The Bromance Book Club

By: Lyssa Kay Adams

Narrated by: Andrew Eiden, Maxwell Caulfield

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's 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. 

One of Bustle’s “21 New Rom-Coms Out in Fall 2019 to Give You Warm and Fuzzy Feelings All Season Long“

©2019 Lyssa Kay Adams (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Sweet and funny and emotional. I zoomed through this one Sunday, totally compelled by the romance (and the bromance!). I'm so looking forward to seeing more of this book club." (Nalini Singh, New York Times best-selling author)

"The Bromance Book Club is a you’re-gonna-burn-dinner book because you will not want to put it down. Laugh out loud with tons of heart, this is an absolutely adorable must read." (Avery Flynn, USA Today and Wall Street Journal best-selling author)

"The Bromance Book Club is a delight! Even though Gavin is nothing less than swoon worthy, it was Adams' heroine that stole the show. With her perfect imperfections, she made me feel seen as a wife, mom, and woman. I raced to finish this book, but still never wanted it to end!" (Alexa Martin, author of Intercepted)

3.5 Stars

The main couple in this book are married and recently separated. Gavin is desperate to save their marriage, while Thea has accepted its demise. I enjoyed the unique take on this married romance story, but it was an emotional struggle not to be offended for Gavin. I was becoming incensed at how one-sided the responsibility of the marriage's breakdown felt. A third of the way in, Gavin was still shouldering all the responsibility. Common sense says one person alone is rarely the problem. The author wasn't convincing me that Gavin's offenses were worthy of his groveling or his alone, I should say. I also wasn't feeling empathy for Thea since the author had portrayed her as fairly bitter most of the time, even though she married Gavin while knowing the demands of a pro-baseball player. By all accounts, he seemed like a great husband, aside from their breakdown in communication, which ironically, seemed to be Thea's problem.

By the end, there was turnabout, but I felt like the author waited too long to show Thea's vulnerable side. The book did have some light and funny moments. The idea of a romance reading male book club was fabulous. That aspect of the book introduced some great secondary characters who elevated the story a little. I really liked how the author handled the ending and reconciliation, but I would have preferred more of a balance when it came to responsibility between the husband and wife throughout the rest of the book.

The audio was pretty good. I preferred the contemporary narration to that of the historical romance excerpts.

I Finished It Annoyed

My rating is actually closer to 2.5 stars. I did not love this book.

I liked the premise of the bromance book club and I expected more actual book club than was featured.

However, I was supremely annoyed by Thea. I won't spoil it, but I'll just say that while couples always deal with issues from selfishness, hers was too much.

And I wasn't expecting such explicit sex.

Not for me.

I loved this!

I absolutely adore the premise of The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams . I have always said that men should read romance if they really want to know how to treat a woman, and this was a perfect demonstration. I also love a book where a married couple finds their way back to each other. Due to my own personal situation, this book hit me in the feels as well as made me laugh.

Gavin Scott is a famous baseball player. He is so busy with his career and his team, that he doesn’t realize he is neglecting his wife. When he discovers that his wife has been faking big Os since they got together, he is so butthurt that he he leaves when his wife tells him to after not speaking for weeks. Apparently she has been miserable for a while and never told him.

“Do you want to fight for your marriage?”
“Yes.” Jesus, yes. More than anything. And shit, now his throat was closing again.
“What are you willing to do?”
“Anything.”
“Do you mean that?”
“W-w-what the f***? Of course, I mean it.”

Gavin has a stutter that has affected his confidence his whole life. Thea was the one who loved him because of his stutter, not in spite of it. But due to an accidental pregnancy with twins, their relationship was fast-tracked. 3 years later, she hates the baseball life and she’s been faking it. When Gavin moved out, her sister moved in to help, and she was like the devil on Thea’s shoulder. Ugh, I hated her. But I LOVED all the professional sports guys who step in to lend Gavin a hand. They’ve all been through it.

“Everyone ready?” The guys nodded, mouths full. “Good. First rule of book club?” They finished in unison. “You don’t talk about book club.”
What. The.(bleep).
Gavin looked around for a hidden camera. This had to be a prank.
“A book club? That’s your grand plan for saving my marriage?”

Haven’t you ever wished your guy would read some of your books and get the freaking hint? Darn, I wish all men were required to read romance. Sigh….

I loved Gavin. He wanted to make his wife happy so badly but he had no clue how. He was really clueless…but what really annoyed me was that IT WASN’T HIS FAULT. SHE is the one who has been lying for all this time. How would he know that she’s not happy if she was going to lie about it? And don’t even get me started on her sister.

"From the moment I first saw you, I have been half a man, because you’ve always held the other half of me."

Likes:

•Such a fun and unique premise!
•I loved the guys in the club.
•Gavin was a sweetheart who loved his wife so much.
•I loved the way the historical novel they were reading weaved through the book, including the narration. “Courting the Countess” was cheesy but added some lighthearted humor.
•I loved that he had a stutter and how she helped him through.
•The Russian made me laugh.
•I usually don’t love 3rd person books, but honestly I didn’t even notice it. Sometimes it makes you feel detached, but here, perhaps because it was a male narrator, I never felt that.
•The Nashville setting. (My son lives there, it was nice to recognize what they were talking about).
•It was over-the-top silly at times (the feminist men) interspersed with some pretty heavy moments. They balanced each other well.
•That cover!

Dislikes:

•Liv. Thea’s sister was so hateful to Gavin and so selfish. I couldn’t stand her.
•I thought Thea was way too rough on him. The marital problems seemed way more like her fault than his.

The Narration:
I am so glad to hear a not- overused narrator and love him. I especially enjoyed that there was a different British author for the “Courting the Countess” scenes. I definitely hope to hear more from both narrators.

