In Undercover Bromance, Lyssa Kay Adams attempts to lighten the intensity of a sexual assault plot with male camaraderie and jokes. It's not entirely successful. The book itself is not entirely successful and I admit to being greatly disappointed. This is a complicated review since my feelings are messy, but I tried to keep spoilers to the end. However, there are a few from the first 20% of the book that I've included because I don't believe setup to be spoilers.

This review includes discussion of sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence and lasting trauma.

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The book opens with Braden Mack talking to the guys in the book club about his upcoming date and how he's going to ask the woman he's been dating for three months to be his girlfriend. He takes her to an extremely posh restaurant and has ordered the $1,000 cupcake. I immediately hated him. So did Liv. Anyway, the cupcake gets dropped and Liv's asshole boss tells her to meet him in his office in 20 minutes. Presumably to scream at her and then fire her. When she shows up, her boss has the very young hostess (Jessica) in his office and is telling her that she has to perform oral sex on him to keep her job. She repeatedly says she doesn't want to and he persists. Then he forcibly kisses Jessica and when Liv opens the door and yells, she sees that Royce Preston's penis is out of his pants.

Here's my first issue with the book: the blurb and the book repeatedly call this harassment. This is assault. It is made clear later on in the book that he has not only harassed many many women at his restaurant but actively assaulted them. If you want to discuss consent and power in the workplace... fine. But this here specifically is not consent. She doesn't want to be kissed and is actively telling him no. And his genitals are out. Stop equating this with lewd comments. Jessica is experiencing all of that plus assault. Here's RAINN's definition. If you don't believe this is assault, I think we can all at least agree that it's a prelude to assault. (Coerced oral sex without consent.)

Okay, moving on. Liv is fired and tries to take control of Jessica's life by getting her a new job and telling her they have to take down Preston because he'll do this to other women. Throughout the book, Liv acts without involvement from Jess, pressuring her to speak up and judging the hell out of her. This is obviously intentional, as part of Liv's character arc is learning that standing up for women requires a less judgmental approach and their actual participation/consent. My second big issue was that Liv and then Mack end up telling at least a dozen people about the assault and specifically give her name. She did not consent to this. They also don't get the police involved (Jess doesn't want to file charges) nor do they attempt to get Jess connected with a therapist or trauma specialist. There is in fact no mention (maybe I missed it) of therapy and recovery for the victims. Just revenge/justice.

I'll talk a little more about why this plot didn't work for me in a spoiler down below, but for now I'll just say that Adams was clearly on a mission in this book. She wanted to discuss the ways in which victims decide to speak out, why they might not, and how judgmental other women can be. She got a lot of it right. Leaps and bounds beyond some books I've read in the past. But if we as a genre are going to publish this many books about this topic, is that a good bar? Is trying really hard and getting close good enough? Maybe. I expect a lot of readers will really enjoy this book and pump their fists in triumph at the end. And that's fine. It just didn't hit me that way.

Issue number three for me was that it's Braden Mack, our knight on a white horse, who tells Liv over and over how wrong she's being... because he's read romance novels. There are even handy lists of facts coming out of his mouth. From a craft perspective, it's awkward and not smoothly done.

The fact that they set out to expose Preston while reading a romantic suspense novel was... not great. It's turned into a cross between caper and mission for justice and wrapped up in a bow that I assume was meant to be tidy but ended up leaving a sour taste in my mouth.

I admit that if I hadn't read so many damn books with assault and trauma in them in the last two years thanks, I assume, to the media coverage of "the #MeToo movement," I would probably not be judging this one so harshly. But I have. And it's started to feel exploitative. Are publishers donating the proceeds off these novels to shelters and other organizations helping victims? One can make an argument that the nonfiction being published (Catch and Kill) is serving an educational need, but this sort of book feels like a processing of collective fear and anger on the part of authors and readers and is not always respectful of victims.

As I said, Adams is very clearly trying in this book. She's got a LOT of it right. Everyone calls Liv on her bullshit over and over until she gets it. But there's the stuff I mentioned above that isn't dealt with.

