Not only were tough topics discussed, the love story that was interwoven was brilliant. Nar has to learn to be herself. Her boyfriend of five years, and the man her father would have wanted to marry proposes to her in the worst way possible. Which makes her realize this isn’t what she wants.

Telling him they need to go on a break while he is away for a month, her mom convinces her to participate in a month long celebration called Explore Armenia that only happens every 3 years, to set her up with men from her community. On the first night Nareh meets the enchanting Erebuni. She helps her navigate the men at these events. But what Nar doesn’t expect is to start falling for this bewitching woman who is helping her both accept her sexuality and her Armenian heritage.

Voskuni tackled tough subjects like assimilating into American culture as immigrants, the genocide in Armenia and resulting diaspora, what it means to be a woman in a man dominated work place, and so much more. You see Nar go through being a part of her culture but also feeling so outside of it because her dad wanted more for her. This was done with such care and passion for her culture and tradition.

Cw
Genocide discussed
Outing
Homophobia
Misogyny
Biphobia
Alcohol
Grief
Sexism
Sexual harassment
Mild sexual content
Death of a parent off page
Toxic relationship

I was immediately drawn to this book, as a born and raised San Francisco Bay Area resident. A sunset with two women looking at the Golden Gate Bridge? How beautiful! But, you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, so thankfully, I didn't mind the book much either. I enjoyed the premise of the book - as an Asian bisexual whose parents, while supportive of out, kind of raised me in an environment where my end goal is to marry a man and be in a heterosexual relationship, so I didn't come out until I was in college, which was similar to Nareh's journey as well. I loved the found family aspect of this book, her relationship blooming with Erebuni, and sticking it to her misogynistic boss. I think where I didn't feel like this book did it completely for me, despite the drawing cover and premise, was so long. I kind of got tired of all of the internal monologue after a bit, and by the time I was drawn to the book, it was almost over. So, while I appreciated the book and the message it gave me, there were points I completely glossed over.

Nareh is Armenian-American and when her boyfriend of 5 years proposes to her, she knew deep down it didn’t feel right. Between her career as a reporter, getting to know a new friend, and exploring her Armenian culture, Nareh uncovers more of herself… and possibly her true love?

I enjoyed reading about Nar’s story, learning about Armenian culture and traditions (nice touch with the Armenian proverbs at the opening of every chapter), and the struggle and stigma with coming out to her family. The openness of bisexuality and acceptance in the end was both heartwarming and a big sigh of relief. The chemistry between Nar and Erebuni was just so easy, so real.

I enjoyed this, but found myself skilling ahead a bit here and there. Perhaps its that I'm a bit tired coming-out stories at this point, where a big part of the drama is the stress of the character balancing their closeted life with their need to be themselves. That made the third-act drama between the two leads, Nareh and Erebuni, feel somewhat artificial, considering there was plenty of tension for other reasons that could have been exploited to increase tension, possibly without even having it be related to a relationship conflict.

Still, a fun read.

I hate the title of this book, but I'm so glad I didn't let that stop me from reading it. SORRY, BRO is a refreshing, interesting, and compelling contemporary romance. It dives deep into Armenian culture, and the specificity of the food, the language, and the family relationships breathes so much life into this story!

Trigger Warnings: Proposal, debt, past death of a parent, alcohol/drinking, alcoholism, past drunk driving accident, grief, homophobia, biphobia, racism, off page sex, lying, workplace sexism/misogyny, micro-aggressions, Armenian genocide, coming out

Representation: Armenian, witchcraft, Bisexual

Sorry, Bro is a queer contemporary romance about Bisexual news anchor Nar. The story begins when Nar’s boyfriend proposes and she is not exactly excited. After agreeing to a break while her boyfriend(?) travels for work, Nar attends the month long Armenian festival in town to meet perspective husbands to appease her mother. When Nar meets Erebuni, any chance of fulfilling her mother’s wishes are gone. Can Nar be a proud Armenian, Bisexual woman once and for all?

This book was not as great as I was hoping. I thought the premise sounded great but the book fell a bit flat. I thought the book did a great job at examining identity and the intersectionalism of it all but I thought the romance portion needed a little more focus. I can confidently say this is only because the book is promoted as a romance, rather than a more contemporary story. I think a little change in advertising could really bring in the right audience for this story!

