Sorry Bro, while considered a rom-com felt a little more serious at times, straying away from Nareh's relationship struggles and focusing more on her relationship to her culture and her family. It felt as though this book was trying to be a lot of things at once. While I enjoyed the more emotional parts of the book just as much as the fun/funny parts it gave me a bit of whiplash to switch back and forth from casual banter and flirting to more serious issues. Without spoiling anything I thought that everything until the last quarter of the book felt realistic, both relationship wise and family wise. However, by the end of the book it seemed as though a lot of the character's motivations were caused by trying to make a happy ending versus a more realistic reaction. Either way, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it, especially to those struggling with their sexuality and/or their connection to their family history.

I AM SO HONORED I GOT THE CHANCE TO READ THIS NOVEL. It hooked me immediately and I love how much we focused on all the side characters as well.. I really enjoyed the storyline and wow my heart melted so many times.

**Post contains light spoilers**

Sorry, Bro is one of my most anticipated releases of 2023 and I was so excited when I was approved for an ARC.

First of all, what a gorgeous cover. I love it so much. Second of all, what a beautiful, thoughtful, important book. I’m still swooning over it. Third of all, the title alone makes me laugh and after reading it, makes me laugh even more. What a great way to loop in the title of the book.

Sorry, Bro starts off with a bang, as we meet Nar, kinda turning down her boyfriend of five years proposal and telling him they can figure things out when he gets back from his trip to Germany. Delighted by this news, Nar’s mom tells her to go to Explore Armenia (a month-long series of events in San Francisco celebrating Armenian culture) to meet a potential husband for her from the spreadsheet she has put together with information for potential mates.

At the first Explore Armenia event, Nar meets Erebuni and it’s like at first sight. Though Nar is a bi-queen, she is not out to her family, and she wants to make her mom happy by meeting the list of potential suitors. Using Erebuni as her wingwoman at the various events, it doesn’t take Nar too long to realize she would rather be with Erebuni.

Sorry, Bro is full of heart and it’s more about finding and being true to yourself than it is a full romance novel. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a sucker for a good romance novel, but I loved the self journey Nar goes on throughout the book, especially her talking about, and learning more about her culture. Overall, Sorry, Bro is an amazing read. I loved all the secondary characters and was legit laughing at the scenes between Nar, her mother, and Diane. Nar and Erebuni have fantastic chemistry and great scenes together, both swoon worthy and heartbreaking. If that doesn’t suck you in, Erebuni has this whole witchy vibe and it’s the best thing ever.

I received an ARC from Berkley Publishing Group through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

I loved Nar and Erbuni. They were so great. I loved their background history and their chemistry, the love and support for one another, the angst, the push and pull, the sexual tension between them, everything was so well executed by the author. The characters were not perfect, they had their own struggles and obstacles they had to overcome before they came to the realization that they are better together than apart. I’m so happy with how everything wrapped up at the end. It was such an enjoyable book.

I’m obsessed with this book! The characters were all well developed, and I really enjoyed the tie in to Armenian culture. It added another layer of depth to the story, and I learned so much about that culture while also swooning over the love story. I also appreciated the conversation around bisexuality and how it doesn’t have to be any certain way to be right. All identities are valid, no matter who you’re dating or not dating. I can’t wait for this book to come out so I can make people buy it!

This book sounded SO good, but in the end it's one of those books I should have DNFd when I wanted to. I kept hoping I would start to enjoy it more, but I unfortunately didn't. Mainly that's because this book has a very different tone from what I personally want out of a romcom. I read romance and romcoms to relax and feel happy, but this book only made me feel tense and bored. Which is not to say that a romcom shouldn't be allowed to discuss more serious topics, just that I felt like everything felt so heavyhanded, even the parts that could have felt more lighthearted. I also didn't like how the third act conflict was resolved. I wouldn't say I thought the reason for the conflict was completely unforgivable, but it could have been, because it was BAD, and I just felt like it was resolved way too easily.

Y'all, this book is kind of heavy for that lighthearted title and cover.