Okay, the good stuff:

Lyssa Kay Adams continues to exhibit skill at banter and humor. It was a bit jarring at times given the heavy nature of the other subject matter, but I was reminded of the things I loved about the first book in this series.

Mack is an okay guy, even if he's a rich idiot. I liked the two of them together and how he ended up falling for Liv not despite her bristles but because of them.

Adams' writing voice is the only reason I kept reading. I had a gross feeling in my stomach by about 20% and considered stopping, but then she got the two characters together and an asshole rooster attacked Mack and I was lured back in. Side Note: in a book about sexual assault, jokes about a rooster assaulting his flock of hens was... tactless. Roosters are truly horrible, but that bit could have been left out.

Unfortunately, due to my experience reading this book and the fact that the heroine of the next book was one of Preston's victims and the hero is a super-hacker guy that Mack hires to both find Jessica's private contact information and dig up dirt on a bunch of women who didn't want to be found, I won't be reading the next one.



Suzanne received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.



Content Warnings: sexual assault, sexual harassment, access and sharing of private information without consent, past: domestic violence



Spoilers ahoy:



First, Mack's Big Secret is that he's the son of a man in prison for murder. That man also repeatedly abused Mack's mother, brother, and himself. Mack says at one point that a man shouldn't need to know a victim personally to be angry about abuse, but I couldn't help but feel that part of Mack's intense feelings about abuse/assault are a direct result of the fact that his mother was victimized as well.

Second, the book ends with Preston's exposure at a big event. A bunch of women whom he's been paying off for years stand up on chairs and yell about it. Reporters have been alerted, etc. As we all know, victims who come forward are in no way dragged through the media mud afterward... Since no one got the police or reporters involved (that would take too much time!) they don't have the benefit of being anonymous. And they've been taking hush money from Preston for years, so I'm sure they'll be pilloried in the public eye. But this is our big moment of justice. Again, the reader feels a sense of relief and triumph, but the victims will have to deal with it afterward.

Finally, the heroine of the next book is a friend of Liv's and one of Preston's victims. Liv and Alexis have a confrontation AND ALEXIS VOMITS WHILE TALKING ABOUT IT. She's clearly not recovered and again, no discussion of counseling. I sincerely hope that's covered in the next book. Alexis shouldn't have had to go through that for the sake of Liv's character growth.

hmm.

i really, really, really enjoyed the first book in this series. it was fun and funny and sweet and silly and adorable and steamy. i expected the same for this one, but unfortunately it didn't quite work as well for me.

first off, look. i get it. i dig it. i agree with all the things! i don't mind when authors include current day issues in a book, truly. however. when i already agree with them and i *still* feel like i am getting bashed over the head with it and preached at.... that's not fun, okay? and look. i read books to escape and to have fun. this was not an escape and it was not fun. stop preaching at me! i bloody well agree with you! for pete's sake. this wasn't just a portion of the book, it was the whole dang book with a side of romance. yes, it's a heavy subject and there's no way to make light of it, but spending SO much time on it made me not want to pick it up again. i think the author had the best intentions with this book but i don't personally think it worked.

on top of that, Liv was just as annoying in this book as she was in the first book. i thought the author would make me like/understand her, but nope. just wanted to push her in front of a bus. and how she gets mad at braden for lying about what he lies about! girl! wtf!!!!! i really wanted to slap her upside the head for that. that is a perfectly fine thing to not tell someone, you think i share that shit easily and quickly when i meet people? no, i wait until well after i know i can trust them (and no, my dad didn't do the thing mack's did to get in jail, but he did do the other stuff before that). and yes, she apologises and says it was really because she was scared and looking for a reason but lordy it just pissed me off.

so. i guess this is supposed to mirror a romantic suspense? but it's also supposed to be funny? add in the sexual harassment stuff? plus throw some actual romance in there? it's just too dang much and didn't really work. plus, i am sure that some people were annoyed in the last book by the fake book being included, i wasn't, but i really think it could have helped this book. instead, we get a random chapter at the end.

overall, there were some funny bits (and some not so but trying to be funny bits, i don't really expect fart humour when i pick up a romance), some good serious bits, some cute bits.. it was a very quick easy read, i just think it missed the mark a bit. i am not sure about the next one, though i think someone said it was about noah, so i might give it a go though i guess it depends on what trope it's going to be inspired by and if there are any current serious issues also in there.

