Ep09 - A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

In this episode, Jon and Kristy discuss A Very Merry Bromanceby Lyssa Kay Adams. This fun, “Christmas-adjacent” book, as Kristy calls it, isa second-chance holiday romance that includes members of the Bromance Book Club. Join us as we talk about which characters we are in A Christmas Carol, what the superior Christmas meat is, and why Santa has three gardens.

Links
Official author website: https://lyssakayadams.com/

On Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59831299-a-very-merry-bromance

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BIMMHR Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/booksimakemyhusbandread/

BIMMHR email: [e-mail] 

Kristy on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/kristypritzl

Jon on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jkpritzl

Chapters

• (02:43) - Romcoms are good for the soul
• (09:51) - Kristy's review
• (11:08) - Jon's review
• (12:41) - What is the bromance bookclub?
• (13:50) - Is it really a Christmas book?
• (16:14) - Grumpy sunshine trope
• (19:12) - Jon's own bookclub?!
• (22:29) - Superier holiday meat
• (23:37) - Famous or not matter
• (26:08) - Who are you?
• (29:33) - Family trauma
• (32:03) - Inserting books
• (34:20) - Steamy
• (36:26) - Which trope is better
• (38:46) - Would you recommend

Creators & Guests

Host

Jon King-Pritzl

Host

Kristy King-Pritzl

What is Books I Make My Husband Read?

Join us for a hilarious and heartfelt journey as one book-loving wife curates an unexpected reading list for her husband. With each episode, dive into lively discussions, humorous debates, and surprising insights on the books she just has to make him read. It’s a book club with a twist—and you’re invited!

Like, if you ask me what makes a Christmas novel a Christmas novel, I don't know how I would know how to answer that. This isn't it. But this isn't it.

Hello listeners and welcome to this week's episode of Books I Make My Husband Read. I'm your host Kristy and this is my co-host, my husband Jon, whom I make read the books. Hey everybody. This week we'll be discussing A Very Merry Bromance, a second chance holiday romance that includes members of the Bromance Book Club, but more on that later, as they pull out the mistletoe for everyone's favorite country music star Colton Wheeler. Yeah, this one was fun for sure. But before we get into our discussion, we want to share our upcoming schedule.

Well, this is the last book that we're going to cover for this season, which is kind of wild. It really is. We will have one more episode after this where we'll do a recap slash season summary kind of thing and talk about some of our favorite show moments. But after that, we'll take some time off and plan to start season two sometime in February. Yes. And I already have some tricks up my sleeve for the next season. Ruh-roh.

But in the meantime, don't forget that you can keep up with our schedule and everything else that we're reading by following us on Instagram at Books I Make My Husband Read. And we've got spoilers wrapped tighter than Santa's gift bag for this episode. But don't worry, we'll warn you before we bust it open and start dishing out all the goodies. Let's move on to the book summary. So country's music 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 the 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.

Not a big deal. Easy as pie. Yeah, no big deal. And 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. I see what you did there nicely done. I think that's a pretty good summary. But for listeners out there who got... my gosh, they're covering another romance book. I don't think romance is for me. No comment? Okay. Anyway, I thought you would agree with our listeners who might be giving us eye rolls right now. So if you fall into that camp where you're feeling a sort of way about a romance novel or maybe this romance novel, I want to read you something that I read recently in the back of another romance book by Catherine Center.

It was her author's note in the book, Hello Stranger. And it just reminded me why I personally love romance. And when people say things like, they're so predictable, these books are so predictable, I know exactly what's gonna happen. Same with Hallmark movies. You know exactly what's gonna happen. But there is magic in knowing that. So I'm gonna read her author's note because I just thought it was quite lovely. And these are not my words. These are Catherine Senors and I take no credit for them.

but I agree with them wholeheartedly. So Sinner starts by talking about how at first she was a little embarrassed to read romance novels, but she figured out why they're fun. Love stories really are like any other story. All stories have an emotional engine that drives them. Mysteries run on curiosity, thrillers run on heart thumping adrenaline, horror stories run on fear, and the fuel for those emotional engines is anticipation. We piece the clues together and predict what's going to happen, and we feel emotion about what we're predicting.

