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bookishfemgineer's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
This was SUCH a cute romcom that had like a bunch of my favorite things. Baseball players, hist romance books, second chances, and some good steamy scenes. I'm going to be honest, I am the queen of not reading synopsis before going into books lately lmao I've been 1000% going off of random recommendations from booksta. So I honestly thought this was going to be more of a MLM situation for some reason but it's honestly really cute that it was about a bunch of men "quashing" toxic masculinity to enjoy romance books and talk about their emotions while also being more involved in their relationships.
I also had NO idea it was a series for some reason I feel like I've only seen this one around and I will definitely be reading the next ones!!
I also had NO idea it was a series for some reason I feel like I've only seen this one around and I will definitely be reading the next ones!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
tiziana612's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Vomit
jasperw's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was a really fun and quick read (I read the majority of it in one day). Overall I thought it was a fun take on romance. Having guys in heteronormative relationships actually read romance to understand their partners better, like so many straight woman joke about wanting, was a fun plot. I thought the issues between Gavin and Thea were realistic and made sense and were interesting to follow.
I do think the ending had a lot happen very fast, but it kind of worked. There were also some comments about food and body size that I didn't like (especially as they weren't addressed as a real issue, but just brushed off). More and more I am seeing romance books work on tackling issues woman face, which is great, but things like body positivity need to go both ways. Men in romance books deserve it too. The idea that x food makes you fat, and that's a bad thing, is harmful language. I know that Gavin's job as a professional baseball player means that he needs to be fit, but I don't think that makes the language less toxic or how Mack teases him about getting fat. That is the biggest thing that moves this rating from a 3.5, maybe 4, to a 3. While it's not a huge element, I think that kind of language is just so toxic and harmful, and it's not addressed as an issue within the text.
Gavin does have a stutter and I think it's shown and handled well (that said as someone who does not have a stutter I can't speak on the accuracy of it's portrayal).
Overall I am curious enough to potentially continue with the others, but it's not like a ground-breaking, I'll be thinking of Thea and Gavin all the time kind of book.
I do think the ending had a lot happen very fast, but it kind of worked. There were also some comments about food and body size that I didn't like (especially as they weren't addressed as a real issue, but just brushed off). More and more I am seeing romance books work on tackling issues woman face, which is great, but things like body positivity need to go both ways. Men in romance books deserve it too. The idea that x food makes you fat, and that's a bad thing, is harmful language.
Gavin does have a stutter and I think it's shown and handled well (that said as someone who does not have a stutter I can't speak on the accuracy of it's portrayal).
Overall I am curious enough to potentially continue with the others, but it's not like a ground-breaking, I'll be thinking of Thea and Gavin all the time kind of book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Body shaming
yvo_about_books's review
4.5
Finished reading: June 5th 2023
“That’s why fiction resonates with people. It speaks to universal truths.”
This series has been recommended to me multiple times since it was published four years ago, and I've been meaning to finally pick it up for ages now. I actually added it to my list of series I wanted to catch up with in 2023, and after a fantastic start with The Bromance Book Club I have no doubt that I actually will this time. Oh yes, this first book and me got along splendidly! I was warned about the female main character before I started, but thankfully I wasn't too bothered by Thea herself. I did find her sister Liv to be extremely frustrating, but that was probably the only minor blip in this story for me. It was so easy to warm up to Gavin and the rest of his friends, and I loved the twins from the start. As a result, I found myself rooting for Gavin from the very beginning... The bromance book club element was brilliant, and I liked how the Courting The Countess chapters were incorporated into the plot. Thea's behavior could get a little annoying, but then again it is understandable if you keep in mind her past... The smut was a bit too much for me, but somehow I didn't mind those scenes that much as the main focus of the story was on Gavin and Thea rebuilding their relationship. I can't wait to read the next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Vomit, Ableism, Alcohol, Cursing, Bullying, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Miscarriage
jkneebone's review
lighthearted
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
3.5
The Bromance Book Club is a fun, meta spin on the classic romance novel. MLB player Gavin Scott has been married to his wife Thea for three years. Having grown up with a stutter, Gavin lacks confidence when not on the field, and when he finds out that Thea has been faking her orgasms for their entire marriage, he overreacts and moves into the guest bedroom. Thea never planned to be a “baseball wife,” but an unplanned pregnancy lead her to drop out of college and put her artistic dreams on hold to raise their twins while Gavin played baseball. For her, Gavin’s overreaction to the orgasm revelation is the straw that broke the camel’s back: she wants a divorce.
