The bro code

Ok, I just hoped this was some cute YA read.
And yes it was cute, but too much code and bro code for my taste, maybe I am old and don't get it... But truly just didn't do for me.

2.5 stars

Loved this story it brought back many high school memories. I couldn’t stop reading the story was so enjoyable and exciting. Loved that in-deep look on guys friendship. Loved how Eliza’s and Nick relationships evolved. Incredible romcom fir a summer read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

TW: sexual assault

Perhaps the author had good intentions but for me, it wasn't well-executed. I think I would've enjoyed reading this book more if the issues in it, like toxic masculinity and sexual assault, were handled in a better way. I know The Bro Code was supposed to be a fun, light, rom-com but some issues just had to be taken seriously, for example the revelation about some characters near the end of the book. I felt like it was resolved too quickly, even though it was a serious subject that should've been handled with care. The other offhanded comments about LGBT and the #MeToo movement also made me uncomfortable.

It's such a shame because I genuinely enjoyed the first half of the story. Nick and Eliza were cute, even though sometimes our narrator, Nick, and his endless list of bro codes could be quite annoying. I liked that throughout the book Nick learned to call out his peers for their sexist words and behaviors and he was also aware of his privilege as a 'straight, white, bro'. The plot itself was nothing special, and the author brought nothing new to the age-old trope of dating your best friend's sister.

To sum it up, I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked the idea of tackling issues like toxic masculinity in a high school rom-com book but too bad, the author handled it carelessly and I felt like it backfired.

I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So thank you to the Netgalley, the publisher and the author for letting me read this book early.

Overall this book was just ok. The characters felt a bit flat and boring and the male characters were certainly annoying. The plot was decent and the overall idea of there being these rules for the friends seems normal until some of the rules are said and then your just like why the fuck is that a rule or that rules stupid. Some of the rules make sense though. There was a character in the story who is Bi for no particular reason and I somewhat find that unsettling and overall unnecessary. It’s not a horrible book and I did enjoy reading it but I would not re-read it. if you like high school romances with a forbidden romance type plot you might like this.

Oof. This one did not work for me. It was a struggle to finish reading it.

It think it could have been a better read. However, the voice of the story was very young. It was that kind of forced teen talk that makes you go “yeah, no one talks like that”.

I also wish the book had taken a stronger stance against toxic masculinity, sexism, harassment, etc. It had a lot it tried to tackle, and didn’t do justice to any of it.

So good that I read it all in one sitting! The Bro Code features the ultimate bromance between a group of best friends who do everything together and have a set of rules that help solidify their friendship. This book has all the best features of a young adult/teen book, such as the comedy, the romance, and a plot so good that you’re hooked. Perhaps the best part is the character development for two of the main characters!

Thank You Publisher for Sending me and ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book, but just couldn't get into it. I think it could have been really fun but I just couldn't get into the writing style.

The Bro Code" is a young adult book centered around a friend group consisting of three boys - Nick, Carter and Austin. The three of them established a "bro code," which is a set of rules they all agree to avoid breaking, but that changes when Nick starts to have feelings for Carter's sister, Eliza, because one of the "rules" of their "bro code" is to not date the sisters of anyone else in the group. Nick can't deny the feelings that he has for Eliza, and the story shows him feeling conflicted on whether he should pursue a relationship with Eliza, or try to push those feelings aside in order to continue abiding by the "bro code."

I didn't mind a majority of the book, up until one of the last few chapters, at which point I started disliking the book.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Wattpad books & Elizabeth A. Seibert for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Bro code follows Nick Maguire, a high school student athlete who is a combination of Ted Mosby and Barney Stinson from how I met your mother. Nick loves his best friend Carter’s sister (Eliza). The whole plot revolves around the fact that him liking her goes against the bro code; which is an unofficial code book for being a toxic bro. Since the book’s called The bro code, it is mentioned a hundred thousand times in this book. The novel is about friendships, high school, soccer and light romance; it’s like a baby carrot version of Riverdale. Imagine Schmidt from new girl x 3, that’s what the 3 main characters in this novel were like; total douchebags.

I almost DNF’ed the book 50 pages in but Eliza, Carter’s sister seemed like an interesting character and I wanted to see where the author would take her plot line. However, the author used Eliza as a mere plot device and it took 75% of the book to even learn a bit more about what Eliza is going to do after high school. It’s exactly how toxic men think, they just equate women to their bodies and the author equated Eliza to just being the love interest.