I absolutely LOVED the latest installment of the Bromance Book Club. These men . . . WOW. These men are not afraid to show they care and they read romance novels!! I absolutely loved how much of a fan of romance novels Mack was. It was so refreshing.

Mack is absolutely my favorite guy and I loved learning more about his past and WHY he started reading romance novels. I also loved the other men in the club and the amazing friendship they all had. I also liked seeing Gavin and Thea from the first book.

Now I loved the relationship Mack had with Liv. There was amazing chemistry and banter and it was awesome. But my thing was that I wasn’t a huge fan of Liv for a good part of the book. Who would have thought that Mack would have had more empathy for sexual harassment victims than Liv? That may be a bit sexist of me, but it still surprised me. Yet another reason to love Mack. I know that Liv had her reasons for her reaction to that, as well as her reaction to the truth of his past, but she still bugged me. Other than that, awesome read!

3.5 Stars

Adams follow up to her debut was enjoyable, but not blow it out of the park.

Undercover Bromance is the second book in the Bromance Book Club series. It features a fan favorite character from the first book, Braden Mack. He’s the only member of the book club who isn’t married and has been reading romance novels since his teenage years. An enjoyable process that he feels has taught him everything about wooing a woman… too bad everything about Braden’s wooing talents doesn’t possess a molecule of honesty and exposure. No, Braden uses what he’s learned to give him this classic mask, the playboy with a heart of gold.

Enter trouble in the form of one pastry chef, Liv Papandreas. Since I read the first book in this series, I already knew that Liv is the sister of our book one heroine. She’s feisty, super independent and likes to call her own shots. She’s also a bit of a She-ra man hater… but I quickly determined that my belief was merely a front, one she’d been perpetrating since book one.

How do these two wind up together? Well, it has something to do with a cupcake, a misogynistic-tool of a chef, a potential scandal, and Liv losing her job. There’s a lot more, but needless to say these two form an unlikely partnership to topple the misogynistic chef. Said partnership puts Liv and Braden at odds and then knee-deep in attraction neither of them wanted.

I liked these two coming together, they are the epitome of opposites attract and the whole idea that you don’t really know what you want until it literally gives you a black eye and gets you chased by a rooster named Randy. Braden gets to really fall in love and Liz has to give up this idea that she can be a one-person army for the rest of her life. It’s okay to have people take care of you and it’s okay to put your heart on the line.

The external plot, the tool-y chef is very timely and it’s like a ‘ripped from the headlines’ style storyline. It worked very well, and I liked how Adams kept me wondering how they would pull this off because as a woman living in this world, I’ve seen too often how the good guys and gals don’t win. Of course, this is a romance, you can rest assured there is a happily ever after.

What didn’t work for me? Braden and Liz finally coming together seemed off… like it was a puzzle piece that didn’t quite fit right. I kept waiting for something, and still after a week of finishing this story can’t put my finger on it.

Overall, it’s a good story. Adams proves she’s got the chops for romantic storytelling with a touch of comedy. Here’s hoping the third installment is just as good. For readers who enjoy Avery Flynn and Alisha Rai.

~ Landra

Funny and sweet romance that also involves a caper. Two strong-willed people, Mack and Liv, unite to bring down a sexual predator chef. The fact that they can't stand each other gets in the way. Both are burdened with issues from their childhood that they don't want to share but which shape their ability to commit.

Mack and his buddies secretly read romance novels to give themselves insights into their relationships with women. They are loyal friends who have each others' backs. Their interactions are endearing and often laugh out loud funny. Liv has quit a high-powered culinary job after discovering her boss was taking advantage of female employees. She vows to put a stop to his sleaziness and reluctantly joins forces with Mack and the boys to bring him down.

This was great fun -- thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Undercover Bromance: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
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I read this book immediately after finishing The Bromance Bookclub, and for a sequel this one was AWESOME! It didn’t feel repetitive from the first book, I loved the Liv/Mack story and watching growth from both characters and still found it just as entertaining and endearing as the first book! I hope there will be a third in the series!!

