A Very Merry Bromance (Bromance Book Club #5)

By: Lyssa Kay Adams
Published Year: 2022
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 359

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): 'Tis the season for a Bromance Book Club matchmaking mission! This time, they're pulling out the mistletoe for everyone's favorite country music star, Colton, and his second chance at love.

Country music’s golden boy Colton Wheeler felt the most perfect harmony when he was with Gretchen Winthrop. But for her, it was a love him and leave him situation. A year later, Colton is struggling to push his music forward in a new direction. If it weren’t about to be the most magical time of year and the support of the Bromance Book Club, he’d be wallowing in self-pity.

It’s hard for immigration attorney Gretchen not to feel a little Scrooge-ish about the excess of Christmas when her clients are scrambling to afford their rent. So when her estranged, wealthy family reaches out with an offer that will allow her to better serve the community, she’s unable to say no. She just needs to convince Colton to be the new face of her family’s whiskey brand. No big deal…

Colton agrees to consider Gretchen’s offer in exchange for three dates before Christmas. With the help of the Bromance Book Club, Colton throws himself into the task of proving to her there’s a spark between them. But Gretchen and Colton will both need to overcome the ghosts of Christmas past to build a future together.

First Impressions

I have read the previous 4 Bromance Book Club books and I adore them. I love getting to know all of the guys (and some of the girls) in the previous books because it makes me cheer for them even more. I was excited when I saw the next one was a holiday romance.

What I thought

Colton wasn’t one of my favorite men in previous books. He’s a country star and came off a bit cocky and annoying in the previous books, but I liked him much more in his own story.

Colton just got news that his label doesn’t like his newest songs. Gretchen just got strong armed by her brother to try to get Clayton to be their family company’s next spokesperson. However, a year ago, Gretchen walked out on Clayton after a one night stand. Now they have to navigate their feelings with the rest of their lives.

This book is the grumpy/sunshine trope and it acknowledges it which I liked. Colton is all happiness until Gretchen rejects him. He then kind of spirals a little bit and struggles with his career. Gretchen on the other had is a very successful lawyer, but is grumpy and hates Christmas. Her family comes from a very prestigious whiskey company, but due to some neglect and other issues, Gretchen has pulled away from them until her brother calls her.

I liked Gretchen a lot. Even though she had her typical romance book issues that probably could’ve been handled a little differently, I felt like all of her actions were well explained. A lot of her past directly impacted her present actions and didn’t feel like she was overreacting. The romance between Colton and Gretchen had good chemistry but felt a little bit rushed. Colton fell head first after their one night stand, and I always struggle a little bit with love at first sight.

I don’t know if this was my favorite of the Bromance books, but it was definitely up there. The balance between fun and serious was perfect for me. I don’t think this series can do any wrong. I highly highly recommend checking it out and enjoying all of these characters.

The Breakup Tour

By: Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund Broka
Published Year: 2024
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 352

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A rising-star musician has a second chance at love with an old flame she remembers all too well in this swoony romance from the acclaimed authors of The Roughest Draft .

Riley Wynn went from a promising singer-songwriter to a superstar overnight, thanks to her breakup song concept album and its unforgettable lead single. When Riley’s ex-husband claims the hit song is about him, she does something she hasn’t in ten years and calls Max Harcourt, her college boyfriend and the real inspiration for the song of the summer.

Max hasn’t spoken to Riley since their relationship ended. He’s content with managing the retirement home his family owns, but it’s not the life he dreamed of filled with music. When Riley asks him to go public as her songwriting muse, he agrees on one he’ll join her in her band on tour.

As they perform across the country, Max and Riley start to realize that while they hit some wrong notes in the past, their future could hold incredible things. And their rekindled relationship will either last forever or go down in flames.

First Impressions

I love Wibberley/Siegemund-Broka and I love Taylor Swift. I knew immediately I wanted to get my hands on this book. The cover is cute, if not a little on the immature side for my tastes. I still would’ve picked it up off the shelf based off the cover alone.

