Review: The Bromance Book Club

The Bromance Book Club

Lyssa Kay Adams

(Bromance Book Club #1)

Publication Date: November 5, 2019

Paperback, 352 pages, Inkyard Press

Genres: Adult, Contemporary Romance

Goodreads

The first rule of book club: You don't talk about book club.

Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott's marriage is in major league trouble. He’s recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it’s the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he’s let his pride and fear get the better of him.

Welcome to the Bromance Book Club.

Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville's top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it'll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife.

My Review

I kept hearing about this book. It’s been everywhere. There’s so much hype. And while it was a fun concept with good characters, it unfortunately didn’t live up to the hype. Mostly because of the ending, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

Gavin, the professional baseball player, and Thea, a stay-at-home mom, are the main couple of this first installment in the Bromance Book Club series. They’re on the verge of divorce, and their twin daughters are caught in the middle. Unfortunately, these characters didn’t communicate as much as I wanted them to. Their interactions were always very surface level for two people who are trying to work out their marriage. I know Thea was resistant to the idea of Gavin and her getting back together, but she never really talked to Gavin about her issues. And, like Gavin, she DOES have issues. She lied to her partner for years about their sex life. YEARS. I don’t understand why that wasn’t made a bigger deal of than the author made it. Everyone kind of laughed it off and blamed Gavin for not paying attention, but she LIED TO HIM. Yeesh.

Thea is a decent female lead, despite her lie. She’s very protective of Gavin and her family, but it did take way too long for her to face her fears. And Gavin, while he tried so hard, seemed to leave things unsaid by the end of the book. Overall, the ending was just wrapped up too quickly. It was kind of corny in a rom-com way, and it just wasn’t satisfactory for a couple that has so many issues to work out.

Basically, the beginning of the book only focused on Gavin’s flaws instead of both characters’ flaws. It really bothered me. Yes, The Bromance Book Club was cute and emotional at times (mostly because of the daughters and family unit), but more communication was needed overall. I understand romance books aren’t always the best at displaying healthy relationships in a realistic way, but it just needed more. So yes, the book club idea is super intriguing, but it didn’t play as big of a role as I was lead to believe. Additionally, the excerpt from the novel Gavin is reading just interrupted the main storyline. Nothing was really added by including them that exposition couldn’t solve.

Overall, The Bromance Book Club provides a unique concept, but the cliché and mediocre ending left more to be desired. A true bummer, in my opinion, though I did read the entire thing in the span of 24 hours. Maybe I’ll read book two. Maybe not. I’m leaning more towards not.

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.