The Romance Manual: Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
This book was all the rage this spring, adding onto the growing conversation in popular media about the “Orgasm Gap” between heterosexual men and women. Professional baseball player Gavin Scott joins his baseball team’s longtime romance book club when his wife asks for a divorce after faking it for years. It’s very “Thing Like a Man” (2012).
I’m not gonna lie, the writing is average. Very contemporary and non-floral. Straight-forward. But the book itself is pretty addictive. The connection of Thea and Gavin honestly takes a back seat to the humor of this baseball team and the self-discovery of these characters. Thea has a bunch of underlying trauma from her parents divorce and no real communication skills. Gavin knows absolutely no idea who the woman he married really is. Yes, this made the story annoying to read. Two characters who can’t talk to each other for over 300 pages? I was out of my mind. But the baseball team players who help them through their reconciliation are absolutely hilarious. It’s very playful and Fight-Club-esque.
“First rule of book club? You don’t talk about book club.”
The book absolutely pokes fun at itself, with scenes about the amount of spice in books and an absurd amount of Pinterest promo. But it also dives into some deep topics like toxic masculinity and unrealistic emotional labor expectations in relationships. They dive into romance novels as a glimpse into a woman’s soul, to see from her perspective and learn how to make her happy not out of trickery but love and betterment of themselves. Not novels. Manuals.
“Book club isn’t just about the books.” “It’s a brotherhood, man.” “A way of life.” “An emotional fucking journey.”
The regency-era book that Gavin reads gave me “Marriage Vacation” by Pauline Brooks vibes, as in I wish it was a real book. It all felt like the first 30 minutes of “Lady J” (2018), a rich Regency man trying to win back his lover after jumping to the wrong conclusions. I really enjoyed the added insight we got from these little snippets. I looked forward to them throughout the story, pushing Gavin and Thea’s timeline along. The WAG drama is surface level. It mostly highlighted Thea’s insecurities and Gavin’s willingness to try. With help from the book, he was doing all the right things. Taking care of the kids and doing the not-so-glamorous clean up. Creating conscious time. Making Thea’s comfort and goals priority. All without asking. Should we start recommend romance novels to all men?
The ending is okay. A bit cheesy. I know that I have been settling deeper into the middle of books more than usual lately, dreading the cold that comes with bumpy ending. A big and messy grand gestures kind-of messes that vibe up.
3.5 stars
Not bad. Entertaining to read. Just not exceptionally good. Might read the sequel though. Take with that what you will.
