Isn’t It Bromantic by Lyssa Kay Adams Book Review

Mack answered immediately. “Whats the story? Is everything okay?”

“No,” Colton said, glaring pointedly at Vlad. “Assemble the bros. We have a magnificent a** to kick.”

(pg. 308)

About

Author: Queen Lyssa Kay Adams

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Series: Bromance Book Club book 4

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Click to read other book reviews

Other Bromance Bookclub Book Reviews

The Bromance Book Club

Undercover Bromance

Crazy Stupid Bromance

Synopsis

Elena Konnikova has lived her entire adult life in the shadows. As the daughter of a Russian journalist who mysteriously disappeared, she escaped danger the only way she knew how: She married her childhood friend, Vladimir, and moved 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 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 neighbors, a group of meddling widows who call themselves the Loners. But just when things finally look promising, Elena’s past life intrudes and their happily ever after is cast into doubt.

Review

Spoilers Contained Below

To my bros,

If I said it once, I’ve probably said it a million times over but the Russian is my favorite character from the Bromance Bookclub series next to Braden Mack. The Russian is the star!!!! I love love love love love the Russian. What a funny, endearingly sweet, and fun dude.

Hands down he deserved a book, and I’m glad that he got one! Everyone wanted to read about the Russian!!! I felt like the Russian was a character that was added for comedic relief—-he was never intended to be a character who had his own book. But readers fell in love with the Russian and wanted to know more about him. I am one of said readers. But it’s powerful how loving a character so much manifested itself as the Russian having his own book. Thank you Lyssa Kay Adams for gracing our lives with Isn’t It Bromantic? What a story.

I cackled reading the first heading on the first page: The Backstory. We know the bros love a backstory because backstory is everything. I also loved how Lyssa Kay Adams had to clear the air with all the poopy and gasy jokes in the past by saying that the Russian or Vlad/Vladislav had a gluten intolerance. Finally! The answers we all needed 🤪. In all seriousness, gluten intolerance is a real thing and I don’t tease anyone who can’t eat gluten because it hurts their stomach because stomach pain is no joke. But it’s just funny thinking about how we all laughed at the Russian in previous books because he had ten-year-old humor, when in this book, it’s because he actually had a food sensitivity issue. Clearing the air about the Russian, is one of the things that I already loved about this book—-it took a comedic character and humanized him as honest and real. In the previous books, like I said earlier, I think Lyssa Kay Adams didn’t intend for the Russian to get his own story because he was more of a funny character on the side. Heck, she even called him the Russian for a good while until she gave him a name. The power of the readers were smitten with Vlad, thus his story. I remember when I first read that the next book was going to be about the Russian, I wondered how we were going to take a comedic character and make him grounded. The way Lyssa Kay Adams keeps the humor in the Russian was still there, but I also fell deeper in love with Vlad because he was this down to earth, sweet, romantic softie. I love a living teddy bear 😩♥️!

“Her gentle giant. Her hug in human form. The man she had never deserved and never would.”

(pg. 130)

He really was a big softie and I loved that.

If someone can be in touch with their emotions and honest about it, there’s more strength in feeling those complex emotions than covering it up with the tough demeanor society has associated for so long as strength. Strength is not only muscles, but it’s pushing through physical and internal battles when you feel like giving up. Strength is also being open to vulnerability because it’s not easy to be honest with our emotions. Vlad is the strongest and sweetest guy ever.

He just had a heart that was too big and felt too much because every emotion felt like his own. I could understand that because I’m the same way—I feed off other’s emotions in a situation.

Just the way animals magnetized/gravitated to him was a huge sign into the type of person he was—-animals felt loved and safe with him. He was like the Russian Joan of Arc 😂. I also loved how he would tear up whenever someone did something nice for him like he was constantly surprised that someone would go through lengths to do something kind for him. That brought me all the warm-fuzzies on the inside because he helped other people so much and put his love into others, but he never expected anything in return. When you love someone, you don’t expect anything in return because you things out of love, but I could feel how he felt loved when his friends and family showed they loved him. I think his love language is acts of service and words of affirmation. But he’s just so cute and wholesome. What a good guy 🥺.

“That man is too pure for this world,” Andrea said.

(pg. 129)

I agree Andrea, I whole-heartedly agree.

I need to find someone as pure and wholesome as Vlad ♥️. We all should.

But during this backstory, we saw Vlad at Braden and Liv’s wedding—-the end of Crazy Stupid Bromance––where Elena walked in. The way Vlad looked at her was enough for me to know he still loved her, but there was something that was keeping them from being together. We didn’t know what the drama was about their relationship at the time—all we knew was that the Russian kept saying he had a wife and we never saw her until the end. I wondered what the drama was because the love was there. Even if Elena rushed from the room in tears, I could still feel the love there, complex as it might have been. Apparently, Elena and Vlad were married—-DUH— but Vlad married her because he wanted to give Elena a better life to leave Russian. He had already been playing hockey in the U.S. for a year (I wonder how he got recruited to play in America), so when he went back to Omsk, Russia to visit Elena and his family, he proposed to her so they could start over somewhere new.

They were childhood best friends, so it made sense that they might get married one day. The proposal flashback was really sweet and I could feel the love in the moment because she was nervous to say yes and he was nervous to get down on one knee. Those types of nerves came from love, and maybe a bit fear of their next steps. They had a small wedding in a chapel, but when in the chapel, Elena overheard Vlad talking to the dad and the dad said something along the lines of how Vlad should tell Elena the truth that he only married her because Vlad’s mother told him to marry her. So, naturally Elena believed Vlad proposed to her out of obligation and pity rather than love, which is ridiculous and wrong because he did love her. The mom just sped up the process by telling him to stop being a chicken and propose to Elena. If I was Elena and overheard all of that, I would feel embarrassed and guilty for marrying a guy who I thought only married me out of pity or because his mom told him too. No wonder their wedding was curt and sucky. I would have felt sucky. It was this big miscommunication thing! If she only told him five or so years earlier that she overheard this conversation 🤪, we would have skipped all this assuming and unassuming DRAMA and they could have had a happier five years of being married.

But nooooooooooo.

She kept this conversation to herself. I thought when you’re married you communicate 😂. That’s a big joke. I mean that for all relationships these days.

Communication is everything👏🏼!

Elena was closed off to Vlad their entire marriage because she felt like an obligation and like she constantly owed Vlad something because he got her out of Russia, paid for her apartment, a car, and basically her life there. She never felt loved because she heard that her marriage wasn’t because of love. I would also feel pretty messed up and weird about the situation too because Vlad was her anchor in America. After they got married, Vlad returned to the U.S., but Elena’s visa or something took a month to process before she should come. But when her and Vlad could finally go to America together, she said she wanted to study Journalism in Chicago at one of the universities there. He couldn’t do anything but let her follow her passion/education because that was her dream. Also, the mom told him to let her go study because if Elena needed to go do her own thing/figure out herself, then let her go.

“I let a captive bird go winging . . . to greet the radiant’s spring’s rebirth.”

(pg. 11)

So, against Vlad’s better judgement to ask her to say, he let her go. I liked that he gave her time to do her own thing and that he didn’t keep her with him selfishly. He also knew the adjustment to coign to America was a lot for her—she was crying all the time (he thought because she was sad when she was really crying about her marriage was a pity marriage) so going to university would be good for her. She also couldn’t hold a job with her visa, which I would like to research more about because I don’t know a lot about visas or what it’s like for couples who immigrate here go through. THat’s a whole other conversation I’m going to write about later. But the quote above is from one of their favorite Russian poets, Pushkin. He’s the Shakespeare of Russia and whom Elena and Vlad bond over. When I think of Vlad and this quote, he was letting Elena go because he didn’t want her to feel captive to their marriage and he wanted her to find herself and happiness for herself.

But I agreed with the mom, that he never made Elena feel loved or like she had somewhere she could return to. I mean, it was sweet he kept the house stocked with all her favorite things like she would return, but that’s not the same thing as telling her he loved her or that he was in this marriage for real. He just let her go.

“Vlad, love changes everything.”

