by Lissa Kay Adams
Release Date: November 5th 2019
2019 Berkley
Kindle Edition; 352 Pages
ISBN: 978 -1984806093
ASIN: B07NKMZVCT
Genre: Fiction / Contemporary / Romance
Source: Review copy from publisher
4 / 5 Stars
Summary
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.
My Thoughts
The Bromance Book Club was definitely not what I was expecting. While it was a bit preachy at times and somewhat contrived, man, it was a lot of fun to watch baseball players read romance novels and give each other relationship advice about how to 'woo' their ladies. I had quite a few laugh out loud moments during this book and I appreciated the humour and the witty dialogue between the characters a lot.
Basically, the story is about Gavin, a Major League Baseball player, who, despite being a pretty famous baseball player, actually suffers with confidence issues due to a stutter. One night he discovers that his wife has been faking the big 'O' and decides to leave, although his relationship with Thea has been on the outs for months. Gavin gets relationship help from a rather unlikely source, his buddies who all belong to a secret romance book club whereby they use romance novels to help resolve relationship issues. I have to say it was an intriguing idea and I really loved the idea of men reading romance novels and trying to use the information to help them resolve their issues.
I really wanted to read this as I was interested in how the author would tackle a problem that is quite common: how do you rekindle a relationship when there are kids involved and you have been together for quite a while? I think it's a trope that hasn't been fully explored and I would like to see more of it done. While it should be super romantic and all, Thea and Gavin had some serious issues to work through and I liked that the author didn't play down those issues at all, acknowledging that those issues would have to be worked on every day for the rest of their lives.
And were there some sexy moments? Oh yes!! Gavin is a baseball star and quite fit so the author's descriptions of him with a towel around his waist...sexy!! If you are looking for some steamy scenes, they were there. Steamy, yes, erotica, no. Just two people rekindling their love for each other and the joys of the bedroom.
I really enjoyed this author's writing style and I loved the whole Bromance Book Club idea. I definitely was laughing out loud during the scenes when the guys were discussing the books as they were funny. And the scene when they discovered Pinterest? Priceless. I do wish however, the author had kept some of the feminist preachy things out of some of the conversations as I don't think they were needed and kind of ruined the flow or mood of some of the scenes. I just don't think it was necessary in order for Thea to prove she was an independent woman and could make her own decision about going back to school. And the men going on about feminism just didn't sound authentic. You know they care about their wives and partners just by how they treat them, having them spew about feminism made them sound silly. Just an opinion.
Verdict
The Bromance Book Club was very enjoyable and I liked it a lot. I tend to really like romance novels that feel more authentic and this one dealt with some real issues that needed to be delved into on both sides, issues that both people need to continue working on long after the book is finished. And I like how the author made that so clear, that a relationship is a work in progress. This book had the perfect balance between sweet, romantic, and confronting issues. I am really looking forward to the next relationship the Bromance Book Club will assist and the way this book ended, there are a couple of contenders.
That sounds different! Excellent review.
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