What I thought

I first read this duo with their YA debut. I loved the first two YAs they wrote, then the next two fell to 3 stars. They then switched to Adult books, and similarly, I have loved their first two that they’ve written. This one, however, it their lowest rating for me yet.

Riley Winn has recently his super popstardom with her recent album, The Breakup Album. Eleven breakup songs written about each one of her exes. She also recently got divorced from a jerk actor who is trying to claim her hit song is about him, while it’s actually about her college sweetheart. Max has been working at the nursing home his parents own, when his ex shoots to fame. He hasn’t listened to her album until she shows up and asks him to announce the song is really about him. Instead, he decides he wants to find out if he made a mistake giving up music, and asks to play piano for her on tour.

I hit about 75% of this book and just couldn’t keep going. I skimmed the last 25% which says eek. Riley is extremely unlikeable and Max is just whiney. This is supposed to be a second chance romance, which to be fair is not my favorite, but we don’t get enough of their history to understand why they work together. I dislike second chance romances because I often feel like they just have the people get back together without truly working on the issues that broke them up in the first place. This book does exactly that.

Riley pretty much moans the entire tour that she only knows how to write break up songs and therefore she can never find love because she’s broken and needs to keep her success. Yet she’s still obsessed with being successful and only wants to focus on her career. Max on the other hand, has zero idea what he wants in life. He is wandering through life completely unsure of anything except for the fact that he’s attracted to Riley. But again, that seems to be all there is??

The character development is poor. The drama is repetitive. The book is too long. I honestly don’t know if I could find anything positive to say other than the first 50% was relatively entertaining. But it lost me after that because it just continued with Riley moaning about her ex and wondering whether anyone would love her for who she really is.

It breaks my heart that I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I have their previous novels. It just felt too much like Swifty pandering and I didn’t feel the romance at all. I loved Roughest Draft and Do I know You, so I’d recommend picking those up instead. This one is a skip for me.

2023 Reading Round-up

I continued to use Storygraph for fun stats this year. I will share my Diverse Reading stats, my favorite books of the year, and some other stats.

Starting off with general end of year statistics, I read 81 books this year. 39 of them were physical (one more than last year), 22 were audiobooks (13 more than last year!), and 20 were digital/e-reader (6 less than last year). The majority of books I read were between 300-499 pages with 6 books being 500 or more and 10 books being 200 or less. I also had a slightly better overall year with an overall rating of 3.82 compared to 3.79. I had 14 5 star reads (2 more than last year), but I had 10 books under 3 stars compared to 6 from last year. Another fun Storygraph fact, the month I read the most amount of books this year was August, which is funny because July was the month I read the least.

Jumping back to my Diverse Reading Stats:

For 2022

Black- 9
Asian/Indian- 12
Latinx- 1
White- 42
Male- 5

For 2023

Black- 3
Asian/Indian- 12
Native- 2
Male- 6
White- 53

I read 70 different authors out of the 81 books that I read, which meant I had a few multiples on there. Sadly, is looks like my diverse reads, especially black authors, dropped this year. My Asian/Indian stayed the same, and it was fun to add more Native authors to the list, but I didn’t do as good of a job being conscious of reading black authors. I think it felt I was reading more because two of them I read multiples by, but I definitely need to challenge myself to step it up next year. 24% down from 31% is quite a drop. That was even lower than 2021 for me. It’s definitely not something I’m doing on purpose. I even purchased at least two books by black authors this year that I haven’t gotten around to reading. Bummer.

Now onto my favorite and least favorite books of the year

My favorite audiobook was definitely We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu

My other top 5 books are

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Birdie and Harlow by Taylor Wolfe

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

Mixed Signals (Lovelight Farms #3) by B.K. Borison

I did have a total of 14 5 star reads, so it was hard to pick. I tried to select books from new to me authors to highlight but also books I remember and think of when people ask me for recommendations. One honorable mention is that I’ve really loved listening to the Finlay Donovan is Killing It series on audiobook. They are so much fun and I need them to make it into a TV series. My other honorable mention is Reign by Katharine McGee. This was the final book in the American Royals series and it was so well done. I really enjoyed the whole series and this book wrapped it up perfectly.