All in all, I liked this book. It had a little bit of One Last Stop vibes from Nareh, with where she was at the start of the book, feeling lost and not knowing herself super well. I liked her self-discover arc a lot, but I also felt like she would have points of extreme immaturity throughout the book that just didn't mix with the rest of the work? I really liked her love interest and the topics regarding Armenian culture were super interesting considering I came into this book with less than no knowledge about it, but the pacing was kind of wonky in the end. I tend to feel this way about most romance-focused books, so maybe it's just a genre staple at this point, but it is what it is. Yet. I hesitate to call this romance, since Nareh's personal stuff was the more important plot point here...

Truly could have been a 5 star read if they'd just ironed out pacing and changed that title...like, how did that make it past the editor? smh

✨Book Review✨
Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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"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."
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This cute rom com was exactly what I needed this week. Nareh and Erebuni were just perfect together. I loved the bisexual representation, and I loved the story arch. There was the perfect amount of tension. I loved the foggy SF background and the witchy vibes. This book dived into family expectations, cultural appreciation, internalized racism, homophobia, coming out challenges, and more. Definitely would recommend this one to anyone looking for a cute PG f/f romance.

trigger warnings: alcoholism, car accident, death of parent, grief, sexual content (not explicit), sexual harassment mention, homophobia and biphobia, workplace sexism and misogyny, infidelity

How to succinctly explain my feelings about this without breaking down in public as I type this...maybe I will simply have to accept that I will be that person today.

Taleen Voskuni's debut novel, in my frank opinion, reads like a contemporary classic. Emotive, introspective, something that sticks in your mind for months after finishing, and with just enough kick to spike your curiosity and send you down a research rabbit hole. It's because of this book that I've been actively looking into Armenian culture and the Armenian Genocide. It's a real pitfall of the American Education system and my own resources that topics like this aren't given the light of day or easily searchable without knowing exactly what to look for. Well, I'm here now and I'm doing my due diligence in keeping myself informed.

Pivoting back to the book, as the reader I was sucked in from page one. It's a combination of some spectacularly gripping writing and the ubiquitous nature of overbearing (said with love) ethnic parents that I saw myself in this story immediately. It wasn't the bisexuality or the living at home bit, although those certainly played their part. Reading about a mother who Needs To Know everything and about a tight knit cultural community where you simply Have To Appease the elders is such a relatable aspect of ethnic communities. I was able to feel Nareh's love for her culture, affection and irritation towards her family, and the emotional limbo of being Other in the context of your own culture and in the USA.

This book felt like me. It felt like home. From the dramatic mom to the hidden queerness. Out to a select group of people who feel like a whole universe apart from the closet that you shove yourself in at home.

Nareh is perhaps one of my favourite adult closeted queer characters EVER. Her struggle is so relatable. She wants to be the dutiful daughter but doesn't know if coming out will upset her family. She wants to succeed at work but it's a tussle between doing as she's told or reporting on the stories that revive the passion she had for her job. She wants to be happy with Erebuni but the known cultural stigma against queer people is scary. She's used to comfort, familiarity, and routine and breaking the mould in multiple aspects of her life is a gamble between happiness and loss off things she holds dear. Her entire character arc is the foundation of the book and the story unfolds painfully and beautifully around it.

Erebuni is such a compelling love interest. I understand this book toes the line between romance and literary fiction (evidenced by the fade to black smut which...coming back to certain details of the aftermath had me SCREAMING at the loss). So it makes complete sense that she didn't get a POV but my GOD did I want to read her side of things so bad. I think that's a mark of a solid book that you're left yearning for more. Not because it felt like pieces were missing but because you want to dunk yourself in the book like it's a vat of melty chocolate.

The book beautifully balanced Nareh's time with Erebuni, her family, her workplace conflict, and cultural immersion. Storylines didn't feel overwhelming. It was just the perfect amount of detail to be satisfied while also leaving enough to the imagination that the story lingers beyond its pages.