(pg. 61)

If he just told her sooner that he loved her loved her, than maybe they wouldn’t also have had this rift between them in their supposed marriage.

They grew apart in the years she was in college and he playing hockey. Their friendship also suffered. I would have liked to know more about their friendship history before they got married because it would have given me a look into their easy camaraderie and why Vlad proposed. We got more glimpses of their friendship later in the book, but I wanted to also understand their friendship a bit more in the beginning too. Because I wondered why or how they fell out, but then it made sense when the story was divulged. They drifted on miscommunication.

If Vlad really wanted a real marriage with her, he couldn’t and shouldn’t have just jumped her by saying I want to make this marriage real. I mean, BRO, she spent the better half of five years thinking she was an obligation and then you two barely talked anymore, what makes you think she wants to marry you for real???? Like she still loved him and I could tell, but then she didn’t think he felt the same way because of the whole obligation thing.

Miscommunication is a mind f**. And it’s DRAINING. Just communi-freaking-cate!

It’s not that complicated 😅.

They were stressing me out and confusing me with their whole back and forth and not telling each other and not feeling like they love each other when they do love each other and all they needed to do was sit down and have a proper conversation and tell each other how they really feel and what happened!!!!!!!! *shakes head*

And instead of fighting for her, Vlad decides to let her go at first.

Bro, you said you wanted a real marriage with her, and you let her go the first time, why are you letting her go again????!?!?!!? Did the bros not teach you anything in the past few years? You don’t just give up without a fight—without trying!

Elena told him he was going to go back to Russia to be a journalist like her father.

When I say Elena had daddy issues, I mean it 🙃.

Elena’s dad didn’t sound like a bad guy. He was just consumed by work because his job was demanding and dangerous. He was barely home, so Elena would always stay at the Konnikov house where Vlad’s mom would feed her and Elena would do homework on the kitchen counter next to Vlad. I loved how Vlad’s mom also taught Elena to cook. That’s such a sweet thing to share. But it sucked that her dad wasn’t home because he was the person who was supposed to love her and be there, but it must have felt like he chose his job over her. The dad did noble things with his job in trying to bust malicious groups, but he should have kept his promises to his daughter who also needed her. Her dad disappeared after one mishap on a case. They had a code word he told her he would send her if something bad ever happened to him. If she got that code word, she knew to move to a hotel and stay there for safety reasons. She got the code word the day he disappeared and she stayed in that hostel for three days or so because she wasn’t sure if he was coming. But he didn’t. She never knew what happened to her dad, except that he was chasing a sex-trafficking case.

Because of her complicated and sparse relationship with her dad, Elena wanted to finish the case for him. During grad school, she investigated the trafficking case on the side. Doing the case by herself wasn’t bright because that’s how her dad ended up disappearing in the first place. Also, she should have told someone besides this Marta person because something seriously bad could have happened to her. But it felt like she was chasing this case because she still wanted a connection to her dad. She wanted to finish what he started and by finishing the case, she was honoring him and his work. I understood that, but I didn’t think it was safe. I also felt like she still wanted her dad’s approval or love and that maybe if she did this, she would feel like her dad would be proud of her. Maybe is was, but she kept chasing her dad that she wasn’t seeing that it was hurting her and the people around her—to go after something that was in the past when the people she loved currently needed her more right now. It’s tough because the dad wasn’t dad of the year because he was barely there, but Elena still chased him or the idea of him like she still wanted his love or approval. Vlad knew that. He called her out on it, which seemed mean, but it was also true. She needed to hear it. Her dad did deserve her love, but she shouldn’t keep chasing him when he never was there in the first place.

I also understood she wanted to finish the case because she hoped she could find her dad. It’s not wrong to hope her dad was still out there. I wanted that for her. But the dad had been missing for so long, it was difficult to hope that he was alive.

With all this drama, BACKSTORY 👏🏼, and miscommunication, it’s no wonder their marriage wasn’t really a marriage and it was a whole big screwed up mess. It was just a lot to process everything they hadn’t and had been through.

A sad Vlad, is a sad me ☹️.

He sounded so hopeless and despondent in the beginning because he was losing the love of his life and then he broke his leg in a hockey injury. Then he couldn’t play int he games leading up to the championship—something any athlete would be proud of playing and would want to play. But then he lost hockey, so it was like, what else did he have. The minute he broke his leg and someone had to take care of him, I was like, I bet the farm she’s going to take care of him!!! It’s like the cabin or one roof trope where they were going to spend all this time together and rekindle their marriage with all these sweet moments, and I was READY for it. Gosh knows they needed it, and therapy 😂. T

The Bromance Bookclub is honestly therapy.

Elena was going to be the one to take care of him. I felt bad that she wanted to do this to repay Vlad for everything he has done in providing for her in America. Sis, don’t take care of him out of obligation or like you owe him!!! She wanted to end things on good term with him and be “just friends,” when anyone who says they just wants to be “just friends” is deluding themselves.

Vlad’s home was so cute. What a homely man ♥️. I would love to live under that roof.

The Loners were sooooo fun!!! They come close to the woman version of the bros, which was something I always wanted—girlmance. I liked Linda (Claud’s daughter) and Andrea because they were actually nice to Elena. Claud had a fierce attitude that came from protectiveness, which I understood. It broke my heart in some ways that Vlad hosted this neighborhood Loners tea-time with a group of widowed or divorced women who were “loners.” Vlad joined the group because he felt alone because his marriage didn’t work out 😢. He wasn’t a loner, he was a miscommunicator 😆. That’s straight facts. But I loved how Vlad had the Loners who looked out for him and just wanted him to be happy—-those are the best sort of friends/people.

When Elena explored more of the house and saw Vlad’s ring in his bathroom, I was like awwwww! Darn! But when she took off her ring and laid it next to his, I was like SIS NO!!!! He still loves you! I could understand how seeing his ring off made her think he never wore it and like he never loved her. Vlad told her his ring was off because he didn’t wear it during games, and I was like, SIS, that means he always wears the ring then and that he must still be loyal and love you 👏🏼!! They both were miscommunication and assuming idiots (and I mean that in the nicest way I can). *Sigh* I just wanted them to know how much they loved each other because we all knew how much they loved each other.

Elena must have knew his love language was acts of service because I thought it entirely sweet how she took the time and cooked him all his favorite Russian meals his mom made. She made Solyanka, Syrniki, Kholdets, Pozharsky, Vareniki, and Korinochki. I wrote down all the things she made because they sounded cool and I love learning new cuisine. Maybe I can learn too 😆. Some of these recipes called for so much time, care, and effort, and it meant a lot that she wanted to cook Vlad’s favorite meals while he healed because she knew it would make him feel better. She didn’t need to say she still loved him for her actions to say it all.

I freaking CACKLED whenever the bros would give Elena’s the looks and then look at each other. It was funny seeing their secret eye-talk through Elena’s eyes because they weren’t judging her or being mean, that’s just how the bro’s communicated. They were taking in the situation and analyzing it for what it was—so they could regale it to Vlad to prove how much they knew Elena still loved him. The bros and I were on the same wavelength from the way she cooked for him, her endless care and concern for how she should take care of Vlad, and her protective nature of his well-being? That all said she liked him. The bros were feeling out the situation to see if there was something there.

And, of course, there was.

Every moment with the bros was a good moment—the highlight of my day ♥️✨.

I look forward to every moment with the bros. I will preach this forever, but I love this group of men and their honesty, support, kindness, openness, love, and humor. If I don’t have friends or people in my life like the bros, I don’t want it 👏🏼!

Gosh, last book we had the sauna scene, and this time, we had the bathing scene 😂. I was in surefire fits of giggles and laughter.

I loved how Vlad didn’t want Elena to bathe him because she never saw him naked and he didn’t want to put her in an uncomfortable position because their relationship was still tender and new. When Vlad asked Colton to do him a favor and Colton said anything, Vlad said can you give me a bath. I bet the farm that’s not what he expected 😂. What made it even more hilarious was how Colton brought all the bros to give the Russian a bath 😂.