The characters in this book were fantastic. Nar was a lot of fun and I loved learning so much about Armenian culture. I wish I could eat some of those yummy sounding foods! I thought the author did a great job balancing the heavier topics with the fluffier parts. She also did an excellent job handling such serious topics with grace and honor!

Nareh is pretty much living her father’s dream. She’s a reporter of a local news station, dating a white tech bro, and has basically set her Armenian side behind her. But when said white tech bro proposes to her and Nareh panics, realizing that something about it all doesn’t feel right, Nareh decides to make some changes. Finally, she takes her mother’s advice, and begins attending local events for Armenians with the intention of meeting a nice Armenian man for a change. But instead, the one to catch Nareh’s eye is Erebuni, a woman who put many of these events together. Nareh’s head and heart go to battle, as she is forced to really get to know who she is, rather than who she’s been trying to be all this time.

I received an advanced reading copy of Sorry, Bro in exchange for an honest review.

Sorry, Bro is a novel by Taleen Voskuni, and it was exactly the sort of book I needed after getting a bit too saturated by fantasy. I know, it’s weird that I’d get tired of all the fantasy, but it happens, and when it does, books like Sorry, Bro are exactly the thing I need.

I love how many layers there are to Sorry, Bro, and especially in Nareh. All romance characters are flawed, and in that, we see ourselves reflected in them. In Nareh, even though I’m not Armenian, I could still see parts of myself. The fear of revealing truths and being rejected for them, the need to have a safety net, and also the struggle of having the world you’re supposed to be a part of fighting with the world you grew up in. Nareh’s struggles are something any reader can identify with, and they had me rooting for her from the start, and even when she made some decisions that definitely wouldn’t work out for her. But again, she’s flawed, like we all are.

I also loved how Armenian culture, history, and even food were woven in here. I have to admit, I know very little of all three, but the more I read, the more I wanted to learn about them. Through Nareh, who is fairly new to a lot of this, the reader gets to learn about this all. We taste Armenian coffee with her, learn about the songs and dances, and feel the shock of generational trauma as they discuss the genocide their people lived through, and still struggle with today.

Now, I know you want me to spend some time on the romance! In fact, you might have skipped the earlier paragraphs to get here. I have to say, I’m not an expert on the topic, but I absolutely adored Nareh and Erebuni, and Nareh being awkward at the very beginning was exactly how I used to act around my crushes! But we get to watch them grow into a relationship, and become more comfortable with each other, and that really made my heart flutter. Oh, and yes, I cried too. I felt everything in this book, some parts more than others. Some of these more emotional parts had to do with the fact that Nareh isn’t out to her family as Sorry, Bro starts, and it makes for some very difficult situations for her and Erebuni later. Of course, I can’t tell you much more than that for fear of spoilers, but again, just know how much I enjoyed this book.

Sorry, Bro was the perfect read to start 2023 with, and this story about finding love, but more importantly, finding yourself, is one I’d recommend to anyone who loves romance, who’s looking for a sweet read to start off the new year, or just anyone, period. This is the kind of book that will appeal to almost anyone, and I am so excited to see it on shelves in a few weeks. You can bet that I’ll be picking up Voskuni’s other books too, once they’re released.

Sorry, Bro will be released on January 31. You can preorder your copy from Berkley here.

Full review TK on bookstagram, but I thought this story was so special and unique. Stories like these are so important and I'm happy that there are more and more cultures, races, religions, etc. being represented in queer romance. It reads a little slower than a lot of romances on the market right now, and that is neither a critique nor a bad thing, but rather something to be cognizant of before diving into it. It's a fairly emotional read and I'm glad I took my time with it.

This was an enjoyable read. I liked learning about Armenian culture, history, and food. I felt like it was a very informative and personal story. That being said, I wish there was a little more romance (I felt like the main love interests did not spend enough on page time together). I felt like it felt like more of a personal journey kind of book than a romance at points (not a bad thing, just not what I was expecting). Regardless, I love reading more queer stories from POC so I will recommend this story as well as future works by the author.

I am so sad. This book was so good and the characters were great but I couldn't make myself love this. I just didn't like the writing style. I want to make it very clear this book is amazin. The characters are great and the chemical between the main characters is electric. I am the problem here not the book. Please read this book and love it.

