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janagaton's review against another edition
3.0
The audiobooks for this series are unmatched haha. The first one is still my favorite though. "The Russian" made me laugh out loud multiple times, as always! And I love the discussions about toxic masculinity and the focus on the universal truths that romance novels bring out. Also love how soft all the male characters are. The plot itself about the main character finding things out about her past and everything didn't really intrigue me. The conflict between the main love interests was stupid and a basic misunderstanding/assumption, which I always dislike in any book, so 3 stars it is. Can't wait for the 4th installment, especially because it's focused on "The Russian"!
sarah098's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
dnf
lbarsk's review against another edition
3.0
This was... a fine straight romance? I VERY MUCH appreciated the premise of the Bromance Book Club - straight cis men unlearning toxic behaviors and embracing their emotions, etc. - as well as the pro-survivor narrative here. But I feel like the tone varied SO WILDLY?? Like one moment it was serious and melodramatic and then the next people were cracking jokes about “The Russian”? Idk... but yes to survivors having a safe space to create community and yes to straight romances where the guy is so so so head over heels for the girl.
thephdivabooks's review against another edition
5.0
If you are new to the Bromance Book Club series, this is one that can be read in any order, though it is fun to read them sequentially since the main character in each book appears in some capacity in the prior one. Alexis Carlisle appeared as a side character in Undercover Bromance, when she stepped forward as a victim in the sexual harassment case against a celebrity chef.
In Crazy Stupid Bromance, Alexis is running her Nashville cat café ToeBeans, when one of her customers Candi approaches her to disclose a closer connection than Alexis could have imagined. According to Candi, an ancestry DNA test confirmed they are likely to be siblings sharing the same father. Candi has sought out Alexis to ask for her help—their father needs a kidney transplant urgently or he may die.
Alexis is shocked by the encounter and talks to her best friend Noah Logan, a former hacktivist. Noah has a secret of his own though—he has been in love with Alexis for years, but scared to act on it for fear of rejection or even worse, triggering trauma from Alexis’s past. Enter the men of the Bromance Book Club, who want Noah to finally share his feelings with Alexis. But is it worth possibly ruining the friendship Noah values so deeply?
There’s a lot going on in Crazy Stupid Bromance, between the story with Alexis and Candi, the father needing the kidney, the friends-to-lovers plot between Noah and Alexis, and the upcoming wedding for Mack (from the prior book). Meanwhile Alexis’s café is being targeted by a neighboring business and Noah has his own family troubles going on.
As always, I loved the characters and found the book to have a mix of humor, love, and serious moments. This book had the men truly delving into gaining a better understanding of toxic masculinity and challenging the way they see the world. On a light-hearted note, I loved the Bromance crew choreographing a dance for Mack’s wedding and found it brought the signature humor that readers love in this series.
Noah and Alexis had so much chemistry that they almost felt like they were already in a relationship, allowing the other plots to have time since we didn’t need to devote so much to seeing them get to know one another.
Absolutely charming!
In Crazy Stupid Bromance, Alexis is running her Nashville cat café ToeBeans, when one of her customers Candi approaches her to disclose a closer connection than Alexis could have imagined. According to Candi, an ancestry DNA test confirmed they are likely to be siblings sharing the same father. Candi has sought out Alexis to ask for her help—their father needs a kidney transplant urgently or he may die.
Alexis is shocked by the encounter and talks to her best friend Noah Logan, a former hacktivist. Noah has a secret of his own though—he has been in love with Alexis for years, but scared to act on it for fear of rejection or even worse, triggering trauma from Alexis’s past. Enter the men of the Bromance Book Club, who want Noah to finally share his feelings with Alexis. But is it worth possibly ruining the friendship Noah values so deeply?
There’s a lot going on in Crazy Stupid Bromance, between the story with Alexis and Candi, the father needing the kidney, the friends-to-lovers plot between Noah and Alexis, and the upcoming wedding for Mack (from the prior book). Meanwhile Alexis’s café is being targeted by a neighboring business and Noah has his own family troubles going on.
As always, I loved the characters and found the book to have a mix of humor, love, and serious moments. This book had the men truly delving into gaining a better understanding of toxic masculinity and challenging the way they see the world. On a light-hearted note, I loved the Bromance crew choreographing a dance for Mack’s wedding and found it brought the signature humor that readers love in this series.
Noah and Alexis had so much chemistry that they almost felt like they were already in a relationship, allowing the other plots to have time since we didn’t need to devote so much to seeing them get to know one another.