Although I enjoyed the ongoing banter between Nick and Eliza; I did not want them to end up together. Their relationship was shouting toxic from a mile away. I was happy that nick changed by the end of the novel but him justifying the stupid bro culture throughout the novel made him super annoying. He was self centered and thought that everything revolved around him. Also, I am tired of the mean girl troupe, I felt like Madison was Sharpay all over again. Just written into the story to put down girls whilst waving the feminist flag.

——

*spoilers ahead*

I was really happy about the author tackling the issue of toxic masculinity through the bro culture but the way it was handled was really subpar. At one point, one of the characters (Carter) said point blank that the girl he raped and himself were “even” because he apologized for his behavior and apparently him apologizing for sexually abusing her made everything better. Just because she thought what he did was not wrong, he forgave himself, the audacity. Also the other friend (Austin) compared sexually manipulating Eliza to Nick hiding his relationship with Eliza a secret. Like somehow raping a woman is the same as hiding a relationship with a woman.

There were moments while reading this book I felt like it deserved 4 stars (the adorkable parts) but then the ending just made me very angry. I mean the whole novel was leading up to having a serious discussion about toxic masculinity but when they actually started tackling the issue, they just glazed over Carter and Austin’s mistakes. It’s like how ted and Barney from HIMYM were excused for sexualizing women and manipulating them. The last half was about their journey to acceptance when what they did in the past should have been discussed in detail too. It was as if what they did was not wrong at all but how they changed was extremely important (it was all about the bro’s). Like them realizing their toxic masculinity made them better people, they also felt more morally just and felt like they are better than other people in their lives. (Carter thinking him and Sarah being even, nick thinking he was better than Madison or Josh and Austin feeling superior to the freshmen) The girls whose lives they ruined were used as a plot device for the main characters to outshine others. It was all about Nick and how he changed after Eliza pointed out the obvious blaring toxicity in the bro culture. Not about how Eliza had to survive with her predator around. The #meetoo movement was used to make the book more politically aware.

I didn’t want to rant but it all just ticked me off in the wrong way. This book would’ve been better if the issues were dealt with in a sensitive manner and the start of the book was reworked a bit more. It was really hard to get into the book in the first few chapters, too many inside jokes about being a bro. It would have been helpful if the story was told through two perspectives; one from Eliza and the second from Nick. It would have helped deep dive into the women’s side of the story. The only person I would recommend the book to is toxic men; because they will love the start where all three characters are being toxic and will hopefully learn a lesson by the end.

Oh boy, this book was a lot. I thought I would like it but the "bro" ness of this was just a bit too much for me. I get that they're all in high school and so they're very young, However, it honestly just gave me a bit of a stomach in some parts and brought back the worst memories of high school. I will say if you were popular and had a lot of friends in high school and were friends with the whole "jock" crowd you would like this, or if you can stick around to the end where they finally get their stuff together.

I was thrilled to receive an early copy of this book via Netgalley for review. Having read through the summary of it, I related quite a bit to it right off the bat. Having dated (and eventually married) my brother's best friend I was very interested to see where this book would take me.

First things first, the premise of this book was fantastic. The idea of this sister coming home and Nick essentially being swept off his feet by her (Eliza), I loved. I feel like we are constantly seeing tropes similar to this but with the girls. Some guy (older brother of a friend) floats into there lives and they fall madly in love. This was a great shake up of that trope and I loved seeing that play out.

I also fell in love with the idea of the title and how that fit into the book The "bro code" is such a thing and we see that in TV (How I Met Your Mother), books and honestly in life. Guys might not flat out say something about the "bro code" but it's always there. It's this unwritten code that binds guys together or tears them apart and Seibert does a great job of showing that in this book. This code is intense and definitely intact amoungst high schoolers, college kids and let's be honest, adults.

I've given this book about a 4 star rating because it felt classic to me. It touches on these things that we all know are there as young adults but maybe never talk about. This is something I literally experienced with my boyfriend and now husband and it was so fun to read it!

This is a fun, easy read. The writing is lively--I really enjoyed Nick's voice--and I could see this appealing to many contemporary YA romance fans.

The reason why I had to knock it down a few stars is because although it's marketed as "satire," there's nothing that really shows a level of awareness when it comes to toxic masculinity? Which is kind of how I view satire; something that should flip and make fun of stereotypes. I found the stereotypes to be heavily perpetuated but not really acknowledged. This book is rife with comments about women and pretty much all the characters unfortunately fall into the stereotype-mold without any growth or nuance that shows they're more than that. The glossing over of misconduct at a party really did not ever get addressed and at that point I feel like it's better to have just taken it out.

