Every Bromance Book Club novel I read I love more than the last. It isn’t even that I didn’t enjoy The Bromance Book Club, I just find myself sinking into Adam’s writing. It doesn’t hurt that I seem to love each set of main characters more than the last! Keep reading this book review to find out what I thought about this sequel!
Summary
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
TW: sexual harassment
One element of the Bromance Book Club books I have consistently enjoyed is how Adams continuously interrogates toxic masculinity. In Undercover Bromance there’s no exception. While Mack’s heart may be in the right place, sometimes we have to realize that the best support for someone is not to try to focus on protection, but to lend our help to their efforts. There’s a difference between charisma and love, between romance and intimacy. And while Mack may be charming as hell, being vulnerable is a different story.
Normally I am immediately driven to the women in romance books. And even though I enjoyed Liv, the way her feeling like a burden spoke to a very small part of my own heart, I ended up loving Mack. Liv is quick witter, fiery, and incredibly resilient. But what drew me to Mack is how relatable his fear of being vulnerable is. On some level, both Mack and Liv share this fear whether it’s because of their own past, or family. It’s not only about being vulnerable, but also about believing in the ability for people to accept your vulnerability.
Undercover Bromance also tackles sexual assault throughout the book. Not only about how to confront our attackers, but also to support survivors – however they need it. I ended up breezing through this one in about a day because I was swept away by their chemistry and the details of both characters. This has been one of my favorite romance series discoveries of 2020!
Find Undercover Bromance on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.