The Bromance Book Club

“Modern romance novelists use the patriarchal society of old British aristocracy to explore the gender-based limitations placed on women today in both the professional and personal spheres. That shit is feminist as fuck.”

“Don’t be ashamed for liking them. The backlash against the {pumpkin spice latte} is a perfect example of how toxic masculinity permeates even the most mundane things in life. If masses of women like something, our society automatically begins to mock them. Just like romance novels. If women like them, they must be a joke, right?”

In addition to being a fun novel, The Bromance Book Club is a great defense of romance as a genre and the validity of women-centered stories. What puts it a cut above is that in show more addition to the female point of view, we are given a strong male one, too. And much of the understanding of the power of the novels comes from the title group - several men who have improved their relationships by reading romances so that they can better understand their partners. The two quotes above come from male characters.

It’s a cute premise and wouldn’t be more than that except that Adams is smart enough to not make this into a male-bashing story or faultless-woman-saves-bumbling-man narrative. Both her leads are fleshed out and nuanced with believable baggage that threatens their relationship. For a time, I was afraid it was veering into “Happy wife, happy life” territory, but it ultimately didn’t. (And if you ever want to hear my rant about that abhorrent little phrase, let me know.)

4 stars show less

Gavin's wife Thea kicked him out of the house recently after he realized that she'd been faking orgasms for three years and he reacted badly. He wants to get back together, though, and a couple of his friends on his major league baseball team convince him that he needs to read romance novels to be a better husband. After all, they are by and large written for women, by women and have a lot to say about what women want. So he and Thea make a deal - he'll move back in for a month, and he has until Christmas to convince her to take him back.

This was a fun premise and I liked what meta elements that really championed the romance novel and women's joy. I could root for both Gavin and Thea, though I found her reasons for the breakup, which show more were rooted in her childhood sense of abandonment and her father being a less than stellar guy, more believable between the two. The main disconnect was an utter lack of communication on both their sides, and I despise that trope in any story, so that was a big hurdle for me to get over. The story in the Regency romance that Gavin was reading mirrored his and Thea's a little too much, and Thea's epiphany was a little too easy (let's be honest, they probably both needed therapy). But it was a fast-paced, enjoyable read overall. show less

Many women readers (and I include myself) complain that most male authors write women rather badly. To be fair though, most women authors get men wrong too. In hetero romance this is often intentional. In romance women write men the way we think we want men to be. We want men to have difficult conversations with their besties about how to better please their partners, to recognize when they are putting their needs before the needs of their children and their partners. We want men to long to be loved for themselves rather than what they bring to the table (looks, money, connections.) I love romance, and I am perfectly content to accept these reformed rakes and progressive generous Dukes because it is fantasy. We can argue all day about show more whether it is conditioning or biology, but whatever it is most men are not the way women want them to be, which is in many ways like women with penises. In fact when we meet men who behave like women with penises most women are not romantically drawn to them, those "one of the girls" guys. There are exceptions to this rule, but in my experience the women who are drawn to those men are the least likely to be romance readers.

I accept all of this absolutely, so it surprised me that this book went a little off the rails for me because it made the boys so ridiculously like girls. Theoretically the idea of a group of manly men gathering to read romance and analyze it in order to be better partners for their women, and more feminist men, is appealing. I have a 22 year old son, and I have encouraged him to read certain romances to learn more about women (he has so far refused the encouragement) so I get where Adams was going with this. BUT the concept of a bunch of professional athletes bonding over being the men their women want (like women do, or at least the women I know) and discussing romance books, and whether it is misogynist to keep girls from buying into Disney princess lore since it implies girls cannot distinguish fantasy from reality is so absurd I can't get there. And also, rather than finding it hot I found it was (this is so embarrassing) sort of a boner killer.

Add to the woke men issue the fact that our heroine, Thea, is not necessarily a character whose HEA is something I rooted for. I did not hate her, and I get being past the point of no return -- I was the same way when I asked for a divorce. I had asked for what I needed for years and I was done trying and also really angry and disappointed that it took a request for divorce to finally make my ex-husband listen and make an effort. But Thea was so mean and so unwilling to put any energy into keeping her family together that she was hard to root for. That is true even though we understand why she is like she is and can see that much of the blame for her rigidity goes to her vile little sister for making her believe she would be a spineless bitch if she tried to save her marriage. Those things together kept me from investing in Gavin and Thea so it turned out to be a sweet and slight and pleasant listen, but no more. I am not opposed to reading further in the series, but I am also not running out to find the books immediately.