I freaking loved loved Colton 😂. Little butt. Am I the only one who thought of the Three Little Pigs where they go “Little pig, little pig, let me in.” Of course, that’s where my mind goes to.

“Yan whistled. “Damn, man. You can bounce a quarter off that a**.”

Vlad looked over his shoulder. “Why would you throw a quarter on my a**?”

“It’s a phrase, nut sack,” Colton said. “Means you have a nice a**.”

“Of course I do. I am a hockey player. I have a hockey butt.” He crouched with their help so he could sit in the water.

“What’s hockey butt?” Gavin asked.

“From skating,” Vlad grunted, easing farther into the water. “We get big thighs and butts compared to the rest of our bodies. makes it very hard to buy pants.”

Del nodded. “I’ve actually heard that before.”

(pg. 89-90)

Freaking idiots 😂.

Get you friends who consistently hypes up your literal a**.

“You guys are here to breathe my husband too?”

“Its the highlight of our day,” Mack said. “Bro’s got an a** that won’t quit.”

(pg. 116)

We love to hear it 😂👏🏼!

I also was in hysterics about their hair care conversation and body-shaming Vlad for his hairy chest. Not that hair care or body-shaming are things to laugh about, but the way the bros talked about it was absolutely hilarious. And just hearing these conversations from men, strong “manly men” is so out there that it’s funny. I mean, what makes a man a “manly man?” There is no such thing, so I just loved there conversations because I would love to see more men push away the notion that hair care or self-care is a gendered thing. It’s a human thing.

We love to see that sort of friendship—-down to bathe each other and take care of each other in their times of need. But in all seriousness, it was incredibly sweet how they were still there for him when he distanced himself from them months ago. Vlad only saw Colton in that time. He couldn’t bring himself to see the bros because he was nervous and embarrassed that Elena and him were divorcing, and there probably wasn’t going to be a way to bro their way out of this situation—you know, the bros saving the day through romance novels.

Well, if you look at that:

The Bromance Bookclub: Saving marriages through romance novels since 2019 💙.

We love!

Anyway, I could understand why Vlad wouldn’t want to share his marriage struggles because it made it even more real that Elena and him were getting a divorce and he was going to lose her. Also, Vlad pegs me as an enneagram two with how caring he is; he would rather help others than be helped. He felt like a burden to tell everyone his problems because the past year they had faced many bromances with Gavin, Mack, and Noah.

But when the bros were straightforward about being mad about being shut out and that they wanted the truth, I loved that. They wanted to be there for their friend and if they had to coroner Vlad to understand what was going on, they were going to do it. I do think we should let people tell us/come to us if there is something going on, but if we know something is going on and we’re being pushed away, sometimes I think there comes a point after the grace period to inquire what’s going on because those moments are when your friend needs you most. I know that sometimes friends retreat because they feel embarrassed that they are doing something wrong and don’t want others to know or tell them to do the thing they know they should do—-in this case, Vlad should fight for Elena rather than give her a divorce and let her go.

“We’re a family, Vlad.”

“We’re brothers,” Malcolm said, clapping a hand on Macks’s shoulder. “We are always here for you.”

(pg. 97)

They were a family ♥️.

They supported each other, and have been through some of the weirdest, craziest, and sweetest moments tighter. They knew when to push and when not to. They knew when to let someone cry it out because that’s what the person needed. They were a family that didn’t judge, but listen. I loved loved loved the bros.

I loved when the bros listened to Vlad and Elena’s story and how they reassured Vlad that his issues weren’t a burden—they wanted to be there for him and help him. Vlad just never let them get close enough to help. But not they could. I teared up though when Gavin started talking about how much the bros helped him fight for his marriage when he thought all hope was lost. Gosh, did I know how much the bros help save Gavin and Thea’s marriage 😢. It just made me tear up because I believed they could save Vlad and Elena’s marriage if Vlad allowed himself to fight or to have help.

Can I also say, I need to know where Malcom got his psychology degree because hot damn!!!! He’s spitting psychological fire up in this house for the entirety of the novel, it’s hard not to believe he didn’t get a degree. I think he was a psychologist in another life. I swear, I learned so much insight from this man, it’s wild. I love Malcom. I would love to be his wife, tracy. What a lucky woman to have a man so keen and understanding. THat’s crazy. He’s too good for this world too! What a man! I will preach him, Malcom from Bromance Bookclub. Honestly, we should get a Malcolm book, but it’s hard to believe that he has trouble in his marriage with how intuitive he is 👌🏼. I just love love love this man!

Anyway, moving on from my Malcolm spiel, he preached with this one:

“People only let misunderstandings linger when they’re afraid to talk about them . . .or when they’re too afraid to hear the truth.”

(pg. 96)

I mean, wow. YES!

This whole book was based on miscommunication because Vlad and Elena were afraid to talk to each other—Elena about what she heard that day and Vlad was scared to talk to Elena and she would run away again. They were both withholding what they wanted to say to keep this tense peace that was driving everyone and the reader mad. They just needed to talk it out.

I started tearing up when Vlad felt like his marriage truly and could not be saved. I felt terrible. But what made me tear up was the non-judgmental and beautiful way they held Vlad as he cried 🥺. I also liked the tacit that they weren’t going to push saving Vlad and Elena’s marriage because they could tell this was a fragile and sensitive issue for Vlad and they couldn’t change his stubborn mind. Instead, I knew in the back of my mind, they were going to subtly spoon feed him bro healing magic without Vlad being the wiser.

They were also going to use Vlad’s novel to do so.

When I say I screamed when I read that Vlad wrote a romance novel, I SCREAMED 😆!!!!!! What do YOU MEAN HE WROTE a ROMANCE NOVEL???!!?!??!

My heart ♥️!

What a good guy! I loved that—- a reader and a writer—the prime species 🙈!!!!

Ugh, he has such a good heart. I love the Russian. I know his name’s Vlad, but he’ll always be my Russian.

But it’s super cute how he had been writing a romance novel set in WW II about a guy named Tony who falls in love with a detective agent named Anna. Anna was from America and Tony was from across the pond. Anna loved a fighter pilot named Jack who she thought passed away in a crash. He was actually alive towards the end (we find out). But it doesn’t take a genius to know that the story reflected Vlad and Elena’s relationship. LA DUH. It made sense then why the book on the cover was called Promise Me—Vlad’s written manual. Imagine other bro clubs reading his book in the future to save their marriage. Now that’s a bro dream come true! Also, I loved that he balanced writing and hockey. What a gem!

I loved that the bros were so in-tune with Vlad to notice him looking at his manuscript. I also loved how down they were to help finish the Russian’s book. I would definitely want to read a book published by all of them 🥰! I could not though with freaking Colton saying he wanted to write the smut 😂.

The bros helping Vlad write was a joy. It was also their way in with navigating Vlad’s marriage.

Applause for the bros dedication and commitment to actually wanting to write a good story with Vlad 😅. If we’re being honest, I’m pretty sure Vlad still wrote the majority of his manuscript and the bros were his idea partners, but I loved that Yan bought all these writing books to make it look like they were helping him write a book. The whole conversation on page 138 to 139 had me in freaking fits.

“”It’s not the right time for him to kiss her, ” Vlad finally said, answering Colton’s question.

“Uh, It’s always the right time for kissing,” Colton snorted.

Mack nodded. “It’s true, man. Nothing beats the first-kiss scene.”

Yan clutched his hands to his chest. “Especially if it’s one of those passionate, almost angry kinds of kisses, like they just can’t control themselves kind of kisses.”

Mack nodded. “F** yeah. I love a good spontaneous angry kiss in a book. He made a little growl noise and shuddered. “Gets me all worked up.”

(pg. 138)

WhAT IN THE LITERAL WAS THIS CONVERSATION 🤣!!!!!

You and me both, Yan and Mack. We love a good spontaneous angry kiss. I could just imagine Mack doing a little shiver and CACKLED.

But not them arguing about which kiss is the best kiss.

“Del sighed. “I’m sorry, but nothing beats the soft, tender forehead kiss. It’s like, the real feelings are coming out then. Gets you right here, every time.” He pressed his hands to his breastbone.