My bottom 5 books this year were

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

Making a Scene by Constance Wu

The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose

I have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

The Princess by Wendy Holden

While I didn’t DNF any books this year, The Princess was one of the ones I skimmed to get through to the end. I had a few of those this year.

I do love that I was able to read so much more just due to adding in audiobooks. It has been a lot of fun, but I think I’m going to challenge myself to select more diverse audiobooks to increase my diversity in what I’m reading. I had a pretty good year overall with books that I read, which always makes continuing to read easier.

What were your favorite/least favorite books of 2023?

Book Club January 2024- Oona Out of Order

By: Margarita Montimore
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Pages: 339

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): It’s New Year’s Eve 1982, and Oona Lockhart has her whole life before her. At the stroke of midnight she will turn nineteen, and the year ahead promises to be one of consequence. Should she go to London to study economics, or remain at home in Brooklyn to pursue her passion for music and be with her boyfriend? As the countdown to the New Year begins, Oona faints and awakens thirty-two years in the future in her fifty-one-year-old body. Greeted by a friendly stranger in a beautiful house she’s told is her own, Oona learns that with each passing year she will leap to another age at random. And so begins Oona Out of Order...

Hopping through decades, pop culture fads, and much-needed stock tips, Oona is still a young woman on the inside but ever changing on the outside. Who will she be next year? Philanthropist? Club Kid? World traveler? Wife to a man she’s never met? Surprising, magical, and heart-wrenching, Margarita Montimore has crafted an unforgettable story about the burdens of time, the endurance of love, and the power of family.

What I thought

This was my pick this month. The last two books that we’ve read for book club have been downers and I haven’t enjoyed them much. I wanted to pick something that was a bit lighter and that I knew had some good reviews. My friend Carly had recommended this to me after she read it and I picked it up at a library book sale. I was really excited to get into it!

Oona’s birthday is New Years Day. When she turns 19, she jumps forward to 2015, where she is all of a sudden a 19 year old living in a 51 year old’s body. From that point forward, Oona does not live her life in order. Every year on New Year’s Day, she wakes up in a different year and never knows where or when. Inside, she is moving forward chronologically in age, but on the outside she is left to the whim of the leaps.

I have to say, this cover does not do this book justice. I have seen this book on a bunch of lists for years and it gave me more the vibe of Eleanor Olephant is Completely Fine, which, I enjoyed, but didn’t feel like I wanted another one. In actuality, this book is much more. It’s more like sci-fi/magical realism with the time travel and such. I’m kind of a sucker for time travel stories, though I will admit this one could end up leaving you frustrated.

I was immediately sucked in and loved learning where Oona was going to go next. It had a bit of a mystery element and I wanted to see what she experienced. My biggest gripe is a combo of this book is too short/I want to see more of Oona’s years, and the ending. I knew this book was going to be a hard one to have a satisfying ending for, but it still fell a little flat. We were told about all of these life events and then didn’t get to see them come to fruition. I feel like I need a sequel.

What really worked for me with this book was the concept of being young in an older person’s body and how perspective can change as you experience different parts of life. It becomes more obvious in Oona’s life as she jumps from year to year, but I think it’s a necessary lesson we all learn.

I’m so glad I was convinced to give this book a chance because I really enjoyed it. I am curious to see what else Montimore has written because I really liked the writing style. I highly recommend checking this one out. It got a lot of buzz when it came out and I feel like it lives up to the hype.

What Book Club Thought

Everybody loved it! We had a lot of good discussion about the questions we would’ve had, what we would’ve wanted to know, and then just general questions about where the story could go from here. We were also in agreement that we would’ve easily read more years. I also mentioned wanting to know more from her mom’s perspective and other members said that they wanted to know Kenzie’s perspective. It’s always nice to have a book that we all enjoy that also fosters a lot of good discussion. Sometimes there can be issues with time travel books because things don’t make sense, but this one followed rules that did. Though that doesn’t mean I don’t still have a million questions and need more! I definitely recommend reading this with at least one other person so you can discuss it with someone.