I'm all about romcoms, so I had to pick this book up because it had the Tara Trifecta: romance, queer characters, and marginalized voices. Can I just say that I am LIVING for the little tastes of diversity we are seeing in the romance genre over the past year or two? It's what has made me into a romance reader. I hope publishers are listening.

Anyways, I digress. So this is a romance featuring two Armenian women who meet during San Francisco's series of Explore Armenia events over the course of several weeks. The story opens with Nareh's boyfriend proposing to her, which she rejects before he heads off to Germany for several weeks. Though Nareh has known since college that she is bisexual, she is pressure by her mom to go meet a bunch of Armenian men on a spreadsheet prepared by her mom so she can settle down with a proper heterosexual Armenian marriage. Nareh agrees to talk to these men at various upcoming Explore Armenia events, but things quickly take a turn when she meets a beautiful woman named Erebuni outside of the first event. Unlike Nareh, who knows very little about her Armenian heritage and things Armenians are a little too obsessed with the Armenian Genocide, Erebuni is deeply embedded in her culture and has help organize some of the events.

Nareh and Erebuni begin spending more and more time together throughout both events, and Erebuni even introduces Nareh to new Armenian friends. But Nareh is struggling. She is not out to her parents, she is feeling stuck in her job as a local TV reporter, and she isn't quite sure how to design the life she wants. This conflict is at odds with beginning a relationship with Erebuni, who is a bold, confident, and self-assured. Nareh quickly learns that something is going to have to give...but will she make that decision too late?

Let's start with what I enjoyed here. First. I loved Erebuni. I absolutely get Nar's attraction to her because I was swooning as well. And I loved the chemistry she and Nar had together. Once the two start sharing feelings, Erebuni's shy admissions of her crush on Nar felt so authentic and sweet. I loved that this book actually uses the word <I>lesbian</I> (yay!) and that Nar has already come out to herself at bisexual. I also loved learning more about Armenian culture through the different events in the book (though, please note -- this is NOT my first queer Armenian book! That honor goes to the YA novel One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva). I also really liked that this book made Nar fully deal with some of her messiness before committing to a long term relationship. I've been seeing more of that in books and I think it's important.

What didn't work for me? Most of my criticisms are about the pacing and the unevenness of the story. The first half of this book was sloooooow. Maybe I'm just an impatient person at this stage in life, but I was struggling to keep picking this up until the story picked up. And then there was a LOT going on in the final 20% of the book, contributing to the overall unevenness. I think this is an unfortunate side effect of romance novels that take on deep and complex storylines in addition to the main romance plot -- the stories end up needing a lot of exposition, which can detract a bit from the kissy-kissy bits I'm desperately waiting for.

I'll have to sit with that a bit.

Anyways, this is one that I have already pre-ordered to include on my shelf and I do think it is an excellent addition to the modern sapphic romance canon. I would absolutely read another book by Voskuni!

I was excited to read something that I hadn't before-a modern LGBTQ romance about Armenian Americans. I was overall disappointed. There was a level of melodramatic romantic notions that felt out of place given the story's time frame and background. I understand it's a romance but it got super sickly with the protagonists' inner turmoil and thoughts about love. I enjoyed the basic premise and had there been a lighter touch on the saccharine nature of their thoughts and feelings, I would have rated this higher.

This book is funny and sad. I really loved how well the author made me feel all these emotions while reading Sorry, Bro. It had a slow start, but it picks up.

My goodness, this is such a wonderful book! Read it. Just read it.

I picked this for the simple fact that it’s a sapphic romance, but I was so pleased to find so much more in this book. Don’t get me wrong—the romance is central and wonderful and sweet. Erebuni is one of the best love interests I’ve read in a romance novel and the chemistry between her and Nareh is just excellent. I would just have a hard time classifying this simply as a romance novel. What really makes this book special is seeing Nareh find joy in her identities and finding the courage to share that joy.

If I ever spot this on audio I will definitely give it a listen. As someone who is very unfamiliar with the Armenian language, I feel it would be really special to listen to this book. I’m not sure my Google searches of pronunciation really did it justice.

Oh and maybe grab a snack before you read—the descriptions of food might have you searching Google for “Armenian food near me.”

This is such a treat to read and an excellent debut!

The beautiful cover is what initially drew me in but the story itself was just as good. I usually like dual POV in my romances and while I would have loved to read about what happened from Erebuni's POV as well, I loved Nareh's journey of self-discovery. Going into this, I didn't really know anything about Armenian culture so not only did I enjoy myself, I learned something too!

