Author: Lyssa Kay Adams
Title: The Bromance Book Club
Series: Bromance Book Club #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Sports, Chick Lit
Format: paperbook
Pages: 352
Published: November 5, 2019
Where I Got It: My shelf (Xmas gift)
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.
Review:
Had my eye on this one and was pleasantly surprised when I received this as an Xmas gift from the lovely Blodeuedd! Thank you!
Here we follow Gavin and Thea. Gavin is a second baseman on his major league baseball team. Even celebrity athletes have trouble in their marriages! Gavin recently found out that his wife has always faked the Big O. He doesn't take this well and is hurt deeply...so he doesn't react great about it...it is the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce and Gavin is out of hope. In comes the Bromance Book Club. Gavin will find help from a secret romance book club made up of Nashville's top alpha men. They read romance books and will use these books to help coach Gavin in saving his marriage. Thea has lost her trust in him so it will take everything he can to win her back.
When I closed the book....I took some time to think it over. I DID enjoy this. I really did. I loved Gavin and his friends. I also really liked Alexis and Nessa. I loved the secret book club between manly men reading romance novels to help their relationships. Such a clever idea.
HOWEVER, I had TWO big issues. Get prepared for a rant and for some spoilers! SPOILER ALERT!
1) Thea. I get it...she has parent issues. They pretty much abandoned them so she has trust issues. She never really ever trusted Gavin with her heart and her past. SURE. I can get it. Her dad was a scoundrel and has married and cheated...married and then cheated. However, how can you punish Gavin for that? He never, ever cheated. Also, I don't understand why she wouldn't just tell Gavin the truth about anything. If anyone should have trust issues in this marriage it should be him. Omitting the truth is a lie sweetie. Maybe therapy could've helped? Say you're having issues in the bedroom and go from there. AND Gavin never ASKED you to stop going to college when you got preggo. He never ASKED you to give up your career for his career. So to use that against him is crap. AGAIN, Thea has some major issues so I can see why she has trust issues and etc. That isn't fair to make Gavin have to fix everything and beg and plead for you back. It takes communication, honesty, and patience for love to work. I am glad she seen the light and realized how toxic she had been. It took forever though.
2) Liv (Thea's sister). I get that she has the same issues as Thea. They both had shit parents and have the same trust issues. I get it is her sister and she will stand by her side. However, she treated Gavin like he cheated and beat Thea to an inch of her life. Later on in the book, Thea hinted that she had a good time on their "first/redo" date and wanted to have smexy times with him Liv lost her marbles. You are supposed to be her sister. You are supposed to stand by her side. And also...be honest with her. Thea wasn't 100% without fault in the failure of the marriage. Gavin did nothing so bad that they can't fix it or go to marriage counseling to help fix it. She kinda realized she was being toxic....but not really. She does get her own book so maybe she'll realize how shitty she was to Gavin and realized she was projecting her daddy and mommy issues onto him.
I bet you can tell that I was really holding this in LOL. Liv and Thea are pretty toxic in my humble opinion. Yes, Gavin messed up by being angry and giving her the silent treatment. Yes, Gavin messed up and left when Thea told him to go and move out. Sure. He should've stayed and fought and suggested therapy or something. It takes two to tango and it takes two to make a marriage work. They were both in the wrong in so many ways, but I felt like Gavin had to do all the work to rekindle that love and make up for his wrongdoings. She just said sorry once and he was all "I LOVE YOU AND FORGIVE YOU! LET US REMARRY!" There is a scene when he strategically throws in the towel and leaves. Good for him.
END OF SPOILER ALERT!
BUT I did enjoy this book even though I found Liv and Thea pretty dang toxic. I loved watching them rekindle their love. I loved the WAG drama. I loved watching Thea find herself again and go back to college. Good for her. I loved their kids. They were adorable and oh-so innocent.
Vlad made me laugh. Mack was adorable.
Alexis deserves the world and I want to read her book SO bad.
This book is perfect for book club. I may make mine read it one day. So much to discuss. I'm sure this could lead to a lively debate.
All-in-all, I had some issues with two characters but I did enjoy this at the end of the day. I want to read more of the series. I'll give this 3 stars.
Challenge(s):
- #9 for Romance Reading Challenge - Sports Romance