Stories use different scenarios and different ways to create that anticipation, but most novels use a fair bit of what's called negatively valenced anticipation. That's a sense of worry, a concern that things might get worse. Think fear, anxiety, loss. So you're reading along, picking up the breadcrumbs of what the writer is foreshadowing, and you're like, God, that kid's gonna get arrested, or no, that man's gonna have a heart attack, or I bet you a thousand dollars he's cheating on his wife.

But guess what kind of anticipation romance novels use? Positively valence. Romance novels, rom-coms, and non-tragic love stories all run on a blissful sense that we're moving towards something better. Percentage-wise, the majority of clues writers drop in romance novels don't give you things to dread, they give you things to look forward to. This, more than anything else, is why people love them. The banter, the kissing, the tropes, even the spice, that's all just extra.

It's that predictable structure that does it. Anticipating that you're heading toward a happy ending lets you relax and look forward to better things ahead. And there's a name for what you're feeling when you do that, hope. Centaur goes on to say that sometimes she sees people grasping for a better word than predictable to describe a romance novel. They'll say, it was predictable, but in a good way. But she says she doesn't think it's worth pointing out that over the course of a love story, people fell in love. Of course they did.

It's not possible to write a love story where the leads getting together at the end is a surprise. And even if it were, why would you want to? The anticipation, the blissful, delicious, oxytocin-latent, yearning and fuse, building sense of anticipation is the point. It's the cocktail of emotions we all came there to feel. She proposes we stop using the hopelessly negative or predictable to talk about love stories and start using anticipation, structurally, thematically, psychologically.

Love stories create hope and use it as fuel. Two people meet and then over the course of 300 pages, they move from alone to together, from closed to open, from judgy to understanding, from ignored to seen, from misunderstood to appreciated, from lost to found, predictably. That's not a mistake. That's a guarantee of the genre. Things will get better and you, the reader, get to be there for it. It's a gift the love story gives you. But no type of story gets more eye rolls than love stories.

They're so unrealistic, people say, as they start another zombie apocalypse movie. What is it? Is it self-protection, self-loathing, fear of vulnerability? Is it pretending we don't care so we aren't disappointed? I think love stories are deeply misunderstood, in part, at least because they don't work like other stories. Love stories don't have happy endings because their authors didn't know any better. They have happy endings because those endings let readers access a rare and precious kind of emotional bliss

that they can only get from having something that matters to look forward to. Yes, misery is important, but joy is just as important. The ways we take care of each other matter just as much as the ways we let each other down. Light matters just as darkness, play matters just as much as work, and kindness as much as cruelty, and hope matters just as much as despair, more so even, because tragedy is a given, but joy is a choice.

Romantic fiction thrived during the pandemic and there were a lot of theories about why. People thought we were lonely. We needed escape. We wanted some laughs. All true. But I think more than that, it's because love is a form of hope. We all sense it deep down. Past the snark and the tough guy exteriors, love is healing. It's nourishing. It's unapologetically optimistic. So Sitter writes stories about how love does that, about people healing from hard things.

and trying to connect and working like hell to become the very best versions of themselves despite it all. About the genuine emotional courage that it takes to love people and about the joy that courage can offer us. Reading love stories is good for you. Believing in love is believing in hope. And doing that, choosing in the cynical world to be a person who does that really is doing something that matters. So I know that was long, but...

I just read this and I felt that there's some magic in when something is predictable, when there's a formula that writers use. And I mean, there's another author that I read that writes their funny murder mysteries, but there's a lot of humor involved and there's also a romantic side too. And all of those have a formula and I know exactly what it is and it's specific to these books, but it works. I mean, I'm like on

book 32 of this series and it works. So I just think what she says in a world where, you know, life is hard and I feel like for some people life is especially hard right now and maybe there are some loss of hope going on. And if reading a rom-com makes you feel good, get after it. Yeah. I like the line that it said, tragedy is a given, but joy is a choice. That really, resonated with me.