The problem with some of the books like these lies with the label "rom-com" being synonymous with immaturity on the page. I can't abide pettiness, sitting in each other's pockets, hugely exaggerated emotions, bickering without having an adult conversation—in general, acting like immature twenty-somethings when you're supposed to be thirty plus and very responsible and successful at your job (I am told this over and over but never see it). The romantic comedy sub-genre tends to be so over-the-top and in-your-face with a decided lack of subtlety that the characters almost become stereotypical as the story is told in tropes.

She is a superb pastry chef. He is a very wealthy man with a string of nightclubs and bars to his name. They meet when he is out on a date with a gorgeous woman at a very expensive restaurant where she is the pastry chef. He orders their $1000 cupcake and while ceremoniously handing it over to him, she drops it. Her boss, a famous celebrity chef wants to chew her out, but when she goes up to his office, she catches him sexually molesting a fellow restaurant worker. She gets fired for her plainspeaking, and is determined to expose him to the world, which never sees this side of him.

The hero is her sister's husband's good friend. So they know each other. The men, with other very high profile men, are in a romance reading book club together, hence the title. Our hero gets everyone into the shenanigans to out the celebrity chef against her wishes. She and he have a very contentious relationship for no good reason I could fathom. She has sharp corners and he is a softie and keeps trying to make nice with her. They are fighting. Then they're banging. And eventually, they are loving. This book was a miss for me--a pity because it was heavily touted as one of the top books of the year.

I JUST LOVED THIS.

Okay. It’s official. I loved this more than The Bromance Book Club. While I appreciated and adored that it was about a married couple, Undercover Bromance brought in my favorite trope, enemies to lovers, to make this a stellar read.

I am TOTALLY SMITTEN WITH BRADEN MACK. Oh my goodness. I fell in love with him over this book in more ways than one. I couldn’t get enough of his tougher exterior, but softest soul. And can we all applaud the fact that men express real feelings in this series? Because I am here for it. I love how Mack conquered his past and fought for his love. He was incredibly sweet and his perseverance with Liv is admirable. I’m so glad we got a sequel with him because I will be gushing for days.

The way the book club helps Mack throughout this story made me smile and want to group hug all of them too [who doesn’t?]. I love their friendship with each other and feel like the romance books have helped them all explore their own softer sides and be able to talk to one another. I love a good gal pal friendship, but seeing all of these guys together is one of my favorite aspects of this series.

Undercover Bromance covers a really relevant and serious topic [sexual assault, specifically in the work place]. This was a hard subject to read about. I thought it was well put together in the story and while broaching a tough theme it didn’t overshadow the romance. It was great to see so many men in this story stand up for women and have constructive discussions.

I absolutely was all over the chemistry between Liv and Mack. It was a lightening storm out there whenever they were near each other. The banter, flirtations, steam, honest moments, tender moments. Oh my, this book had it all. Every single thing I could ask for when looking for a memorable romance. My only 1/2 star deduction was from Liv. Occasionally I didn’t love her character. She did have a solid arc over the course of the story and once she started apologizing I was way more on her side.

There was only one added scene from a romance novel. Unlike The Bromance Book Club, where a few chapters were dedicated to a romance novel within the book, Undercover Bromance only had a few paragraphs one time. I looooove this change and thought it kept the pace and the story smooth. Nothing felt broken up as the POV switched back and forth between Liv and Braden. And can we talk about that epilogue? Because it was adorable and I live for happy ever afters.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary romance
Language: a lot of strong language throughout
Romance: kisses, passionate make-outs, a few detailed love scenes
Violence: physical
Trigger warnings: sexual assault [MC walks in on it happening; discussed throughout as one of the main themes of the story; hearing survivor stories]; domestic abuse [MC recounts past of abusive father]

The Bromance Book Club was one of my fave reads of 2019 - it just had all the elements of a great romantic comedy with the premise of dudes reading romance to learn to be better partners. So it’s no wonder that I ripped through Undercover Bromance in three days, desperate to see Liv and Mack’s romance through to the end.