“Okay, but what about the almost-kiss,” Gaven said. “I love an almost-kiss.

Noah got a dreamy look on his face. “The staring-at-the-lips thing? Damn. Sexy as [heck]. Tony should have at least stared at her lips or something.”

(pg. 138)

Their kiss presence is on track with each bro 👌🏼.

Not the tender kiss 😅. Ugh, Del’s a romantic and so is Gavin. They all are.

But I also loved how they were so in tune with knowing the noticing-her part of a romance novel.

“Del sighed. I mean, is it even a romance novel if she doesn’t chew on her bottom lip when she’s concentrating?”

Mack shook his head. “Damn, I love that [shiz].”

Malcolm nodded with wisdom. “It’s one of the best parts of romance novels. The celebration of all those small, important moments of awareness, of noticing someone for the first time, of feeling alive when they’re near you. Of wondering when they became so important to you. It’s romantic as f***, man.”

(pg. 139)

I agree.

It’s the typical long spiel in romance novels about how the person smells, what color their eyes are, what they are wearing, how their mouth looks, the curve of the jaw 😂 (that’s one for you Mack). It is romantic because love is when we truly see people and we love them anyway.

To be honest, the bros also gave solid writing advice for people who have never wrote a book. They read books, so they could write a book, but they knew just what to say to Vlad to get him to think deeply about his characters and motivations.

” . . . if you are stuck, it’s not because you cant’t figure out what should happen next. It’s because you probably got something wrong in what you’ve already written. So we just need to fix that.”

(pg. 140)

I never heard this writing advice before, but I liked it because when I get stuck on a scene, it’s mostly because I focus on what’s going to happen next. Lot of the time, I don’t know. But maybe it’s because what I wrote before impacts how I frame what I want to write next because if I knew I wrote this or that, it might not fit with the other things I write. Also, I loved the whole running metaphor of writing your story/own life because Promise Me was Vlad’s story. He was writing his life. So, he was stuck in this awkwardness with no romance with Elena because of what happened before so he doesn’t know what comes next. The relationship needed fixing, and something had to change.

They were making all these breakthroughs on Tony/Vlad’s character and why Tony/Vlad didn’t just tell the love of his life the truth. When Vlad mentioned he didn’t feel like he deserved Anna, it made me sad because if there was anyone deserving of love—more than deserving—-it was Vlad. I’m sorry he felt that way. It was because he was hurt by love and being left that I felt like he didn’t feel like he was good enough for Elena to stay with him. But what also hit deep was how Tony/Vlad stopped fighting and was fearful because they both felt like they were not man enough.

“He’s afraid that his whole life will be like that. He’ll always be the guy who didn’t fight. The man who wasn’t quite a man.”

(pg. 143)

Dang.

Let me talk about the first part of that epiphany—being the man who didn’t fight. Tony/Vlad felt they were not good enough because they didn’t fight or try hard enough for love when it mattered most. I think they both live with that guilt because Vlad let Elena go to college when he should have told her he loved her or asked her to come back after she finished college. He should have fought more for their marriage rather than let her go, assuming she didn’t love him or want to be with him. Vlad felt like he failed her because he wasn’t there for her or that he wasn’t the best husband he could be and that’s one of the reasons Elena never stayed. She didn’t feel loved and their relationship wasn’t okay, and to someone with such a loving heart, that’s a huge blow.

The second part to that epiphany broke my heart 💔.

The man who wasn’t quite man enough.

I briefly mentioned this earlier, but what does it mean to be a man?

This whole book explores that very question and debunks all these societal expectations of masculinity. Being a man in my eyes—as a cisgendered woman—is someone who is human. Someone who is honest and open with their emotions in a kind and compassionate way. It is someone who protects those he loves, and someone he loves the things he loves—sports, cars, books, movies, video games, Leggos, whatever. Things like that that any person would love. Being a man has been far too long associated with muscles, cars, sports, fighting, hot chicks and cars, and all these other prized masculine things. Guys can like makeup, hair, skin care, acting, singing, dancing, photography, art, gardening, cooking, cleaning, baking, talking to friends—-literally anything anyone would like. But somehow we make it seem like something to be ashamed or embarrassed about or like a “wuss” if a guy likes something that is remotely feminine. Hobbies should not have a gender attached to it; anyone can do anything. And people make it seem awful if someone shows feminine qualities, calling them a softie or a girl or a “he has to be gay.” That last part bothers me so so much—when someone who is a cisgendered male shows what society deems “feminine qualities or interests” as someone who has to be gay or on the spectrum. That’s dumb and wrong. Men can be cisgendered straight men and still like feminine things or display what we call “feminine qualities;” men can like books, baking, and art and men can cry, worry, and be nervous. Why do we have to make guys feel like shiz or like something is wrong with them if they show one ounce of emotion or a different interest? When does that narrative end?

“Our society has allowed men to get away with a lack of emotional intelligence by equating the expression of a full range of human emotion with femininity.”

(pg. 170)

It’s tiring.

Men and people cannot always be physically and mentally strong. It’s exhausting.

It’s exhausting the unhealthy expectations we place on men and women in this society. I’m going to talk more about the male side because this is the bromance bookclub, but women face stereotypes and misogyny every freaking day. As a woman, I get told I’m too emotional, crazy, or over dramatic. I get told I can’t do things because I’m a girl. I get paid less, I have to survive more for my living, I can never feel safe going outside in broad daylight or at night because creepy and disgusting people, I can never just be a woman with all these other thing associated to it because of the misogyny and patriarchy. I can go on and on and on about the hardships it is to be a woman, but this post would be much longer and frankly I don’t want to write about that here, but women do face things everyday. But for men, they face things everyday that aren’t as awful as the things women face, but one of the things suck a lot is how men never feel like they can talk about things. They never are honest or open with emotions or are vulnerable because men being vulnerable is something we make men feel ashamed about. We teach out boys to get angry instead of cry when they are younger because that’s what it means to “suck it up and be a man.” But tears are more than healing. What does anger heal?

That’s such a good question.

But there is no right or wrong way to be a man based on any standard but our own—what we decide is moral and true to us.

“Just remember that fear of vulnerability—physical or emotional–is usually a fear of something else.”

(pg. 143)

Ain’t that the truth though. When we are scared to be vulnerable it’s because we are scared of something else. Maybe judgment, criticism, loss, pride, etc. But what about what you have to gain with vulnerability? Community, support, companionship, understanding, self-awareness, peace. Vulnerability isn’t bad, but it’s not easy.

Vlad was every bit man enough in my eyes—more than man enough.

When he was younger, Vlad said he had a Russian coach who would call him a “wuss” and a softie because he read poetry, he had a girl best friend, and he was kind to the girls. He was treated wrong as a kid because the coach wanted to make Vlad the softie feel inferior. What message does that send about how we also treat our women? I don’t know much about Russian culture, but I could imagine in every culture there are different ideas of masculinity. Especially being a big Russian man, there was probably a lot of expectation on Vlad to be “manly.” Having that sort of trauma and treatment effected Vlad to this day because he carried that sentiment of not being man enough to his relationships. Not being man enough—or what we think is a man—was not his problem. Strength, again, comes in different forms and I wish more men and people understood that.

So when Vlad found the bros, he felt like he finally had a place where he was accepted and was man enough. The right people make you feel enough and accept you for who you are.

Later, the bros had another writing meeting when Elena was out getting some groceries again. They asked Vlad if Anna and Tony kissed yet in the book. I freaking cackled at Colton’s utter disappointment that there was no action yet. Me too, bro, me too.

“Colton tsked. “Don’t cheat you’re readers, man. It’s a romance. Give us the romance.”

(pg. 164)

EXACTLY 👌🏼.

What freaking got me was when Vlad slipped up by saying Elena’s name instead of Anna. We all knew the story was about them—surprising, not really. But it was a break through for Vlad because at least he admitted something the bros could talk about. But he was really just angry and unsettled at himself because he knew he was talking about him and Elena’s lack of kissing/romance too. I loved how they were having a pretty intense conversation with Vlad through Tony and Anna by trying to get Vlad to see that Anna/Elena was showing Tony/Vlad that she wanted to stay even if she could have left him all these times—-that she must have some feelings for the dude to even want to stay. It was just sort of funny because Vlad was being stubborn and adamant about how well he knew his characters, but the bros knew him better—-Vlad couldn’t see he was projecting his feelings and hurt onto Tony and creating the same narrative.

