A review by amandamyers
A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

emotional funny hopeful medium-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

4.5

 There's some kind of magic in all of the books in this series, and mixed with the Christmas sparkle, this book shines. At the heart of it, this is a second chance-ish romance, plus a healthy dose of sunshine/grump, with plenty of Hallmark movie vibes. I loved getting the chance to see the happy ending for Colton and Gretchen, who were interesting background characters in other books in the series, especially Gretchen, as the ex-girlfriend of one of the earlier MMCs.

Colton is a famous country singer, who feels like he's about to lose his career as he hasn't been able to get a new album out, much to the displeasure of his record label. He's charming, handsome, and wealthy, and he hasn't been able to stop thinking about Gretchen since they spent a night together about a year ago, at the wedding of his friend, who is also Gretchen's aforementioned ex. 

Gretchen is an immigration lawyer, running her own pro bono clinic, just trying to keep the lights on so she can help her clients. Meanwhile, her capital-w Wealthy family that she mostly stays away from wants her to convince Colton to become the face of their whisky brand. Her family is absolutely the worst, but if she does this, she'll be able to join their charity's board, and make a real impact with the millions of dollars the charity is in charge of. 

He wants an actual date, while she has commitment issues (an understatement, really). They have fun banter, and smoking hot chemistry. The clips of the romance novel within the romance novel is always a treat in this series, and there's plenty of that. You can definitely read this without prior knowledge of the series but the big extended family of the bromance book club is so much fun and definitely better consumed together.

I recommend this book if you like: grumpy FMC/sunshine MMC, lowkey celebrity romance, found family

I would not recommend this book if you don't like: stubborn MCs, family problem, Christmas.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Physical abuse, and Violence

abusive/neglectful family:

Gretchen spent her entire childhood being mistreated by her immediate family, including physical abuse at the hands of her older brother, which was in turn ignored by her parents, along with basically all of her other needs beyond literally food/shelter/schooling.

minor violence:

At one point Colton does punch a character and is subsequently arrested for it.

alcohol:

There is a lot of casual alcohol consumption, by many characters, including some references to a possible alcohol problem for one character. A lot of scenes include alcohol due to location (bars, the distillery) and also because Gretchen's family owns said distillery.