Lastly, I wanted to take a moment to talk about books like this that are steeped in culture and history that are not represented everywhere you turn. It's evident that the author put a lot of love and her own painful experiences in relation to the Armenian Genocide into the book. While I cannot review those aspects as a cultural outsider, I can educate myself further. Sorry, Bro isn't and mostly importantly shouldn't be your one and only interaction with the Armenian genocide. As a work of fiction, this book serves to reflect one of many experiences. It's for Armenian people to see themselves and feel understood. It's for non Armenians to enjoy and understand. It is NOT your one stop shop for learning. I think perhaps the most respectful thing to do would be to expand your own knowledge of Armenian history beyond this book. I hope that if you decide to pick up this book, that you do some research as a reader.

TLDR: amazing book, very emo, do research and don't exploit.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this title. The only thing I didn't absolutely love about this book is the title. It makes it sound much cheesier than it really is. This was the perfect queer romance, and I loved learning so much about Armenian culture while I read. The story was engrossing and I read it in less than a day because I just had to know what would happen.

I can't believe that I have to try to put my love for this book into writing... Taleen's debut sapphic Armenian love story was everything I didn't know I needed in my life. This book was solid gold, no literally. The notes that I took while reading consist of the following:
- Food. Oh my god the food. SO Much food. I need to find an Armenian restaurant ASAP.
- Gold and floral vibes on every page. Lavish and lush
- apricots and pomegranates - already my favourite now I love even more?

Erebuni and Nareh are two of my favourite characters that I've ever read. The passion that Erebuni has for their shared culture and history was so inspiring and I can't imagine how meaningful this book will be to Armenian readers because it was for me. Taleen's love for her culture shines through in every page of this story and definitely inspired me to look into the history of Armenia.

The exploration of sexuality and coming out was so meaningful to me as well. I think Taleen handled it with so much care and as messy as it was, it was real and beautiful.

I adore this book with every fiber of my being and I hope that everyone loves this as much as I did.

CWs for this book: internalized and externalized homophobia and biphobia, coming out, mentions of genocide, sexism in the workplace, death of a parent (past) and debt.

After turning down a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, Nar decides it’s finally time to listen to her mother and try to find an Armenian husband. Conveniently, Explore Armenia is currently going on with events full of eligible men (as determined by Nar’s mom and her spreadsheets). However, it isn’t one of her mom’s bachelors that captures Nar’s heart, but rather a woman named Erebuni. Nar isn’t openly out as bisexual nor is she especially active in the Armenian community- but both of those things might change with her new relationship.

One of my favourite things about this book was the inclusion of Armenian culture and getting to see Nar connect to her heritage. I also found Nar to be quite witty which made the single POV work for me. Although I would have loved to see Erebuni’s POV and get to know her character more!

I did agree with the flaws pointed out by a few other reviewers. I found the pacing to be off at the end of the book and thought some of Nar’s reactions to situations came off as immature. I also think that there could definitely be a better title for this book!

All in all, this was a very enjoyable read and I look forward to seeing what Taleen Voskuni writes in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the advanced reading copy in return for my honest review!

4.5/5, rounded up
thanks to netgalley and berkley publishing group for the arc!

i picked this book out solely because of the title, not knowing anything about it. i'm very glad that i did! sorry, bro is an adult fiction sapphic romance about an Armenian girl named Nareh, who took a break with her boyfriend of five years after he proposed to her and then her mother persuaded her to go to Explore Armenia, a series of events going on, to meet potential husbands. she agrees to go and falls in love with an Armenian woman, as well as her culture.
as a lebanese person born in the united states, i heavily related to Nareh's feelings of having two immigrant parents and not feeling connected to the culture because of being abroad and assimilation. outside of one graphic novel, this is the only other book i've read where foods that i ate growing up (or food extremely similar to it) were mentioned not just in passing but described and with love.
my only qualm with this book is that i thought it was too long at parts, but besides that i loved everything about it!!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group & Netgalley for providing me with this eARC!

