We met Mack and Liv in the first book, The Bromance Book Club. Mack is, despite his player status, the romantic of the group who helps his friends with their romantic lives. He’s decided at the beginning to make it official with Gretchen, who he’s been dating for three months. To do so, he takes her out for an epic evening including a thousand dollar cupcake (for real, and yes, Gretchen has a reaction similar to the one you’re probably having). Liv is the pastry chef, and unfortunately the cupcake winds up in Gretchen’s lap, because Mack insists on a photo. Liv is immediately in trouble and realizes outside of her boss’ office that he’s sexually harassing the hostess. She confronts him and is fired.

Mack feels terrible about her losing her job and angry when he finds out that the chef is sexually harassing his employees. Mack and Liv team up to take him down. This is not an easy or smooth process; Liv has to confront her own bias in how she treats Royce’s victims (and Mack and the victims call her on her victim blaming and how she treats them). Mack is hiding his own secrets about his past that are preventing him from moving forward with relationships. They both have personal development to work on as they team up with the Bromance Book Club, Mack’s friend Noah, and Hop, the retired cop who works on the fam Liv lives on, to take Royce down.

This book moved very quickly - I was racing through it - yet it doesn’t feel rushed when it comes to the romance or to the character development. The tie-in of the book club’s book being a romantic suspense and the discussions around agency and fear and love were great.

The secondary characters in this book were also fabulous. I loved Rosie; Hop has a lot to learn. Noah is very mysterious so I’m curious to see what else we’ll learn about him. It is annoying that Vlad is constantly referred to as the Russian. He is a big part of the book club, not calling him by his name constantly ‘others’ him.

My favourite parts of this book were Mack’s vulnerability as he wants to find love and be in a relationship; Liv is an imperfect heroine (please, let’s have more of those!) who is working hard to fix wrongs; and they both have to confront a lot about themselves to get the relationship blocks out of the way. It makes for an engaging story that centres around taking on the institutions that uphold systematic harassment.

Oh.my.goodness. This series is quite possibly one of the funniest contemporary romance series I've ever read. I wasn't sure how Lyssa Kay Adams could top the first book in the series, The Bromance Book Club, but she delivered another hilarious, heartfelt, and delightful love story with Undercover Bromance.

The author is great at delivering on every aspect of a good romance novel, but for me, it's her characters that deserve all the awards. She has created a cast of characters in this series who take these books to a whole other level. In Undercover Bromance, the story centered around, Liv, a talented (recently fired) pastry chef, and Mack, a nightclub owner/entrepreneur. These two together were fire! Especially considering Liv's sarcasm, sharp tongue, and wit. She was a woman who had no time for nonsense and wasn't afraid to mince her words. This was what led to her being fired after she has a few choice words with her grotesque boss when she caught him sexually assaulting a young hostess. Liv was a firecracker and I loved that she was so willing to fight for what was right even if it could cost her her entire career. She could be stubborn and emotionally closed-off at times, and I thought that those traits made her all the more real to me; Liv channeled her anger into plotting revenge against her boss, Roy, and this was where dreamboat, Mack swept in to be her partner in crime.

Listen, I love a lot of fictional men (whatever, don't judge me), but Mack, man! Such a swoony loveable doofus this man was. He was charming and funny and unapologetic about his love for romance novels - he started the bromance book club, how could you not fall for him??? I thought he was the perfect balance to Liv's grumpy side. I loved that he was so devoted to helping Liv in her quest, no questions asked. The man was a big romantic and was craving his own happily-ever-after and books were his way of learning more about women and how to woo them. Mack was also shouldering a pretty big secret regarding his father, so he could at times be as closed off and guarded as Liv was. The romance between Mack and Liv was adorable. I thought the progression was very sweet and I loved every moment of it, especially when Mack would keep pushing Liv's buttons just to rile her up.

