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

Dini @ dinipandareads32 Comments

Goodreads: The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club #1)
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance

Panda Rating:

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. 

I’ve had this one sitting on my shelf for quite a while now and have been excited to read it ever since I first heard about it. There’s a lot of hype around this book and while I did have some issues with it, overall I’m glad to say that this second-chance romance lived up to the hype for me!

I did struggle a bit at the start with my current funky reading mood but once I gave this a proper go I ended up surprising myself by finishing it in a few hours! The story was so well paced and engaging–it was really unputdownable. That said, I honestly wasn’t sure I’d enjoy it as much as I did because I did not like Thea’s sister Liv at all. I know they both had a rough upbringing with two absent and selfish parents, but wow, she was so petty and immature that it really rubbed me the wrong way. I also wasn’t too sure about Mack’s character at the start but thankfully, he ended up growing on me!

Gavin was definitely my favourite. He completely swept my heart off its little feet and I completely felt for him. Yes, his ego and insecurities got in the way and he did screw up, but he really tried his best to redeem himself and to prove his love and his willingness to be more open and to try to make their marriage work. Reading his POV really melted my heart because you could feel how much he loved his wife and daughters. There were a lot of start/stop moments between them but I loved how Gavin kept trying and never gave up.

Thea for the most part was not a bad character but I felt she came off as a a little selfish? She didn’t have good examples of healthy relationships because of her selfish and narcissistic parents, so her reaction to Gavin was understandable. But there were moments I wanted to really shake her because I felt like Gavin was giving so much and she wasn’t giving equally back. She wasn’t perfect especially when it came to being open and honest in her relationship, yet she continued to hold the honesty issue over Gavin’s head when she was doing the exact same thing (I hope that made sense). Basically, Gavin might have been the one to “walk away” initially but she wasn’t blameless. What I really loved about her character though was how she stood up for Gavin especially when he struggled with his stutter and how people reacted to it. That’s the kind of genuine support and love that I love! Also this was much steamier than I expected–I’d say a good 3.5/5 on the steamy scale!

But obviously, obviously the best part of this book was the Bromance Book Club. These men were just… the best? Del, Malcom, Yan, THE RUSSIAN who was kinda gross but also hilarious? There was a date scene that had me laughing uncontrollably! The bromances not only had me giggling, it was also really heartwarming. I loved the talks they had and I found myself saying “Yaaas!” so often because their discussions were so on point! I loved how they were so genuine in bettering themselves and their relationships by reading all kinds of romances. I also thought that it was clever (and unique!) to include chapters of the book Gavin was reading to get his marriage back on track, and watching him really get into the story really had me grinning! 😂

Overall, a fast moving, sexy and sweet second-chance romance that had me laughing, smiling and swooning just a little bit 😉 I want to say that I’m looking forward to continuing the story but I’m apprehensive about the next book because it’s about Liv… I do already have it sitting on my Kindle though so I’ll read it eventually!

Have you read The Bromance Book Club or is it on your TBR?

32 thoughts on “Review: The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club #1) by Lyssa Kay Adams”

  1. I’m so glad you enjoyed this one! It was sooo hyped last year so my expectations were sky high. It ended up being like 3.5 for me. I adored Gavin and like you said, even though he was the one who left, I felt like he never gave up on fighting for his wife and kids. He loved his family so much! And I loved the other guys. But I was not a fan of Thea. She wasn’t open and honest with Gavin and yet she expected him to read her mind. She was so hard on him when he was obviously trying. So she really tainted my enjoyment. And I could not stand Liv. She was awful! The way she tried to influence Thea and meddled in their marriage… you just don’t do that! When I heard the second book was about her I knew I’d be passing on it.

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    • I fully agree with everything you’re saying about Thea! I was really rooting for her at the start but as she persisted on being so unforgiving up until the end, it was really hard to not want to shake some sense into her! And UGH. TANYA! I totally agree Liv was THE WORST! Every time she opened her mouth and interfere with Thea and Gavin made me so angry 😤 Was definitely not a fan of hers. A lot of people are saying they didn’t like her but still enjoyed book two… Although I’m really not sure how soon I’m going to read it coz thinking about her still makes me angry! Haha

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  2. Wow! It’s like you just wrote my review for me! I had all the same opinions from her sister to Thea herself. Thank goodness her sister called out to him for help in the end because I was so fed up with her. And Thea, yes she sure frustrated me, too, but like you said I could see how circumstances had made her that way. Gavin was so awesome, though! Glad he got his HEA!

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    • Haha I’m really glad that I’m not the only one who struggled with Thea and Liv, although Liv truly was the worst. Ugh! 🙈 Really happy Gavin got his HEA too because he totally deserved it! He worked so hard to prove himself ❤ Glad you enjoyed this one too, Ali!

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  7. I’m really put off by the covers of these books! Like it’s entirely irrational and unreasonable but I’ve decided to hate the books for that reason. They’re just too punchy with the colour scheme maybe? I like my soft pastels lol 😂

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    • Hahaha I’m unsurprisingly the total opposite! I LOVE this cover! I mean, pastels are my jam and anything pastel coloured is my favourite colour and favourite everything BUT I still really love this cover 🤣 The book in the butt pocket! The flowers! 💙💙💙

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      • Dini I die. We are just hilariously opposite. It’s the book in the butt pocket that makes me want to run screaming. THINK OF THE FARTY SMELLY BOOK DINI! Men do not have sweet scented butts 😂😂😂😂😂

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        • HAHAHAHA a farty smelly book (or not sweet scented butts) is the last thing I think of when looking at the book in the butt pocket LMAAOO 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I’m so dead. Oh Emer. You’re hilarious!!! Hahahahaha

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    • I’m really curious about book two but I really didn’t like Liv in this one so I’m hesitating big time 🤣 I have it on my Kindle already coz it was on sale the other day (lol) but I think I might wait a little to pick it up! 😅

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