2021: I have very high standards in life and love and I should not have been surprised to find that this rolls over into romance novels too.

First off, this book checks a lot of boxes for me: it easily passes the Bechdel test, there's a lot of talk of consent in regards to sexual relationships, and it promotes men asking their friends for emotional advice. That being said, I had a lot of little picky things that ended up putting this novel squarely in the "only okay" category. Full transparency here: I'm a person who cannot watch "bad" movies or "trashy" tv for fun. If you are, and you're looking for a light romp from a male POV, (bonus points if you're interested in baseball too!), you'll probably enjoy this novel.

I will also say that I am currently single, and was probably not in a mood to read about a married couple having problems. Especially about issues that could have SO EASILY BEEN SOLVED IF THEY JUST WENT TO THERAPY. They have enough money to afford it! They even talk it about it being an option for their kids if they were to get divorced. Why on earth was counseling not their first step when they started having trouble in the bedroom?

I was pretty into Thea (the female lead). I empathize greatly with a woman who shuts down and is silent when something is wrong and she wants to express her disappointment. That being said, it makes for a DRAG of a romance novel - I was 72% of the way through the audiobook before they laid their hands on each other FOR REAL. It was also pretty frustrating to read about Gavin being the overall "savior" of Thea's orgasmic issues. I agree with pretty much everything that Smart Bitches, Trashy Books has to say on the subject: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/the-bromance-book-club-by-lyssa-kay-adams/

I'm also not sure why there needed to be so much ladies v ladies antagonism? I really didn't enjoy how Thea's relationship with the WAGS played out. Also, her sister Liv was the worst. WHY?! It didn't add anything to the main conflict imho.

Ultimately, this was a fine book. But if you think any of the above nitpicky points would bother you too, I would skip it. Also, OF COURSE I couldn't rate it higher than [b:Beach Read|52867387|Beach Read|Emily Henry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589881197l/52867387._SX50_.jpg|67832247], which I gave 4/5 stars, so 3 it had to be.