Eight Dates and Nights

By: Betsy Aldredge
Published Year: 2023
Publisher: Underlined
Pages: 240

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Two teens with two very different ideas of how to spend Hanukkah learn to work together to save the last Jewish remnant in small town Texas in this cozy holiday romance!

New Yorker Hannah Levin is allergic to exactly two things, horses and tinsel. Unfortunately, she’s surrounded by both this Hanukkah when, thanks to a freak snow storm, she’s stranded in the small town of Rosenberg, Texas, visiting her grandmother, who she hasn’t seen in years due to family drama.

Super lonely, missing latkes and reliable wi-fi, she follows the scent of fried potatoes and wanders into an old deli where she meets the only other Jewish teen in town, Noah, who happens to be equal parts adorable and full of annoying, over the top Hanukkah spirit that he’s determined to share with Hannah, one ugly, itchy Hanukkah sweater at a time.

She makes him a deal, she’ll help him save his family’s deli, which is practically the only Jewish remnant in a town that once had a thriving community of European immigrants, if he’ll leave her to sulk in peace. However, after a spectacularly memorable kiss Hannah wonders if there’s more to Hanukkah, this community, and even her grandmother than she thought.

First Impressions

I discovered this book on a Goodreads list of holiday reads. The cover and title were cute enough to catch my eye and the summary made me put it on hold at my library immediately. It also helped that this was a short read.

What I thought

I wanted this book to be a magical Hanukkah read but it wasn’t quite what I wanted.

Hannah is visiting a small town in Texas to spend a few days with her Grandma. Judaism is very important to her and she has a very specific New York way of celebrating Hanukkah. So, when her flight back to New York is canceled and she’s forced to spend Hanukkah in Rosenblum Texas, it’s up to the only other Jew in town, Noah, to make sure she enjoys Hanukkah.

I loved the concept of this book. 8 Nights of Hanukkah for a cute boy to show a grumpy teenage girl the joys of Hanukkah. However, it was a slight miss to me. I don’t know if it was because it was too short, or if it was just the writing in general. Hannah was a bit uppity for my tastes. In her mind there was only one right way to celebrate the Jewish holidays, and that irritated me. I don’t know how Noah had the patience for her.

I did enjoy Noah and his family’s Jewish deli. I loved learning the Texas history of Jews in the small town as well as the celebration of Jewish and Hanukkah traditions. Plus I love me some matzo balls and if nothing else, this book made me was some really good soup and latkes.

The writing in general just needed to be fleshed out a little more. For example, in the first chapter of the book, Hannah’s luggage doesn’t show up. But year later in the book, she’s talking about her clothes and her suitcase with no mention of how it ended up there. I also had to remind myself Noah and Hannah were teenagers, because some of their relationship views bothered me. There was zero communication between them and they didn’t speak about anything important to them with the exception of their faith and traditions.

It was a quick read, and I have to give it credit for being a cute idea and focusing on Hanukkah. I liked Noah and his family, as well as Hannah’s grandma. I also liked looking forward to a surprise for each night of Hanukkah. I think this book could be adapted really well to be a mini holiday series. If you are Jewish and wan a quick Hanukkah read, this isn’t a bad choice. However, I’ve read a few other ones in the past that I’ve liked a little more.

Book Club Part 2- A Holly Jolly Ever After

By: Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone
Published Year: 2023
Publisher: Avon
Pages: 432

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Kallum Liebermanis the funny one™. As the arguably lesser of the three former members of the boy band INK, he enjoyed his fifteen minutes of fame and then moved home where he opened a regional pizza chain called Slice, Slice, Baby! He’s living his best dad bod life, hooking up with bridesmaids at all his friends’ weddings. But after an old one-off sex tape is leaked and quickly goes viral, Kallum decides he’s ready to step into the spotlight again, starring in a sexy Santa biopic for the Hope Channel.

