THE BROMANCE BOOKCLUB by Lyssa Kay Adams

THE BROMANCE BOOKCLUB by Lyssa Kay Adams

** spoiler warning** A book where men read romance novels to improve their relationships?? SIGN ME UP. This book was laugh out loud funny, yet still very grounded with an emphasis on breaking down gender stereotypes, misogyny, and stigma. If you're a fan of the second chance romance trope, then I would highly recommend this one!

Second chance is a trope I usually struggle with, so naturally I was a little worried going into this book but I'd heard such amazing things that I thought it was worth giving a shot. I'm glad I did. I found the male perspective in a romance novel to be refreshing, especially when the book centers around Gavin (our male MC) trying to learn how to better understand his wife. Gavin was a main character who, despite his faults, I rooted for throughout the whole book.

There were a few elements to this story that I didn't *love* but I think those boil down to personal preference. Minor spoilers ahead:

Thea (Gavin's wife) asks for a divorce because of a series of relationship problems between her and Gavin, mostly a result of not taking the time to understand each other's needs and desires. Their problems come to a head over Thea faking an orgasm. It appears that after the fallout from Gavin discovering this, Thea is not willing to even *work* on her marriage. And her sister encourages and essentially roots for the demise of Gavin and Thea's relationship. Here is my one critique: I did not like the way Thea's sister "supported" her sister. Gavin and Thea have two young girls, and given the problems they were having, I thought the overwhelming hate Thea's sister had toward Gavin was too strong and unrealistic. I get the reasons behind Thea and her sister's issues with trusting men, but I just had a hard time with how much she was pushing Thea towards divorce. Again, this is a personal preference thing! It bothered me, but I don't think it detracted enough from the story to make me recommend it less to people who enjoy modern romance and especially second chance romance!

Other than this, I really did enjoy this book for a fresh take on the romance novel. It was unique and forward-thinking, and I'm looking forward to the second book in the series!