A distraught Gavin is inducted by his best friend and teammate Del into the “bromance book club,” where the other club members help him use a Regency romance to figure out where his relationship went wrong - and how he can fix it. After some negotiating, Thea allows Gavin to move back in for a month: one month for Gavin to use his new lessons in courting and win her back.
This is a pretty standard romance novel - not breaking any conventions of the genre - but it was well-written and a fun read. I thought the premise was really creative, and made for some really interesting moments. I liked that it was about a couple trying to make their relationship work, as opposed to two people falling in love for the first time. The “excerpts” from the book club read that are sprinkled throughout were really funny, and I liked how the author used them to comment along with the things that were happening in the plot - very meta, but it worked. A solid contemporary romance that hits some of the tropes but still puts a unique spin on things, with really compelling main characters!
A distraught Gavin is inducted by his best friend and teammate Del into the “bromance book club,” where the other club members help him use a Regency romance to figure out where his relationship went wrong - and how he can fix it. After some negotiating, Thea allows Gavin to move back in for a month: one month for Gavin to use his new lessons in courting and win her back.
This is a pretty standard romance novel - not breaking any conventions of the genre - but it was well-written and a fun read. I thought the premise was really creative, and made for some really interesting moments. I liked that it was about a couple trying to make their relationship work, as opposed to two people falling in love for the first time. The “excerpts” from the book club read that are sprinkled throughout were really funny, and I liked how the author used them to comment along with the things that were happening in the plot - very meta, but it worked. A solid contemporary romance that hits some of the tropes but still puts a unique spin on things, with really compelling main characters!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Vomit
Moderate: Alcohol
sohma4uesugi's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was… fine. The FMC really frustrated me in this book. I spent 90% of it just feeling bad for Gavin. When he finally stood up for himself and pointed out that their marriage - and marriage issues - was a two way street and she needed to try just as hard as he was, I cheered for him. The Bromance guys were entertaining. There was a lot left to be desired in this book and a lot of frustration but I did laugh, and enjoy parts of it. Quite a lot just didn't make sense.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
natshu's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
sunnysky's review
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
fromthefoxhole's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.0
Gavin and Thea got married only a few months into dating, as a direct result of finding out that Thea was pregnant with twins. Almost immediately after, Gavin was whisked away as part of a major league baseball team, leaving their foundation on not-quite-steady ground.
Now, years into their marriage, they've drifted so far apart that Gavin is staying in a hotel and Thea has dropped the D bomb - divorce. Luckily for them both, Gavin's got some teammates in his corner, who vow to help him get his wife back by way of introducing him to the world of romance novels. Thea agrees to a few weeks of Gavin being back in the home, but she's not planning on going easy on him.
I had a great time reading this, past a few slightly fatphobic moments in the beginning. I definitely wish we got more of the book club outside of Mack being a bit of a thoughtless prick, but I assume I'll get to flesh them out a little more in their individual books.
Thea and Gavin are both prideful and stubborn, which at times made me want to physically shake them, but I did feel rewarded when they finally worked through it! Their physical chemistry is great, they just needed to get on the same mental page to really make it shine.
Now, years into their marriage, they've drifted so far apart that Gavin is staying in a hotel and Thea has dropped the D bomb - divorce. Luckily for them both, Gavin's got some teammates in his corner, who vow to help him get his wife back by way of introducing him to the world of romance novels. Thea agrees to a few weeks of Gavin being back in the home, but she's not planning on going easy on him.
I had a great time reading this, past a few slightly fatphobic moments in the beginning. I definitely wish we got more of the book club outside of Mack being a bit of a thoughtless prick, but I assume I'll get to flesh them out a little more in their individual books.
Thea and Gavin are both prideful and stubborn, which at times made me want to physically shake them, but I did feel rewarded when they finally worked through it! Their physical chemistry is great, they just needed to get on the same mental page to really make it shine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Cursing
Moderate: Bullying and Vomit
Minor: Pregnancy and Miscarriage
siobhanward's review against another edition
lighthearted
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
3.5
This was a cute little read - lighthearted, funny, sweet. I was a little disappointed though because Gavin and the book club was such a fun idea, I wish there had been more time spent with them picking and discussing their books. The idea was so much fun and I feel like it was just underused, while Thea just got way too much page time. She was honestly kind of annoying at times since it felt like her scenes were just the same thing over and over again, while Gavin was by far more interesting.
I did love how much thought was put into the book within a book - despite only getting snippets throughout, it felt like a fully-developed book, which was a lot of fun.
I did love how much thought was put into the book within a book - despite only getting snippets throughout, it felt like a fully-developed book, which was a lot of fun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content