It reminds me in The Hunger Games where President Snow says, you know the only thing greater than fear? And the answer is hope. And I feel like we all need a little more hope. So read a romantic novel. All right. So with that, anything beyond now will contain a spoiler. Consider this your warning.

Do you want to talk about what we rated the book? Yep. So I read this book two years ago when it came out and I gave it a five and I reread it to prepare for this episode. And I feel like maybe I would give it a four now. I felt that I really liked the banter between Gretchen and Colton. I like Gretchen's character. I like the reverse.

grumpy sunshine trope, which we'll talk about a little later with her being pretty Scrooge-ish, Scrooge-ish and cynical. But I also felt like there were some pacing issues with the book. I also felt that it's supposed to be a Christmas romantic comedy and there was some pretty heavy things going on, some pretty dark things. Yeah, some real heavy stuff. Yeah, like not just emotional abuse from her family, but actually physical abuse from her brother that we find out.

I also feel like there were some things that weren't wrapped up like specifically with her family. Like who's running the organization? Like what happened to her brother? What was that? What was on that piece of paper? I would probably maybe give it a four. But I mean, I think it's between a it's a four. I mean, four ish. It's fine. It was good. It's fine. It was good. I actually I gave it a four for.

I think a lot of the same reasons that you're outlining, it was pretty heavy. I was expecting a little bit more humor. I thought it was pretty funny. Yeah, I'm not saying it wasn't. I'm just saying I thought there'd be a little bit more. I actually found myself laughing less in this one than I thought going into it anyways. But yeah, some of the stuff at the end felt incomplete or unsettled. The big year time gap at the end.

But I mean, over in general, it was enjoyable. I still cruised through it just fine. I know we'll get to a couple of the other points that I want to make about it, I think, in our questions. So I won't go too much deeper than that. But yeah, I gave it a four. I think I liked our other round commas more than this one. Yeah. Thinking back when I gave it a five the first time two years ago, it is a series of books and I read them. I was reading like all of them around the same time. And I read it right around Christmas when it came out two years ago.

And I feel like when you're loving a series and the characters, feel like I probably bumped it up a little, knowing that. sure. Because I was wrapped up in all the different characters and the other ones from the Bromance Book Club series. Yeah, that makes sense. I can see that. Where if you have... A standalone. Yeah, and you're kind of like pulling in the effects from the other books into this one too. can see, yeah. Exactly. Like, I understand the other characters that were, like, sub-characters in this book.

Sure, sure. Now, before we dive into the questions, I know we don't do this with every book, but I did want to call a few things out that I think will help people understand the book if they haven't read it. I mentioned already, this is the fifth book in a series of books. And while you certainly can read them as a standalone as Jon did, I just want to make sure I pointed that out.

The first book introduces us to the Romance Book Club, and that's a group of guys who read romance novels in an effort to become more emotionally aware and vulnerable with their partners. In fact, they call the romance books that they read the manuals. It's quite hilarious. Anyway, so this approach challenges the stereotypes that romance novels are only for women and shows the male characters gaining insights into their partners' emotions and desires.

The book describes the book club as a way for the men to see the world through a less toxic lens than the ones that all cisgender, heterosexual men are taught to look through. Each book in the series follows a different book club member and how they navigate their own romantic struggles with the support of the book club. All right. All right. So in the book, Gretchen and Colton have an argument about whether a song that takes place at Christmas is a Christmas song.

or if it is just a song that takes place at Christmas. So would you consider this a romance novel that takes place at Christmas or a Christmas romance novel? I think it's the former. I think this feels like a story that is set in at Christmas time and it's not really a Christmas novel. Now,

Like if you ask me what makes a Christmas novel a Christmas novel, I don't know how to answer that. This isn't it. This isn't it. I just feel like this one, and maybe it's because of the darker storylines that sort of underpin the characters that takes it out of that realm. And you could almost, like you could kind of put that at any point in time, not just over the holidays or over Christmas. It just so happens that Christmas is kind of a...

