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A review by thephdivabooks
Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams
4.0
Liv Papandreas is a chef at one of Nashville’s hottest restaurants. Of course, anyone who has worked in the restaurant industry knows that chefs have a reputation of being a bit temperamental at times. But Liv’s boss Royce Preston takes this to an extreme—verbally abusing his staff, taking credit for their recipes, and most recently, sexually assaulting the hostess, Jessica. Liv unfortunately witnesses the sexual assault and confronts him, leading him to fire her. Afterwards, she makes it her mission to shine a light on Royce’s abuse.
Brayden Mack, a friend of Liv’s brother-in-law Gavin, becomes an unlikely ally in her quest to take down Royce. Mack is fired up when he learns about Royce’s predatory and abusive actions towards his staff (and particularly women) in his restaurant. Mack brings in some of the bros from book club to help out. Nothing turns up the heat like collaborating on revenge, and Liv and Mack find a bit of time to pursue a no-strings-attached fling. But what will happen when real feelings become involved?
I was pleasantly surprised by this book, since Liv was the sister of the main female lead in the first book of the series and I had a fairly negative reaction to her. She was combative and her efforts to be protective sometimes crossed a line. But her fiery spirit is perfect to be the female lead in this story. She needed a growth arc to be a rootable heroine, and she gets one in Undercover Bromance.
The topic of sexual assault in the work place and the power that men in leadership positions hold is at the forefront of the workplace conflict. This book doesn’t purport to be the most nuanced portrayal of a #metoo story, and leans into the stark portrayal and revenge plot that felt like it kept a very heavy topic from flipping the book in a bad way.
Mack is another interesting figure as the leading male. We learn that he has always failed in love, and perhaps that is because he leans too much into trying to be the male hero from a romance book and isn’t authentically himself. Mack is fiercely protective over those in his life—a pattern we also know is characteristic of Liv. It was easy to see why these two just may end up being meant to be after all.
The romance part is slower since the revenge plot is central to the book. This kept it fresh and made it so that the issue of sexual assault didn’t feel like it was thrown in gratuitously. As always with this series, there are plenty of humorous moments particularly with the side characters (the bromance book club always delivers the laughs). Every time I read one of these books I get excited for the characters who may become leads in the future!
Brayden Mack, a friend of Liv’s brother-in-law Gavin, becomes an unlikely ally in her quest to take down Royce. Mack is fired up when he learns about Royce’s predatory and abusive actions towards his staff (and particularly women) in his restaurant. Mack brings in some of the bros from book club to help out. Nothing turns up the heat like collaborating on revenge, and Liv and Mack find a bit of time to pursue a no-strings-attached fling. But what will happen when real feelings become involved?
I was pleasantly surprised by this book, since Liv was the sister of the main female lead in the first book of the series and I had a fairly negative reaction to her. She was combative and her efforts to be protective sometimes crossed a line. But her fiery spirit is perfect to be the female lead in this story. She needed a growth arc to be a rootable heroine, and she gets one in Undercover Bromance.
The topic of sexual assault in the work place and the power that men in leadership positions hold is at the forefront of the workplace conflict. This book doesn’t purport to be the most nuanced portrayal of a #metoo story, and leans into the stark portrayal and revenge plot that felt like it kept a very heavy topic from flipping the book in a bad way.
Mack is another interesting figure as the leading male. We learn that he has always failed in love, and perhaps that is because he leans too much into trying to be the male hero from a romance book and isn’t authentically himself. Mack is fiercely protective over those in his life—a pattern we also know is characteristic of Liv. It was easy to see why these two just may end up being meant to be after all.
The romance part is slower since the revenge plot is central to the book. This kept it fresh and made it so that the issue of sexual assault didn’t feel like it was thrown in gratuitously. As always with this series, there are plenty of humorous moments particularly with the side characters (the bromance book club always delivers the laughs). Every time I read one of these books I get excited for the characters who may become leads in the future!