The side characters were also a complete riot! I loved the bromance that exists between the romance book club boys. They are supportive and funny and so good for each other. There were some absurd moments involving the Russian and his bowel issues that had me clutching my stomach on the floor (in laughter, not in bowel issues of my own). Liv's landlady, Rosy, and her "friend", Hob, were also such great additions to this cast. I was very entertained by the whole will-they-or-won't-they dynamic they had going on! And then there were Liv's chickens. There's a reason I love animals in books so much. I have to say though I've learned a bit too much about chicken and their reproductive anatomies - haha!

On a more serious note, when a major portion of a book surrounds workplace sexual assault, I expect a lot of care to go into the storyline. I personally found that Lyssa Kay Adams handled it remarkably well. She didn't brush aside the ugliness that could come with such cases in Undercover Bromance. For instance, I thought it was realistic how she had Liv not fully understanding the dilemma that some of Royce's victims' felt because of their unwillingness to go to the authorities. Yes, it is frustrating when you are looking from the outside on such cases and the author captured that frustration through Liv's point of view. She also did a very good job of repeatedly hammering this idea that we need to be much much more sensitive to the victims and their potential mindsets.

If you enjoyed The Bromance Book Club, you won't be disappointed with Undercover Bromance. Give this series a try if you're in the mood for a humorous and sweet romance series.

Review
I loved Bromance Book Club. It was one of my favorite reads of 2019. One of my favorite things was Braden Mack. So the fact that this book centers around him is a big plus. It also centers on my least favorite character from the Bromance Book Club, Liv.

The story is very relevant. I loved seeing Mack and the book club guys going after a predator. What I loved was this had all of my favorite characters as well as some new characters that were just as enjoyable. One thing I did miss from the first book, was the focus on the book that the book club was reading. There wasn’t too much about that, and I found myself missing that element.

What kept me from giving this book a full 5 stars was Liv. I still didn’t like her, and though I don’t hate her as much as before, there were some actions that I thought were pretty unforgivable. She is not good enough for Mack. But Mack more than makes up for my dislike for Liv. He is just as funny and charming as I remember.

While I did enjoy Bromance Book Club a little bit more, Undercover Bromance is still a great addition to the series and if you enjoyed Bromance Book Club you will enjoy this one.

Review will post 3/12/2020

I enjoyed the first book in this series quite a bit. Fun, sexy, and I really liked that it was the marriage in trouble trope. We’ve met both of the main protagonists before as they both appeared in book one. Braden Mack is a club owner and member of the Bromance Book Club and Liv is a pastry chef and Thea’s sister.

I wasn’t a huge Liv fan in the last book, mainly because I think she jumped to conclusions and was too against Thea trying to work on her marriage to Gavin. I kind of went into this book not knowing what to expect from her, only to end up a Liv fan right away, despite still thinking she jumped to conclusions too often and tended to be judgmental at times. Her snark and sarcasm made me laugh. Braden is her perfect counterpoint. He’s fashioned himself the after the heroes in a romance books, determined that he will be the perfect man. He’s all charm and big smiles and cocky swagger. They had this back and forth dialogue that really worked for me. The enemies to lovers, complete opposites, slow burn romance worked for me too.

The main plot of the book is the two of them (and the members of the book club, Liv’s friends Rosie and Hop, and a few other allies) trying to take down Liv’s lecherous former boss who she caught sexually harassing a young woman in his employ. This is a heavy theme and I think the author did a great job of balancing it with the lighter, comedic aspects of the book.

Rosie and Hop are an added joy, and I loved their secondary romance. I hope we see them again.

I’m very much looking forward to the next book in the series. Final grade- B

Undercover Bromance is just as good as it's series predecessor, The Bromance Book Club, and I'll take ten more in this series, thank you very much. In this one, night club owner and apparent playboy Braden Mack has to learn that you can't just recite the right words and follow the steps laid out in a romance novel- you've got to mean them. In the meantime, chef Liv has lost her job at an upscale restaurant and is now determined to take down the skeevy owner. Braden and Liv might have to combine their efforts for maximum payoff. This was entertaining, sweet, and I loved catching up with all of the book club members- and fiery Liv made for a great counterpoint to Braden Mack.

