Friday, October 25, 2019

Review: The Bromance Book Club

The Bromance Book Club
Lyssa Kay Adams
Expected publication date: November 5, 2019
The first rule of book club:
You don't talk about book club.

Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott's marriage is in major league trouble. He’s recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it’s the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he’s let his pride and fear get the better of him.

Welcome to the Bromance Book Club.

Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville's top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it'll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife. - from Goodreads
I received this book for free from Goodreads Giveaways.

The premise of this book is genius, isn't it?  A man trying to win back his wife and avoid divorce gets help from his buddies, who run a secret book club for men only where they read romance books to get relationship tips.  I had high hopes going into this one and it did not disappoint!

Thea and Gavin have been married for three years, but things aren't always easy - Gavin's career as a professional baseball player means he's gone a lot, leaving Thea to manage their children and home alone.  She is increasingly frustrated with their life, and the fight they have after Gavin finds out she's been faking orgasms for their entire relationship is the last straw for her.  Gavin, however, doesn't want to lose his family, and his friends help him come up with an unorthodox solution to rebuild his marriage.

First off, I just have to say that this book was way funnier than I thought it would be - yes, it has some tough subjects and emotional conversations, but the interactions between Gavin and the other members of the book club are just hilarious.  I actually laughed out loud a couple times, which I pretty much never do when reading.

I loved Gavin because he seemed like such a real guy - he wants to win his wife back and he's willing to put in the work to do it, but he still gets frustrated and lashes out sometimes without thinking.  I could feel his sincerity, though, even when he was using lessons learned from the romance book.  He knows what he feels, he just needed a little help in showing it.  I thought the excerpts from the romance book were a nice touch, and they showed how the guys in the club used them to learn how to really listen to women and express themselves.

For a lot of the book, I was really frustrated by Thea - I wanted her to admit that maybe she had caused some of their problems, too, by lying to Gavin for so long.  I think if she had spoken up about how unfulfilled she felt in several areas of her life, they would have been better off.  She was a really well-rounded character, though, with a full backstory, and by the end of the book, she experienced a lot of growth.  Overall, this book was a winner - it had humor, heart, and some seriously steamy sex scenes!

4.5 stars

22 comments:

  1. I love that premise. It's such a great idea for a story, I'm surprised there hasn't been a movie or book about it before! At least as far as I know.

    I'm so glad it's hilarious, too! I can imagine it must be.

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  2. I keep seeing and it sounds so good!! Great review. Congrats on the win too. Have a great weekend.

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  3. Contemporary romance is usually not my cup of tea but I love the idea of the all-male romance book club, it sounds very entertaining.

    Enjoy your weekend, Angela!

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  4. I keep reading so many positive reviews for this one. I have a copy, now I just need to get it read. I can’t wait to meet Gavin!

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  5. Oddly enough, I thought this book was a bit heavier than I expected. I thought it was going to be a full-out rom-com, but even though it wasn't, I was extremely happy with this book. I loved Gavin too, and he wound went so deep. I was surprise, when I finally found out why he was so sensitive about Thea's faking it.

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    1. Yeah, some parts were a little uncomfortably realistic!

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  6. This is the first I've heard of this one, but I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! Thea does sound a bit frustrating. I hate when things like lying or misunderstandings cause so many issues in romantic plots.

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    1. I know!! But I did like that she was able to own up to her mistakes eventually.

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  7. So looking forward to this one - I'm glad you enjoyed it!

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  8. It's a fun premise, and a book that has crossed my radar several times now. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much!

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  9. Yay, I'm so glad to hear this book was a winner for you too. I agree about being frustrated with Thea for parts of the book and that it was wonderful to see how much growth she experienced.

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  10. Wheee! Omg i am eating up all the good reviews for this one! I can’t wait for it!!

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  11. Yay!! I'm glad this was a hit for you!

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I'm so glad you stopped by, and I would love to hear your thoughts! Comments are always greatly appreciated!