They eventually circled back to Tony/Vlad not feeling like they are deserving enough of Anna/Elena’s love.

“You know, all that baggage that characters carry from their backstory,” Mack said. “Eventually, that fear becomes less of a motivation and more of a stubborn hinderance. Characters have to change during a book to earn their happily ever after.”

. . . “A man’s heart is the only thing truly worth risking.”

(pg. 172)

I also liked this deep dive into Tony//Vlad’s character because he needed to change or let something go if he wanted his relationship and future with Elena to change. He was still holding onto the fear that she was going to leave him or that he wasn’t deserving of her love, that he wasn’t making an effort. It’s like expecting something to happen in your life without actually doing anything to make it happen.

“Midpoints are a chance for characters to start rewriting their own stories. Let Tony start to rewrite his.”

(pg. 173)

Also, kudos for Lyssa Kay Adams for writing the book about bros writing a book and paralleling the book to the arc.

I liked that Vlad got his stubborn head out of his nice butt to actually try have a civil relationship with Elena. That was nice.

I liked this homely cooking and baking with Elena scene. Also, how SENSUAL were they to massage each other!!! I was like DANG, we went from zero to a hundred right there! Get you someone who will massage your neck when he knows you have a crick in it! Darn, he was like, let me massage you with my big hands 🙈! He said, let me get all up in there and show you how it’s DONE SON. And then her moaning wasn’t helping. What was this scene!!!?! It was a heated moment for sure!!! Let’s go Vlad! Spice up your life.

In the great words of Noah:

“Come on. Do I have to smoosh their faces together?”

(pg. 170)

Precisely how I felt 👌🏼. They were already more than halfway there towards feeling like they could kiss.

Also, light-hearted and flirty Vlad was back. Gosh, I missed him. It was so hard to see our sunshine be a rain cloud or a tornado of emotion because he didn’t know what to feel. I missed his humor too. Again, we really saw a more grounded Vlad.

But GOSH, he knew EACTLY what he was doing when he tried to bath by himself for the first time since the bros stopped. He fell before getting in the tube so he was buck naked, and I was LIVING because Elena was going to help him get into the tub. Someone say SPICE 🌶!!!! Bro, I was imagining exactly what he looked like too, Elena. It wasn’t like she could leave it all up o her imagination with his butt in the wild and his harry chest on display. It sure was steamy up in this scene. I kind of cackled when he was like, “You can look at me or not act like a naked me is the last thing you want to see.” So she looked at him, or tired to. I would have felt uncomfortable as well, but gosh darn. We went from a neck massage to full butt naked 😂. He really was re-writing his story, and I think smutty Colton would love this version!

When she ran out of that bathroom though, I was like, Vlad’s going to take it the wrong way and he’s going to think she doesn’t want to be with him. I mean, if she doesn’t I would happily do so. But she ran away because she did love him and wasn’t sure where he stood. Sis, if he was laboredly breathing and flirting with you, I think he likes you as more than a friend, like a wife. I mean, Vlad kept calling her his wife, which meant that he still wanted a relationship with her.

Vlad was also super protective with her over the whole Cheese Man thing.

Freaking loved loved loved the whole Cheese Man plot. I’m going to manifest that Cheeseman is a nice dude who’s going to have a name one day (wait, I think they did mention his real name) and maybe he’ll have his big softie story too. I found it funny how Vlad sobbed his sorrows in cheese. I mean, who needs alcohol when you can have the cheese to go with it. I didn’t see the danger of the Cheese Man. He was a Cheese connoisseur vigilante for corporations. I loved that he wanted to make ethical cheese and have ethical practices. In my eyes, he wasn’t the danger.

But boy, nothing drives a relationship faster than JEALOUSY 🤪. I love to see it.

The bros and their wives, or in Noah’s case fiancé (which I am sooo happy for them) all came to a party to celebrate their wins up to the Championship game. They waned to include Vlad because they knew this must be a hard time for him to not play in the biggest games of his career.

A jealous Vlad is a red bull ready to knock down everyone in his sight. I freaking laughed with all the women fawning over the Cheese Man, and then the bros gave Vlad shiz for being jealous of our Cheese connoisseur. But then Malcom, our wise Malcom, was going to tell Vlad to stop being jealous until the Cheese Man made a move for his wife 😂. At least we knew Malcom could also be jealous. Freaking Braden Mack and the most disgusting, but hilarious response.

“I don’t care if Liv wants to taste his cheddar. She’s coming home to my salami.”

The guys groaned in disgust.

“That was beneath you, dude,” Noah said . . .”

(pg. 203)

That was nasty as heck, but I understood it in this dirty mind of mine.

That’s a guy who’s secure in his marriage 😅.

OOOOh , but when Cheese Man kissed Elena on the cheek, it was the red flag Vlad needed to go off.

I don’t blame him. If I was Vlad and some smooth talking man came into my house and made a move on my wife who I still loved, I would feel angry and offended. He was jealous and hurt. But you know after he yelled at everyone to leave the party, I felt the anger and the heat of the moment. When they started yelling at each other or getting feisty, I was like, this is going to turn into Noah and Braden Mack’s favorite type of kiss 👏🏼!!!!

I could feel the tension tonight 🔥!!!!

Finally they KISSED! Colton would be PROUD.

I FREAKING SCREAMED WHEN HE STOPPED 😩!!!!!

What are you doing!!!! What is the Russian word for idiot because Vlad was being an idiot.

I know, I know, I get it, he wanted to protect himself from this back and forth game of her leaving and him pinning after her and then getting hurt. He didn’t want to kiss her and mean it or start something if she was just going to leave again. I literally slapped my forehead because after the FINALLY kissed, NOW they wanted to talk about what they should have talked about in all their years of being married 🤦🏽‍♀️. DARN IDIOTS. No shiz Sherlocks, you guys should have been talking about this way back when.

“And hovering above it all was the potent realization that perhaps things could have been different if they’d just been honest with each other back then.

Except no.

Things could not have been different because they had not been different. They were stuck with a present defined by a past that could never change.”

(pg. 212)

I get it though because even if they talked about this earlier, it maybe wouldn’t have changed things, maybe it would have. Who’s to say. They were both going through things when they were younger and didn’t know how to be married couple, and now they were navigating that. I respected it because marriage is a whole other thing to figure out.

But when Vlad said he’d never been with anyone besides her, I was like awwww because that’s incredibly sweet. He loved only her. But he also put a lot of pressure on her like it was her fault that he waited for her all these years when she didn’t even know he felt that way because he never told her he loved her. It wasn’t her fault he waited for her and it wasn’t right that he made her feel like it was. That wasn’t on her. It was his choice and he should own up to his decision rather than turn it around don her.

When the bros all groaned at Vlad’s idiocy, I was right there with them.

“Del turned around and returned to the side of the bed. “Im not leaving until I hear this. Not because I think it’s worth hearing, but because I want to file it away the next time we think we’ve met the dumbest f***er on the planet, and I can say, ‘Oh, no, remember the f***ing Russian?'”

(pg. 233)

I could not with Del’s reaction 😂! He said, I’m going to give him shiz for being a piece of shiz and stopping what could have been a pretty spicy scene. Speaking of spice, I loved loved loved how they didn’t make Vlad feel like less of a man or weird for being a virgin.

“Malcom shrugged. “So you’re a virgin. Big deal.”

“It is a big deal. I am an almost thirty-year old professional athlete who has never had sex, even with his wife of six years. I’m a living, breathing—“

“Human being.”

(pg. 233)

Vlad’s such a romantic sweetheart because he never wanted to do it with anyone else besides the one he knew was the one—Elena. Most people would have just had sex because they felt the need to “get it out of the way” or something like as Malcom said, like it’s a race or competition, but it’s not (pg. 244). It’s better if you wait to have sex with someone who you love.