With the continuation of the 1st book this series it was great to see the guys still trying to save love. From the beginning and throughout this was a charmingly funny book that will make you laugh out loud.

The smart dialogues between Mack and Love were hilarious and going from you look familiar (Mack) to I have you (Liv) it was a pleasure to see their attraction grow as they learned more about each other.

On a side note: I LOVED the Russian!!! While he was in the 1st book, his character was brought out more in this book and it was hilarious. I'd love to see a book about his quest for love.

Really enjoyed this second installment of the Bromance Book Club! Mack and Liv’s story was even better than I expected. This story deals with a heavier topic but manages to still provide lots of humor and swoons level romance. Plus all the boys are back and the bromance is next level!

I really want to like this series and in a lot of ways I do. Its a very, very clever idea that doesn't rely entirely on its cleverness to carry the entire story. A group of stereotypical bro dudes with big fancy jobs playing major league baseball and owning lots of real estate get together to read romance novels because it helps them talk about their feelings and understand women better. They have genuine, interesting conversations about the books and what they learn from them and they apply what they learn to their relationships! Great!

Author Lyssa Kay Adams even takes the cleverness to the next level by modeling her stories on the different styles of romance. Her first book poked some fun at the "second chance" genre where a couple on the verge of ending things gets new life breathed into their love! This time she plays with the "romantic suspense" genre with book club founder and serial dater Braden Mack attempting to come to the rescue of Liv Papandreas, a chef trying to make it in the cut throat restaurant world (who's also the sister of the heroine from book one) who's going up against a local celebrity restaurant owner who's been sexually harassing the women in his employ for years. When Liv witnessing one such interaction and attempts to rescue the woman she's fired and blacklisted from the business. Mack enlists the rest of the book club to help bring down the duplicitous douchbag chef and, of course, Mack and Liv gradually fall for each other despite the fact that they're both keeping secrets from the other.

At the end of the day this is a fun series. Both books have been highly entertaining. But as with book one I still feel like structurally they're a bit of a mess. There is just so damn much going on in these stories. The narrative also constantly toggles between poking some playful fun at the romance genre in general and getting on a weird, very preachy soap box about the MeToo movement. In this case you get one chapter where once again the character known as "The Russian" is in danger of blowing the cover on a mission to break into evil chef's office to uncover secret files by farting and making everyone pass out and then BANG Mack mansplains rape culture to Liv for five pages.

I'm torn because I appreciate a series populated with men who get it, or are at least trying to get it. I especially enjoy that Mack's character in particular is doing everything right on paper when it comes to dating. He takes his girls to the most expensive restaurants, tells them how beautiful they look, delivers flowers unexpectedly. But he's so invested in providing this amazing experience and being perfect that he doesn't reveal any of himself to the women he dates. That's a really cool journey for a character to take and Adams writes it really well.

But, as with book one its shoe horned into the narrative with a whole bunch of other craziness, a million different characters and soooooooo much witty banter.

So fun but with a big old side helping of way too much to wade through.

I really enjoyed this! I was highly anticipating this sequel after having read The Bromance Book Club and it did not disappoint.

In this one, we are following Mack and Liv, two characters that I definitely wanted to get to know more in the first book. Their chemistry was undeniable from the first time they met. I'm a sucker for a good hate-to-love story, and this one was perfectly executed. I loved Liz's sass and Mack's charm, and I LIVED for their banter. I couldn't help smiling (and sometimes laughing) while reading the book, and it's all because of our two protagonists.

I do wish the book the Bromance Book club was reading was more integrated into the story. I do see the parallels between the two, but one of my favorite things about the first book was how they exploited the story in the book to draw conclusions that the main character could apply to his life. I this sequel, the book is mentioned only twice throughout the entire story, and I think it's a missed opportunity.