Winnie Baker did everything right. She married her childhood sweetheart, avoided the downfalls of adolescent stardom, and transitioned into a stable adult acting career. Hell, she even waited until marriage to have sex. But after her perfect life falls apart, Winnie is ready to redefine herself—and what better way than a steamier-than-a-steaming-hot-mug-of-cider Christmas movie?

With decade old Hollywood history between them, Winnie and Kallum are both feeling hesitant about their new situation as costars…especially Winnie who can’t seem to fake on screen pleasure she’s never experienced in real life. She’s willing to do the pleasure research—for science and artistic authenticity, of course. And there’s no better research partner than her bridesmaid sex tape hall of fame costar, Kallum. But suddenly, Kallum’s teenage crush on Winnie is bubbling to the surface and Winnie might be catching feelings herself.

What I thought

Since it is December, my friends and I decided to throw in a bonus Christmas book for book club this year. If you’ve been a follower for a while, you’ll know that usually, my friends and I will pick a Christmas romance novel that was made into a Hallmark movie, but we don’t usually tie that into book club.

Meghan did a little research and found this one. It is the second in a series, but the first one is a bit spicy. Though I did read it because it kind of killed me to start at book two, even though romance novels don’t really care.

Winnie Baker was supposed to start in Duke the Halls. She was replaced by Bee Hobbs, porn star, due to an accident (this is book 1). When the Hope Channel found out Bee was a porn star, it could’ve been the downfall of the movie. However, they decided to create a new Hope After Dark network, which is basically Hallmark meets Cinemax late night. Since Winnie has an unfulfilled contract, she gets hired to fil the first Hope After Dark movie, a soft core Santa porn. Kallum is an ex-boyband member of the band INK. He is the K, and Nolan, who was in the first book is the N. Isaac also pops in here and there but isn’t in the book much. Now Winnie, whose persona has always been pure and virginal has to do a dirty movie with a man who just had a sex tape leaked.

I joked with Meghan that this book is pretty much sex with a side of Christmas as opposed to a true Christmas romance. Now, it does take place in Christmas Notch, which is the perfect Vermont Christmas town, but the romance itself could be set anywhere any time.

I do enjoy all the characters. Having read the first book, I was excited to get back to some of them. The commentary on purity culture was very interesting. Winnie was a child actress who was groomed to be pure and married her 18 year old boyfriend. Reading about how that impacted her and the thoughts her parents had was gross and infuriating. It was understandable how that influenced her views on sex and relationships.

I do think I enjoyed this one a little more because I had read the first than I would have if I hadn’t. And I will definitely read a third one if there is one. But, when I was reading it on a plane and a random person asked me if I’d recommend it, I hesitated. It’s definitely much more x-rated than other romance novels I read, so if you’re ok with that, then I would. If you prefer more fluffy wholesome Christmas romance, then I would no.

What Book Club Thought

Well, Meghan, Stephanie, and I were the only ones to finish this one. We all agreed that it was cute but not as Christmassy as we wanted it to be. I don’t think I would generally recommend this as a book club pick. Unless you know your members very well. But if you like spicier novels, it might not be a bad choice.

Book Club December 2023- I Have Some Questions For You

By: Rebecca Makkai
Published Year: 2023
Publisher: Viking
Pages: 438

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A successful film professor and podcaster, Bodie Kane is content to forget her past—the family tragedy that marred her adolescence, her four largely miserable years at a New Hampshire boarding school, and the murder of her former roommate, Thalia Keith, in the spring of their senior year. Though the circumstances surrounding Thalia's death and the conviction of the school's athletic trainer, Omar Evans, are hotly debated online, Bodie prefers—needs—to let sleeping dogs lie.

But when the Granby School invites her back to teach a course, Bodie is inexorably drawn to the case and its increasingly apparent flaws. In their rush to convict Omar, did the school and the police overlook other suspects? Is the real killer still out there? As she falls down the very rabbit hole she was so determined to avoid, Bodie begins to wonder if she wasn't as much of an outsider at Granby as she'd thought—if, perhaps, back in 1995, she knew something that might have held the key to solving the case.