The Down & Dirty:
I really enjoyed this unique and fun audiobook. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said men need to read romance! The Bromance Book Club was a good mix of emotion, laughs, silliness and fun, but it tackled some pretty serious issues. I loved the book club guys and I am so excited to grab the next in the series, Undercover Bromance.

Rating: 4.25 Stars, 3 Heat, 5 Narration

I Am a Guy

It is rare for fiction, and especially romance, to make me laugh out loud. It is far rarer for it to make tears of joy run down my cheeks. This book accomplished both. The narrators are excellent; I hope their considerable talents are being used to the full by the industry. I loved the entire wooing-and-winning story. I gave only four stars for the story because the reason for the initial breakup is implausible, her reaction to the notes in the books is unrealistic, and that whole "backstory" thing at the end didn't fit and made no sense. Nevertheless, it is a funny and heartwarming story, told with excellent prose.

closer to 5 stars

I had to give this one 5 even if I had a minor problem here and there. It was fun, well written and funny. I absolutely adored Gavin and his friends. His issue touched me so much and explained a lot. Very much looking forward to the next book.

Romance novels as how-to manuals

Setting: Nashville, TN Contemporary
Genre: Romance

Gavin Scott is a professional baseball player whose marriage is in trouble. It all started when he found out his wife had been faking orgasms as long as they’d been together, after which he had moved into the guest room and given her the silent treatment, and culminated with her telling him to leave and asking for a divorce. After being on a month-long drunk, his best friend and teammate, Del, along with some other guys, come around and tell him that they can help him save his marriage. And it all involves a book club and reading romance books or, as Mac calls them, manuals. So they give him a Regency romance called Courting the Countess, about an Earl trying to win the love of his wife, as his first assignment. The thing is, Gavin thought the problem with his marriage was the lie of Thea faking orgasm, but it went much deeper than that. Thea had lost herself, had become subsumed in being a good little pastel baseball WAG (Wives and Girlfriends).when they met, she had been a bit of a bohemian, studying art at college. Then she got pregnant, they married, and she had to give up school for domestic responsibilities.
The plot is well written, and the characters are fully developed. I did not like Thea’s sister Liv. She was too much rah rah yay divorce! in regards to her sister’s marriage. I mean, it’s all fine and good to be supportive, but to criticize her for working toward reconciliation? No. But I did like the other characters, even The B*tch, who was just so... bitchy.
The narration was good. It was nice that, given the book, as well as the book-within-the-book, were mainly from a male perspective, that the narrators were male. Andrew Eiden did an excellent job, even with the feminine voices. Maxwell Caulfield, who read the book-within-the-book, isn’t quite as good at the feminine, but portrayed a stuffy Regency era Earl very well — if a little over the top.

Nothing but angst and jaw clenching

What a huge downer. The comedic concept of a bro-book club as the key to helping a couple rediscover the Big O had me hoping for the Kama Sutra scene from American Pie. Instead, this was a second chance romance that read like the author’s wish fulfillment for how she wanted her marriage to be saved. I lost count of how many times Thea or Gavin’s jaws or teeth clenched in frustration as I listened to a long slog thru bickering and seemingly irreconcilable differences until the final three hours, when things slowly turn around. There’s a single nooky scene with 1.5 hrs to go that I was too exhausted to enjoy, and a “too little too late” comedic ending in the final half hour. I regret this sale purchase.

Thoroughly enjoyed 🥰

I thought the story was sweet and gave me a few moments where I chuckled uncontrollably for minutes. I had only one concern. The characters cursed a few too many times for me particularly the f word. I don't usually mind an occasional curse, but sometimes, i cringed at the language. However, the cursing lessoned as Gavin started to delved into the Courting the countess world. Still will recommend.

Contemporary romance with comedy and a twist

I enjoyed this book so much that when I finished it, I turned it over and read it again! The second time I listened to it with my husband, and we had many laugh-out-loud moments.

Imagine a professional baseball player for the Nashville Legends named Gavin Scott. His wife Thea has recently kicked him out of the house and requested a divorce. He is devastated and not willing to give up on their marriage. When his buddies find out, they invite him into the fold of the book club they formed in which they read romance novels to learn more about what their wives and girlfriends want. They study them and discuss what works and what falls flat. They choose a title just for Gavin titled “Courting the Countess.”

What Gavin isn’t telling the guys is the reason for their breakup. On the night of a grand slam home run, Gavin discovers that his wife has been faking orgasms their entire marriage because she has a real one, and he can tell the difference. The sexual tension in the book runs high. The ball players even have a term for their own arousal from a book. Each has been in Gavin’s shoes and has words of advice. Gavin begins to court his wife taking her on dates, meeting at their twins’ school play, flirting, and paying close attention to her.

What sets the audiobook apart from the printed book is the narration. Andrew Eiden does wonderfully at depicting the guys, especially during one very funny scene in which Gavin is hung over and the idea of reading romance novels is introduced. But it is the very proper British narrator Maxwell Caulfield who takes the cake as he reads the passages that are the actual romance novel within this novel. His first passage may be a few pages, but each quip gets shorter and shorter until the character Gavin and the regency romance “author” seem to start exchanging barbs with each other.

While the book is very funny, it is also quite touching. This is a couple trying to find romance and get past their inner struggles to find each other again. Do Gavin and Thea get back together? Well, I can’t answer that or I would spoil the book. They, and we, sure enjoyed their courtship. I’m looking forward to a sequel.

LOVED IT!!!

I stalked the author because I so enjoyed this book. I ha r a new fav!! Can’t wait for Mack and Liv’s story next. Great writing and even greater narration!!