I also wasn't the biggest fan of the ending. I really enjoyed most of the story and was going to deem it my favorite, but I didn't like how everything crashed and burned in the last quarter of the book. The "big conflict" was so much more dramatic than what it needed to be, and I just felt like the author was looking for an excuse to pull our protagonists apart.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book, even though the ending was sort of disappointing. I really appreciated the discussion about sexual harassment and sexual assault that was going on throughout the book. The author made sure to point out that everything is not as black and white as it seems, especially for the victims.

When Liv walks in on her celebrity chef boss sexually harassing a hostess in his restaurant she rushes to the girls defense only to have the chef fire her and blackball her from getting another job despite her reputation as a great pastry chef she starts plotting revenge. She finds an unlikely ally in Braden Mack one of her brother in law’s friends. Not only does he fight by her side but their chemistry has him fighting for her heart, but he needs his bromance book club’s advice because nothing is working! Undercover Bromance is as fun as the first novel, but a depth that this reader found to be gripping, emotional, and actually very personal.

First the characters. Liv is gun shy when it comes to men. She had a father who left she and her sister when they were very young and that taught her to never trust a man. It also turned her into a fighter. She’s a woman who does not stand by and accept what is obviously wrong. What I loved about her the best is that she fought on behalf of others in this novel. Yeah, sure, she got fired, but she herself wasn’t sexually harassed. She saw it happen and wanted the truth to come out and the chef to bear the consequences of his actions. Braden Mack was clueless when it came to women, which made him charmingly endearing, but he also was a man that wouldn’t stand for a person to be treated improperly. You’ve got to love that! The two of them together provided a lot of heat, but even more importantly, humor! This was a novel that really needed a good laugh to counter the serious subject matter, and it really delivered! I laughed so hard I cried through the last 50 pages of this book.

It used to be that these types of topics weren’t mentioned and especially weren’t tied to a romance novel plot! Sexual harassment has been pushed aside, closeted, wiped under a rug, etc. Introducing this topic as the main plot of a romance novel made this one stand out. The premise of these Bromance Book Club novels is that a group of guys read romance novels to help them figure out their problems with women. Cute theme, right? How exactly does that apply to this topic? Well, Liv wasn’t your usual lady so it actually worked well and the altercations between she and her ex-boss turned this into a kind of romantic suspense plot which worked really well.

I thought this novel hit it out of the park on many levels. It introduced an important subject, provided a great love story, and made me care about the characters. It also made me laugh out loud which is always a winner in my book. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

Sequels are always a tricky thing. Will it be better than the first book? Worse? I wasn’t sure what to expect with Undercover Bromance. I like the first book, Bromance Book Club, well enough. My issues with it were mostly situational to the plot. I knew Undercover Bromance would be following a different set of characters, so I was caustionly excited to see what was in store. And I ended up really enjoying this one.

First off, I thought the characters in this installment were so much more fun to read than the ones the first book focused on. I had actually really hoped this book would show Liv and Mack’s story and was so glad when I found out that it would. They were just more compelling than Gavin and Thea were for me in book one. Liv and Mack were both complicated and real and made me fall in love with them. I was rooting for them from the first page.

I also liked that story better in this one. It wasn’t just about a couple’s romance, but about them working together with others to take down a sexual predator. The complicated nature of the situation made for a very compelling read. And I liked how it showed Liv making mistakes, having a somewhat misguided viewpoint, but being able to learn from those mistakes and put what she learned into action. This series can be very on the nose with some of the points it wants to get across, but I found myself actually appreciating that in this book.

Undercover Bromance was a quick, fun, swoon read that I enjoyed more than the first book. It would be a great summer read, perfect for anyone looking for fun with a bit of a message. I can’t wait for the third book, Crazy Stupid Bromance, which is set to follow another pair of characters whose stories I’m really looking forward to. This is a fun series and Undercover Bromance definitely made me want to read more.

(This review will go live on NovelKnight on 3/12/20.)

Thanks to NetGalley for making the ARC available to me.

