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A review by _thelitlibrarian
Isn't It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-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
3.75
3.75 stars
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TW; Kidnapping, Sexual Content, Death of a Parent, Trafficking, Grief, Medical Content, Murder, Car Accident.
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Going into this, I wasn't sure how I was feeling; The Russian has never been a 'fan favorite' of mine - I've always assumed that was Vlad's character was just there for humor purposes with his goofy one-liners and language-barriers communication. Down under Vlad is such a teddy bear who often is misunderstood. I really enjoyed getting to know him better; and his backstory. When Vlad joined the Bromance Book Club, it was in hopes of making his wife (Elena) fall in love with him. Their love story is a little muddled; the two childhood friends have embarked on a marriage of convenience - to provide Elena with a way out of Russia. This is supposed to fall under a: Friends to Lovers trope, it just doesn't feel like it...Other than being mentioned a lot, it felt as these two were strangers who hadn't shared a past!
I found our two lovers to be so annoyingly stubborn, their entire relationship is based on miscommunications and assumptions. I feel that had the two of them communicated better they wouldn't have been in the position they're in. In a way, I felt like their romance was a subplot, and every situation they're faced with is initiated by outside forces (Book Club, Loners Club, Elena's job), I will say, however, I love how we get to read Vlad's book and watch how the story develops over the course of what's happening in his life. I really enjoyed the addition of the Loner's Club (made up entirely by women in Vlad's neighborhood and who out of spite dislike Elena for wrecking Vlad).
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TW; Kidnapping, Sexual Content, Death of a Parent, Trafficking, Grief, Medical Content, Murder, Car Accident.
-
Going into this, I wasn't sure how I was feeling; The Russian has never been a 'fan favorite' of mine - I've always assumed that was Vlad's character was just there for humor purposes with his goofy one-liners and language-barriers communication. Down under Vlad is such a teddy bear who often is misunderstood. I really enjoyed getting to know him better; and his backstory. When Vlad joined the Bromance Book Club, it was in hopes of making his wife (Elena) fall in love with him. Their love story is a little muddled; the two childhood friends have embarked on a marriage of convenience - to provide Elena with a way out of Russia. This is supposed to fall under a: Friends to Lovers trope, it just doesn't feel like it...Other than being mentioned a lot, it felt as these two were strangers who hadn't shared a past!
I found our two lovers to be so annoyingly stubborn, their entire relationship is based on miscommunications and assumptions. I feel that had the two of them communicated better they wouldn't have been in the position they're in. In a way, I felt like their romance was a subplot, and every situation they're faced with is initiated by outside forces (Book Club, Loners Club, Elena's job), I will say, however, I love how we get to read Vlad's book and watch how the story develops over the course of what's happening in his life. I really enjoyed the addition of the Loner's Club (made up entirely by women in Vlad's neighborhood and who out of spite dislike Elena for wrecking Vlad).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual content, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Trafficking, Medical content, and Car accident