The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club #1) by Lyssa Kay Adams ~ Review

Source: Publisher sent a finished copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club #1) by Lyssa Kay Adams

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.

**Releases Tuesday, November 5th!!**

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I've been itching to read The Bromance Book Club for a while. First because I had friends read it and they had all positive things to say. Then because when Taylor Swift's Lover album released, the song Lover was said to fit the characters and story. So OF COURSE I wanted to read what had to be a beautiful romance then. Finally I got my hands on the book, and a couple of days ago I picked it up and flew right through it. And, honestly, this book was a total delight.

First I have to talk about the writing, because it was fantastic. Because I picked this one up to check out the beginning in an effort to decide what to read next, and instead of checking it out then putting it down to take a look at my other options to make an informed decision, I picked it up and read half the freaking novel. It pulled me in that easily. The story kicks off right away, which I appreciated. I also appreciated that while there were snippets of their past mixed in with the current story to give us context, it wasn't too much. It didn't slow the story down at all. Instead it gave us the info we needed to follow along without feeling like we were missing anything, at the right points in time, and it was great.

Another big, huge plus for The Bromance Book Club, and Adams' solid writing, was the spin on the second chance romance. In general, second chances are a hard sell for me. I'm more likely to hesitate picking one up, because many of them contain the same elements that I don't always love. But this one was a unique take on the trope that didn't fall back on all those elements. It incorporated the best and left out the worst, and I loved it. And the premise to begin with is a shining star, honestly.

The characters were endearingly flawed. Thea has many fears and holds a lot back, while Gavin has loads of insecurities and sucks at communication. But even in their flaws, they were clearly good people who made up a beautiful couple who loved one another and it was so easy to root for them. Especially when we got to see them be such sweet parents to their little girls.

The book club was a huge highlight of the book, giving so much humor. My favorites were the Russian (Vlad), and of course Mack. But along with the humor, they were also an awesome source of true friendship and support for Gavin. Just like Thea's sister was cool and supportive, and while they had slight issues their relationship was still so nice.

While a majority of the novel was great, there were a couple of things that missed the mark for me. One was the snippets of the book Gavin was reading between some of the chapters. I understand that they were there for context and somewhat enhanced the story, but for me they did what flashbacks normally do--slowed the story down. I found myself skimming over them more often than not. And I still kept track of the story just fine, so they were kind of redundant. My other little issue is with how the whole final conflict went. I'm not the biggest fan of how it all went down. I'm not going to go into details, because spoilers, but I feel like much of it was forced and didn't really fit where the characters were in their journey at that point in time. That said, I AM a fan of the end result, so I'm not super miffed about it or anything.

Overall, The Bromance Book Club was a total delight! It put a unique spin on the second chance romance trope that I'm normally on the fence about and really hit the mark for me. I'm looking forward to spending more time with the book club in book 2!

4 stars - A fresh spin on the second chance romance trope & a total delight!