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Review: Cover: The cover of the English edition The Bromance Book Club impressed me immediately with its oil painting / acrylic painting style. I think the simple cover is really cool and you want to start reading straight away. It also sums up the initial situation and basic story of the book well. So just for the cover I would give 5 out of 5 stars. Comprehensibility and reading fluency: Since I liked the cover of the English edition better, I chose this one and not the German translation "The Secret Book Club". But comprehensibility was not a problem, as the story is easy to understand through the everyday language that is used. There are no difficult foreign words. The book can be read in one sitting. Due to the high entertainment factor, it never got boring. Content and characters: First of all, the protagonist Gavin is not a typical horned husband. He really tries to fight for his wife and, after an initial reluctance, is not too ashamed to accept help in the form of the book club and romance novels. He begins to reflect on his own behavior very quickly. This makes him very likeable and shows that men are not always just the testosterone-driven villains ;). His wife Thea is a strong young woman who tries to cope with her new life as a single mother and at the same time tries - for her children - to continue their normal daily routine. For a long time she put herself and her dreams on the back burner because of her husband's career, but since the separation she found new strength and motivation for it. I liked this development, but at the same time I have to admit that I sometimes disliked her hard, dismissive manner towards her husband Right at the beginning she left him no chance for a clarifying conversation. But that was because she let her sister influence her too much. Thankfully, however, that changed as the story progressed and at some point Gavin and Thea were able to have an open and mature conversation about their problems. For me, the sister is the most annoying and unsympathetic character in the whole book. Of course, it is understandable that she would like to protect her sister from a renewed disappointment and the accompanying emotional pain, but in my opinion she interferes too much in the relationship between Gavin and Thea. Both are grown up and can make their own decisions. She seems to have sworn off every man and thinks that the same would make sense for Thea. She doesn't seem to notice that Thea still has strong feelings for her husband and pushes her too hard. I really liked the other supporting characters, especially the other men in the book club. My favorite was Gavin's cocky and handsome fellow athlete, Braden Mack. He had such an arrogant but charming manner and caused quite a few moments of loud laughter through his exchanges with Gavin. In general, the book club shows that there are men who are willing to question their needs and the needs of their partners and to break through previous stereotypical behavior, such as reading romance novels in this case, in order to better understand their wives and thus to represent a better support system for them and to support them in their wishes and dreams. The topics of patriarchy and feminism are thereby addressed in an entertaining, but nevertheless serious way. One last aspect that I would like to address, because I found it implemented very well, is how Thea and Gavin treated their children despite the separation. Since my parent are also divorced, I know that such a phase of separation is not easy for parents and not easy for the children, too. I was impressed how Gavin and Thea even through their disagreements and hostilities between each other treated their children lovingly and were parents together, so that they hardly had to suffer from the situation. Conclusion: The Bromance Book Club or as it is called in German "The Secret Book Club - an almost perfect romance" novel is exactly that, an "almost perfect" perfect love story. It shows a realistic marriage with all its difficulties and how important it is to communicate with one another in a relationship and also to reflect on one's own behavior. Lyssa Kay Adams' subtle humor never gets boring while reading and you don't get a well-worn, shallow romance novel, but an unexpectedly profound novel that illuminates modern topics such as feminism and the still very dominant position of men in our society. I can recommend this book to anyone who is in the mood for a great love story with a lot of humor and a bit of social criticism. So I give it 5 out of 5 stars. I hope you enjoyed my review ;)