The plot of exposing a public figure for the sexual abuse he’s been perpetrating for years? Yes. That is the feminist content I’m here for. Add to that a very distrustful, sarcastic heroine with a chip on her shoulder, an old-school feminist farmer with a man-hating chicken, and well, the hottest, most respectful nightclub owner in existence with a secret, you’ve basically got me salivating.

I haven’t read much romantic suspense, but I very much enjoyed this one because I actually cared about the “case” Liv and Mack were trying to solve. Even though some of the plot points were obvious (who’s on the list of Royce, the abuser’s, victims? So obvious), I nevertheless enjoyed the journey and excitement of this one. My heart alternated between pounding from the plot, or from the amazing chemistry that Liv and Mack had.

And of course, the dudes in the book club. Could there be a more fun way to spend your time? Loved seeing these guys in action, whether contemplating enemies or lover or doing a stakeout, and I’m super glad that it looks like they’ll now be adding more dudes to the club.

For me, this one was slightly less swoony than the first book because the sex scenes just weren’t as hot. Adams was clearly more interested in the plot and emotions than that, but man? Throw a girl a bone after all the sexual tension!

Honestly, if you’re a romcom fan and you’re not reading this series, it really should go to the top of your to-be-read list. It always delivers, and Undercover Bromance was no different. I can’t wait for the next book.

Charming, witty, full of action, and utterly relevant in this post #metoo world.


As much as I adored The Bromance Book Club, I knew I absolutely had to have book 2.


We first met Liv in book one and knew that she was going to be a force to be reckoned with. She certainly didn't disappoint. In a male-dominated world of chefs and high-end kitchens, Liv has made a name and a place for herself. When she witnesses some less than appropriate behavior from her celebrity chef boss, she ends up losing her job.


Her quest for revenge requires help and she reluctantly turns to Braden Mack. Braden is more than willing to help Liv with her task. He is also willing to offer her a job and whatever else she might be up for, but Live turns him down. She has worked hard to get to where she is and definitely wants to move forward on her own merit and not receive handouts.


As the title suggests, Undercover Bromance involves some intrigue and sneaking around. Braden and Liv grow closer and discover lots about each other and themselves. They also begin to uncover more of Liv's former boss's despicable deeds. Unfortunately, they struggle to find anyone willing to speak up.


As I said, this story is so utterly relevant. People need to hear this story, even though it is told in a humorous way.


Thank you to Berkley for providing an Advanced Copy.

I devoured this book. I absolutely love the men's book club discussions and parts where the book goes meta discussing plot elements and romance tropes. I found the humor in this book delightful, and was impressed at how well the author balanced the lighthearted moments with the very serious issues of sexual harassment and domestic abuse. If you love reading romance books and haven't picked up this series yet, I highly recommend!

I really liked the first book in this series, The Bromance Book Club, and had high hopes for this one. So did it live up to the hype? Hmm…. not quite.

I really enjoyed it in the beginning. We met both Mack and Liv in the first book, so I was ready to watch them fall in love. The first 25% or so of the book is really fun. (Though there is a massive, massive trigger warning for on-page sexual harassment throughout the book, initially in the first couple of chapters.)

But after about that far, it starts to drag a bit. Mainly because of our main couple, unfortunately.

Mack is a lot. He’s a lot a lot. He talks constantly about how to uplift women and is forever trying to teach other men, both in the book group and outside it, how to treat women like real people, and how to not be a misogynistic dick, but something about it comes across as performative. It’s like he’s trying to get points. And while he’s doing all of this, he’s just sort of….smarmy. While he’s telling all of the other men how to behave toward women, the only way he can communicate with any woman his comes across is by winking and schmoozing and actively trying to charm them. It’s weird and fake and comes across as, well, smarmy. No matter how many times Liz told him what she needed, he just talked over her and insisted they do things his way. His feminism is all talk. It’s so frustrating.

