Review: The Bromance Book Club

When I first saw someone at Penguin Random House Canada reading The Bromance Book Club months ago, I was immediately intrigued. I mean, aren't you just based on that title and cover? Once I read what Lyssa Kay Adams' novel was about, I knew I needed to read it. I finally did a week or so ago and it was so much fun!

Here's the synopsis:

The first rule of this 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.

This novel had everything I look for in a good romance - a heavy dose of comedy, a lot of feels, and moments that were witty and moments that were deep. We meet Gavin and Thea when the shit has hit the fan and their relationship seems so broken you have to wonder if there's any chance they could come back from it. The great thing for this story - because it makes it more interesting and much less cliched - is that neither of them are perfect and their relationship isn't going to be fixed by some quick solution. They're flawed and have allowed their relationship to become secondary to, well, everything (so maybe "second" isn't quite the right number). It was sweet and sometimes hard to read as they worked to get back to each other when so many forces seem to be trying to keep them apart.

Thinking back on the story, I can totally see this as a rom com on screen (big or small. Netflix, work your magic). I can't always see books as movies but there was something about this story that would work so well as a movie.

If you know me you'll know that I got an extra little thrill that Gavin was a baseball player. I find it's not a sport that gets featured often in novels (though I think that's starting to change which is awesome). It's kind of a sport that, in general, doesn't get a lot of love. Or maybe that's just because I'm in Canada where as soon as the NHL starts, MLB news gets shoved to the side - even during playoffs. Anyway. Gavin was a ball player and a second baseman at that, not even a pitcher (which is the norm). It doesn't factor into the story a whole lot, to be honest, because it takes place during the off-season but there are enough little things that, as a fan, I totally fell in love with.

The Bromance Book Club is a bit of a reaction to the #MeToo movement and all the BS that has led to it. As she says in this The Nerd Daily article I stumbled upon, Kay Adams' wondered what a story would look like when so-called manly men - sports loving or playing, powerful dudes - said enough was enough to themselves and were open about their feelings and their relationships. These men will stand up for and stand behind their wives/girlfriends/partners and see their partnerships as an equal one. It was so refreshing to read this kind of story - even if it did feel like I was getting hit over the head with how in tune with their emotions these guys were.

The whole premise behind The Bromance Book Club seems so outlandish and ridiculous but Lyssa Kay Adams makes it work. This is a novel you're going to fly through because you're enjoying the ride so much. And, if you loved it, good news. It's part of a series! Undercover Bromance is coming our way in March 2020. Have you read this one yet? If so, what did you think? I'd love to hear!

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*