Thank you to Berkley / NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
Undercover Bromance (Bromance Book Club #2) by Lyssa Kay Adams
338 pages
ISBN: 9781984806116
Published: 3/10/20 by Berkley
Genre: Romance
Goodreads Synopsis:
Braden Mack thinks reading romance novels makes him an expert in love, but he’ll soon discover that real life is better than fiction.
Liv Papandreas has a dream job as a sous chef at Nashville’s hottest restaurant. Too bad the celebrity chef owner is less than charming behind kitchen doors. After she catches him harassing a young hostess, she confronts him and gets fired. Liv vows revenge, but she’ll need assistance to take on the powerful chef.
Unfortunately, that means turning to Braden Mack. When Liv’s blackballed from the restaurant scene, the charismatic nightclub entrepreneur offers to help expose her ex-boss, but she is suspicious of his motives. He’ll need to call in reinforcements: the Bromance Book Club.
Inspired by the romantic suspense novel they’re reading, the book club assist Liv in setting up a sting operation to take down the chef. But they’re just as eager to help Mack figure out the way to Liv’s heart… even while she’s determined to squelch the sparks between them before she gets burned.
Review:
Trigger warnings: Sexual harassment, mention of murder, mention of domestic violence, bribing, verbal abuse.
Fear was a powerful motivator. But so was love.
This is the second installment in The Bromance Book Club series, and I really enjoyed it, though not as much as the first one. They both have their pros and cons, though.
+ The smut in this book is much better than the first book.
– This one didn’t have as many scenes with the book club. Yes, they came together, but there weren’t any sit down club meetings about the book they were reading. I missed that from the first book.
+ I did enjoy the elimination of excerpts from the book they were reading. I believe there was only one at the very end.
– I can’t remember if the first book had an epilogue, but the epilogue in this one did not do it for me. Liv and Mack’s relationship really escalated in the six months we didn’t get to read about.
Favorite characters:
Mack: He has a heart of gold, he just doesn’t know how to use it 100% of the time. His interest and love for Liv just makes my heart smile.
He has some pretty intense baggage to carry around with him. He soon realizes that Liv hates liars, but he just can’t get himself to tell her. That’s okay though, because she’s got baggage too.
Rosie: I didn’t realize how much I loved Rosie until the end. She even tells Liv that she is like the daughter she didn’t know she needed. She cares for Liv and makes sure she takes care of herself. She’s a great mother-figure. Her relationship with Hop is also quite funny, even though I don’t like Hop all that much.
“The Russian”: You learn his name at the end of the book, but I don’t want to spoil the fun. He is part of the book club, and I’ve never loved a character so much. He can’t eat cheese without stinking up a room, and his heart is always in the right place. I love how much he sticks up for what’s right. I wish I could have him as a best friend. I’d say a lot of laughs would come from that friendship.
Least favorite characters:
Liv: I know this probably surprises some people. Yes, she had a poor relationship with her father, and now she hates men. Blah, blah, blah. I just hated her attitude in this book and the last. Mack does eventually crack her shell, but dang it sure does take the whole book to do so.
Hop: I found him super annoying. The only good thing that comes from him is how happy he makes Rosie. That’s all.
Royce: This is a given. Royce is the restaurant owner of Savoy, the restaurant Liv is a pastry chef for. This man is misogynistic, arrogant, and impertinent. The list goes on and on. I hated him from the start of the book, and so do all the characters. I’m so happy they seek revenge on his ass. He deserved everything that came to him.
One thing I love about these romance novels is the writing. I don’t expect romance novels to have skilled writing considering what they’re usually about. That’s not even an insult. I love that this author gives us more. She said, “I’ll see your sex and heavy topics and raise you quality writing.” I can appreciate it. Not that she isn’t an auto-read author for me, anyway. I’m super excited for the next installment!
I’m sorry the formatting for my book reviews change constantly. Different books make me feel like writing reviews in different ways. I think we should just all accept that and move on.
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