And Liz. Liz has a lot of deep-seated issues. And she has good reason for them. But she needs therapy to deal with them. Because she’s really nasty to a lot of people who don’t deserve it. She also has a similar disconnect between what we’re told and what we see. She spends the entire book fighting to bring down a serial sexual harasser, but then blames the victims and tries to bully them into doing what she wants them to do, no matter what they’re currently dealing with or how they want to handle the situation. She’s really nasty to them. This book actually had 2 bleak moments – your standard one between Mack and Liz, and another one between and her best friend Alexis after Liz tries to pull that shit with Alexis and Alexis told her off and kicked her out. Deservedly so.

…you use weakness as a weapon. you're so ashamed of your own mistakes in life, so afraid of your own fragility, that you accuse everyone else around you of being soft just for the crime of basic human frailty.

Liz doesn’t just push Mack away. She pushes away every single person in her life. We hear over and over and over that no one is worth trusting, men especially, and that the only way a person can get through life is alone. She jumps to conclusions, always assumes the worst about a person and their intentions, and can’t get away from everyone fast enough.

I just couldn’t connect with Mack or Liz. I wanted to, because the premise of the book was fun, and it started out really strong. I am really looking forward to the third book, because I like Alexis and Noah, but this one was a bit of a miss for me.

I really enjoyed the premise and characters introduced in The Bromance Book Club and couldn't wait to read more in the series. Unfortunately I didn’t like Undercover Bromance nearly as much as it's predecessor. This book follows the hate-to-love romance between characters introduced in the first book - Thea's sister Liv and book club founder Mack. The book has a romantic-suspense vibe and tackles topical issues like workplace sexual harassment and the #metoo movement. It had its good moments, but overall I’m not a big fan of how the book tackled these very serious issues. I know it’s a romance and we need the HEA, but something about the light-hearted funny adventure of it all put a bit of bad taste in my mouth. The ending felt rushed with everything just suddenly working out and veered way too silly high-jinks-y for my taste. I would recommend to contemporary romance readers and fans of the first book, but with a big ol’ content warning. Nevertheless, I look forward to more from Adams. Vlad's book next, please!

Not only did this offer a romance filled with humor, character growth and swoons, it also tackled and addressed many issues involving the sexual harassment, the “me too” movement, shaming and judgement or biased based on who your parents are, how your children behave and beyond. The situation Jess and Liv found themselves in could have been ripped from a national news story, and Adams did a great job of shedding light on the reality of the situation before giving readers their happily ever after.

If you are looking for a romance with humor that tackles current issues and delivers a side of suspense, you’ll want to meet the Bromance Club.

Full review will post on March 12, 2020 @ Caffeinated Reviewer.

I love this series a lot, and this one was fantastic.It has funny moments and I had a smile most of the time.The characters were fantastic and the romance cute.

"Braden Mack thinks reading romance novels makes him an expert in love, but he’ll soon discover that real life is better than fiction."

Liv and Mack are total opposites and I love it! These two have a witty banter.I couldn't get enough of them!

If you're looking for a fun and heartwarming read this is perfect!

Lyssa Kay Adams’ hilarious and heartwarming novel The Bromance Book Club was one of my favorite reads of 2019. I was beyond excited to hear she was actually writing an entire series of Bromance books and that the second book in the series, Undercover Bromance, was to focus on one of my favorite characters from the first book, Braden Mack, the sexy and charming nightclub owner who also happens to be the founder of the Bromance Book Club. Needless to say, my anticipation for Undercover Bromance was high. I’m thrilled to share with you that not only did Undercover Bromance live up to my expectations, I actually loved this book even more than the first book in the series.

I really enjoyed getting to know more about Mack and seeing what makes him tick. Mack was the charming ringleader in the first book so I was very interested in getting a deeper look into his life and especially his reasons for deciding to create this book club. I was especially curious to learn about this since he is the only one who isn’t married and his fellow book club members love to place bets on how quickly he will dump his current girlfriend. (For anyone unfamiliar with the first book, the Bromance Book Club is a book club for men where they read romance novels in hopes of better understanding women, thereby hopefully improving their relationships with their wives). I don’t want to give anything away about what I learned so I’ll just say that it made me love Mack even more than I already did.

