Crazy Stupid Bromance (Bromance Book Club #3)

By: Lyssa Kay Adams

Blurb:

Alexis Carlisle and her cat café, ToeBeans, have shot to fame after she came forward as a victim of a celebrity chef’s sexual harassment. When a new customer approaches to confide in her, the last thing Alexis expects is for the woman to claim they’re sisters. Unsure what to do, Alexis turns to the only man she trusts—her best friend, Noah Logan.
 
Computer genius Noah left his rebellious teenage hacker past behind to become a computer security expert. Now he only uses his old skills for the right cause. But Noah’s got a secret: He’s madly in love with Alexis. When she asks for his help, he wonders if the timing will ever be right to confess his crush. 
 
Noah’s pals in The Bromance Book Club are more than willing to share their beloved “manuals” to help him go from bud to boyfriend. But he must decide if telling the truth is worth risking the best friendship he’s ever had.

Review:

Alexis is a survivor of sexual assault. You met her in a previous book when she came forward to accuse her celebrity boss of the assault. This is about a year or so later, and she’s come a long way. During this time, she’s made a best friend in Noah. They were able to bond over their geeky hobbies and the fact that they both lost a parent young.

Pretty much since the beginning of their relationship, Noah has had a crush on Alexis, but he doesn’t want to destroy the relationship they already have to pursue something more. She is the best friend he’s ever had. They’re almost codependent, and it feels like they’re already in a romantic relationship without the sex.

In the beginning, he’s not a member of the Bromance Book Club, but he’s friends with several of the members and always hanging out with them. They spend most of their time with him trying to get him to join so he can get out of the friend zone. There were several good moments with the book club that I enjoyed. Listening to them explain toxic masculinity and push to form healthier relationships with each other were some of the book’s best parts. By far, my favorite scene was when they were at the spa. I laughed soooooooo hard.

The big conflict in the book was Alexis’ family drama.

BEWARE SPOILERS AHEAD

Alexis was raised by a single mom and never knew her dad. She didn’t feel like she needed to know him, even though there was a part of her that wanted a family. One day a woman comes into her café and tells Alexis that she’s her sister. Then the real bombshell, their father is dying, and he needs a kidney. I knew as soon as this happened, Alexis was going to give him the kidney. The man did not deserve it. He’d known about her for three years and hadn’t attempted to reach out. He’d sent flowers when Alexis’ mom had died, but that was it. Now he was asking for a kidney. The rest of the family wasn’t any better. The sister was weird, and the brother was a dick. That plotline was the worst part of the book, and I’m taking away a whole star because of it.

I could never be a romance heroine because there is no way I’m giving a long lost relative a vital organ. Other people in my life have first dibs on that shit. Alexis was nice and was supposed to learn to stand up for herself, and she kind of did, but not in something as huge as organ donation. It was disappointing, but I’m petty. If you aren’t, you might not care.

Alexis and Noah were a cute couple, but there was a lot of angst since there was no getting to know you period. I liked seeing the other members of the book club, but there were a few things that I didn’t like about Crazy Stupid Bromance. However, the spa scene alone is worth reading the book for.

3.75

Side note: The geeky references were clearly written by someone who knew some of nerd culture, but not enough to make the type of references that were made. There was always something just a bit off, not in a way that can be pawned off on a creative license. There weren’t many of them, so it didn’t hurt the book’s quality. It was just something I noticed.