What I thought

If this hadn’t been a book club book I would’ve given up before 50% and not regretted it.

Bodie is a true crime podcaster and film professor. When she is asked to return to her old boarding school for 2 weeks to teach two classes, the murder of her old roommate resurfaces and becomes all she can think about. Her senior year, he previous roommate Thalia was murdered. Omar Evans, the black athletic assistant was convicted. Now, 20ish years later, there are a lot of people, including Bodie and a couple of her students, who believe he was wrongfully convicted and want to look into the case.

This book drove me nuts. It was so slow. It also was written like a 400+ page letter to Bodie’s old music teacher who she thinks was involved. Like, the writing style is “Do you remember that? Would you have remembered her?” and it irritated me so much. Makkai would also have Bodie randomly vaguely reference other cases which was confusing. She would be saying something like “Like the one where her boyfriend did it. Like the one where they found a tooth but no hair. Like the one where she said no.” For an entire paragraph. And this happened over and over again.

This book could’ve been significantly shorter and not missed out on anything. I was halfway through the book and they weren’t even halfway through the mini-mester that Bodie was teaching. The second part was slightly better because it was at least getting to some answers, but still left me feeling very unsatisfied.

I think Makkai was trying to write a book that was a commentary on the true crime podcast obsession in America, but instead wrote a self-centered, clueless, over-involved character and made the murder of a high schooler and conviction of a young man who spent 25 years in prison seem cheap.

I disliked the characters, I disliked the story, and I disliked the writing. The only thing I semi-liked was the setting.

What Book Club Thought

Seems like we were all on similar pages. Two of our members hadn’t finished it in time, so we were careful about our discussion to avoid spoilers. But the three of us who did finish all felt similarly about the way it was written. The one positive was that one of our members has read Great Believers by Makkai and said it was written very differently and she much preferred that one. After reading this one I was ready to completely write off Makkai as an author, but I think I’d be willing to give her a second chance if the subject matter sounds interesting. I guess if the summary sounds interesting to you, give it a chance. I do know one person who read it and loved it. But personally, I’d say skip this one and don’t worry about it.

My Year in Audiobooks

In late 2022, I started listening to audiobooks consistently for the first time. I had just gotten a new job with a 40 minute commute and ran through podcasts way too quickly. 2023 was the first full year that I listened to audiobooks. This year I listened to 21 audiobooks! Helped me meet my yearly goal for sure and accounted for 27% of books I read.

When I first got into audiobooks I was only listening to memoirs. The first one I finished this year, which is still one of my favorite books of 2023, was Simu Liu’s memoir. I followed that up with Deaf Utopia, which I also loved. I also adored Hilarie Burton Morgan’s memoir which I read in 2022, The Rural Diaries.

One of my coworkers recommended listening to Finlay Donovan is Killing It, which was my first foray into fictional audiobooks. It was the perfect into. The narrator was great and the story was entertaining and easy to follow. I immediately flew through the series

I then decided to listen to a Taylor Jenkins Reid book on audiobook and loved it. We were reading One True Loves for book club, and I had already read it when it first came out, so I though this was a nice was to re-read a story I had already read

I never thought I would become someone who was this into audiobooks. I think I still prefer memoirs to fictional stories. I think listening to the person who wrote about their life tell their own story is great. Hilary Burton Morgan is one of my favorite ones I’ve listened to as well.

Now, I have had a few audiobooks that I haven’t enjoyed as much. I think it’s extremely important to have a good narrator in addition to being a solid story. I find that I have the best luck if it’s an author I know is good, because I know I’m more likely to enjoy the story itself.

I’m excited to continue my audiobook journey next year. If you’re looking to get into audiobooks, here are my top 5 from this year.

1.      We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story By: Simu Liu

2.       Finlay Donovan is Killing It By: Elle Cosimano

3.       One True Loves By: Taylor Jenkins Reid

4.       Lovelight Farms By: BK Borison

5.       Deaf Utopia By: Nyle DiMarco