In addition to Mack, the story also focuses on another character who appeared in the first novel, Liv Papandreas, a talented pastry chef who, as this novel opens, gets fired from her dream job at an elite restaurant when she witnesses her boss sexually harassing another female employee. I was a little nervous going into the story because of Liv; she wasn’t my favorite character in the first book and I worried that a story that focuses on her would put me off. Thankfully I was dead wrong about that and the author made me fall in love with Liv as well as I got to know her better. Liv is fierce, feisty, and she’s determined to take down this sexual predator. She knows she can’t do it alone and reluctantly turns to Mack, who knows her boss, for assistance.

Mack and Liv teaming up to bring down this jerk is epic. Liv doesn’t like Mack, which drives Mack insane because everyone likes Mack. I loved watching their relationship develop from trading witty insults back and forth to finally starting to open up to one another. Their chemistry is off the charts and it was just so much fun watching them interact as they got to know each other better and honestly as they realized some truths about themselves as well.

Where Lyssa Kay Adams truly excels in this book though is the wonderful balance she strikes between the very serious topic of sexual harassment and the trademark humor we have come to expect with the members of the Bromance Book Club. Those guys are always there to keep things from getting too heavy and I lost track of how many times I laughed so hard I cried as they traded middle fingers, cashed in bets about Mack’s love life, and pummeled the Russian with fart jokes. I swear this series needs to be made into a rom-com film or a sitcom because it is truly hilarious! Adams has also gifted us with two more fabulous secondary characters in this book that I hope we haven’t seen the last of – Rosie, who is Liv’s landlord and a long-time, outspoken feminist, and Hop, a grumpy old fellow who clearly has it bad for Rosie but could really use some assistance from the Bromance Book Club. I don’t want to give away anything about them, but they truly stole every scene they were in and I adored them both.

I guess it’s pretty obvious that I highly recommend Undercover Bromance to anyone who enjoyed the first book in this series. It’s charming, heartwarming, and hilarious, with a lovable cast of characters. And if you haven’t started this series yet, what are you waiting for?

So enjoyed watching Liv and Mack fall in love. I totes cried twice. It was so good! Just a heads up to readers though, the ARC I recieved did not come with trigger warnings (they might be on the final draft, I am not sure) but there are instances of sexual harassment, and mentions of domestic abuse. That being said I thought the Lyssa handled a delicate subject well.

Read this book if you enjoy enemies to lovers tropes, protagonists being completely thrown off of their game by love, septagenarian feminists, bromances, and asshole roosters.

This second installment of the Bromance Book Club is fantastic! I love it even more than the first! After Mack unintentionally gets Liv fired by her crappy boss, sparks fly between them and man is it hot🔥 I love Mack and his buddies, so in touch with their feelings and their feminist sides. And they are hilarious together (esp the Russian and his lactose issues)! I also loved the side characters, Rosie and Hop, and can't wait to see who's up next! Ms Adams, thank you for these wonderful romantic comedies! 💕 Please keep em coming!

There were things about the first book that I loved but this didn’t do it for me overall. In some ways it felt like it became more about the sexual harassment storyline/the hero and his guy friends trying to insert themselves into an investigation (with good intentions but not a great level of understanding) and LESS about the romance aspect, which was a little discouraging. Also the twist in regards to the hero’s dad/his real identity at the end felt like it kind of came out of left field at like 70% of the way through with no real build-up. At the end of the day, I was less into this follow-up than I hoped to be.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
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I really wanted to love this book. After The Bromance Book Club (which was only a three star for me), I went into Undercover Bromance thinking that the story of Liv and Mack would captivate me more than Thea and Gavin's love. However, I think I actually liked the first book better.
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While there are some serious LOL moments, and the bros are still the best part of the book, there aren't enough of these moments within the book and the romance is SO sappy that I found myself skimming to get through it and rolling my eyes the entire way. When I pick up a rom-com, I want to enjoy the actual rom bit, and I definitely did not in Bromance.
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I think a lot of people will enjoy this series. Adams definitely channels bro humor and knows how to elicit a laugh, but the overall plot fell short for me, the characters were not compelling, the ending was sappy and contrived, and I am mostly just happy to be done reading the book!