a theme that Colton can use to thaw her ice queen heart. Yeah. Yeah. I agree that it is a romance novel set around Christmas time. I don't think it's a Christmas romance. And I think the darker themes, as you say, kind of make me feel that way too. I feel like what I think of a Christmas novel, has to be

really wrapped up in Christmas. they're, you're feeling all the feels like they're talking about the twinkling lights and the smells and like things that are setting the scene. it's like uniquely holiday where this sure they were decorating for Christmas and they were doing things, but they could have been decorating for Halloween.

there weren't a lot of things that would have changed in the story or anything really that would change in the story dramatically. Taking it out of Christmas. Yes, exactly. So I thought it was funny that they said that in the book about the song or she said, this isn't a Christmas song. And he's like, there's Christmas in the title. And she's like, that doesn't make it a Christmas song. And I'm thinking, well, this isn't a Christmas book. I wonder if the author kind of like.

Did that on purpose? I'm sure it was there on purpose for that particular reason to make people think the same thing. Yeah, that's a good point. So I mentioned this, but one of the tropes in this book is sunshine meets grumpy. But it's kind of a play on the trope because it's usually the man who's grumpy or grouchy. And this time it's Gretchen. So she describes Colton as happiness and frivolity personified.

Do you feel like this trope worked for you and what did you like about it? Yeah, I thought it was okay. Colton actually kind of drove me nuts in some parts of the book. Like he was a little over the top and maybe that's what I was driving. little bro-y at times. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I think so too. maybe that was, again, maybe that was intentional. Maybe that was part of what Gretchen was reacting to or like...

you're supposed to think this is why she's not meant to like this kind of person or whatever. I enjoyed the trope because I felt like I could relate, I think, to this one a little bit.

I'm not grumpy, what are you talking about?

You literally live in a trash can.

That's so mean, we live together. You sleep in a trash can. So, yeah, I mean, it worked for me. I don't know that it's my favorite one. What is your favorite one? Do you have one? No, don't know. I like, wait. New question. But I liked, I've been in the three that I've read now because there's been a whole three that I've read in this season. The enemies to lovers, I felt like.

has more interesting dynamic dialogue that I think I found funnier or more engaging than this particular trope, or at least in this book, in this one book. Yeah. I mean, you only read, really, of the three rom-coms, only one is the enemies to lovers. The other enemies to lovers we have was the romanticie fourth-wing book. yeah, fourth-wing. What was the other one then? Just for the summer. Yeah, what is that?

TROPE. Probably like a fake romance. Fake romance, okay. Because they were just, you know what mean, like they were dating. I don't mean like fake romance, but it was like we're going to date for just this period of time and we're not gonna like, it's just for the summer. Hence the title of the book. Right, I did that Yeah, I get it, get it, yeah, okay. All right, I guess I can see out of those three then I can see why Enemies to Lovers is your favorite. Yeah.

I love the angst. This guy is so annoying. I can't stand him. He's the worst. So I feel like it's realistic to think that there's like that angst for someone. Yeah, angst. That's a good word. It's like hate fucking someone. Just like that. OK, the series really centers around a group of guys doing the work.

by simulating a therapeutic environment and having the guys work through their shit in a group setting. Do you wish you had a bromance book club? And do you think one of these really exists out there? Of course I fucking wish I had that. How many episodes have I mentioned? Like, God, I wish I had a circle of friends or this group of, like, yeah, No, I mean a bromance book club. Do you wish you had friends you could read bromance novels on?

and call you out on your shit when you're doing something stupid that annoys your wife. Yes. Yes, I do. Applications now being accepted. Please email us. booksimakemyhusbandread @ gmail.com. So yeah, I do. I think that would be awesome. I think that would be fun and just really unique. And I would be hard pressed to think that it doesn't exist out there.