I must admit that the first half of this novel was really hard to get through, because nothing interesting was happening and the main character Nick was rambling about his male friends. We get to know about bro code, and how it actually complicates the relationship between him and his friends instead of making it easier. The second half of the book is waaaay better. It starts with a party where Nick's crush on his best bro's sister is revealed. It definitely complicates everything since it's against the bro code that they are all supposed to follow. I really appreciated the topics brought by this book especially how sexist not only boys but also grown up men can be and to what sort of disasters it can lead - rape, lack of consent and the general lack of respect towards girls and women. If the book consisted only of the second part I guess I would give it 4 stars, but since I hardly made it to the second part I will stop at 3 stars.

I received this book in exchange of a honest review. It’s a good quick read that deals with high school and issues in life. It’s touch’s on things like the me to movement. I really enjoyed it I just wish the characters didn’t seem it’s the everything when they are just in high school and lives just starting

**Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & the publisher for a chance to read & review an E-ARC of this novel!**

This one started off slow for me, but by the end I was wanting the story to keep going! I wonder how things turned out...& the story gave me major nostalgia vibes for my high school days. Please find my extended feedback below...along with some spoilers (beware).
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Things I Liked:
-the nostalgia it brought back about my high days...lol
-the connections between the characters...although this was problematic at points if they were backing each other regarding misogynistic or homophobic topics...the strength of the friendships also led to the growth of each character
-the slow burn of the romance...it made it that much sweeter when things picked up
-how the author called out the toxic masculinity! YAAAAASSSSS!
-the re-written Bro Code at the end of the novel :)

Things That Didn't Sit Quite Right With Me:
-this story started out slow & took a while for me to get interested in
-the way the original Bro Code was overbearing in parts of the story...in the beginning of the story it was brought up so much that it felt very oppressive in the story (but this let up & changed as the character progressed)
-while enjoyed the romance...I found it slightly irritating that it took a relationship with the "right girl" for the main character to realize his demeaning views & comments regarding women

Overall, I gave this novel 3 stars. It was such a good way to break up my recent "adult" reads & remind me why I love YA so much. It made me smile & laugh. I think it would be a great read for those interested in reading novels with high school themes, rom-com vibes, & just an enjoyable & funny read.

The Bro Code by Elizabeth A. Seibert is a young adult contemporary, romance novel which focuses on the lives of four characters - Nick Maguire, Cassidy, Carter, Eliza.

The book is filled the difference bro codes / rules in order to what needs to done and not done. There were many things wrongly portrayed in this book. And the book truely did not have any direction.

It was literally going around the bush and nothing concrete was happening since a pretty long time. I did not enjoy reading this book at all. The codes and everything is something we usually keep seeing around and nothing new came to out it.
-----------
Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for giving me e-copy in exchange of an honest review.

DNF @ 18%

This is just not grabbing my attention at all. I can't keep the guy characters straight; they're all blending into one stereotypical crappy dude-bro. And I dont understand the history between them, and how the sister ties in. The chapter are too long. Nothing is working for me.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Let me just start by saying that this is a fluffy romantic comedy. It also deals a bit with the "forbidden love" trope so if you're looking for that, this might be right up your alley.

However, I did feel that the flow wasn't always that great in this book; it was a little hard to read and it was hard for me to get connected to the plot. I also wasn't too attached to the characters and I didn't think there was a lot of character development.

There are a lot of pop culture references which can be funny and relatable, but can also take you out of the world of the bok for a bit.

This book also touched on certain issues which I think are very important like sexism, the #metoo movement, and homophobia which, while I think it could've gone deeper on those issues, was nice to see from a book that is from the POV of a male high school character.

Besides that, this is a fairly easy summery read that'll be good for all lovers of teen romance with a hint of comedy!

Unfortunately this book wasn't really for me. I did not finish it @ 30%.

(ARC kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m unsure how I feel about this book... I know I’m outside the demographic but I typically love YA books. However, this one seemed a little TOO juvenile for my taste. While I liked some of the thematics regarding women’s rights, I don’t feel as though they were brought into the plotting appropriately. I also had a huge issue with the amount of unsupervised partying done by the underage kids. Call me a wet rag, or whatever you please... I just hate it. Even if it’s reality. I never understood the “party life.” I always wanted to stay home and read 😂 Torn between a 2.5-3⭐️ Rating for me.