Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - The Bromance Book Club

Although I found this to be a quick read, I will say that I wasn't as invested in the plot as I thought I would be. That being said, I did appreciate the more realistic approach that Lyssa Kay Adams took with this romance (ie. a couple working through their marital problems). I just think the overall story fell flat, had some continuity issues near the end, and got very repetitive at times. I also didn't enjoy the inclusion of the "excerpts" from the bookclub book Courting the Countess along with the humor that was attempted with making the main character of that book the voice of the internal dialogue the characters would have with themselves.

Ultimately this story was underwhelming because of how bland the main characters were. The only time I felt any true chemistry between our two main characters Gavin and Thea were during the sex scenes (which also read very awkwardly to me, and even funny at times). We were told how much Gavin wanted to "win" her back, but the actions on the page left me feeling very meh. The supporting characters were very forgettable to me as well.

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caprivoyant's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

Overall opinion "Eh"

The story is entertaining enough. The "hero" of the story is likable, flawed, but likable. His romantic interest, however, isn't. Likable, that is. She thinks she's not flawed either, so there's that. Figured you deserved a heads up there.

Everything else I have to say, I think, I can say better in bullets:

It always takes 2 people for a relationship to not work; and for a relationship to heal, both parties have to own up to their half of things. I don't think that really happens in this book, and it's rather frustrating.
I think this book was trying to dismantle gender roles? But it used stereotypes to enforce its ideals and, in the epilogue, actually used language that solidifies gender roles. Note: emotions can't be "girly."
There's no bromance. (That was actually, almost, my full review but figured a few other problems needed to be highlighted too).

🤷🏻‍♀️ That's it, I guess.

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guiltyoftsundoku's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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alenemarie's review

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The hero of this story is kind of my absolute favorite hero ever. I love him. Like. I love him so much. I loved him more the heroine and that’s super duper weird for me. The only flaw I have with this story is the twin girls are like 2 1/2 or just 3 years old but they are written like the are old 3-5 year olds.

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readerette's review

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It reads very like an advice column while also being a decent romance. The men tend toward emotionally intelligent, but there are still a few personalities that come across chauvinistic or "toxic masculinity" (something the male characters mention numerous times they're trying to get away from).

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