It would surprise, it would really surprise me if it doesn't already exist. Maybe I just have little faith in. In men. But I feel like there's no way. Jesus. Love you boo. Yeah. I mean, I understand why you probably feel that way, but I mean, there are stranger groups out there. again, I would think it would be weird if this one didn't exist. Yeah. And don't get me wrong. Like I'm not saying women are.

any better about holding grudges. No, not holding grudges. Like holding each other accountable for their shit. Like that is a rarity, I feel like amongst friends. Like you have to be extremely vulnerable with people, right? And have a lot of trust for people to do that. I certainly have friends I can do it with and back and forth, but that takes time. But I do think in general, women are more vulnerable than men.

but it's still a rarity, I feel like. Yeah, I mean, even in the book, Colton had a hard time even hearing some of the shit that his friends were calling him out on. Like he would come around to it, but it can be hard to hear when the crap that you're doing is put right in your face. And the natural reaction is to be defensive and dismiss it and to have an inner circle of friends and trust and know that that stuff is coming from a good place and like...

You know, they have your best interest in heart or in this case also Gretchen's interests in heart in the case of the book, because she was part of their friend circle, oddly enough. I mean, they call him out for blackmailing her with the dates and then he still does it. He still does it. They call him out because they tell him like, you know, she hates Christmas and their second date, he makes her decorate his Christmas tree. True. But at the same time, he does. Yes, he does those things. So he goes against the things that his

bromance buddies are suggesting for him, but they work in this instance. they do soften her a little bit. Like she does start to acknowledge, like, this is what a loving family is. They're like, this is what this means. And she starts to reframe her correlations of those events. So. I also want to point out that Colton said that Ham is a superior Christmas meat and he is 100 % correct.

Okay. also think ham is a superior Thanksgiving meat, but I know that that is not a shared opinion. No. Okay. So let's, let's pause right there a minute. So if we quantify, qualify that with Christmas meat outside of roast beast. Yes. You're probably right. Ham is. I think a lot of people also eat turkey on Christmas also. Okay. That's probably true, but that's just wrong. That's probably true, but.

Let the bird have the one day and the pig have the other. All right. But doesn't the pig also get Easter? No. Easter is like, Easter. Yeah, I guess. I don't know. I don't know the rules when it comes to meat and holidays. But ham is superior to all. No, not to all. I still prefer turkey on Thanksgiving. I know. know. With some gravy and mashed potatoes. Anyway, moving on.

So in the book, Colton Wheeler is a famous country singer and the group of guys in the bromance book club are from the same elite circle that he is. They're professional athletes, musician and restaurateurs. Do you think the story would change if the men in the book were in more blue collar professions and how does their profession help or hurt the story? Yes. Yes, that's your answer. Yes, is my answer. Next question, please. No, I don't.

think like the underlying thread of the story would change that much. They wouldn't be flying around in private jets, obviously, from destination to destination, or have these lavish gaudy mansions that they describe in the book. They don't punch their gate code in. Exactly. like that. and you know, maybe there would be different dialogue across the boys in the Bromance Book Club, but

I don't think the premise of any of the storylines would change that much if their professions were more blue collar than. Do you feel like from a reader standpoint and specifically maybe from a heterosexual male reader like you, do you feel like it changes their perception? And I say that because you're not necessarily looking up to men and maybe these blue collar positions, but professional athletes or musicians.

you might be in admiration of these people or these characters. So are you like, I want to be like this person. Interesting. I that thought never crossed my mind while I was reading the book. never I didn't find myself looking up to any of them. I found myself just like engaged with their dialogue and their personality traits or whatever. So for me, I don't know if I would have.

I mean, it's easy to say, but sure. Do you feel like the author specifically chose men though, in in professions like this in a higher socioeconomic status for that reason, maybe though? Yeah, I think they can much like like sports is a great connector of all sorts of different types of socioeconomic classes. Music is a great connector of those same kind of things, too. So I do think that was probably a conscious effort to.

put those types of characters in that where there wouldn't there maybe there's less preconceived notions about them. Yeah, that's a point. So Colton says he reads A Christmas Carol every year and he has seen every movie version of the book. He says that every person you know is represented by one of the characters in the book. So in my best Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland, who are you?

That was way better. So in Jon's caterpillar voice from Alice in Wonderland. Let's see. I wouldn't be Scrooge. I don't feel like I'm Scrooge. Oops. Let me erase my note right there. Return your Christmas gifts of coal. I think Colton said he would be Fred. Uncle Fred. Uncle Fred. Yeah.

