books #AmReading #NetGalley #BerkleyPublishing

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this novel!

This part will be left off of external reviews, but I think my copy of the advanced ebook copy had a glitch where certain chapters contained chapters from another book with a main character called "Chelsea." I don't know if anyone else had this error.

I think of all the books, this one took me the longest to get into, but once I did, I enjoyed it! Perhaps it was reading a Christmas book in a heat wave, but it took me a hot second to like Colton and Gretchen. Once I did, this book flew by~

This book had a lot of plot going on, which is a very stark difference from the first in the series. Between Gretchen's work aspirations/conflicts, family conflict, personal baggage, AND Coltons career worries and insecurities there was a lot going on in a good way. That being said, there were certainly times it felt like certain parts of the story were ignored to focus on other plots. The first third of the book is heavy on Gretchens current work situation, but that falls off about halfway through where other conflict comes into play. Likewise, I don't think the ending was firmly settled as there were a few loose ends in regards to plot points that did not have an explicit "here's what happened."

This book also has the largest set of characters out of all the books, many of whom make an appearance from previous novels in the series at a Christmas party.

Overall, while this novel was a slow start for me, I really enjoyed it, especially once you got more into the drama around Gretchens family. When will the day come where the illegal cheese monger, Roman, gets his own book? Soon, dair-I hope?

Thank you to Netgalley, Berkeley, and the author for the ARC of the next installment in the Bromance series!

I absolutely loved this book, and all that came before it. LKA has some sports romances that aren’t as well known, and they’re also great. But when you take one of the Bromance series and make it holiday themed? Chef’s kiss.

This is a take on the grumpy and sunshine trope, but it’s so much more than that. This book was less silly than some of the other boys’, and I didn’t find myself laughing out loud as much. That isn’t a criticism, just a note. A Very Merry Bromance is a lot heavier and more serious than some of the other books, and it is also very sweet, steamy, and romantic.

My favorite thing about this book, aside from the Christmas piece, is that it’s heavily focused on found family. The friend group is always strong in this series, but by now it’s so well established, that a newcomer to the group doesn’t get much of a choice. They’re all just like, “We’re family. This is what we do.” And I love that.

You’ve got to wait a bit for this one, but I couldn’t go through #HollyJollyJuly without picking this one up! Very, very good!

A Very Merry Bromance is the lasted in the Bromance Book Club series by Lyssa Kay Adams. It's Colton's and Grethen's turn to fall in love. Like the rest of the series, there is quite a bit of humor, but an equal amount of emotional turmoil. The author finds a good balance between the two, which made for an engaging read.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for a gifted copy of A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams. All opinions are my own.

The guys are back and this one is a holiday romance. I dont want to give too much awa but this is Colton's story. Colton may be a country music star with women falling for him right and left but the one he wants seems to be out of his reach.

A Very Merry Bromance is the fifth book in the Bromance Book Club series. This series is a lot of fun to read and I'm looking forward to the next book.

Romance
Release Date: November 1, 2022

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Pub for this earc

Book 5 in the Bromance series and this one wasn’s as good as the others.

I liked Colton’s character : a countly star who needs to find a new muse because his music is not good anymore. He was cute and definitely the “sunshine” character in this book. Gretchen on the other hand was a little annoying. At first, I very much liked the fact that she was the black sheep in her family and was doing something on her own instead of going into the family business. But at the same time, for a grown woman, a lawyer with her own business, it annoyed me that she never took the time to deal with her childhood trauma. The fact that she ran every time anything happened got old very quickly. Even her family wasn’t written well. They were your simple bad guys and pretty boring and her “good” uncle Jack clearly wasn’t good enough to help her over the years.

Another thing that wasn’t great was the chemistry. Colton obviously liked Gretchen for the longest time and went out of his way to be the best but they kind of went from zero to sixty pretty fast and it didn’t give us the time to see them grow. One thing I’ll give them is the fact that sex scenes were hot!

Compared to the other Bromance books, this one also had a lot less the actual Bromance guys pagetime and I missed all the boys. They barely even talked about the book they were reading. Just didn’t feel true to the theme of the series. Even the “grand gesture” wasn’t as amazing as in the other books.

Overall, this one wasn’t my favorite and I really hope this doesn’t mean that this book will only get worse from here.

Another delightful addition to the Bromance series! I love Colton and Gretchen and their witty back and forth and constant chemistry. Throughout the book, they increasingly learn to trust and protect each other. And it's always great to be reminded of the other Bromance Book Club members. Such a fun holiday gift for the reader in anyone's life!

I’ve been excited for Colton’s book ever since he was first introduced in the series and it did not disappoint! Lyssa Kay Adams delivers her signature humor in this instalment. I loved the reverse grumpy/sunshine trope. And of course, the scenes with the bro’s together. Truly heartwarming with top notch banter.

i’m almost surprised at how much I enjoyed this one because I wasn’t Colton’s biggest fan in the earlier books but what can I say, Colton/Gretchen really worked for me. I mean, who can resist the fun of the grumpy/sunshine trope?

though a Christmas romcom, it didn’t feel too holiday-y to read during the summer. Gretchen’s background added a lot of depth to this otherwise lighthearted story while still feeling realistic.

my overall series ranking now stands at:
Bromance Book Club
A Very Merry Bromance
Isn’t It Bromantic
Crazy Stupid Bromance
Undercover Bromance

so put this on your list for when it comes out on November 1st!

side note: I DEMAND a Cheese Man book next!

It’s never too early for a holiday book!!! As with all the other Bromance Book Club books, this goody was promptly devoured (thx for the eARC @berkleyromance). I really enjoyed going along for the Colton and Gretchen love ride. Is it wrong that I was just counting down to see what the grand gesture would be? 😂 I can’t help it! Also maybe it was because of G’s family business but I felt like this one had some scenes that had a touch of that southern gothic that I absolutely love. All in all, big fan and can’t wait to buy it when it comes out so I can have the full collection on my shelf.

I love Colton, but this installment in the series fell flat for me. Mostly because I couldn't stand Gretchen. I get that she had childhood trauma, but she's 35 years old. Time to grow a pair. And her parents and brothers were such one dimensional bad guys. What was their driving force? How did Gretchen escape from that family somewhat normal?

I was also sad that the "Book Club" book didn't feature more in this story. It seemed like an afterthought more than anything else.

That said, it's always fun to catch up with the Bromance Crew, and Colton was adorable. It was worth reading for that alone.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!