I found this second book in this series to be even better than the first. We get to see how the founder of the Bromance Book Club came to start reading romances in the first place, and we have the pleasure of seeing him find his own True Love, years after he had been helping other alpha males find their own, or in some cases save their relationships (see the first book in the series). Several laugh-out-loud moments in this book help to temper the more subplot of workplace sexual harassment.

I do love the whole concept behind this series: alpha males learning how to have better romantic relationships by taking input from reading a variety of romance novels.

I read The Bromance Book Club in one day and for this book, it was no different. I can’t express enough how much I love all the characters in this world that Lyssa Kay Adams has created! They’re all so relatable, real and raw. They have flaws. And to watch them work through them is so enjoyable. I’m not sure who I loved more — Thea and Gavin or Liv and Braden. I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers so this book was 100% my jam. HIGHLY recommend and I can’t wait to read her next in the series!!

I think I'm gonna be in the minority for this, but this just wasn't it for me.

First of all, the plot. I went into this not knowing much admittedly, but I figured it would have the same fun, sexy, fast feeling of the first book. Right off the bat though, I realized this was trying to handle a much more serious topic: sexual assault. It feels very Me Too movement vibey with trying to take down a predator who is very popular/beloved in the public eye. Which is fine to write about, but I just didn't like the tone of it matched up with the rest of this book/series. Firstly, everything about the plot felt off. We spend a big chunk in the beginning focusing intently on the sexual predator plot line, abandon it for a while to focus on the romance, then go back to it later. Nothing flowed or meshed well together. The end was also very rushed feeling and didn't seem very realistic either. And secondly, the sort of "enemies-to-lovers," fun/sexy tone just did not fit with what should've been a more serious book. I don't really know how to explain it, but it just felt weird. Also, this is one of those enemies-to-lovers plots that really has no reason for the two characters to be enemies. Mostly, it's just the main female protagonist, Liv, being Liv. Which gets me to the characters.

I just didn't like Liv. I feel like her man-hating, angry at the world, sarcastic asshole narrative was SO forced to the point where she was just annoying. And if you read the first book, you already know the backstory of her parents, so there isn't much in a "discover why she's like this!" sort of thing. I don't know. There's definitely a way to pull off the stubborn/sarcastic personality trait, but this was not it. As for Mack, the main male protagonist, he was just eh, fine. Nothing made me love him or hate him. Worst of all, I really didn't feel the chemistry between him and Liv. There wasn't much build up between them either. It was just one moment she went from hating him for no reason and then bam, all of a sudden her feelings change without much explanation.

This wasn't all bad. Like the first book, it was still pretty easy to fly through. I liked seeing some of the other characters from the first book, like the twins and the book club guys. Really the Russian saved the book, I love him and his digestive problems. Also enjoyed some of the new characters, like Rosie, even if she was described by Liv as a certain way in the beginning only to completely contradict the whole description as we actually met her.

If there's another book in this series, I'll probably give it another go. But this was just super disappointing compared to how much I enjoyed the first book.

P.S. WHERE WERE THE CHAPTERS FROM THE ROMANCE BOOK THEY WERE READING??? That was one of my favorite parts of the first book and this one just dropped it. We get like one scene towards the end and that's it. I'm angery.

I love the premise of this book it was very exciting to read and I look forward to more for this offer.

The Bromance Book Club is back! This book had humour and a rom-com feel that made it so easy to read, it’s hard to put down once you start.
Mack and Liv are total opposites and fit perfectly to enemies to lovers trope. I love how the book itself references a type of romance genre, in this case, the suspense spy theme, in a contemporary setting.
Love Mack, I can’t help it. He is actually a softy underneath the cool exterior. Liv was a little harder to love but I loved her all the same. This was a fun romance while tackling hard topics, including sexual harassment and assault.
Thank you so much NetGalley and Berkley for the ACR, I absolutely loved Undercover Bromance and cannot wait for more books in this series.
Vlad ‘The Russian’ was my favourite character, oh my god he was hilarious. Does he get his own book or...