Absolutely charming!
pauline31's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bookscatsandtats's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
aaria's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
kenzieparks3's review against another edition
3.0
After really enjoying the first two novels in the series, I was looking forward to starting Crazy Stupid Bromance. I love the premise of the books: a group of men coming together to read romance novels as a way to improve their own romantic relationships. However, this book just fell flat for me for a number of reasons.
First, I generally found Noah’s character to be frustratingly defensive and possessive. I felt like every three pages Noah was “growling” about something new, whether it be helping Mack with his wedding, someone’s comment on his and Alexis’ relationship, or his past. I think that once scene that really solidified for me that Noah was just too much was when The Russian walked back into his own hotel room after giving Noah and Alexis the night together only to be on the receiving end of Noah’s anger because he didn’t call first. I realize this might play into the overall theme of Noah’s unresolved anger towards his father, but it crossed the line into “overly needy and possessive boyfriend” territory. Something which I honestly didn’t expect to see from any of the Bromance characters.
Second, I felt the intimate scenes did not live up to what was written in the first two books. This isn’t to say that the sex was to the point of excess or in places where it doesn’t advance the story line, but it felt sloppily written. As an example, I’m not sure why the clit is referred to repeatedly as a “nub”? Maybe it was this way in the first two books and I just never noticed, but it almost read the way I imagine teenage boys refer to women’s anatomy.
Finally, it just felt like there were some loose ends that never truly got resolved. Namely, we never got to see any further resolution between Noah and Marsh. I felt the ending largely tied the plot together with a realistic ending of Alexis cautiously moving forward with the Vanderpool’s, but was disappointed that the last we heard of Marsh he was running away like a scolded puppy after he punched Noah in the face. Perhaps I’m missing some subtext that I should have picked up on, but I largely fault Marsh for the incident and wish we could have seen some character development in him similar to what we saw in Hop in Undercover Bromance.
It certainly is not that the book was all bad. Overall I still largely enjoyed it. I thought the story of the kidney donation was well done, and reading the authors acknowledgement at the end talking about her lived experience with the subject made it clear that she really knew what she was talking about when she wrote those parts. I enjoyed the follow up from the last book about the survivors of sexual assault, and generally enjoyed the familial relationship development between Alexis and the Vanderpool’s. I also am very much looking forward to reading The Russian’s story as I think the epilogue in this one really set the stage for the opening of the next book.
First, I generally found Noah’s character to be frustratingly defensive and possessive. I felt like every three pages Noah was “growling” about something new, whether it be helping Mack with his wedding, someone’s comment on his and Alexis’ relationship, or his past. I think that once scene that really solidified for me that Noah was just too much was when The Russian walked back into his own hotel room after giving Noah and Alexis the night together only to be on the receiving end of Noah’s anger because he didn’t call first. I realize this might play into the overall theme of Noah’s unresolved anger towards his father, but it crossed the line into “overly needy and possessive boyfriend” territory. Something which I honestly didn’t expect to see from any of the Bromance characters.
Second, I felt the intimate scenes did not live up to what was written in the first two books. This isn’t to say that the sex was to the point of excess or in places where it doesn’t advance the story line, but it felt sloppily written. As an example, I’m not sure why the clit is referred to repeatedly as a “nub”? Maybe it was this way in the first two books and I just never noticed, but it almost read the way I imagine teenage boys refer to women’s anatomy.
Finally, it just felt like there were some loose ends that never truly got resolved. Namely, we never got to see any further resolution between Noah and Marsh. I felt the ending largely tied the plot together with a realistic ending of Alexis cautiously moving forward with the Vanderpool’s, but was disappointed that the last we heard of Marsh he was running away like a scolded puppy after he punched Noah in the face. Perhaps I’m missing some subtext that I should have picked up on, but I largely fault Marsh for the incident and wish we could have seen some character development in him similar to what we saw in Hop in Undercover Bromance.
It certainly is not that the book was all bad. Overall I still largely enjoyed it. I thought the story of the kidney donation was well done, and reading the authors acknowledgement at the end talking about her lived experience with the subject made it clear that she really knew what she was talking about when she wrote those parts. I enjoyed the follow up from the last book about the survivors of sexual assault, and generally enjoyed the familial relationship development between Alexis and the Vanderpool’s. I also am very much looking forward to reading The Russian’s story as I think the epilogue in this one really set the stage for the opening of the next book.