I don't remember which, but he's the one that always invites him to Christmas dinner. Scrooge always says no. It says no to you. I don't think I would be that because one, I don't get into Christmas that much or two, I'm not that jovial of a person. I'm not that jovial. I'm not that jovial. I don't even know if this is an option, but I feel like I would be the ghost of Christmas past. OK. I say that because I feel

Yeah, I feel like I'm a very reflective kind of person and draw on experiences of the past to inform my current day. I just, that's the only that's who I feel like I would be. I'd be a ghost. That's my far the funniest answer you've given for anything. I am a ghost. Who are you? I'm a ghost. It's a ghost.

Who do you think I am? You can say it. I don't think you're Scrooge.

think I'm Scrooge either. I think I have Scrooge tendencies that I have to overcome. That's how I feel a little bit about Fred. I feel like I have certain tendencies of Fred. No, I actually don't think that. I think you want to be That's probably true. But Fred takes a lot of energy. You're like, ain't got time That's a very good point. Who do you identify with then? Honestly, I kind of feel like I identify with Bob Cratchit.

A little overworked. Right, right. Still showing up. That's fair. I honestly, I actually, when I saw this question, I used chat GPT to summarize all the characters for me so I didn't know how to answer this. And you still didn't know Bob Grachovac. That was a couple of days ago. You know, was thinking about this when you said there, like, I'm a little bit Scrooge in your point, you are a little bit Uncle Fred, that I really think that

Probably everybody is a little bit of all those things. Yeah, and maybe that's what Colton was alluding to. He's like, everyone is referenced or has a piece in that story. Maybe it's not just a full version of one character or another, but yeah, pieces of each of them. Right, like you might not be a Scrooge to everything, but there's probably something in your life that you're a Scrooge to or a certain person that you're a Scrooge to for some reasons that may be justified, but... I agree.

Let's talk about Gretchen's family trauma. God. Given what we learned about Gretchen, her family and how they treated her, do you understand why she was hesitant to be in any type of relationship? Yeah. mean, Jesus Christ, the shit that comes out at the end of the book is horrifying, horrifying, absurd, absurd. And you know that shit happens in.

certain family circles like that, which is just really disturbing. Also haven't read the book. Her brother was physically abusing her as a child. She broke her arm, locked her out of the house one night and she slept in the treehouse or something. I don't even know if it, yeah, but she was like 10 or something. And then her family is just emotionally manipulative and never believed her. She was kind of an unexpected third child.

and just really emotionally abusive, distant, always believed the older brothers over her. And yeah, I felt she was being too dramatic or a lot of gaslighting going on. Yeah, that's so yeah. So yeah, I 100 % could understand why she was so bitter towards the holiday towards her family. I mean, there was a lot of shame that she carried with.

Like she didn't even want people to know what her last name was in a lot of cases. She was completely disassociating with her family. Like, you're one of those Winthrop's. Like she wanted nothing to do with that. Nothing to do with it. And honestly, I probably would have done a lot of this. I probably would have felt the same way. I would have disassociated, disconnected. I would have tried to just follow whatever passion was my own if I was treated that way too. yeah, I could totally understand her character a lot more by.

that trauma being surfaced in throughout the story. There was a... What they said is an old Irish toast that her grandfather used to say, and they say it a couple of times in the book, and it's to cheating, to stealing, to fighting and to drinking. And I thought that was probably the motto of her family. Based on what we heard, it came out. I'm like, no wonder that was your grandfather's toast. Although her grandfather sounded like an upright dude.

It was the dad and the mom because her uncle was, you know, came to her aid later on. Yeah. But yes, to cheating, stealing, fighting and drinking. You're here. Clink. So in the book again, for those who haven't read in the book and not just this book, but the other bromance book clubs also remember the guys read romance books and they call them the manuals. But in each of the book, they have excerpts from the current book they're reading.

