Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - Crazy Stupid Bromance

4.25 stars
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TW; Sexual content, Grief, Death, Death of a parent, Sexual assault, Chronic illness
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Business is booming at ToeBeans - owner Alexis Carlisle has come forward as one of the many victims of a celebrity chef's sexual assault. Alexis has created a safe space where people can come forward and talk to her about their own experiences, the last thing she's expecting is a young woman claiming to be her half-sister in need of a kidney for their ailing father. With this news, the only thing she can do is turn to her best friend Noah Logan.

Noah has been keeping a secret of his own; he's in love with Alexis but doesn't want to ruin the friendship that they have together - and everyone knows except for her. His pals in the Bromance Book Club are more than willing to help him out by sharing their ways. It was so nice to get to see the boys back in action together and especially loved the scenes where Mack is planning his wedding. This book has so many laughable moments and thought it had a good balance of seriousness mixed in with a few good chuckles.

This book warms my heart, I loved watching the friendly relationship turn into something more (Noah's character is so swoony), and although the outcome was predictable - friends to lovers, it was still a blast to read. I really liked how to book ended, leaving it open for the next installment where we focus on the Russian!

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abigailp's review

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Alexis is a huge Mary Sue. She's a fragile little fawn, who needs to be sheltered from the world, with a heart of gold. Noah is just a decent guy. That's pretty much it. The characters do not have any hobbies or, seemingly, any passions. Alexis owns a bakery and Noah is in cyber security. We never see the characters actually working, so even their careers seem like meaningless labels. Very light on the romance. I wish Adams spent more of the book in the 'will they, won't they' phase of their relationship. Romance should be preceded by sexual tension to build up the anticipation. Alexis and Noah went from being just friends to boyfriend/girlfriend over night. I liked their friendship more than their relationship. It was heartfelt and innocent. As a woman who prefers to have male friends, I really liked how their friendship was portrayed. I did not like the instantaneous switch to being a couple. Noah vehemently denied to his friends he did not have any romantic feelings towards Alexis. He later thinks about how happy he is with Alexis, it is just like he dreamed it to be. *¡World breaking alert!* If Adams would have spent more time developing the romantic chemistry between the two characters, she would not have needed to rewrite her exposition deep in the second act. All the other subplots were extremely overt and corny. On balance, the read was not very enjoyable.

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megloveswords12's review

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-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

5.0

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nicolemattingly's review

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emotional funny slow-paced

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

3.5

Full review coming soon

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madsmcw_reads's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

⚠️: Death of a parent, grief related to losing a parent, terminal illness, mentions of sexual assault, living organ donation

I just absolutely love this series and I think this may be my favorite one yet. I really like friends to lovers tropes because I feel like it takes out a lot of unnecessary tension that can sometimes annoy me in other tropes.

Noah and Alexis are fantastic characters and I really enjoyed watching both their separate journeys and their journey together as a couple. They were such great compliments to one another and we're the best support system for one another.

I just love the bromance book club. Honestly these books should be required reading for men. Feelings and showing affection to friends are okay and should be shared!! And I love how this series puts that front and center.

I don't know if I just didn't see any content warnings or if they weren't posted or what, but I was not expecting the amount of conversations surrounding losing a parent at a younger age. Those are still extremely tough conversations to read for me when I'm not totally expecting them. They end up being pretty therapeutic but they catch me by surprise and it takes me a minute to recenter.

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mackenziesierra's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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ifersinklings's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is my favorite book in the series so far. It was deep, emotional, and I could relate to the main character on a few aspects in this book.

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