“We tell women they’re sluts for not waiting long enough and men that they’re losers for waiting too long. It’s a twisted message that hurts everyone. But look at you, nervous and embarrassed, when you actually have a chance to experience something amazing.” Malcom gripped the back of Vlad’s neck and squeezed.”

(pg. 244-5)

There’s a lot that can be discussed about what Malcom said because it holds a lot of truth—we shame women for wanting to have sex or having sex because then they are “uncouth” or “sluts.” But if men wants sex or has sex, they are championed or they are prized. If a man doesn’t have sex, we make them feel shamed or inferior like there’s something wrong with them. Both narratives suck and are degrading. There is nothing wrong with a woman who wants to have sex, and that does not make her a derogatory term. There is nothing wrong with a man who waits to have sex, and that does not make him less of a man or human. Humans want pleasure. It’s natural. Stop making people feel shamed if they do or do not have sex. Respect people’s times and, besides, it’s none of our business who has sex with who. It’s not a competition. I know many people in middle and high school who would brag about, “oh, I just had sex!” or “I had sex with lots of people.” In high school, I wasn’t insecure about how people claimed to already have done “it.” In high school, it feels like the biggest deal and like you’re falling behind if you hadn’t done “it.” For me, I just didn’t want to do something that I knew I wanted to be romantic or special or with the right person or if I felt ready. And you shouldn’t feel like you need to rush into something just to get it over with because you feel like everyone else has done it. Trust me, not everyone has. There is something special and beautiful about you wanting to do something intimate like that with someone you actually love—something you can remember.

Take your time.

Normalize that whatever you chose to do, it’s okay. Be safe, have conversations about it, and do you. Your intimacy isn’t for others to judge, yet alone to divulge if you don’t want to.

“No matter what, just remember take care of her first.”

(pg.244)

I also loved how the bros reminded Vlad to take care of Elena first.

This could be understood in different ways from don’t freaking hurt her and be gentle, but also make sure she finds sex an intimate and pleasurable experience as well. I loved that—mutual pleasure. Take care of each other, but put her first. Women first. Partner first.

I don’t know, I’m not sexologist or genius or one to talk, but I heard from others that usually in the spicy spicy, it’s usually the men who come or whatever first 🙈 like they’re taken care of first. Again, it’s just things I heard. But then when it’s a woman’s turn for pleasure, the woman fakes it or she doesn’t give the big o—as Thea would say—-and she’s unsatisfied and her pleasurable needs aren’t met. That’s not fair to the woman because she gave the guy his needs but what about hers? I don’t know. So, I liked that the bros were at least talking about taking care of each other because sex should be a mutual pleasurable experience.

I really loved how the Loners helped Elena with her whole f-him-down with her looks before they had their spicy spicy scene.

Before I get into that, let’s talk a little bit about Elena’s perspective up until now because she’s being feeling all sorts of ways about Vlad too. We know she loves him from her actions, but she didn’t think he loved her all this time until they actually talked about their feelings. They were both tip-toeing the line of not wanting to cross anything without being sure of each other’s feelings. It was seen in their hugs or the way they tried to respect each other’s space and boundaries even if they wanted to be with each other.

But Elena also battled insecurities of not being good enough or deserving of Vlad’s love. It was almost ironic because that’s what was holding them both back. They were good enough for each other and they were just scared to talk about things for fear of something chaining terribly. She also felt like she wasn’t good enough for Vlad because she kept leaving and chasing her dad’s case—a case she didn’t clue him in on because she knew how upset he would be. I mean, it’s because he loved her and didn’t want her to be harmed. But that’s another thing—-if she can’t even tell him something huge in her life like reopening her dad’s case, there’s already trust issues and a secret between them. So, she had to trust that he would support her in the case or at least not rage at her about it. She was scared that she couldn’t be there for Vlad because she wanted to finish what her dad started, and not being there for Vlad, meant hurting him more than she knew. She didn’t want to keep hurting him, but she didn’t want to give up her dad.

I understood that. It’s tough because she needed closure, but she should also let Vlad in. I think Vlad would be mad because he’s protective, but he’ll come around once he digested it. Maybe they could solve the case together and that could help her find peace sooner? Who knows. But they should be together, but there were things from the past that got in the way of their present happiness.

There was also Elena’s jealousy with Michelle that highlighted how much she loved Vlad.

Michelle was apart of the Loners and she was cheated on by her husband a while back. She was a good mother and had a very homely house, which I loved to see. Elena felt threatened by Michelle because she was this perfectly nice, sweet-looking, and beautiful lady who always came around to Vlad’s house to talk about her ex-husband. If I was Elena, I would have thought Vlad liked her or Michelle had feelings for him too. I mean, a strong, loving, single man? Like DUH.

Maybe it was Elena’s perspective, but I was looking for something sketchy with Michelle because Elena didn’t like her. But then again, Michelle seemed like a decent woman who wanted to be there for Vlad because he was her neighbor and she also wanted to be cordial with Elena because she knew she was the wife. I didn’t think Michelle meant any harm because she knew what it was like to be cheated on, so she wouldn’t want to invite Vlad to do anything with her. I really appreciated that Lyssa Kay Adams didn’t make Elena and Michelle’s sorry a petty, jealousy competition between women, but an understanding and supportive relationship. I really loved that ♥️. Far too often if there is another pretty woman, stories make that pretty woman the one to watch out for because she’s ill-intent. So making Michelle genuinely nice was a good change.

I just wanted to tell Elena story stop pushing Vlad and Michelle tighter because she thought that was what was better for everyone. Michelle admitted she liked Vlad but knew nothing could happen because Vlad would always be in love with Elena. Unrequited love sucks, but Michelle did the honest thing and told Elena how she felt and reassured her that Vlad only loved her. I also loved their conversation about starting over.

“It’s hard to redefine yourself after so long as seeing yourself as one way. I was his wife. That’s who I was. I never stopped to ask myself if I was happy in that role. If I even recognized myself in that role . . . I loved him so deeply that I couldn’t imagine who I was without him. Redefining yourself is scary.”

(pg. 224)

Redefining or recreating who you are is scary. It takes work and healing.

I loved learning more about Michelle because she was, again, a good, honest woman who had been hurt and wanted to love again. I loved that she reclaimed her power by slowly finding what made her feel free—made her feel like her. I also liked the conversation about why Michelle thought he husband cheated on her. Michelle said that she felt like her husband was chasing something because he never thought he was good enough, so he kept trying to find the next big thing.

“And for so long, I let him run and chase those things. I thought I was happy to run along beside him. Until I realized I wasn’t beside him. We weren’t in a race together. He was running ahead, leaving me behind, and there was nothing I could do or say to make him slow down. It took me a long time to realize it wasn’t my job to convince him I was the prize worth fighting for.”

(pg. 225)

That broke my heart 💔.

Here Elena, Vlad, Michelle, and her husband not believing they were good enough for their marriages. They were all trying to chase something or catch the other person to stay, but sometimes we convince ourselves we are never good enough and we keep running. I could understand how Elena thought she was like Michelle’s husband because she kept chasing her dad’s case that she never saw the prize Vlad was in her life. I don’t think it’s her fault or anything because she needed to find peace with her dad before she could let love into her heart.

Marriage is such an interesting topic that I want to discuss for a bit. I loved loved loved when the Loners met the Bros. What a fun time!

“You shouldn’t be excited to get married. You should be ready to get married. There’s a huge difference. . . But there will come a day when you’ll be sitting across from him as he is eating his breakfast and all you will think is why? And then you’ll get over it, and things will go back to normal.’ That is marriage. Security and stability with the occasional what the [heck] was I thinking?”

(pg. 127)

Poor Noah was so excited to get married to Alexis and Cluade popped his bubble 😅.

