This time, Sandie Herron beat me to a book. Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams is a new release, and my copy of the book is probably in a box at the library. Or, at least I’m on the holds list at the library when we reopen. But, Sandie listened to it as an audiobook, and she has a review for us. Thanks, Sandie!
Undercover Bromance
Written by Lyssa Kay Adams
Narrated by Andrew Eiden
Series: Bromance Book Club, Book 2
Unabridged Audiobook
Penguin Audio (3/10/2020)
Listening Length: 9 hours 8 minutes
Braden Mack is a mover and shaker in Nashville where he owns several bars and clubs. He is celebrating his three month anniversary with his current lady and takes her to an exclusive restaurant and orders an outrageously expensive dessert. Created and served by Liv Papandreas in a ritual with the celebrity chef and owner, everything goes wrong on this night. Later, called to her boss’s office, Liv arrives to find him harassing a young hostess. When she calls him on it, he fires her. Vowing revenge, Liv runs into Mack after being escorted out of the restaurant, when he offers help, but she is too angry and hurt to accept.
As Liv finds work impossible to find since she is being blackballed, Braden Mack offers help again. Liv is suspicious of his motives. The chemistry between Mack and Liv is undeniable, but she refuses to see it. Braden turns to the Bromance Book Club members for help. Half a dozen athletic or powerful men comprise the club and have all been through troubled relationships. Liv knows the men in the club from when they recently helped her sister Thea and her husband Gavin save their marriage. They’ve turned to romance novels as manuals. They are currently reading romantic suspense which inspires them to help Liv set up a sting operation. They need solid evidence if they intend to take her ex-boss down.
Liv learns things about herself while trying to help the young hostess and a close friend who had also been harassed by her ex-boss. Mack learns that life can be better than fiction. The Club is eager to help him find a way to her heart, but Liv is determined to shut Mack down before she is burned. The women in Liv’s life encourage her to let go of her mis-trust and move beyond the hurt from her childhood that rules her life.
The give and take and back and forth between Liv and Mack was realistically, and at times comically, portrayed. Ultimately, this is a romance story of its own, but it takes place in today’s very real world with today’s issues of sexual harassment and intimidation and blackmail. The aftermath of childhood abuse in adult life is also dealt with. Despite the darker issues, there is love and romance and comedy and friendship. Narrator Andrew Eiden takes us through all of it with his confident male voice. Told in the third person, he captures the dialogue between Club members perfectly.
I think what sets the Bromance Book Club apart is that these people deal with all phases of life. They aren’t focused only on getting men and women together, but they strive for happiness between them through all phases of love and marriage. They’ve all had their troubles, but with the help of friends, and a few romance novels, they make it through. I understand that a third book in this series is in the works, and I’ll be first in line to read it.
I am currently reading Hit List by Stuart Woods. On audio, it's The Hope of Glory by Jon Meacham.
Katstev, It's good to know what you're listening to as well as reading. Thank you!