And in this book, Colton gives Gretchen a romance book to read because he's trying to get her to like like Christmas more through this book. the name of the book is A Cold Winter's Night. So do you feel like that book helps you understand the story better or maybe like the trope? actually found it a little distracting. I didn't know it was a piece to.

the series or that it comes up in each book. Well, not that book specifically, No, I know, but a book within that. It felt really out of place in this one for some reason, like listening to it. I was thrown off actually when they cut to an excerpt from that book. I can see that if you don't know what's coming or you're not paying attention to the chapters. Yeah. Yeah. I wasn't really sure what was happening there. then when

A couple chapters later, I caught on that like, okay, this is the book that he gave her and she's been reading it and surfacing and then there are connections between the characters that he's trying to make. But I don't know, I could have done without that. It maybe added like just a different point of view on a similar trope that, you know, when you see yourself through someone else's lens, it's a little bit easier to come to terms with maybe like how you are or your behaviors or...

personality traits or something like that. You'd be like, yeah, OK, I am just like that. And then you can see it in another world or in, you know, that sort of thing. So but I could have done without it. It would never have anything for me. This is actually one of the reasons hindsight looked reading at the second time. I thought to myself, like, what? There was no wrap up to that story. Yeah. Like what happened? So it was it was a little annoying to me. I do feel like they so in that

book. So the book within the book, it's also a grumpy sunshine trope. And so they're trying to emphasize that trope and get it across in a different way. But I was a little annoyed that there was no wrap up to that. Yeah, I agree. So how would you rate the steamy scenes in the book? Do you feel like they added to the story? I should have expected this one coming up for another romance book. So I actually like the steamy scenes in this one.

I can see why. In my head, I already know. God, you're going to forget. I could see the camaraderie in a bromance book club reading books like this and like getting more comfortable talking about that kind of stuff or talking about the steamy scenes or like making it OK in that taboo.

I think is a part, like I could see that draw by reading this book. I was like, okay, I understand why these are like. I don't know what you're saying. So like it's okay. Meaning like the guy, if you were in a bromance book club, you would talk about the scenes with guys. Yeah. Because like that's part of the manual, right? The manual kill me hearing you say it. This is what the manual said.

Touch her here. I'm just pointing out that most romance novels are written by women. So men out there pay attention. Pay attention. So there's a group of guys that read these kinds of books and then I'm a guy reading this kind of book. It was like relatable in that way. And so I was like, okay, I get it.

you should read the other ones. do think they're funny. would I think I would I just listening to some of the snippets of some of the other characters and knowing that the other books are focused on the characters. I think it'd be fun to learn about the rest of the dynamic and how they all kind of come together and that sort of thing. So yes, the one with the Russian is one of my favorite ones. Yeah, the narrator does his voice really fun to Yeah, so

So I guess we talked about this a little bit, but of the three romantic comedies that we have read this season, which is your favorite? And are you finding that you like one trope or another? Not this one. I wouldn't say this was my favorite. So it'd be between book lovers and Just For the Summer. I really enjoyed Just For the Summer. I think that one might be my favorite. I think I laughed the most. I think you did too, because I was...

or sitting next to you when you were listening. Yeah, I really enjoyed that one a lot. So I don't know if that had to do with the trope or if that had to do with the characters or with the dialogue. Like, I don't know, like I could pull out or pluck a single thread of why I like that one more. But in encapsulation out of those three books, that was my favorite. I think for you, the story is just for the summer, it is a romantic comedy, but there is a lot of depth to the story and there's a lot of other things that go on.

And I think that maybe for you, the well-roundedness of the story is really important. And it's not just like the romance part of it. I would agree with that. Book lovers is my favorite, but that's because I love Nora Stevens. And in fact, I saw a post. You're going to change your name to Nora Stevens? No, I saw a post on Instagram yesterday and it said, you could invite one literary character to dinner, who would it be? And I was like, Nora Stevens, because we're going to be best friends.

All these women were saying characters from like the court series. So like Reesand or Cassian, whom you read or Zayden. I'm like, he's not going to date you. Like, put him to dinner. I get. Ouch. That's Pretty. Let them have their dreams. Let them have their holiday dreams. I'm sorry. You're right. You're right. My bad. My bad. He loves you. Now you're just pandering. I was like, I want something that's going to last. I'm going Menorah.

