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A review by ariel937
Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams
1.0
hm.... well. that was disappointing. **spoilers ahead for the ending **
i mean, from all the reviews i saw i went in expecting it to not be as good as the first book. but i really wish that it could've been more than like a ONE STAR for me. i almost made it 2 stars because of the feminist stuff and the important conversations that were had (though they still felt a little bit forced), but the book overall could have been just like...a lot better. this was honestly just a really bland run-of-the-mill romance book.
what i loved so much about the bromance book club was that you could really tell how much work and heart Adams put into it. the conflict was excellent, the characters were messy but relatable, and the fuck-ups were heart-wrenching. however in this, it just felt like she was writing just to write, something that quick and easy. seriously, where was the introspection? where was the emotion? the writing was bland, the pacing was way too fast, and i couldn't care less about the characters. i understand that liv was supposed to be "infuriating" but was just let utterly confused about her motivations. i like that she lived on a farm, but felt like she didn't have anything that made me care about her, especially when she guilted a victim of assault. and i KNOW, i know that was there point of her character, and no one is perfect bc people act like that in real life, even to their friends. and whew the lack of chemistry between her and mack....i just couldn't care less.
also...that ending "conflict," if you want to call it that. like, what the hell was THAT? there was not enough emotional and relationship development to warrant an ending like that--you have to make me care about the characters and make me think they care about each other for it to be believable. liv had NO right to expect mack to just up and say anything about his past to someone who obviously treated him like garbage, like what was she expecting? she didn't even do anything to make him love him, aside from the info-dump and exposition that the characters gave us, that didn't even some from liv herself.
and again, i *know* that that was the point and they were *supposed* to think deeply about their past traumas etc, but i honestly found nothing redeemable about liv that would make sense for mack to like her. even when she was trying to be a "girl boss" and take down that chef guy, it felt rushed, cheap, and all about her and not about the victims. i understand that the world is messed up and Adams should write a happy ending if she wants to, but she shouldn't have done it at the expense of the victims.
i'm probably coming at this book a bit too harshly, but man, i was disappointed af y'all. the first one was so, so good and i do have the third book book checked out, so i do want to read more of the series. but woof if you're thinking about reading the series, literally just skip this one.
i mean, from all the reviews i saw i went in expecting it to not be as good as the first book. but i really wish that it could've been more than like a ONE STAR for me. i almost made it 2 stars because of the feminist stuff and the important conversations that were had (though they still felt a little bit forced), but the book overall could have been just like...a lot better. this was honestly just a really bland run-of-the-mill romance book.
what i loved so much about the bromance book club was that you could really tell how much work and heart Adams put into it. the conflict was excellent, the characters were messy but relatable, and the fuck-ups were heart-wrenching. however in this, it just felt like she was writing just to write, something that quick and easy. seriously, where was the introspection? where was the emotion? the writing was bland, the pacing was way too fast, and i couldn't care less about the characters. i understand that liv was supposed to be "infuriating" but was just let utterly confused about her motivations. i like that she lived on a farm, but felt like she didn't have anything that made me care about her, especially when she guilted a victim of assault. and i KNOW, i know that was there point of her character, and no one is perfect bc people act like that in real life, even to their friends. and whew the lack of chemistry between her and mack....i just couldn't care less.
also...that ending "conflict," if you want to call it that. like, what the hell was THAT? there was not enough emotional and relationship development to warrant an ending like that--you have to make me care about the characters and make me think they care about each other for it to be believable. liv had NO right to expect mack to just up and say anything about his past to someone who obviously treated him like garbage, like what was she expecting? she didn't even do anything to make him love him, aside from the info-dump and exposition that the characters gave us, that didn't even some from liv herself.
and again, i *know* that that was the point and they were *supposed* to think deeply about their past traumas etc, but i honestly found nothing redeemable about liv that would make sense for mack to like her. even when she was trying to be a "girl boss" and take down that chef guy, it felt rushed, cheap, and all about her and not about the victims. i understand that the world is messed up and Adams should write a happy ending if she wants to, but she shouldn't have done it at the expense of the victims.
i'm probably coming at this book a bit too harshly, but man, i was disappointed af y'all. the first one was so, so good and i do have the third book book checked out, so i do want to read more of the series. but woof if you're thinking about reading the series, literally just skip this one.