So, I went into this this book knowing frightfully little about Armenian culture. I don't think I was as ignorant as Nar's coworkers at the news station, but still pretty limited in my knowledge past what I've read in the past about the culture (much of which came from reading about the members of System of a Down if I'm being honest), but I found this book engaging, fascinating and so easy to dive into. Taleen shows a deep love of her culture, while also acknowledging some of the things that could be better (like the reaction, in general, to queer people). She also throws in enough explanation for those like me who know little about the culture that you never feel lost or out of the loop with the characters.

Nareh was a great character. She's going on this big journey and you're so there for all of it. I didn't agree with everything she does, I wish she'd been up front with Erebuni about Trevor from the get go, but her characterization is consistent, and makes sense with who she is throughout, even when she's making frustrating choices. She's going through very scary things, and as much as I wish she'd stand up for herself sooner, I get why she does.

And then Erebuni...gods...how could you not fall in love with her?? She's so wonderful, and beautifully accepting and understanding. A woman both thoroughly traditional and yet also modern, and subversive. Plus, like, witchy girlfriends?! Um, yes please!

I could picture Nar's mother and grandmother so well, it was almost scary. And as backward as some of the things her mom says seemed, to someone with my upbringing, it made sense for her, and I loved the growth she had through the course of the book.

I would love to have seen a bit more of the friend group, but they didn't feel forgotten, which was good.

I was confused for a lot of the run as to why Taleen chose that particular title. I of course understood when it finally popped up, but it still seems a little weird to me. Trevor felt more like a catalyst than a genuine character in the story, so having the title be something she thinks to him still seems a little weird, but maybe that's just me.

The inevitable third act break-up I hate happened early enough in this book that it was resolved organically. On top of that, it made sense this time around. If I were in Erebuni's shoes at the time, I would have walked away too. So I'm glad Taleen gave us the time to wrap things up properly.

For anyone reading looking for spice, this book isn't for you, it's pretty much strictly a fade to black story. Which is completely fine as, unlike some others I've read recently, I 100% buy Nar and Erebuni as a couple, so seeing a more explicit scene didn't seem necessary, but it is a good thing to know going in.

Great book! 4.5/5 stars!

I admit, that I do not know much about Armenian culture, but I didn't want that to stop me from enjoying this book and it really didn't. This book submerges you into a beautiful culture. I think Taleen did an amazing job weaving it in without overwhelming the reader. I actually researched the culture a bit more after finishing this book because I just loved these characters and wanted to connect with them and the culture more.

I liked Nar a lot even if she could be a bit frustrating at times. She could be very wishy-washy in her thoughts and decisions. While I can understand that thought process with coming out to her family, it's a very hard thing to do especially in a conservative culture, but it really frustrated me how she handled her relationship with Trevor. This should have been nipped in the bud in the first chapter and not be another issue. Otherwise, I thought she was smart and funny and I loved seeing her creative juices flow as she become more in touch with her culture and even made new friends. I absolutely adored Erebuni. I loved how open-minded she was and how understanding she could be. It takes a lot to get there, especially with what she does for her job. I thought she was great for Nar who needed that kind of empathy. I loved their chemistry and honestly could not get enough of them.

I also liked how Taleen brought in the aspect of family and how heavily involved they were in the story. I especially enjoyed the scenes between Nar and her mother. Even the ones that were heartbreaking. I think this was just wonderfully done.

Overall, this is definitely a sapphic read you should add to your shelf if you have not already. I plan on buying my own copy to add to mine because I definitely want this on my bookshelf and not just on my kindle. This book will make you smile, laugh, and maybe a little sad. Definitely, one of my favorite reads of the year.

This review will be published on 1/24/22 to Goodreads, my blog SamtheBookkDevotee, Storygraph, Kobo, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Barnes & Noble

Sorry, Bro is a story of an Armenian-American woman who's searching for herself within her culture and her relationships. Nar turns down her boyfriends proposal because she realizes there's more to her than this one relationship. She goes back to Armenia for a festival and gets in touch with herself and her home. This story features a very charming and deep f/f romance. I also learn a lot about Armenian culture which was very interesting. Sorry, Bro is equal parts charming and deep! I really enjoyed it but I will say the title doesn't really fit the book.