Honestly, Claud’s view on marriage is despondent, but realistic. I’m not married nor did my parents have a lasting marriage, but I have heard of married couples getting comfortable in this routine of being married—security and stability. But I like to believe that you can be excited to get married and still be ready to spend the rest of your life with someone and it doesn’t have to be this sad routine that people make marriage out to be. Marriage is a beautiful unity of two people who share their lives with each other and they can discover new things each day together or individually. Will there be moments where one thinks why did I do this? Maybe. But if you love someone so much because they are your person, marriage is worth it. I think yes, getting married, people might forget what comes afterwards. But what comes afterwards can be new and exciting, hard and challenging, but new and exciting.

I loved when Claude came over after Michelle and Elena had their talk, and was like “Finally you got your head out of your butt!” 🤪 I really did not expect that to come out her mouth considering how much shiz Claude gave Elena his entire book. Well, I Claude new Vlad loved her and she must have saw something in Elena and was just waiting for her to figure out how much she loved her husband. But I loved how Claude did that 180 on Elena in suddenly being sort of nice to her. I loved how they all hyped her up with a tight little dress and high pumps. I also cackled that they got rid of her MEDILL sweatshirt. Elena and I function on leggings and sweatshirts 👌🏼.

When Vlad and Elena finally got to some spice, it was such an endearing and sweet moment. They had a little date that he planned with her because he wanted to talk things out. Gosh, knows they didn’t do a lot of talking 😆.

It was just really cute how nervous Vlad was soooo nervous about his first time 🥺. I just loved that because I never really hear a guy talking about how nervous they are to do something so intimate. I loved that he texted the bros and they all hyped him up ♥️🥺! True friends right there! It was just so cute how he wanted her to enjoy it and he didn’t want it to be awful. I laughed when he said he unclasped his first bra. WHAT A CUTIE 🥺! He’s just so endearing and sweet. I also loved how they took care of each other.

“We have to be careful with your leg.”

“I don’t care about my leg. You healed my heart.”

She lifted her head, lips trembling. “There you go again. Being absurdly romantic.”

“Not romantic. Just happy.” A tear rolled down her cheek. He brushed it away with his thumb.”

(pg. 258)

I loved loved loved that. They are so cute 🥺.

A happy Vlad is my favorite Vlad. We love a happy Russian.

He best be writing about this in his manuscript. Add the spice in there—Colton would appreciate 😂.

But what really got me was when he talked about his promise.

“Do you remember what I said to you when you walked down the aisle?”

You said everything was going to be okay.”

“I promised you.” His voice wobbled. “I haven’t kept that promise.”

(pg. 248-9)

And when they held each other later on, talking about their future, and he was like, “It’s going to be okay now, Lenochka. Everything is going to be okay” (pg. 264). I was like AAAAAWWWWW 🥺.

🎶 Don’t worry. About a thing. Because every little thing, gonna be alright 🎶

I literally said to myself during this conversation that they should have another wedding now and make it for real because their first wedding wasn’t real—or the emotions weren’t completely there. I would be here for another bro wedding!

Also, it was cute and hilarious when Elena prodded him about his dirty little book club secret.

Bro, if someone joined a book club to read romance novels to find out how to be a better partner for me, that person would already have my heart 👏🏼♥️! Facts.

But I loved loved loved how Vlad spoke about the bros and the utter love he had about what being in this book club had gifted him.

“You learned all that from romance novels?”

“Not just the novels, but my relationship with the guys. I’ve never been so accepted, so valued. I realized that there are a lot of men like me. Men who aren’t afraid to be vulnerable. And these books, they show you what it’s like to be truly respected. I didn’t just see how I wanted to be treated in a relationship. I saw how I wanted to treat myself. How I deserved to be treated. How I deserved to be loved.”

(pg. 263)

Someone buy me the Costco pack of tissues because I am BALLING 🥺♥️.

My heart could not take this amount of pure love.

I understood what he meant about books teaching you how we learn to love and how we deserve to be loved and respect ourselves. As someone who didn’t have the best model of a happy couple, books have taught me all the magical moments of what it means to fall in love and things that I would look for in a partner. It also has taught me how to better understand and navigate relationships based on the common problems most romances have. But the last part about books teaching you how you deserved to be loved was what got me. I never thought about books or any content in that way. But love is a three-way street—how you love, how to love others, and how to be loved. How we deserve to be treated matters just as much as the other areas of love in a relationship because what we accept as love is how we communicate to others what we tolerate and how they treat us. Seeing models of love and how others respect themselves and find themselves is such a powerful reminder that we are still an entire person even if we are in a relationship—-we should still care for ourselves. I just loved that sentiment though.

Everything seems all nice and dandy in their lives now because the Russian and Elena were having good sex. Freaking Colton walking in on them in the kitchen. He really should have knocked louder or something 😂. I also loved seeing the Russian smile again because he was happy. I loved how when the Russian went to the Stanley cup to support his team and friends, Elena could read how uncomfortable Vlad felt not playing, and set up this impromptu meet and greet to take his mind off things. I loved that because she knew what he needed to still enjoy this momentous day. That had to suck though, knowing that you couldn’t play in such a big event.

I also liked that they talked about Elena not going back to Russia, and staying in America. Elena was also starting to find more of her place in Nashville. Our hospitable and welcoming queen, Alexis, was so kind in making Elena feel like family ♥️! I loved how Alexis would give Elena free drinks and food for her and Vlad and how Alexis would open up the conversation if she thought Alexis needed someone to talk to. It made me mad more so in the beginning when Vlad and her would fight, she would think that all of a sudden Vlad’s friends hated her. They didn’t hate her, they hated him! Because Vlad was the idiot! But it made me think about how much Elena didn’t feel like she belonged and that she didn’t have a place in Vlad’s life because he had all these people who already deeply loved him. But they all wanted her part of their circle, but she couldn’t’ see it.

Elena also wanted a job, but she couldn’t get a job with her green card/visa. I, again, am not an immigration expert, but I do know that the immigration system is highly screwed up and complicated. The system, like any American system, benefits the rich people because if rich white people from other countries come to America, they make America look good. But there are all these other immigrants who provide services for America each day, but yet they don’t get immigration rights or protections because they aren’t rich and somehow doesn’t make America this glamorous place. Instead, America leaves immigrants on the bottom of their care/priority list and many struggle for years because there might be the uncertainty that someone could be sent back to their country—splitting up the family. Or maybe a person is sent back to a country where things aren’t good. I do agree with Gretchen that Elena’s case wasn’t a priority because Elena was a person of privilege who could easily bypass everything to work and get a working visa in America. But that’s not fair to all the other people who had been need it and deserve it more than her. I like that Elena was going to find freelance journalism to tell the more important stories because that has more impact and significance than her trying to go through the system like she was more important.

I liked that everything was going good for them because after all this time, they deserved something good.

But like the bros, I was waiting for that CONFLICT.

“Because there’s no conflict. She just up and decides that she’s going to stay with Tony because he asks her to? It’s not very satisfying.”

“They end up together. How is that not satisfying?

“Because they haven’t really earned their happy ever after,” Malcom said.”

(pg. 294)

True that 👏🏼!!!!!

We need something to go to shiz!!!!

My first guess at one could stir shiz up was that Elena would find her dad. That didn’t happen.

But she would want to go back to Russia to look for her dad. Elena already had a job back for some journalist paper with her Godfather, Yevegeny. He seemed nonthreatening and unimportant because he was just suspicious why Elena would want to come back to Russia. I could understand his questioning because I would be curious too. Elena got a new lead on her dad’s case—something about a file she needed to pick up in Russia—so she wanted to go back to Russia to get the file.

“What is the worst possible thing that could happen to him at this point?”

“For her to not feel the same way.”

“No,” Colton said, suddenly somber in a way Vlad really saw his friend. “For her to love him, too, but to leave him anyway.”

Silence descended over the room. The reverent, damn, that’s some deep [shiz] kind of silence.”

(pg. 296)

That was Mariana Trench deep for Colton 👏🏼!

But he’s not wrong. Because Elena’s known for leaving, the worst thing that could happen to Tony/Vlad is for Elena to leave even if she did love him. The bros already knew that Elena was going to leave or at some point was going to leave Vlad, and it was going to test the strength of their relationship. I agreed with the bros that he needed to trust Anna/Elena that she would leave and come back if she really loves and wants to be with him.