I finished Bromance Book Club with a love of Braden Mack, and a hatred for Liv Papandreas. I’m a sucker for a great redemption story, so I felt positive Lyssa Kay Adams would find a way of endearing Liz to me.

In the end, it didn’t happen.

I really thought it was heading that way. I did. I was finding myself warming up to her, and I can say that there was growth in the character. I can understand why others felt satisfied with the end of this story. My problem, unfortunately, is that I’m really tired of romance novels that rely on the male character’s grand gesture.
The reality is women screw up too, and should have to apologize.

Liz is a jerk. Braden Mack is fantastic. He makes the whole story. He’s compassionate, brave… Braden even made me feel for Liv. Did I think her bad attitude was cute, no. BUT, I believed Braden thought she was cute.

I always appreciate loving someone in spite of their flaws.

I wanted to rate it much higher, unfortunately I needed the end to be fair. If Braden was in the wrong, I needed to believe he was. I didn’t.

I completely loved Bromance Book Club, but Undercover Romance was EVEN BETTER!

I just adore this series and these characters so much. I think Lyssa Kay Adams has done such a good job lining up her next pair to tell a story about (and, by the looks of it, book three is ALSO going to be wonderful!). Mack comes off as so one-dimensional in Bromance Book Club, but there's so many sides to him that I enjoyed reading about in this book. And Liv, too, comes off pretty one-dimensional, and we really get to delve further into her psyche and this wonderful, will-they-won't-they pairing. This book is also incredible and ballsy because it tackles the #MeToo movement; Adams' acknowledgement that her editor called this an ambitious book is no lie! She handles it well, delves into a lot of interesting topics of debate within the movement, and complicates it enough that this romance has more depth than what you'd expect. This story definitely had me shedding a few tears towards the end! My only critique is I think I would have liked a little more internal development for Liv, but honestly, it's such a minor critique that I can't even be bothered to shift my rating or lessen my love for these books!

I also just really enjoy this series because it gets so delightfully meta about books, plotting, and romance tropes! I sincerely think this is one of the most fun yet heartfelt romance series I've had the pleasure of reading yet, and I can't wait for the next title (and, if there's more story to tell (will Vlad ever get one, or will he remain our comic relief?), then more stories, too!)

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2020/03/03/undercover-bromance-by-lyssa-kay-adams/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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4.5 hearts

I'd heard nothing but good things about the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/267075-bromance-book-club" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Bromance Book Club</strong></em></a> series.  For some reason, I didn't totally connect with the main characters from the first book.  But in <strong>Undercover Bromance</strong>, I found my people.

I loved the feisty Liv with her farm life and her work as a pastry chef. She works hard, tries hard and cares a lot. She gets caught in a bad situation and Braden immediately tries to help. She doesn't trust him though.

Braden was easy going with a style which made me laugh.  I continued to love the support and connection between the Bromance guys.  We find out Braden started the group. He's also been one of the only single guys.  The flirty, sarcastic banter between Braden and Liz was so much fun!
<blockquote>He moved on to the next empty nest. "But seriously, what do chickens have if they don't have vaginas?"

Liv replaced the scoop in the bucket of feed. "I don't want to talk about chicken vaginas with you anymore. Like, ever."

"I'll just google it if you don't tell me, and then imagine what my pop-up ads will be like."</blockquote>

<strong>Undercover Bromance</strong> had a bit less interweaving with a romance book, but more real life adventures beyond the romance, which worked better for me. The attitudes and actions felt authentic. I hurt for them when things didn't go well.  I laughed out loud at some of the smart, sassy comments.  I'm beyond thrilled the next outing, in October 2020, will be with Noah, the computer guy.  And...

<blockquote>"I love grand gesture!"</blockquote>

Cute, fun. I like this twist on the genre that shows us the romance from the male side. A little predictable but still good. I like the characters. I hope there will be more in series so we can get to know some of the more minor characters from the first two a little better.