I will say, I do agree that the last bit was a little off pacing-wise and I don't get the title at all, which is why I didn't go full five stars, but I still enjoyed it a lot. The story had tension and sweetness and I am excited to see what Voskuni does next.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Berkley Romance for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I am genuinely shocked this is a debut book! The way the author wrote about Armenian culture and explored the main character sexuality was beautiful, I loved the chemistry and connection between Nar and Erebuni. I look forward to future works from Taleen Voskuni. 5 out of 5 for me!!

I love the imperfections that we see in these characters. I know that may be an odd opening, but it is refreshing to see a protagonist that continues to fail. Nareh is not a bad person or a bad character, she is a complicated character who we see struggle with the heaviness of the world around her and with her own internal turmoil. "Sorry, Bro" is a love story, yes, but it is an ode to feeling othered, to feeling outside of your own control, and to finding what it is in life that you need to truly become your own person. I love the chemistry between Nareh and Erebuni, they fit together beautifully even when in conflict. It is often difficult to see BIPOC queerness depicted anywhere, and often the intersectionality of both is relegated to the background of a different story. I am so excited to see what Taleen Voskuni writes next!

More romances steeped in rich culture and history please! Sorry, Bro encouraged me to learn more about Armenian customs and history and for that I'll forever be greatful. This book was a sweet and thoughtful story that was enjoyable to read.

The story follows Nareh who is trying to figure out who she is and what she wants in the world. Nareh's struggle with coming out as bisexual due to fear of disappointing her family and the pressure of what society/community expects was very relatable and interesting to read about. I also really enjoyed Nareh's journey in discovering her Armenian culture. I found those moments when Nareh was learning and exploring her culture to be my favorite parts of the book. I also really enjoyed Erebuni she was such an interesting character I wish we had more of her!

As much as I enjoyed this book there were also some moments in this book that did not work for me. The biggest issue for me was the pacing of the book. I found the beginning to be interesting and than it tapered off to almost a snails pace in the middle where no action to the plot was happening and than at the end everything sped up and ended way to quickly. I also wish we got to know the characters a little better. We only got to know Nareh on a superficial level (she has a job that shes treated poorly at, a boyfriend she hates and her only "friend" is a cousin) and I didn't feel connected to her even though I've felt similar to things shes gone through or thought.

Overall it was an enjoyable read and I will definitely read the next book the author puts out.

"An Armenian-American woman rediscovers her roots and embraces who she really is in this vibrant and heartfelt queer rom-com by debut author Taleen Voskuni.

When Nareh Bedrossian's non-Armenian boyfriend gets down on one knee and proposes to her in front of a room full of drunk San Francisco tech boys, she realizes it's time to find someone who shares her idea of romance.

Enter her mother: armed with plenty of mom-guilt and a spreadsheet of Facebook-stalked Armenian men, she convinces Nar to attend Explore Armenia, a month-long series of events in the city. But it's not the mom-approved playboy doctor or the wealthy engineer who catch Nar's eye - it's Erebuni, a woman as immersed in the witchy arts as she is in preserving Armenian identity. Suddenly, with Erebuni as her wingwoman, the events feel like far less of a chore, and much more of an adventure. Who knew cooking up kuftes together could be so...sexy?

Erebuni helps Nar see the beauty of their shared culture and makes her feel understood in a way she never has before. But there's one teeny problem: Nar's not exactly out as bisexual. The clock is ticking on her double life - the Explore Armenia closing banquet is coming up, and her entire extended family will be there, along with Erebuni. Her worlds will inevitably collide, but Nar is determined to be brave and to claim her happiness: proudly Armenian, proudly bisexual, and proudly herself for the first time in her life."

A feel good Queer romance ins San Francisco, I can't think of anything more perfect.

This was such a lovely read. I usually enjoy slow burn and this one was a bit quicker pace than I normally find for the genre BUT the lovely thing about that is lots of time to enjoy the relationship and of course have some good old third act drama!

I did not expect to love the cultural component of this novel as much as I did - I sometimes find it a bit much but it was balanced perfectly - just like in a recipe! I also think that both more accessible and palatabe culture like food and music contrasted well with the more hard-hitting cultural/history ex. the genocide.

I loved the story of these two women, both with something to learn and growth, although especially for our MC.

I will read more by this author for sure!