e-ARC, 352 pages
Release Date: July 20, 2021
Published by: Berkley Books
Read from: July 21-August 22, 2021
Bromance Book Club, #4
Source: Bought
TW: Death of a Parent (reoccurring theme, not pictured), mention of human trafficking (reoccurring theme), Broken Bone
For Readers Interested In: Contemporary Romance, Realistic Fiction, Friends to Lovers, Sports Romance, AdultWith his passion for romance novels, it was only a matter of time before Vlad took up the pen to write a novel the Bromance Book Club would swoon over.
Elena Konnikova has lived her entire adult life in the shadows. As the daughter of a Russian journalist who mysteriously disappeared after speaking out against government corruption, she escaped danger the only way she knew how. She agreed to marry her childhood friend, Vladimir, and move to the United States, where he is a professional hockey player in Nashville.
Vlad, aka The Russian, thought he could be content with his marriage of convenience. But after four years, it’s become too difficult to continue in a one-sided relationship. He joined the Bromance Book Club to learn how to make his wife love him, but all he’s learned is that he deserves more. He’s ready to create his own sweeping romance–both on and off the page.
The Bros are unwilling to let Vlad forgo true love–and this time they’re not operating solo. They join forces with Vlad’s senior citizen neighbors, a group of meddling widows who call themselves The Loners. Just when things finally look promising, the danger from Elena’s past life intrudes, and the book club will face their first-ever life-or-death grand gesture as they race to a happy ever after.
*MY THOUGHTS*
When this book was announced I was so excited!! I have been wanting a book from “the Russian” since we got Mack’s book. And when I finally got it, I wasn’t thrilled, but I wasn’t upset about it either. It was just something about this one that I didn’t 100% care for.
“”What makes you think it would change anything? “Vlad, love changes everything.” “Only in books.” And he was done with those. Done with the fairy tales. The Alexander Pushkin romanticism. The unrealistic expectations. The false hope. The lie. He was done with all of it.””.”19%
Vlad is one of the sweetest souls in the Bromance Book Club. So much so, he’s gone from just reading the manuals to now trying his hands at writing his own. All the while trying to save his marriage with the elusive Elena, his wife. But this time the Bromance Book Club can’t do this one on their own. They get the help of Vlad’s neighbors to help bring the two of them together. But of course, things can’t be easy. Elena’s past resurfaces and the grand gesture is much bigger than it has been before.
“That smile she’d given him earlierhad filled up his room with light, and now it was dark again. The fact that her smile was already a source of emotional vitamin D for him was all he needed to know about why this was a bad idea. Soon, she’d be gone for good, and it would be like the sun burning out completely. He’d endured that particular kind of winter before. He wouldn’t survive it again.”.”25%
The best part about this was obviously Vlad. As soon as I learned we were getting a Mack book, I wanted the next one to be the Russian’s. So finally getting this one made me happy. It was a bit different because he wasn’t the same Russian as the previous books, like the running to the bathroom, eating things he shouldn’t, etc. I know that sounds terrible, but I still wanted those things lol Now he seemed to be just a regular hockey player. But then there was Elena. She was….. not my favorite. I didn’t care for her. This is probably the reason why I didn’t like this as much as the others. I think it felt too much like an enemies to lovers for me, and if you know me, you know I am not a fan of that troupe.
“Three things in life terrified Vlad. A flare-up without a bathroom in sight. Running over an animal with his car. And this, Waking up to find her friends circling his bed, their arms crossed and eyes narrowed in matching expressions of resistance is futile. He was about to get book clubbed.”26%
As for the book that was involved this time, I loved it! This was definitely different than the others since Vlad was the one who wrote the manual this time. And he was the right one to do it. Anyone else writing a story wouldn’t have been right. He’s the only one who’s sensitive enough to write a book like this. (Well, I think Malcolm could write one, but it would be hella deep and not as sweet lol) This one didn’t get the “instructions” from this manual, but it was still a large part of the story and I was ok with that.
“Hey,” Colton said, pointing, “Don’t yuck someone else’s yum.”26%
Lastly, this wouldn’t be a Bromance Book Club book without all the troupes in it. And trust me, there’s some of everything. Like this is the first time I’ve read a book that had friends to lovers and enemies to lovers at the same time lol But really, there was some of everything in this book. I wanna say this is the one with the most? But whatever, it worked and I still really enjoyed reading this story.
“Characters have to change during a book to earn their happy ever after.” […] “A man’s heart is the only thing truly worth risking.”51%
Again, this one isn’t my favorite, but it was definitely a cute one. Now that we’ve got a book for Mack and Vlad, I really hope there’s a Malcolm book out there somewhere. (I feel like it would be hella hot because Malcolm is really in tune with what his wife wants/needs.) So until then, I’m just going to be happy with what we do have.
Overall, I give this