I do want to add that I liked that this book covered a marriage in crisis and a reconciliation rather than an initial wooing. That potentially adds so much depth to the story. Here I think a lot of that potential was wasted, but where it came together I found I was a fan. show less

The Bromance Book Club is a fun romance based in the reality of a couple who have lost their spark after a whirlwind romance and children. Gavin is a baseball player in the major league and Thea gave up her career to look after their twins. But after a great day turns into their worst night, the cracks in their marriage begin to show. Fortunately, a group of Nashville’s mean is here to teach Gavin how to romance his wife through romance novels.

Yes, you read that correctly. It’s a novel idea for a romance novel, (I could continue with the puns, but I won’t) an all-male book club learning from romance – written for women, by women as one character says, so following them seems like an easy way to save a marriage. Of course, when show more you throw real life into the mix, things get messy, but this is one of the major attractions of the novel. It doesn’t go to plan, sometimes in quite refreshing ways. There are sick kids and whinging kids, a WAG who bases her character on Mean Girls, an opinionated sister and bros who couldn’t subtly trail anyone when they wear ridiculous disguises. It’s fun and avoids the typical reasons for tension and arguments in romance.

The book is focused on Gavin’s plan to get Thea back before her deadline for divorce. Through regular meetings with the book club, he learns from historical romance, as well as taking some tips from the other men in the group. There’s some tension between Gavin and another member of the group, Braden Mack, who has absolutely no filter when it comes to anything. Add in a nameless Russian hockey player with gut problems and some of Gavin’s baseball team colleagues and it’s a recipe for good banter as well as some very funny double entendres. But the story also goes into Thea’s thoughts and the problems she’s had being a reluctant WAG, as well as her own ‘backstory’ as the book club puts it and how it’s complicating her current relationship.

Overall the tone of the book is light, with some important lessons learned by both Thea and Gavin. It’s very well paced. Never did I find myself wishing things would hurry up or wondering if I’d miss a chunk. The couple’s children are also portrayed well – not over the top cute, and not as complete ferals. I loved how the book explored Gavin’s vulnerability and not only admitted that he as an alpha male sports hero had stuffed up, but worked through how to make it right, even if it did look less ‘masculine’ at times. (Apparently alpha males love pumpkin spice lattes and I’m here for that!) It was refreshing, and yes, I’m already looking at options to read the next book in the series.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com show less

A hilarious romance! Definitely one of those where you need to suspend your disbelief at the door, but in a pretty harmless way. A book for people who want to believe men are really just misunderstood marshmallows at heart.

The book club was really funny and I laughed out loud on several occasions. I was pretty miffed at Thea's stance on Gavin's ignorance. If you don't tell someone how you feel and actively lie about a pretty integral part about a sexual relationship, you really don't get to turn it around on the other person and demand they know you aren't really enjoying yourself but in fact faking (especially when you've been doing it from pretty much the beginning.) Same goes for the treatment from the rest of the WAGs - why should show more he have known, when you never once told him about it?

Annnyway, rating this against all other romance I've ever read. show less

This book had me yelling at the page, laughing out loud, and staying up until 3:30am to finish. There were some amazingly refreshing changes from the usual tropes (beloved as they may be). First, the romance is between two married folks who are currently on the outs. Second, while it shows from both sides, this romance was really from the man's POV and he had a sassy group of side kicks giving him advice, a gender swap of the usual set up! Third, none of the characters are perfect, there are large, medium and small flaws sprinkled all around.

I also enjoyed the book within a book aspect, it was fun to read over the MC's shoulder and glimpse into a parallel marriage in need of a re-wooing.

Gavin Scott is not in a good place. Kicked out by his wife, Thea, of three years, he's floundering to figure out how everything went so wrong. But his best friend and a few other guys think they know how to help Gavin: romance novels. Using romance novels to better understand the women in their lives has helped all of the men in the group in their relationships. With their feedback and a Regency romance novel, Gavin might just have a shot of convincing Thea to give their marriage another chance.

As a regular romance reader, I loved the concept of this novel. Gavin and Thea's relationship feels real and I love the dynamic between Gavin and the other guys of the book club and how it allowed for meta-commentary on romance novels while doing show more exactly what the guys were discussing. My only quibble is that I felt Thea wasn't quite as well-developed as Gavin. It's common in romance novels for perspective to alternate between the two characters and it took me longer than normal to truly feel like I understood Thea's character and why she was making the decisions she was. A thoroughly enjoyable romance and I look forward to reading other books in the series. show less