When Nar's long-time boyfriend proposes, she doesn't say yes. She doesn't really say no, either, but she knows she's not going to be biding her time while he's away in Germany for several weeks. Implored to reconnect with her roots, Nar decides to attend Explore Armenia, a once-every-three-years event dedicated to Armenian heritage, in order to find a suitable husband. But when she instead meets the devastatingly sexy and witchy Erebuni, she grapples with what it means to not be straight in her community.

Sorry, Bro is not your typical rom-com. Packed full of introductions to Armenian culture, self-rediscovery, wiccan times, and stories of coming out; this romance featuring to bisexual female leads has a lot going on. Sometimes this is to its detriment--the story feels pulled in so many directions, it's hard to know what to focus on and the developing romance between the main characters sometimes gets lost. But it also offers a lot of points of connection, and for readers looking for characters with some of these qualities, the book provides excellent representation. Ultimately, I enjoyed the book, despite it's flaws, and it shows great promise for a debut author.

Thanks to Berkley for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4 stars - 7/10

With such a pretty cover it is hard not to be drawn into Sorry, Bro and the book is just as enjoyable. Nareh’s experience of living between two cultures is well written, I am glad that I learned more about Armenian culture and Taleen was able to share that with readers! The Bay Area setting fit the book and was the perfect home for a character like Erebuni. The romance between Nareh and Erebuni was well written. Nareh’s I can’t stop thinking about her, saying stupid things in front of her, hoping she is wlw and hoping she knows I’m wlw dance is so relatable.

The third act conflict made me mad, I had to put the book down and come back to it later. Luckily I came back to the book and after finishing was left feeling that was intentional and necessary for the character's growth. Coming from a south-east European background I felt that Nareh’s coming out story was realistic. Not everything will be perfect however that does not mean it will be bad either.

Overall I would recommend this and think it’s an amazing debut novel! Looking forward to seeing what comes next.

I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The title of this book gives nothing away. It sort of threw me off course, because I wasn’t expecting a tender femme romance, a difficult career move, and self-sabotage mired in grief. I highly recommend this book! It straddles that line between genre romance and just traditional fiction because all the elements are balanced so perfectly. As a bonus, I didn’t know much about Armenian culture before reading this, and I felt fully immersed in the beauty and richness of it while reading. I am eager to try some Armenian food that is mentioned throughout the book! There is a richness to this book because of the cultural thread weaved through it, it’s really well done. Trigger warning: homophobia, sexism in the workplace, and grief over the death of a parent.

There were things about this book that I really enjoyed and admired, and others that didn't work as well for me. I guess I'll start with the former and then talk a bit about the latter.

In terms of what I enjoyed, first and foremost is the representation of the Armenian community and culture. Almost everything presented here was new to me, and I sincerely loved reading and learning about it. You could feel how much love and care was put into this element of the book. I especially enjoyed all the Armenian words and phrases used throughout, though I wish the editor had been a bit more consistent about whether and how they were going to be glossed (this is a very personal bugbear of mine that will probably bother nobody else).

The cultural rep was integral to the central conflict as well, in a way that felt unique. The story opens as the POV protagonist Nareh is being surprise-proposed-to by her (non-Armenian) boyfriend Trevor. She's not thrilled about it, and the two of them put the relationship on ice for a bit while he heads off to Germany for work. In the meantime, Nareh realizes that dating Trevor has made her feel alienated from her family and her Armenian culture, and that she might be able to rekindle that connection by dating an Armenian. Luckily (lol) her mother has LOTS of ideas about Armenian men she could date. While Nareh is cycling through a list of increasingly dire prospects, she meets and falls in love with Erebuni, an Armenian woman.