That checks out for you though. That makes sense. Yeah. So why does Santa have three gardens? So he can ho ho ho. That was a joke from the book. The character who is Russian, he's a hockey player and he dresses up like Santa and that was one of his jokes. So he can ho ho ho. Yeah, that was great. Do you have any final thoughts on the book and would you recommend it to our listeners?

Hmm. I think based on what you've shared with me, I don't know that I would recommend this book as the first bromance novel book, just based on what you've shared. think you should read them in order, maybe? Maybe, or at least a different one. This one, maybe there's already too much established. Not that, again, not that I couldn't enjoy it, not that I didn't feel like I was really missing anything out of any of the characters, but just from the things that you shared with from the other books, I would say maybe try a different one first, but...

I wouldn't turn anyone away from trying this. I wouldn't say, no, don't read this one first. It was still enjoyable. was, I don't was about to say cute, but I don't want to say cute because it really wasn't. It was dark. I guess I would just say like, go into it knowing that it's not really a Christmas novel. It's a novel that's based in Set in Christmas. Set in Christmas time period. Set in December? Set in December. Yeah. I mean, Christmas time period. Like... It's Christmas adjacent. Yeah.

We'll go with that. That sounds good. It's kitty corner. Or catty corner, depending on what country you're you grew up in the Midwest, it's kitty corner. And if you live in California, it's catty corner. I think other places do say, but there are the same thing. They are. No. So that's it. That's what I got. What about you? Final thoughts? Recommendation? Yeah. I would be really interested. I want to remember.

If you are a listener and you have read this book series and you remember what I'm about to ask, please, please email me or message me on Instagram. There is a scene in one of the bromance books where the guys go to the spa and there is a scene where they can't figure out what to do and what they should wear in the sauna and where they should put the cucumbers. And it's very funny. And I actually had Jon.

Listen to it one day because just that clip because I was cracking up and then you were cracking up So I would love for you to read that book because I remember laughing a lot But I don't remember which guy it was in the series, but I think you would enjoy that one I think they're all really cute Yeah, but to be fair in regards to the dark not like thinking back now regards to some of the dark darker darker themes Thank you. this book. I mean the very first book is

a marriage that is failing and they're getting ready to go through divorce. So I think that that humanizes the books as well. I necessarily wasn't looking for that in what I was thinking would be a Christmas romance. And I that's the point we were getting at earlier. I don't mind that. I certainly don't mind just for the summer is a perfect example of that. Like that is hilarious in a lot of parts, but it is heavy and a lot of other. I mean, we had a trigger warning on that episode because there are a lot of themes that are covered in that book. So I would recommend it. I wouldn't say if you were looking for a fluffy Christmas romance, this is maybe not the book for you. If you're looking for something fun and entertaining and that you're going to laugh and enjoy. Yeah, for sure. I like Lissake Adams and her writing style. I found out she's from Michigan. that's fun. Yeah. And I don't really have any other thoughts, but yeah, I would definitely recommend it. Right on. With that, we wanted to remind everyone that our next episode is going to be our season recap, and then we'll take a short break over the holidays and into January before we come to you in February with season 2.0. And as always, don't forget that a free way to support our show is by leaving us a review and rating us on Apple Podcasts. Or Spotify. Or Spotify. Or Audible.

Or audible. We do have listeners streaming on Audible too, which is kind of cool. Also, thank you listeners. Our last episode was our best release to date. So we appreciate everyone listening and listening right away. Yeah. Yeah. Appreciate that very much. And if you don't want to rate us, but you do have a question or feedback, you can email us at booksimakemyhusbandread@ gmail.com and we would love to hear from you. But I guess that is it for now. Is that another one in the books?

That is another one of the books. Yes. Well, who knows? Maybe this one will be the one your husband reads. Start your own bromance book club. Yes. And let us know. We would love to interview you. I'll join you. You have a member right here.

Take care then. All right. Merry Christmas. Happy holidays. However you celebrate. Enjoy. Yes. Have a good one. Peace. Be safe.