When Elena told him about the dad’s case and the file in Russia, he was angry because he was shut out and he wanted to protect her. He was also hurt that she was going to leave for two weeks to chase her dad again. Personally, I didn’t see the big deal 🙈. Bro, she was leaving for two weeks and coming back. That’s not that bad 😅! When he threw it at her face that her dad wasn’t a good dad, I was like, well darn, Vlad that was harsh. But when he gave her an ultimatum, I was like DANG!!! When will he learn!!! Bro, literally told her to choose him or the dad. This was her dad’s case that she wanted to finish to find peace and he was too busy seeing red to understand that.

“Which is an ultimatum to a woman who thinks she doesn’t have a choice,” Mack argued.”

(pg. 309)

I love Vlad, I really do, but he really wasn’t being fair or understanding.

He just turned it around on her like everything was her fault and that she had to choose. I get it, Vlad, you made changes in the relationship and you were the one always trying, but you had to see where she was coming from. It wasn’t like she was leaving him forever. She was coming back in two weeks!

He gave her really no choice.

I’m happy the bros called him out on being a gosh darn idiot for letting Elena walk out of his life again without really trying.

“There’s a big difference between letting someone go because you have faith that they’ll come back to you and letting someone go because deep down you’re convinced they won’t. One is an act of love, the other an act of fear.”

(pg. 310)

SPIT FIRE 👏🏼♥️!!! I LOVE THAT.

And it goes back to how

“Fear forces us to do stupid things, brother. Make bad decisions, often against our own best interests and against wh-what we really w-want in life.”

(pg. 142)

Vlad’s a stubborn guy. We can all agree. He loves people because he’s scared of what goes wrong (pg. 309), but gosh, he was acting out fear. He feared Elena was going to leave him forever and so he told her to choose between her and chasing her past or him—her future. He “let a captive bird go winging,” out of fear because he knew from experience she might not come back. I could understand how Vlad felt. But again, he was being an idiot. He should have been more understanding and supportive. He at least should have said, “Let me clear my head for a minute or so.” Then he should have texted the bros before doing something so dumb as to give her an ultimatum. Love shouldn’t be a cage where we feel like we let the “captive bird” free. We should be the support.

“How long was she going to ignore the beauty of her present for the ugliness of her past?”

(pg. 312)

Elena had left to go back to Russia, and went to a hotel. She had this epiphany that she was chasing her past and not seeing that all she had was right in front of her. I thought when she got hit upside the head, that it was some sort of dream state 😂.

Nope she got kidnapped. I did not see that coming.

The trafficking case was interesting. I understood why Lyssa Kay Adams didn’t write more about it because trafficking is a serious and sensitive thing to talk about. It’s hard to find the right words to say about such a disgusting and vile human act without feeling weird about it because you don’t want to say something that offends anyone or is wrong. But I liked how Lyssa Kay Adams did bring trafficking into the conversation because within the past few years, we have been having more conversations and awareness that trafficking still continues. It’s disgusting and horrid and there are no amount of words to describe how angry and repulsed I am about people who think trafficking people are okay. I just don’t have the words. It breaks my heart. I really don’t. But Lyssa Kay Adams has continuously opened up conversations about difficult, real-life issues like the Me Too movement, sexual harassment and abuse/workplace violence, toxic masculinity, femininity, and so much more. We need to expand more effort to discover people who are trafficking and stop them because it’s not right, nor is it sane. People are not property and people are not items to be bought and sold. That’s a life right there, and it makes no sense to me why people would do such a repulsive thing as buy and sell people—-kids, women, men, animals, any of it. It are things like that that make me feel ashamed as a human being.

I never expected it to be Yevgeny.

He disgusted me 😡. He can suck my toes. I detest him. Wha a LOSER. WHAT A DISGUSTING VILE PIECE OF TRASH.

How dare he do what he did to Elena’s father—his friend no less—and all those people?!

I DETEST.

Never doubt a strong woman. I was CHEERING for Elena because DANG she’s a fierce, clever, strong, and smart woman. She called the police on her phone and they listened to the whole kidnapping conversation. I learned something new too, if something happens, always know the license plate of a car! She really kicked some major butt with saving herself!!!!! I LOVED THAT ♥️👏🏼!

She said I don’t need a big MAN to save me. She said I am WoMAN. She said, I am strong. I am confident. I am my own hero. She said I kicked butt and did good. She did good.

Freak, I could only imagine the agony Vlad must have felt when he go that sparrow text. I thought he was going to rage the whole town down with the bros to save her! I was expecting that kind of grand gesture or finale. But I loved that she handled things herself. But gosh, when Vlad hobbled to her at the hospital, I was like AWWWW 🥺!!!!

“I cannot believe you,” she shouted. “What are you doing? Were you running? Where are your crushes?”

“I–We always run for a grand gesture,” Vlad panted.”

(pg. 327)

NOT ON A BROKEN LEG, YOU DON’T 😅!

But that’s commitment right there, he said I’m going to run to you on my broken leg because I love you.

Vlad was serving me Kaz Brekker vibes.

“I would have come for you. And if I couldn’t walk, I’d crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we’d fight our way out together-knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that’s what we do. We never stop fighting.” 

– Crooked Kingdom

Let us see Vlad crawl to her 🤪!!! Fight for her!!!!

You know, he’s doing this entire book on a broken leg, KUDDOS TO YOU 😂!!!!! But man, he really needed to rest up or something. I just found it funny how she just got kidnapped and got in an accident and she was asking him if he was okay.

I liked the ending when they got home and Vlad shared his manuscript with Elena. It is terrifying to hand your work to others because it’s like handing over your heart. I was nervous and excited for him. I also loved how they shared that Pushkin quote about how much they loved each other. It felt very wholesome considering they bonded over Pushkin and always used his work as a way to connect. I also loved loved loved (what I think) was the ending chapter of Promise Me. I love it when an author namedrops the title 😩♥️!!!!

“Everything is going to be okay now.”

“Promise me.”

“I promise.”

(pg. 339)

I loved loved loved that. I bet Vlad’s going to be a best selling author and the bros are going to be at every author signing!!!! That would be so cool if in the next book, Lyssa Kay Adams mentions how Vlad’s book is getting represented and in development. I will be a proud fan!

I really enjoyed the Russian’s story because we got to see him rekindle his romance with his wife. We also saw a grounded and humanizing version of the Russian who wasn’t always cracking jokes, but he was vulnerable, nervous, and raw. It was also interesting to see his jealous and stubborn side born out of love. At some moments, I will say eh was talking in circles with how he didn’t feel like he deserved Elena and then he would do something to show her he liked her. And like anyone, he had his idiot moments with not really speaking to Elena the best—-giving her an ultimatum and maybe indirectly making her feel at fault. We are not perfect. But. he had all these facets that made him who he was and he was still an amazing person for it. I loved his humor that’s still there and his heart, gosh, especially his heart. I think I fell more in love with the Russian after this book. Sucks that he’s married 🤪. Yikes. Just kidding, I’m happy he’s married.

I’m excited to read more about Colton for Bromance Bookclub four. Maybe his story has something to do with Loner, Andrea. They seemed to have chemistry, but I’m not sure if it’s chemistry or if it’s just Colton’s natural flirting charm. He seemed to flirt with anybody, and I wonder why. I wonder why he’s so quick to be a charmer? Is he trying to hide something deep down—like maybe he vies for peoples love? I don’t know. He’s also such a good friend and very funny. Kind of has a confident, good-natured ego to him that I would love to explore more in his book.

Anyway, what was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part? 

What did you think of the book? Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕

What is your favorite kind of cheese?

I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this 😊.

And as always, with love,

Rating

5 Full Bloom Flowers

Characters: I fell in love more with the Russian and his teddy-bear heart. Also, the bros can do no wrong in my eyes.

Plot: I loved seeing a human and honest version of our Russian. I loved getting to know him more and seeing him find love again.

Writing: Lyssa Kay Adams can do no wrong in my eyes. I also appreciate how she takes complicated issues and is not afraid to talk about or mention them.

Romance: Miscommunication and back and forth feelings, but one heck of a rekindling