Watching Nareh struggle with the idea that dating an Armenian might bring her closer to her mother and her broader community, but that coming out as bi and dating a woman might not be accepted by them, made for a fairly compelling conflict. I mean, for me personally, "wanting to date to please your parents" is, like, 0% relatable or important, but the book entirely sold me on why it was important to the characters, which is what matters. I obviously cannot speak to the accuracy of how homophobia in the Armenian community was portrayed here but... it felt to me like the book avoided caricaturing an entire culture as intolerant, while still being honest about how homophobia is experienced differently across different cultural backgrounds. In particular, the contrast between Nareh's mother and her (deceased) father did some interesting work. Nareh's mother has some heteronormative ideas about her daughter's future that are tied to meeting the cultural expectations of the Armenian community, while her father (who wanted very much to assimilate to American culture) wanted his daughter to adhere to a heteronormative version of the American Dream. Nareh really has to climb out from under the cultural expectations of both parents, one whom she's trying to get closer to and one whom she's trying to grieve. There was clearly a lot of thought and detail about how heteronormativity gets culturally coded here.

Still, there was a lot about this book that just didn't work for me. Most of which I would describe as elements that were <i> uneven </i>, which might come down to a combination of needing stronger editing, and being a debut. The prose style struck me as inconsistent- there were times where Nareh did this very voicey "I'm talking directly to you, reader" thing, but it was infrequent enough that every time it popped up I got borderline startled by it. The pacing was off as well: very little happened to move the plot forward for the first 70% of the book, and then in the span of one chapter <spoiler> Nareh and Erebuni kiss at a banquet and get caught by Nareh's mom and her aunt, so Nareh denies to her relationship with Erebuni to her mom to hide her sexuality, but Erebuni overhears it and is hurt, but they kind of make up and kiss again, at which point they are caught AGAIN by a drunk guy who reveals that Nareh is still technically engaged to Trevor, which Erebuni didn't know, so they break up </spoiler>. ONE CHAPTER! And there was nowhere near enough time to deal with the fallout, some of which had to be pretty emotionally intense.

The characterization of Nareh and Erebuni also felt weak. Nareh was a blank slate outside of her feelings about her family: I didn't know what else she liked, what her personality traits were, if she had hobbies or friends other than her cousin, what she cared about. She has a super intense job as a reporter working 6 days a week, but we rarely see her at work (until a scene at the end where a bunch of coworkers we've *never met* rally behind her). We're told that her job as a reporter makes her good at talking to people, but in social situations she seemed to largely just create awkward moments for plot reasons? I never felt like I knew her in any specific way. Erebuni was also super vague, though I was willing to put up with that more because we weren't in her POV. We're told constantly that she's "witchy" but ... aside from her clothes, and some crystals, and one very awkward scene with a bonfire ritual at a beach that felt like it was made out of TV witch clichés, I didn't get it.

The book is closed door, which worked fine for the mood and tone of the book except... every time the door "reopened" Nareh was bragging exaggeratedly about what a mind-blowing sex goddess she is (despite the fact that she's supposed to be quite inexperienced with women). In general, even when sex isn't on the page, what is reported (or not) about it does important character work, and I'm not sure what was accomplished by "we've never once had to communicate about sex, I just have inherent sex superpowers."

There are a few CWs I would mention for potential future readers. There were times this book came down pretty heavily on the side of "no matter how intolerant your family members are, you have to love them unconditionally." This isn't how I feel personally, and I know intimately how heavy the social pressure to just accept the intolerance of your family can be. It was hard to read, so take care if that might be hard for you to read too. The other thing to mention is that, in part because Erebuni is an activist and educator about the Armenian genocide, that topic is discussed extensively. I thought the author did a great job of explaining why it's so important not to just leave that topic in the past, or to act like it can't be discussed. As such, its inclusion in an otherwise lighthearted book still felt warranted. However, there is a very intense scene where aggressive genocide deniers show up at a lecture Erebuni is hosting and Nareh is attending. Again, do take care if you might find that hard to read.

Other CWs include: homophobia, sexism, workplace microaggressions, death of parent (in past), threat of forced outing (mostly averted in the moment)