Bromantasy promises a cozy fantasy full of adventure and swoons. I was drawn in by the title and the cover! Bromantasy was a fun read that I’d recommend if you’re looking for a story full of adventure! Keep reading this book review of Bromantasy for my full thoughts.
Summary
Juniper O’Reilly is good at only two things: demolishing a pint of mead and finding the perfect skincare routine. Everything else—taking care of the farm, bartering for goods, any sort of manual labor—falls to Juniper’s best friend, the absurdly capable, endlessly patient Mo Elmthorn.
But when Juniper accidentally volunteers them both for a quest to kill a fearsome monster, he knows he’s finally gotten in over his head. Juniper hates camping, he hates the dark, and there’s no way all these foraged mushrooms are going to sit well in his stomach. One thing he doesn’t hate? How good Mo’s thighs look in his questing pants—he doesn’t have time to think about that, though, with a monster to hunt and their futures on the line.
But monsters come in all shapes and sizes. When Juniper and Mo realize that the terrifying beast they’ve sworn to kill is just a scared little girl torn from their family, they’re off to find not only the true villain of the story, but maybe even a happy ending.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Bromantasy features two best friends who might also be in love. For friends to lovers fans, Bromantasy is your book! While Juniper kind of is the main character, I was drawn more to Mo’s character. Juniper just wants to stay home, be safe, and live a content life. He wants to protect their life whereas Mo has this spark, this wanderlust that Juniper can see and is afraid of. So when Juniper by accidentally gets them thrown on a quest, Juniper is so afraid he’ll lose Mo. But I found Mo’s character to be the more intriguing of the two, the moral compass, the thirst for adventure, and the empathy. While I thought the romance was a cute element, I felt like it was developed a bit too late in the story for me. It felt rushed as it matched the energy of the ending.
I also felt like their resolution and like “will they won’t they talk to each other” energy was expended a bit too hastily considering the lead up. In general, Bromantasy has a fun adventure premise, but I wanted a bit more to really fall in love with it. There were sprinklings of more world, some injustice, and the idea of not attacking what we don’t understand, but I felt like it was only a passing thought. There were some emotional beats I really enjoyed towards the ending – which I can’t discuss because of spoilers.
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It reminds me of how in Bromantasy, there are these sore spots, these insecurities, that we aren’t even sure we are pressing, or that others are pressing. But all we can do is admit we made a mistake and keep taking steps to try to fix it. Find Bromantay on Goodreads, Storygraph, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.