The first rule of book club:
You don't talk about book club.
Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott's marriage is in major league trouble. He’s recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it’s the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he’s let his pride and fear get the better of him.
Welcome to the Bromance Book Club.
Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville's top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it'll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife.
Source: complimentary copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review
I rather liked this book's approach to mending a strained marriage. Gavin finds out his wife Thea has been faking it in bed and his entire world just crumbles. It's a massive blow to his ego and stirs up every insecurity he's ever had about himself throughout his life. His immediate reaction is to leave and then Thea asks for a divorce. The book opens with the guys - his teammates and other assorted gents - visiting him at his hotel room and telling him that they're going to help him save his marriage but he has to be a willing participant and keep an open mind. Their solution is rather unconventional - reading romance novels, in this particular case, a Regency that seems to perfectly fit his current messy love life.
Just like Gavin, I was skeptical. I felt a lot of it was wishful thinking that the guys would talk this way and discuss serious feminist issues with sincerity. I'm not saying it's not possible but personally, it forced me to reconsider whatever conditioned thought I had about guys and their opinions on romance. I didn't know what to make of their romance reading except that it was rather original and intriguing. Segments from the Regency title (Courting the Countess) make an appearance throughout the book providing a framework for Gavin to follow. He really is hopeless but bless him, he's honestly trying. I have to say the guys are hilarious in this and Gavin's initial cluelessness gives them plenty of fodder but their hearts are all in the right place. I think it was almost halfway through that I started to really enjoy the story.
As silly as the guys' shenanigans were, there were elements of the story that gave me much to ponder. The book started out with Gavin firmly in the wrong by overreacting and walking out on Thea. It heavily focused on his transgressions but barely touched her issues until a couple chapters towards the end. Thea has so much baggage brought on by her parents' dysfunctional marriage and subsequent relationships such as fear of abandonment and feeling like an outsider. There is a ton, A TON, to unpack there and when she finally has that much-needed moment of introspection, it seems to fix itself rather quickly. It felt flippant to me especially since Gavin did most of the heavy lifting to improve himself when her backstory was just as crucial to the problems in their marriage. The problem being that she never communicated her feelings to him. They never talked. It feels like a huge power imbalance to expect the world of your partner when you never clue them in to your needs or worries in the first place. I empathized with Thea at the start but once I got to the end I wished she had been more a part of rebuilding the marriage in the first place. I kind of resented her later because of that. But not as much as I resented her sister's presence. The protective sister (understandable) who keeps inserting herself between Thea and Gavin (not okay) and stirring things up about him to her (definitely crossing the line). Once again, there's a backstory but until you get there, Liv is too much.
The Bromance Book Club presents an unorthodox and entertaining way to looking at marriage and what it takes to make it work. It also hints at something broader, so yes, I'd happily recommend it to others. I believe it initiates a deeper discussion about the characters and communication in relationships, and I'm certain that every reader will have a different take on them that I would love to hear!
~ Bel
